The Jeweller Magazine April 2010 Issue

the

Jeweller April 2010

£6.50

Spotlight on ethical jewellery Children’s jewellery – A Growth Story NAG Education Awards 2010 The Jeweller is produced in conjunction with the British Jewellers’ Association

The Voice of The Industry

Spring/Summer 2010

Contents |

the

Jeweller The Voice of The Industry

C O N T E N T S

www.thejewellermagazine.com

A P R I L

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Material World

Communiqué

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Editor’s Letter

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Industry News

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The Jeweller magazine’s spotlight falls on ethical trading and the key issues of what is involved when it comes to

NAG News

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Member of the Month

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BJA News

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Opinion: John Henn

32

Industry Update

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Forthcoming Event

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Antique Jeweller

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IRV Review

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Appointments

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Display Cabinet

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The Last Word

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producing ‘jewellery with a conscience’.

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Greg Valerio offers a step-by-step guide towards

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ethical trading while Belinda Morris discovers those already practising it.

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BJA member Paul Spurgeon talks about his

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ethical jewellery project in Soweto I

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BJA Members explain how they design ethically The Jeweller Picks… favourite ethical collections

A Retail Jewellery Growth Story

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Josh Sims tells us how the children’s jewellery market is buoyant and one that is growing steadily year on year.

NAG Education Awards 2010

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this year’s graduates receive their diplomas

The Jeweller is published by CUBE Publishing on behalf of the National Association of Goldsmiths for circulation to members.

For further information about The Jeweller please visit: www.thejewellermagazine.com

at Goldsmiths’ Hall.

The magazine is printed on paper and board that has met acceptable environmental accreditation standards.

On the 65th anniversary of the Awards,

The National Association of Goldsmiths 78a Luke Street, London EC2A 4XG Tel: 020 7613 4445

Cover Image In conjunction with D for Diamond, To become an exclusive stockist contact Gecko Tel: 01376 532 000 Email: sales@geckojewellery.com Web: www.geckojewellery.com

CUBE Publishing Sales Director: Ian Francis Tel: 020 7833 5500 ian@cube-uk.com

www.jewellers-online.org

Art Director: Ben Page

Editor: Belinda Morris

ben@cube-uk.com

Tel: 01692 538007

Publisher: Neil Oakford

bmorris@colony.co.uk

neil@cube-uk.com

BJA Marketing & PR Manager Lindsey Straughton

Contributors:

lindsey.straughton@bja.org.uk

John Henn, Josh Sims,

Tel: 0121 237 1110

Greg Valerio, Jo Young

Although every effort is made to ensure that the information supplied is accurate, the N.A.G. disclaims and/or does not accept liability for any loss, damage or claim whatsoever that may result from the information given. Information and ideas are for guidance only and members should always consult their own professional advisers.

The publisher accepts no responsibility for any advertiser, advertisement or insert in The Jeweller. Anyone having dealings with any advertiser must rely on their own enquiries.

The Voice of the Industry 3

| Comment

Communiqué M I C H A E L

H O A R E ’ S

The NAG’s CEO considers the upside of youngsters deciding against university, hopes for the demise of red tape and ponders the pleasures of co-operatives.

A New Generation hen I first joined the Association I set out on the road to meet as many members as possible in focus group meetings. One of my favourite questions to my mainly middle aged participants was ‘What’s your exit strategy?’, meaning what are you going to do when the time comes to retire? Of course many answered I’m going to sweat the assets and sell up, others declared that they would employ a manager and retire to the sun and live off the income generated, whilst some planned to build the business and sell it as a going concern. A surprisingly large number hoped that one day a son or daughter would take over the business.

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young people who might have joined their family firms have been encouraged to go to university and develop professional careers.

Thus when I dug a bit deeper I discovered that many of the ‘kids’ who were the focus of their parents’ aspirations were in fact successful accountants, solicitors, advertising executives, you name it! In other words, they were well paid professionals, who wouldn’t be tempted away from their chosen careers by the prospect of running a small jewellery business. Certainly not if money was the only motivator, perhaps on ‘lifestyle’ grounds, but then only much later when the ‘high life’ had taken its toll.

Now, nearly ten years later, it’s a different story. With jobs in short supply, new graduates

In reality politicians are the problem not the solution.

After all, their very existence hinges on regulation, and getting noticed means drafting or promoting legislation.

I think the desire to pass a business down the generations is entirely understandable and many of our most successful members have done just that, with the result that the jewellery sector probably has more fifth and sixth generation businesses than most others.

But times have changed and many of the

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finding it hard to get appropriate posts and some commentators suggesting that degrees have been devalued by their abundance, some young people are concluding that a degree is not a ticket to instant success.

Add in the fact that getting a degree these days leaves you at least twelve grand in debt,

and many youngsters are deciding to forgo university and take up opportunities in the family firm. We believe that this trend is to be encouraged, not least for the health of our sector, and have already logged an increase in enquiries about training. With our existing portfolio of programmes and two new initiatives in the pipeline, we’re ready to prepare the next generation for leadership.

Tied up in Red Tape ast month I wrote about the vast outpouring of new legislation to do with employment law adding weight to the already heavy burden that the average business carries. This month I am pleased to report that most of the political parties agree, and are setting out their stalls in the run up to the election, with a tempting array of measures to combat the tide of red tape.

I remain sceptical, but during the course of one highly politically focused day recently I heard four politicians agreeing that this was one of the main issues.

First, to breakfast at the House of Commons where John Penrose MP, Shadow Minister for Business, extolled the measures that he would bring in to cut the British Burdens Barometer, as calculated by the British Chambers of Commerce. In shorthand they would include the adoption of a ‘one in, one out’ system whereby each new piece of legislation adopted would result in a corresponding piece being chucked out; second, a ‘sunset clause’ in the charter of every quango, which would prevent them regenerating themselves ad infinitum and lastly an annual review of thirty pieces of legislation, nominated by the public, trade bodies, and politicians from their top ten ‘most hated’ lists.

