Year: 2019

F Hinds to save Chapelle stores

Family owned retailer F Hinds, which has 116 stores across England and Wales, has reached an agreement to take on 12 Chapelle stores in top outlet centres. Chapelle was founded in 1979 by Paul and Margaret Mortimer as a retail business that offered discounted watches and jewellery. It trades in…

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Isabella Liu – Cracking the Chinese market

“I think that my situation allows me to be the bridge between the two cultures”, explains Isabella Liu as she prepares to launch her latest collection in China having secured listings with retailers in Xian and Shanghai. Liu was born in Wuhan, China, but is currently based in London having…

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Rotary donates £25,000 to British Royal Legion

Watch brand Rotary has donated £25,000 to the Royal British Legion, made up from sales of its limited edition timepiece created to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. The timepiece featured special details to commemorate the centenary, with the 11th hour and the 11th day…

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Fairtrade Gold to debut at LFW 2019

Four certified Fairtrade Gold jewellers will come together to exhibit their Fairtrade Gold ‘showstopper pieces’ at London Fashion Week 2019, for the first time. On 18-19 February, industry experts, celebrities and the public will be able to see examples of ethical jewellery from Natalie Perry, Rock Hound, Ute Decker and…

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Pia Hallstrom partners with HEWI London

Jewellery designer Pia Hallstrom has partnered with online retailer HEWI London, which buys and sell, new and pre-owned jewellery. According to Hallstrom, a former head designer at Burberry, the partnership “cements HEWI London’s status as the premier online luxury sale and resale destination”, whilst allowing Hallstrom to offer her handcrafted…

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Gold and platinum up double-digits in January hallmarking

The number of gold and platinum pieces hallmarked in January 2019 increased significantly by 17.9% and 19.1% respectively, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The average volume of silver also grew by 2.1% from 425,631 to 437,344, however  palladium decreased by 31.4% to 4,481 hallmarked items. Overall…

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Watch Focus: The Holton Professional

What’s the story behind the new military issue watch range? Just as a bit of context, we come from the extreme sports marketplace, and I was the co-founder of a brand called Animal which started in 1988. We made clothing, accessories, watches and watch straps made out of velcro. In…

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Alorsa January diamonds sales reaches $281.5m

Diamond mining firm Alrosa sold $281.5m (£218.4m) worth of rough and polished diamonds in January. However, the group said during the month market activity was lower than usual, compared with December 2018 sales which were up 20% over the previous quarter and up 46% year-on-year. Yury Okoemov, Alorsa deputy CEO,…

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Gem-A expands into the US

The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) has established an independent, non-profit entity in the United States, designed to facilitate gemmological education in the “strategically important market”. Gem-A USA will provide the same Gemmology and Diamond Diploma courses as it does in the UK. It also announced that JTV (Jewelry…

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The gems of the jewellery auction

Between $30-50m (£23.1m-£38.5m) is the expected price the Pink Legacy diamond is expected to fetch at the Magnificent Jewels auction on 13 November at Christie’s in Geneva. “The saturation, the intensity of this stone is as good as it gets in a coloured diamond,” says Rahul Kadakia, international head of…

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