Digital Transformation

Bonhams appoints Chabi Nouri as global CEO

Bonhams has appointed Chabi Nouri as global CEO of the international auction house. Nouri, who will be based in Bonhams’ headquarters in New Bond Street, London, will take up the position in October 2024 at the 14-saleroom auction house. Swiss-born Nouri has deep knowledge and experience in international luxury and…

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Annoushka appoints new chief executive

British fine jewellery brand Annoushka has appointed Zia Zareem-Slade, formerly chief creative officer of Hauser and Wirth, as its new CEO starting February 2024. The news comes after Tim Hort, managing director who has worked with Annoushka and John Ayton, chairman, for over 25 years, will step down from his…

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RJC officially launches first ESG toolkit

Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has officially launched its first ever ESG toolkit to members after it was exclusively launched on 23 June 2023 at Harvard University. The “State of the Art Jewellery” summit hosted by RJC, the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum at Harvard…

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Opsydia appoints new sales and marketing director

Diamond and gemstone security specialist, Opsydia, has appointed Jimmy Gove to the position of sales and marketing director, effective immediately. Opsydia is recognised for its technology that places unique identifiers on and beneath the surface of gemstones to secure their identity. Gove brings to Opsydia more than a decade of…

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Gembridge to protect customers with launch of new escrow account

Gembridge has announced it has opened a U.S. dollar-based escrow account with a Singaporean banking group to provide safe transactions for global buyers and sellers. Gembridge is a regulated marketplace for certified gemstones, pearls and jewellery for a verified community of buyers, sellers and consignees. The company said it will…

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Three ways that Covid-19 will change retail forever 

In the midst of a global pandemic the UK high street is suffering more than ever before with many ailing big names, from fashion retailer French Connection warning it will run out of cash within the next few months unless it secures a cash injection, to the ongoing struggles of…

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Who would have thought skinny jeans could be anyone’s undoing?

It’s not often that the business pages give you a good belly laugh. But today we have the spectacle of Marks & Spencer blaming its poor Christmas trading results partly on an oversupply of skinny jeans for men. Apparently customer surveys revealed that the high street bellwether’s ranges were “too…

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Blockchain – The technology pulling the jewellery industry into the future

“In two to five years we won’t be talking about Blockchain, it will just be one of those things that is a given,” says Leanne Kemp. She is CEO of Everledger, a global startup that uses the best of emerging technology including Blockchain, Smart Contracts and Machine Vision to assist…

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Signet jewellers joins De Beers blockchain platform Tracr

Signet Jewelers will be the first retailer to join Tracr, an end-to-end diamond blockchain being developed by the De Beers group in collaboration with the diamond industry. A project team at Signet will work alongside the Tracr team to ensure the platform meets the needs of the jewellery manufacture and…

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Augmented reality – What can it do for jewellery?

“Other retail industries are thinking about technological innovation in completely different ways,” says Jonathan Chippindale, CEO and co-founder of Holition, an augmented reality solutions and software provider, with concern, “and I worry that the jewellery industry isn’t waking up to this.” A recent survey of 1,000 shoppers, conducted by e-commerce…

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