Next, it was off to The Law Society Hall, on Chancery Lane, where as part of the

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Comment | NAG Council meeting, politicians had assembled to give an audience of about forty members an insight into the reasons why they should be selected to govern. In the absence of a representative of the current government, which was unable to field a spokesperson, we heard from David Bannerman MEP representing UKIP, Lorely Burt MP, from the Liberal Democrats, and Lord Hunt for the Conservatives. Naturally, all three focussed primarily on the measures that their respective parties would adopt to rescue the economy should they form the next government, but what also emerged was a refreshing degree of consensus on the issue of over regulation.

Allowing for nuances of approach, all three were in broad agreement with the principles laid down by Penrose. Clearly they had been some ‘cribbing’ of homework at Westminster!

There can be motives other than the gathering of riches or establishing dynasties So, does this apparent consensus fill me with hope for the future?

The NAG has been in existence since 1894 and has spent more than a century interpreting legislation for members, so you might think that an end to red tape would be music to our ears. But when you consider that the first newspaper references to a ‘Bonfire of Red Tape’ emerged in about 1953, you can see that the fight has already been on for more than fifty years – and it’s not getting better. The notion of John Penrose’s measures being enforced by Kenneth Clark as head rottweiler at a better regulation unit may be appealing, but in reality politicians are the problem not the solution. After all, their very existence hinges on regulation, and getting noticed means drafting or promoting legislation. So I fear that while there is still a greasy pole for politicians to climb there will be more legislation not less!

It May Be Christian few years ago I was asked to speak at a dinner to coincide with the AGM of Michael Jones Jewellers in Northampton, and found myself seated next to the man whose business carries his name.

I’m not sure what those assembled made of my speech, but I thoroughly enjoyed the occasion because I got to discuss our shared interest in the co-operative movement, the John Lewis Partnership, and similar enterprises, with a man who had actually done it.

Imagine my delight then, when I received a copy of Michael’s book It May Be Christian – I think it’s silly. The title comes from the reaction of an elderly relative to Michael’s decision to turn his successful jewellery business into a co-operative and hand it over to his staff. Not an uncommon reaction I suspect, but whether you share his principles or not, there is much to learn from his book.

On one level it speaks about the trials and tribulations of developing and running a family business. On another it speaks about Michael’s decision-making process, the reaction of friends and family, and the pitfalls that lay in his path. Perhaps most compellingly it shows that there can be motives other than the gathering of riches or establishing dynasties.

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The Voice of the Industry 5

Comment |

Editor’s

Letter he sun is up, the sky is blue, there’s not a cloud… yes I know I said I didn’t want to talk

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about the weather, but the fact that spring has finally sprung is making me feel so much

This month: “Ethical is a good blanket word… it doesn’t define what is such a huge area and I don’t think you can be too purist about ‘being ethical’.

But for me it’s about using jewellery to change lives.”

perkier that I had to share it with you.

I haven’t taken my vest off yet (ne’er cast a clout, as they say where I come from) but the fake fur coat has gone back into mothballs.

And just as you seem to see more smiling faces on the streets as the weather takes a turn for the better, so the sense of optimism is filtering into the industry. I’m referring to the fact that just as we go to press The Fairtrade Foundation has announced the launch of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold standards – a certification scheme that ethical jewellery campaigners have been striving and hoping for. It’s good news indeed.

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And it coincides happily with the ethical theme that is running through this issue of The Jeweller. Increasing numbers of designers, manufacturers and retailers of jewellery are considering ways in which they can adopt greener approaches to trading. While this new direction is proving to be rewarding and challenging in equal measures, it’s obvious that contrary to once-perceived wisdom, jewellery-with-a-conscience is both beautiful and desirable… and with a feel-good factor thrown in.

And while on the subject of feeling good, this must be the state of mind of the very many NAG alumni members who last month came together at Goldsmiths’ Hall to collect

“Colour is a scope for exploration and one way to be original, which I think is especially important in this market now – that and being affordable…

their Professional Jewellers’ diplomas. In a special Education and Training feature we salute not just them and their impressive achievements, but also the Awards themselves, which turned 65 this year.

Belinda Morris, Editor If you would like to comment on any of the issues raised in this edition of The Jeweller or any other trade-related matters please email the editor at: bmorris@colony.co.uk

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The Voice of the Industry 7

| Industry News

Fairtrade and Fairmined gold standards are launched airtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) and the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) have launched the first ever third party independent certification for gold, opening up market opportunities for millions of impoverished artisanal smallscale miners. The new Fairtrade and Fairmined gold standards will mean that interested licensees can apply for certification of gold products such as jewellery.

Globally, over 100 million people who depend directly or indirectly on artisanal and small-scale gold mining are, say FLO and ARM, characterised by high levels of poverty and are trapped in unfair supply chains, and struggle to get a fair price for the gold they mine. The democratic organisation of miners, combined with added premium and increased access to markets, will allow miners’ organisations to improve the technology and working conditions at their mines, and also to develop community projects in education, health, environmental restoration and other forms of income. This would lead to more enduring and sustainable development in mining communities.

The Fairtrade and Fairmined gold will not contribute to conflict or violence – where certified organisations are located in

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conflict areas, increased economic stability, transparency and traceability from sale of their certified gold may help contribute to peace-building. In addition, the Fairtrade and Fairmined standard means that miners: • will get a better price for their gold, with increased security of the Fairtrade guaranteed minimum price.

The Fairtrade minimum price for the pure gold content in unrefined gold is set at 95% of the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA), fixing at the FOB export point.

• will receive a Fairtrade social premium, calculated as 10% of the applicable LBMA fixing. For Ecological Gold, that has been extracted without the use of chemicals and with strict ecological restoration requirements, an additional ecological premium, calculated as 5% of the applicable LBMA fixing on top

Responsible Jewellery Council announces healthy membership growth ohn Hall, vice-chairman of the Responsible Jewellery Council has announced that the membership of the RJC has grown from a total of 148 at the end of 2009 to over 190 companies and trade associations throughout the diamond and gold jewellery supply chain from around the world.

Speaking at the start of BaselWorld last month, Mr Hall said: “I am delighted that so many companies are joining… to advance responsible practices in the jewellery industry.”

