Company of Master Jewellers
The Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) is a UK trade buying group, combining collective purchasing power, marketing support, training programmes, and retail initiatives to empower independent jewellers and national chains. It facilitates competitive sourcing, brand-led campaigns, business development tools, and peer networking—helping members navigate pricing pressures, operational challenges, and marketplace trends. Jewellery Focus delivers specialist coverage of CMJ activities including membership growth, buying strategies, campaign performance, training updates, and franchising models. Our reporting equips retailers, suppliers, brand managers, and manufacturers with trade-critical insight into collaboration opportunities, value optimisation, and strategic positioning within one of the strongest jewellery buying networks in the UK.
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Mar- 2018 -27 MarchRetailers
Wakefields leaves CMJ to join Houlden group
Following 28 years as a member of The Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ), Wakefields Jewellers has announced it is leave the CMJ and join the Houlden buying group. Dominic and Melanie Wakefield, managing directors of the jewellers said they felt the “networking and support” that Wakefields has had throughout its…
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Dec- 2017 -13 DecemberDesigners
Successful first year for Les Georgettes’ UK range
French jewellery brand Les Georgettes is celebrating its first anniversary since establishing itself in the UK and signing over 250 retail doors in that time. The brand is now stocked in 200 stores and has sold 500,000 bracelets, 100,000 rings and one million leather bands globally. Management attributes the success…
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6 DecemberDesigners
Henryka welcomes new stockists as it launches Christmas promo
British brand Henryka has added two new members of the Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) to its network of independent retail partners. The brand’s collections can now be found at Welsh stores Christopher George Jewellers in Cardiff and T J Davies and Son in Aberystwyth. Since joining the CMJ in…
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Sep- 2017 -12 SeptemberEditor's Blog
Seeking clarity
The Company of Master Jewellers, I am assured, is soon to turn a corner. It has been extremely difficult to secure concrete answers to some of the questions that have been swirling around the corridors of the jewellery industry this last month, and indeed to establish what exactly the top…
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3 SeptemberFeatures
THE RUMOUR MILL – Seeking clarity on the CMJ’s financials
After the Company of Master Jewellers’ self-styled ‘Marmite’ chief executive announced his resignation, and a copy of the the buying group’s annual financial report was leaked to the press, rumours abounded about the circumstances of Hamilton’s departure. We spoke to chairman Michael Aldridge, to put some of the trickier questions…
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Aug- 2017 -8 AugustManufacturers
CMJ announces renewed focus on supporting independent retailers
The Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) says it is looking to refocus the business towards the needs of the membership in a new business strategy unveiled at the buying group’s AGM, according to a statement released today. In a speech to the membership at the AGM in Birmingham on August…
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2 AugustAppointments
EDITOR’S COMMENT: What now for the CMJ?
Much ink has been spilled by the trade press over the sudden and barely explicated departure of Willie Hamilton, the polarising chief executive of the Company of Master Jewellers. Apart from those at the top, it would seem nobody knew he was about to vacate his post, and those in…
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Jul- 2017 -31 JulyRetailers
CMJ’s CEO Willie Hamilton steps down
Willie Hamilton, CEO of Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ), has announced his departure from the role after 10 years. The CMJ is a buying group for independent retailers of watches and jewellery in the UK and Ireland and currently has over 150 members. Michael Aldridge, chairman of CMJ, said: “Willie…
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Aug- 2015 -14 AugustEditor's Blog
I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party, CMJ
I was reminded of the old adage yesterday – turnover is vanity, profit is sanity. It’s so clichéd as to sound almost like bad advice, but of course anyone in business knows it holds as true today as it did when the first merchants started trying to glean a few…
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Jun- 2015 -18 JuneEvents
Sponsors amongst biggest winners at UK Jewellery Awards
The UK Jewellery Awards recognised the achievements of the great and the good of the jewellery industry last night, with two of the event’s leading sponsors netting three of the most prestigious gongs. Around 650 figures from across the jewellery industry gathered at the Tower of London for the ceremony,…
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