Year: 2019

Taylor & Hart raises £3.6m for latest funding round

London-based e-jeweller Taylor and Hart has completed a landmark funding round led by Active Partners, the total round amounts to just over £3.6m participation from existing investors Launchub Ventures. With this latest round of funding, the jeweller will continue working towards a vision of ‘disrupting’ the process of buying fine…

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Gold slumps 7.3% in July hallmarking

The number of gold pieces hallmarked in July 2019 decreased by 7.3%, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. Palladium also decreased by 30.3% to 4356 pieces hallmarked, and the amount of platinum pieces hallmarked during the month decreased by 2% to 26,599 items. However, the average volume…

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Isabella Liu to release new ‘nature’ inspired collection

Jeweller Isabella Liu is set to release the Butterfly Lovers line of jewellery, which draws its  inspiration from nature. The collection also takes inspiration from the legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the ‘Chinese Romeo and Juliet’. The lovers’ spirits, portayed in the form of a pair of butterflies,…

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EC One becomes B-Corp certified

London based jewellery boutique EC One has become the second jeweller in the UK to become B-Corporation Certified. The accreditation process to become a B-Corp involves an in-depth analysis of the business’ entire social and environmental performance, to assess its impact on its workers, community, environment and customers. Other well-known…

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Over 50 retailers sign letter demanding business rates fix

Over fifty major retailers have come together to demand the government takes action to fix the “broken” business rates system. In a letter to the new chancellor, Sajid Javid, retailers have called on the government to put business rates “at the heart” of the promised new economic package. The letter,…

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Watches of Switzerland revenues jump 17.8% in Q1

Watches of Switzerland has reported a 17.6% increase in total revenue to £209.4m for the three months to 28 July 2019. The group also saw “strong” like-for-like growth of 10.8% during the period, with sales increasing by 11.5% and 8.7% in the UK and US respectively. During the last three…

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Houlden appoints James Rice as director

Luxury jewellery consortium, the Houlden Group, has announced the appointment of James Rice as the latest director to join the board. Rice is currently sales and marketing director of Hull based Hugh Rice, a luxury family-run jeweller founded in 1965 which has since expanded from Hull and Beverley, throughout Yorkshire…

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North East gallery reveals new jewellery collection

A jewellery collection inspired by pattern, repetition and movement takes will be unveiled at a Newcastle gallery this autumn. The Biscuit Factory – the UK’s largest independent art, craft and design gallery – is launching ‘Rhythm’, a new jewellery collection debuting on 6 September that spotlights the “art of rhythm”…

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Ruby & Oscar celebrates bumper year of trade

Online jewellery store Ruby and Oscar is celebrating a bumper year of trade as it marks its first birthday this August with £1m in turnover. The north east-based company, which specialise in handcrafted gemstone jewellery, saw profit from within its first month of trade thanks to its strong online presence…

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Mixed footfall performance in July

Footfall figures decline by 3.8% in July, compared with the same period last year, according to the latest Retail Traffic Index. This was only a small improvement on the 3.9% deficit recorded in June. Footfall did however see an increase of 3.4% in July compared with June’s footfall figures. Stores…

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