One new member is the Danish Jewellers

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8 The Jeweller April 2010

Association, the first Scandinavian association to join the international, not-for-profit RJC. “[It] joins an impressive list of national trade associations that have made the commitment to support the RJC’s mission.

Others include the Union Française de la BJOP, National Association of Goldsmiths, the British Jewellers Association, the American Gem Society, Jewelers of America and the World Gold Council,” said Mr Hall.

“We have joined the RJC because we think that it is the right way to work with

of the Fairtrade premium must be paid.

• can empower themselves through their organisation. They can form groups to give themselves better bargaining power with traders, to get a fairer return for their produce, and gain greater control over the jewellery supply chain. Though the price of gold is widely known in gold mining communities, miners often receive less owing to the number of middlemen between the miner and exporter.

• must use safe and responsible practices for management of toxic chemicals in gold recovery, such as mercury and cyanide. Chemicals have to be reduced to a minimum, and where possible eliminated over the years.

Fairtrade and Fairmined gold will be co-labelled, bearing both the FAIRTRADE Mark and the FAIRMINED Mark.

responsible business practices in the jewellery industry and with our members,” said Christoffer Ritzau, CEO of the Danish Jewellers Association. “All our members are seeking to act in a responsible way and if we want to succeed in being more responsible we have to share international knowledge… and learn from each other.

The RJC gives us the platform as an association to follow this policy.”

Michael Rae, RJC’s CEO attributed the membership growth to an increasing recognition by the jewellery industry that credibly demonstrating responsible social, environmental and ethical business practices is vital to enhancing consumer and business to business confidence.

Industry News |

CIBJO President emphasises importance of traceability IBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, a keynote speaker at a seminar on the Global J-ID Management Label Scheme held at the recent Hong Kong International Show, has underlined the importance of traceability in the industry. He applauded the development of such schemes which he said “disclose to clients what they are buying and provide a jewellery item with instant traceability.”

The J-ID system has been developed by the Hong Kong Jewellery Manufacturers’ Association, in partnership with the Hong

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Kong Productivity Council. It involves a permanent barcode laser-engraved on an item of jewellery, which contains essential information about the item and the company that produced it. The barcode can be read using a specially developed J-ID reader, and customers can verify the information contained in the barcode on J-ID’s website.

“We deal in products that reflect people’s dreams, desires and feelings of self-image,” Dr. Cavalieri said. “This brings with it a very high degree of responsibility, for our clients will not tolerate a situation in which [these issues] are compromised by jewellery and gemstones with tarnished reputations. Our clients’ trust is the very foundation of our business. Full disclosure, personal integrity and traceability are essential to maintain our client’s trust. We have to disclose exactly what we are selling, from where the jewellery was sourced and how it was manufactured and graded.”

Oscar outing for Sabine Roemer’s 46664 Gemfields Zambian emerald bangles K jeweller Sabine Roemer created two bespoke 46664 Bangles (named after Nelson Mandela’s Robben Island prison number) worn by Oscar nominee Morgan Freeman and Invictus producer Lori McCreary on the Academy Awards’ red carpet last month. Freeman was nominated for Best Actor for his performance as Nelson Mandela in Invictus, a portrayal of South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory and its impact on bringing a nation together.

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The unique 46664 Bangles feature spectacular Zambian emeralds and were specially designed by Roemer, who has been creating one-of-a-kind jewellery sculptures for the Nelson Mandela Foundation for the past three years, helping to raise funds for the organisation. Freeman is already a fan of Roemer’s work, having bought the designer’s diamond-encrusted sculpture of Mandela’s hand.

Both bangles were handmade using locally-produced 18K yellow gold and platinum. The Zambian emeralds are from coloured gemstone mining company, Gemfields, whose focus is on the consistent supply of ethically-produced emeralds that have followed a transparent route from mine to market. All 46664 Bangles bear a unique serial number that can be used to register them online and, in so doing, authenticate them and track who has been employed through the programme.

Israeli diamond industry launches responsibility campaign he Israeli Diamond Institute (IDI) revealed Responsibility is Good Business – a new strategic direction for the industry in 2010 – at BaselWorld last month.

Speaking at a press conference, Israel’s deputy minister for trade and labour, MK Orit Noked said that Israel’s emphasis on responsibility coincides with its chairmanship of the Kimberley Process for 2010, especially at a time when the process faces challenges. She said that Israel would make every effort to strengthen and consolidate the KP in order to prevent its erosion and to maintain its relevance to the industry.

“As one of the leading international diamond trading centres, the State of Israel is aware of the moral obligation advanced economies have in promoting fair trade,” she added. During her speech, the deputy minister said that following a decrease in Israeli diamond exports in 2009, the fourth quarter of last year “showed signs of a coming turnaround” and that it is her department’s belief that “the international diamond trade will make a comeback” from the global economic crisis.

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Belinda Morris appointed as new Jeweller editor “ am delighted to confirm Belinda Morris’ appointment as editor of The Jeweller,” says Michael Hoare, CEO of the NAG. “It is one of the key positions in the Association’s communication armoury and Belinda is an experienced journalist who will bring wideranging experience and an enquiring mind to the role.” Belinda joined the magazine in 2003 as news editor and, as well as stepping in as acting editor on two occasions, has continued to write features for the magazine over the past seven years.

“Belinda’s appointment is well-deserved and we look forward to working with her as editor to ensure The Jeweller magazine remains the leading industry trade title”, said publisher Neil Oakford.

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The Voice of the Industry 9

| Industry News

Second Indo-European summit launched Delegates at last year’s Summit

he Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has unveiled the launch of the second Indo-Euro Jewellery Summit, to be held in Mumbai from April 27th-30th 2010.

The objective of this high level four-day meeting, held between a core group of 15 to 20 leading European jewellery retailers and Indian jewellery makers, is to encourage sourcing of finished jewellery from Indian manufacturers who are active at the entry, mid or high end of the market, and also to allow European distributors to discover the strength of modern Indian jewellery manufacturing.

Attending the first Summit were key retailers such as F. Hinds, Synalia (France), José Luis Joyerias (Spain) and Goldmeister (Germany). “The evaluation of the Summit clearly showed that European participants all very much appreciated the opportunity to personally meet and visit the leading Indian jewellery manufacturers, their operations and their various business models”, says Vasant Mehta, chairman of the GJEPC. “As such, the Summit helped our GJEPC members to showcase their versatility in the trade and provided an opportunity to form partnerships between India and Europe. We believe this is a winning formula, and we expect the second Summit to be as successful as the first.”

Apart from meetings between jewellery manufacturers and retailers, the second Summit will include an informative series of seminars, presentations and discussions. In the relaxed settings of the Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel, delegates will also find the time to network with other participants and the event will be concluded with a visit to the Taj Mahal at Agra.

Indian participants include Bombay Jewellery Manufacturers, Dimpex Jewels, Elegant Collection, Fine Jewellery, Dinurje Jewellery, Inter Gold (India), Intercarat Jewelry, Jewel Art, Jewelex India, KBS Designs, Mohit diamonds, Patdiam Jewellery, Priority Jewels, Shankar Jewels and Sunjewels International.

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Beaverbrooks is Sunday Times winner again or the seventh year running Beaverbrooks has been placed in the top four of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies Awards – this year the Lancashire-based jeweller came third in the list. Last year Beaverbrooks came first.

“To achieve this recognition again this year is particularly pleasing given the challenging year that we have experienced,” says managing director Mark Adlestone (who received a 90% score for staff having a great deal of faith in him). “I had expected that the fact that we have had a pay freeze, reduced staff levels and our colleagues have received lower bonuses this year would have impacted more negatively on our results.

“In many ways this has been the best result we have ever had,” he adds, “ as it tells me that our people understand and support the measures we have taken and still feel well looked after and involved. Throughout it all we have retained our core values and continue to treat our people with dignity and respect. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and humbled by this overwhelming vote of confidence from our colleagues."

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Clogau Gold presents £15,500 to Marie Curie Cancer Care

Ken Clarke to speak at annual retail dinner enneth Clarke will be the keynote speaker at the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Retail Industry Dinner, in partnership with MasterCard Europe. The Shadow Business Secretary, will address an audience of over 1,200 decision makers from the retail sector, Government and civil service at this key event in the retail calendar, which takes place on Wednesday September 22 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: “I’m delighted Ken Clarke has agreed to address this year’s Annual Dinner. Whatever the election result, 2010 will be the most significant year in British politics for a long time. Before September, there will be some hugely important developments. As a key player now, and a major figure in British politics for at least the last thirty years, it will be essential to hear what Ken Clarke has to say.”

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logau Gold celebrated fundraising success last month by presenting Marie Curie Cancer Care with a cheque for over £15,500 from the sale of a collection specially designed to support the charity.

Clogau donated £10 from each Daffodil pendant and pin sold in 2009.

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| Industry News

Craftmanship and Design Awards 2010 he 2010 Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship & Design Awards were presented in a ceremony at Goldsmiths’ Hall on Monday March 1st. Organised annually by the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council, with the support of the Goldsmiths’ Company among others in the industry, the competition embraces every aspect of the craft and design activity currently being practised .

Professor Dorothy Hogg MBE, one of the outstanding jewellers of the last 40 years, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award Medal. The medal is presented ‘in recognition of the recipient’s outstanding contribution and commitment to the craft and industry of silversmithing, jewellery and the allied crafts’. Still working as a jeweller today Dorothy’s work is featured in exhibitions and permanent collections around the world.

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Presented by IJL event manager Syreeta Tranfield, the IJL Special Award in Fine Jewellery was awarded to designer Krisztina Nemeth, whose winning piece was an innovative and stylish silver and acrylic ring.

UK-wide Summer of Silver

‘There is so much creativity and innovation in British jewellery design at the moment, and I could really see this reflected in the inspiring award entries this year,” says Tranfield. “Nurturing and recognising new and outstanding talent is a driving force for the industry… and we’re looking forward to showcasing the winning awards at IJL this September.”

The Best Senior Award went to silver polisher Trevor Goodfellow, for his outstanding high quality metal polishing and finishing – a rare moment of public recognition for the important contribution the polisher makes to the silversmithing industry. Lee Simmons, of Sheffield Hallam University, won the best Junior Award for his titanium and silver jug which showed competence and maturity, as well as a sophisticated use of traditional techniques and new technologies.

The Goldsmiths’ Company Award, which is presented to a piece of finished work that is deemed to have achieved the highest standards of both craftsmanship and design went to silversmith Kevin Grey for his oxidised silver and silver bowl, which demonstrated his mastery of laser welding.

Swarovski UK wins Employer of the Year 2010 warovski UK Limited has been named Employer of the Year 2010 in the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards. The scheme covers businesses sited in the Gatwick area and the event was hosted by Nick Hewer of BBC TV’s The Apprentice.

Hayley Quinn, director of Swarovski UK Limited, said “Swarovski prides itself on its heritage and craftsmanship and wants its people to feel equally proud and excited to be a part of one of the world’s leading brands. Swarovski believes in recognising that every one of its employees plays a crucial part in contributing to its success and has actively set out to be an Employer of Choice.” Sponsored by local law firm Rawlinson Butler LLP, the award is in recognition of a commitment to employees’ welfare and development – central to the success of a business – and that employee relations are a significant contributor to that success.

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ow in its third year, British Silver Week will promote contemporary British silversmithing to an even wider audience in 2010 with more than 15 selling events held in galleries and specialist shops across the UK, taking place from June 7. The launch event at London’s Pangolin Gallery on April 27, with show more than 100 of the best in silversmithing talent.

Exhibitions will be held at a range of venues, from London to Edinburgh.

Three contemporary silversmiths have been chosen to be the ambassadors of BSW: Olivia Lowe, Theresa Nguyen and Clare Ransom. Recently qualified from the Royal College of Art, Lowe is excited by interesting forms, design and a love of making. “I use photography first and then start sketching,” she explains.

Nguyen has a passion for making and she says that working in silver is an adventure.

“Directly hammering and manipulating silver enables forms to be organically evolved,” she says. Following her BA in metalwork & jewellery, Ransom has risen to win the New Designers Goldsmiths’ Company Award and others at the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council.

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| NAG News

Jewellers avoid credit card fraud with SaferGems alerts aferGems, the industry initiative to help prevent crime in the jewellery sector has prevented members of the scheme becoming victims of credit card fraud. To date, more than 60 alerts have been issued since July 2009, giving details of various attacks, suspicious activity and images from CCTV footage and of stolen goods.

Margaret King, who owns a jewellery shop in Glasgow, was alerted to incidents relating to fraudulent payments by members of an Oriental gang that had been reported into SaferGems. In particular, it was an image of the offender that stood out.

“We check daily for any alerts being sent from SaferGems, so when the man came to the window, I instantly recognised him and was on my guard” she said.

“He asked to see a ring worth about £950.

I knew that he could sense that I was aware of his intentions. He got panicky, made an excuse and rushed away” she added.

King believes that if she hadn’t read the alert, she wouldn’t have suspected anything and would have processed the payment as normal because the man was very tactful and convincing. “I feel very thankful as it saved me a whole lot of hassle. At times you feel so isolated. You get snippets of news from trade press but this keeps you

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“You get snippets of news from trade press but this keeps you well informed and makes you feel like part of a bigger body that is looking out for you”

Politicians attend NAG Council Meeting n Wednesday 10th March, the NAG hosted the first Council Meeting of 2010 at The Law Society’s Hall, Chancery Lane, London. On this occasion we opened the invitation to all our members and were delighted that many of you were able to join us.

Three politicians joined members at the meeting: David Bannerman MEP representing the United Kingdom Independence Party; Lorely Burt MP from the Liberal Democrats and Lord Hunt for the Conservatives. Each Politician spoke in turn to outline what their parties’ intentions were for the forthcoming election and how they proposed to restore the economy.

Guests were then invited to pose questions to the politicians which led to an interesting and informative discussion.

After the grilling, guests were served lunch and a tour was given of The Law Society’s Hall.

This was the conclusion of the day.

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well informed and makes you feel like part of a bigger body that is looking out for you” she said. “The alerts are extremely useful – the photos show you exactly what you’re looking for” she added.

Carolyn Bullen of The Jewellery Workshop in Norfolk shares these views as a similar incident has taken place in her shop. She was able to prevent herself becoming another victim thanks to the SaferGems alerts. “I’m quite impressed with the scheme and am really happy to have it there because when I needed it, I remembered the alerts” she said. “I make a point of printing them off for my staff to read too.”

The scheme was launched last year by The National Association of Goldsmiths and insurance brokers T H March.Michael Hoare, chief executive of the NAG says this is a clear indicator that SaferGems can help to prevent crime within the industry. “The payback derived from SaferGems membership is proportionate to the level of participation by the member and our experience shows that those who take full advantage of this service enjoy the greatest reward.”

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Edward Hollis Wain

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1943-2010

dward Hollis Wain was managing director of Francis Wain Jewellers, a successful, independent East Anglia based business, as well as being a lifetime supporter of the National Association of Goldsmiths.

He had a flair and a passion for the jewellery industry which started with his apprenticeship in 1961, in Croydon’s of Ipswich.

He had a zest for life, played hard and also worked hard, which was rewarded when he obtained his RJDip and his FGA. Edward always had a sense of adventure and following his apprenticeship, he went to work in the Far East and Australia to satisfy his desire to do something different and to further his jewellery skills.

In the 1970s he joined the family business in Dereham and in the subsequent years he opened two other shops in Kings Lynn and Huntington. His professionalism was always paramount and he went on to gain an NAG Management Diploma with distinction in 1976. Subsequently he gave his time as a tutor and giving advice when the course was remodelled into its present form.

Edward believed strongly in the NAG, and his commitment is demonstrated by his achievements. He joined the Business Services Committee in 1976 and was elected to the Council in 1977. He served on the education committee from 1984-1998. Edward was one of the first of 244 valuers to join the original Registered Valuers Scheme in October 1987 and was still an IRV. In 1993 he was elected as a director of the NAG, when the board was restructured, and he served as the treasurer from 1995 to 2000, when he resigned due to ill health. He was also a Fellow of the Association. In 2004, he agreed to become a trustee of the NAG Centenary Trust.

He possessed the rare quality of enjoying the aspiration of design and flair of jewellery, together with a knack of being practical and commercial within his own business. He was a very fair man who was able to look at both sides of every argument impartially and come up with a solution. He had an impeccable dress sense, always with a hint of avantgarde and more often than not flaunting a flower in his buttonhole. Life was not all work – his outdoor life was just as important to him as his commercial enterprises and nothing would give him more pleasure than to sail the high seas or to hunt with his local foxhounds.

He will be greatly missed by his family and his wife Jules – who has steadfastly supported him in both his business and personal life – as well as by many within the industry.

Edward Hollis Wain died peacefully on Wednesday 24th February aged 66.

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NAG Education & Training celebrates 65 years his year marks the 65th anniversary of the introduction of the NAG’s correspondence training courses and helping them celebrate the milestone were graduates of the 2009 education and training scheme. Held in the glorious surroundings of the historic Goldsmiths’ Hall in London, 76 candidates received their awards from NAG chairman Frank Wood, with friends, family and jewellery industry personnel looking on.

The champagne reception after the awards, was accompanied by a birthday cake that was almost (but not quite) too beautiful to cut into.

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Jewellery Claims plc e have been informed that members are receiving letters from Jewellery Claims plc, which purports to specialise in post loss validation and replacement services to the industry.

Jeweller Claims PLC appears to be referring to the NAG in its correspondence. We would like to make all members aware that we do not have an association with this company.

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New Member Applications To ensure that NAG members are aware of new membership applications within their locality, applicants’ names are published below. Members wishing to comment on any of these applications can call Harshita Deolia on 020 7613 4445 or email: harshita@jewellers-online.org within three weeks of receipt of this issue.

Affiliate Applications D B Jewellery Design (David Bell) Elstree

Allied Applications The NAG Centenary Trustees in October 2008: Anthony St John Steiner, Robert Vander Woerd, Fabian Pellegrini (receiving award on behalf of WOSTEP), John Henn, Edward Wain, Aidan Farrell.

H3-D Technology (Jack Meyer/Jason Holt) Hatton Garden, London

The Voice of the Industry 15

| NAG News

Member of the Month In the third in our Member of the Month series, Harshita Deolia talks to Harriet Kelsall, an NAG member since November 2006.

With two locations in Hertfordshire and Cambridge, numerous awards and a skilled team of degree-qualified designers and goldsmiths, Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design has fast become a well-respected business.

You’re very keen to ensure that the materials you use in your jewellery are ethically sourced, from the gemstones to the metals. How difficult is this to do?

It’s really difficult. When I launched the company in 1998 it was something I was always really keen to do. When I spoke to suppliers about ethical issues, they used to laugh at me and tell me I was in the wrong industry! But things have changed a lot since then. We were one of the first members of the Responsible Jewellery Council which has helped in getting the message out there about how we as a company feel about the issues – small companies can sometimes get left behind. It’s a two-pronged attack – working with the industry to look at the chain of supply, which will hopefully encourage the larger companies to change, and the other is to support fairly traded gold from the artisan miners. Every year we find a new supplier, so it means that gradually more and more avenues are opening up to give consumers what they want. It’s a very difficult process but it’s very important and although the solutions aren’t there just yet, the more you keep pushing, the more your questions get answered. The industry is in a much better position now than it ever was, and everyone can do something to make changes, no matter how small. Although not everything can be guaranteed as being one hundred percent ethically sourced, suppliers can guarantee some things, which is a step in the right direction.

With the recession, businesses have been careful with expenditure. Quite often the cheapest way to do something doesn’t always mean it’s an ethical way. How have you coped with this?

We’ve done really well – the company has grown because we’ve been so busy. In a

16 The Jeweller April 2010

recession people start realising what’s important and to many that has been marriage. Customers think a lot more about what they are buying, and although they may have a little less to spend there’s always a solution. Sometimes the ethical way to make a piece of jewellery is to reuse a piece that has been handed down – that way you make a saving and ethically it’s quite sound.

What part of your business has the biggest impact on the environment and what steps do you take to ensure that you limit it?

We’re pretty lucky that we make our jewellery in this country, we don’t import or need to fly back and forth. I think the biggest issue for me is the gold and gemstones coming out of the ground. We try and think about all aspects of our business and will soon be doing an audit of this so we will know where exactly we can make further changes. We do lots of little things, like making sure that the boxes we give to customers are really

nice so they want to reuse them and giving any off-cuts of ribbon used in packaging to local schools. All of us here are keen to do what we can – the little changes make the big changes over time.

You’ve had an online presence since 1996. Do you think that this has been a large factor in the success you’ve had?

Yes, I think it’s been very important alongside giving people what they want. I initially used the internet to upload pictures for a customer to see some designs; I had no idea what it would become though. Having a website for so long has also given us a good page rank and with a rural business, it means people can find us via the internet, otherwise no one would just pass by! To begin with, our customers were mainly people in the computer and medical industries as they were the main users of the internet at the time.

Any quirky stories about memorable customers that you’d like to share?

One of the strangest commissions we ever had was a pendant of a toilet roll! It was for a customer to give to his wife. Initially he wanted it to be the same size as the real thing but we persuaded him to scale it down.

Believe it or not, it turned out to be quite tasteful. It was all to do with a household joke – he actually proposed to his wife by writing on a toilet roll and wanted to give her a permanent reminder! Another story comes to mind: a customer had commissioned a ring for his wife and he was so impressed when he collected it that he came back to thank us fully dressed as a clown! We didn’t know it at the time but that was his profession. He made balloon flowers for all the girls and even for the customers – they must have been really puzzled about what was going on!

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BJA News |

Coping with the crunch t is just weeks since I took up the mantle of chairman of the British Jewellers’ Association and I would like to hope that it has been a positive beginning – not just for Mike Hughes, me and the BJA but for chairman of the BJA the industry at large.

The increased attendance figures and the generally more positive ‘buzz’ that surrounded Spring Fair certainly cheered a few hearts, but there is still great uncertainty with regard to the forthcoming election and the economy in general and this is undoubtedly dampening demand.

In any downturn, creditworthiness is always a major concern and even previously buoyant businesses can experience sudden changes in their status. I am therefore

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delighted to be able to announce that the Association is now an accredited reseller of Experian Credit Reports so members can check out both new and existing customers to minimise their exposure to risk.

These reports are available extremely quickly by simply emailing or telephoning the BJA team with the company details.

They will then download the relevant report and send it on to you as a PDF file for a cost of just £14 per report – a considerable saving on the usual price.

You may also wish to check out the various other discounted financial services provided by the BJA, many of which can offer real support in helping our members to cope with the crunch.

Kickstart returns to IJL he British Jewellers’ Association will once again be organising its ‘KickStart’ initiative in conjunction with International Jewellery London, which takes place at Earls Court from 5th-8th September, 2010.

This initiative allows up to 10 young companies, which have been in business for less than five years, to exhibit together as a group in the fair’s prestigious Design Gallery while also providing them with the assistance they need to prepare for a major international show.

“The BJA and IJL teams will guide participants throughout the whole process of exhibiting.

There will be a training day covering marketing and PR as well as a pre-event planning session together with plenty of help and advice on topics such as pricing and using the show website to maximum effect. We will also be organising a reception during the show to which buyers and the press will be invited,” explains Lindsey Straughton who will be co-ordinating the project.

There is a stringent selection procedure in place as participants must be able to fulfil a number of criteria in order to be eligible. The closing date for applications is 16th April, 2010 and entry forms are available now from Lindsey Straughton at: lindsey.straughton@bja.org.uk.

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British designers on trend in Munich ritish designers exhibiting with the British Jewellers’ Association through its London Jewellery Exports project at this February’s Inhorgenta show in Munich, were picked out for special mention by the fair’s own trend guru, the fashion journalist Irmie Schuch-Schamburek.

Images from many of the companies taking part in the group stand were used in Schuch-Schamburek’s presentation to illustrate the latest ‘in’ looks and some were picked out for particular mention. Flowers are a big theme for 2010 and Alexandra Simpson’s ‘Inspired Flower’ collection in gold with diamonds was thought to encompass the essence of this particular trend. Eastern Mystic was also lauded for its Malika Collection of highly ornate, chandelier earrings which combine 24ct gold vermeil with richly-coloured faceted stones.

“The stand attracted a lot of attention at the fair and was a great endorsement for all concerned to know that they are at the cutting-edge not only of British design but also in Europe,” said the BJA’s Lindsey Straughton who manages the project. www.londonjewelleryexports.com

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Materials guide he recently published CIBJO Retailers’ Reference Guide to Diamonds, Coloured Stones, Pearls and Precious Metals provides everything you need to know about the jewellery materials.

This clear, colourful and beautifully presented 136 page manual offers a wealth of useful information in a non-technical, easy-to-access format. It will provide an invaluable reference tool for everyone working in the industry and is also a perfect training manual for staff.

“This is a fabulous, up-to-the minute guide on the raw materials,” says Lindsey Straughton and we are delighted, to be able to offer it free for members.”

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The Voice of the Industry 19

| BJA News

Crime reduction to be main focus for new BJA vice chairman ary Williams, sales director of Brown & Newirth (B&N) one of the UK’s leading wedding ring suppliers, has become vice chairman of the British Jewellers’ Association. He was voted into his honorary position at the Association’s Annual General Meeting at Spring Fair Birmingham in February.

During the next two years Williams, who has been instrumental in building his company’s highly successful ‘bien’ brand and is a consummate marketer, will work closely with the BJA’s new chairman, Mike Hughes to deliver a strong business agenda and to create what he describes as ‘a tighter and more cohesive industry body’. However the main focus of his endeavours will be to try and tackle growing concerns about the high level of jewellery-related crime.

Commenting on his appointment, Williams who is a self-confessed enthusiast for the

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industry in which he has been involved for some 31 years said: “I’ve had a great life.

I’ve travelled the world, met some really great people and feel it is important for me to put something back. In any trade there are always ‘issues’ to be dealt with and at the moment, with the high level of robberies from retail jewellers, factories, reps and trade events, the issue for jewellers is security. My aim will be to work more closely with the insurance companies, retail bodies and the police to achieve a national perspective and to get results.”

This is not by any means the first industry appointment Williams has taken in order to ‘put something back’. Another passion for him is training and he has been working closely as part of the team set up by Peter Taylor, technical director at the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and the Skills Council to take occupational standards for

jewellery producers ‘by the scruff of the neck’ and deliver a training programme relevant for the 2010s. He was also closely involved in the government-backed ‘London Jewellery First Project’ and was one of those charged with overseeing its ‘Investment Plan’ which led to the launch of ‘London Jewellery Week’ and a number of other successful initiatives including the British Jewellers’ Association’s own ‘London Jewellery Exports’ project.

“Thanks to my involvement in London Jewellery First I got to meet all sorts of new people from different parts of the industry and especially designer makers and craftspeople," he says. “There was a great cross fertilisation of ideas and a sharing of knowledge and experience. The BJA has an important role to play in continuing to bring disparate sides of the trade together for the good of us all.”

Jason Holt recruited as the latest member of BJA National Committee nother new recruit to the BJA’s ‘National Committee’, is Jason Holt FGA. Holt is a man who wears many different hats. As well as being managing director of Holt’s Lapidary, a London gemstone specialist which won ‘UK Retailer of the Year’ in the 2008 UK Jewellery Awards, he is also a founder of ‘Holts Academy of Jewellery’ and co-founder of Platform showcase, all based in Hatton Garden.

Holts provides industry training to the UK jewellery industry in the heart of London, offering courses in traditional jewellery making skills such as setting and mounting as well as in contemporary CAD skills. ‘Platform’ – as its name suggests – offers a place where young designers can showcase their work. Both have been set up on Social Enterprises where the profits are driven back out, delivering support for the trade.

“I am passionate about keeping jewellery skills alive and about maintaining levels of training for the industry – this is the only way we can differentiate ourselves from our overseas competitors," says Holt, who has already received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for his work in the training field. “If I can help implement a greater training agenda at the BJA I shall feel privileged to do so.”

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20 The Jeweller April 2010

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Material

W rld How to be an ethical jeweller The question is a simple one and goes something like this: “I want to become more ethical in my business as a jeweller.

What do I need to do?”

This is not an easy question to answer.

In 2003 when I returned from visiting the artisanal gold mining project Oro Verde in Colombia I said to my colleagues at CRED Jewellery that we needed to set the target as a jewellery boutique to be one hundred percent traceable, ethical and fairtrade within five years. We all looked at each other knowing that it was the right thing to do, but to be honest we were all daunted by the idea as we did not have a clue how to achieve it. In April of 2009, six years later, CRED Jewellery delivered on its promise.

What this demonstrates is the jeweller, the jewellery brand, boutique owner, in fact any size and shape of jewellery company can make the change. Below are a few handy tips that I believe will help jewellers to achieve this.

Take your time over the change This may seem rather obvious, but it is true.

The difference between success and failure in matters of ethical performance in jewellery is not, as is commonly assumed, the inability of the industry to deliver. It is the setting of unrealistic targets, not hitting them, becoming frustrated and giving up.

22 The Jeweller April 2010

I am convinced CRED could have achieved the change a lot earlier if we had planned better. By setting realistic targets and time frames you can take the pressure off. In a recent market study I conducted on behalf of Fairtrade Foundation, a lot of jewellers expressed an anxiety about the pressure they were under and how they could not possibly make ethical improvements because of time constraints. However they also said they wanted to make the changes ‘because it was the right thing to do’.

The truth is, transforming your business to ethical suppliers and better ethical

MU by Made

What do you understand by ‘ethical jewellery’? The oftenused term can mean different things to different people so, with that in mind, environmental campaigner Greg Valerio underlines the key issues and the steps to take towards more ethical trading and Belinda Morris speaks to those who are enthusiastically standing up to be counted when it comes to jewellery with a conscience.

standards will take years, not months. It’s a journey, a challenge, an adventure and a business opportunity.

Understand the world you are about to enter The world of ethics and fairtrade in jewellery is still in its relative infancy and can appear at first sight to be very confusing. Whether it is blood diamonds or dirty gold campaigns, or the broader political and cultural drivers like the environmental crisis, global warming, conflict resources or the banking crisis, our world is changing. This means the

Material W rld | environment of business will continue to be shaped by these and other dynamics. A key to turn for all jewellers is the ‘physical traceability’ key. Without physical traceability in the supply chain, the ethical discussions that everyone is having have no teeth and no substance. This is the issue that everyone wants to avoid because no one wants to be seen as an emperor with no clothes.

Asking this question is the starting gun on the ethical journey.

Each material you touch will have a story and uncovering that story is the key to understanding the impact you are having.

environments and eco-systems all over the world. c) What is the economic impact of my supply? Are the people being paid a fair and decent wage, with time off?

Many jewellers are shocked when they find out that the majority of people employed in mining earn less than $2 a day, that many of the rubies sold in Thailand come from Burma (which is embargoed and therefore illegal), or that some large scale gold mining companies still ruin local communities and their environment in the name of profit. These realities are not very easy to digest for any of us, but they are truths we cannot avoid.

Involve your customers in the process This may seem counter intuitive but it’s not.

Understandably the big anxiety that jewellers face is ‘if they highlight attention to the

challenges and difficulties, will it drive their customers away?’ In my experience (this is born out through market research in other products as well), if you talk to your customers about the challenges and communicate to them the steps you are taking to address the difficulties that may exist, they in turn respect you for the progressive steps you are taking. This builds a stronger customer relationship, creates a positive halo effect and breeds customer loyalty. It also attracts the new intentionally ethical, fairtrade customer.

I hope that some of the tips in this short introduction are able to get people off and running. Feel free to contact me if you would like any more help – my blog site is beginning to list good suppliers and if you cannot find an answer to your specific question I am sure we can find it. greg@gregvalerio.com

Map your supply chain The key areas to give attention to when beginning to address the ethical positioning of your supply chain is: a) know who is in your supply line from mine to retail b) know the countries that you are touching through your supply chain. c) make a note of where you draw a blank or get no answer.

These are fundamental points you need to begin to ask to track your supply chain.

Whether it is diamonds, gemstones or gold and silver, each material you touch will have a story and uncovering that story is the key to understanding the impact you are having.

Ask three simple questions Once you have worked out your supply chain from mine to retail (no easy task) then you can begin to address the next set of questions: a) What is the social impact of my supply chain? This looks at the human rights, labour rights, indigenous rights, health and safety and freedom of association (such as the right to form a union) that are or may be affected by your supply chain. b) What is the environmental impact of my supply chain? Mining does not have to be a dirty business. All the products we use are mined and therefore our business has a direct impact on

Pippa Small

The Voice of the Industry 23

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| Material W rld sourced and workers offered a good wage, housing, travel allowance, medical care, daily hot meals and bank accounts set up for them. “It’s about empowering the people who work at Made, giving them a chance to learn new skills and earn a living for themselves,” says Cisilino. “It’s helping to break the cycle of poverty through the trade not aid ethos.”

“Ethical is a good blanket word,” says Pippa Small, who is a key designer for Made, as well of her own collections. “It doesn’t define what is such a huge area and I don’t think you can be too purist about ‘being ethical’. But for me it’s about using jewellery to change lives.” For Small this includes buying gold from a small Bolivian alluvial mine, where a percentage paid goes back into community projects, including health and safety issues like mercury management.

She also works with charities and organisations, creating collections not only to provide funds, but to raise awareness and direct work into communities. A trained anthropologist, Small is driven, above all, by “seeing people’s self-confidence rising – seeing them become skilled and talented.”

Made’s Cristina Cisilino working with a jeweller in Africa

Being an Ethical Jeweller The issues that matter It can be argued that doing something, anything, that indicates an ethical awareness, is better than doing nothing at all. But there is a growing number of designers, makers and retailers who are going the extra mile responsibility-wise. To them the steps required are clear.

“The word ‘ethical’ is a broad brush,” says Vivien Johnston, the name behind the luxury ethical jewellery brand Fifi Bijoux.

“But the FairTrade model is a robust one and it’s something that consumers understand.” Previously the head of design for a commercial jewellery company, Johnston saw the trend for conscientious consumerism in the fashion industry “but it was not really happening in jewellery and luxury goods – I constantly came up against blocks when trying to source ethically.

The lack of traceability when talking to producers was a concern for me.”

Besides issues of sustainability – “this is an extractable industry” – her personal values found Johnston “wanting to make sure that each person in the supply chain receives

24 The Jeweller April 2010

the maximum out of it and that the chain is not ‘top heavy’.”

“I would define ‘ethical’ as the aim of creating jewellery in a way that is socially and environmentally responsible, or, better still, positive,” says Christian Cheesman, business director and designer at Cred jewellery. “On this journey it is impossible to view any one issue in isolation. But it should always start with the transparency and traceability of sources and production. We are continually looking for ways that we can leverage more social and environmental benefit from our designs.”

“It’s difficult to understand how retailers can turn a blind eye and not question the ethics in their jewellery.”

Launched five years’ ago by Cristina Cisilino, ethical jewellery brand Made took an holistic stance by ensuring that the entire process, from concept to completion, is transparent. Sustainable materials – such as recycled brass and glass are ethically

EC One

“With our own collection, EarthAngel, our first non-negotiable is clean materials,” explains Michelle Tuck, founder of AvaSarah which designs, makes, wholesales and retails ethical jewellery. “We use only recycled fine and sterling silver. According to [the environmental advocacy group] Earthworks, whose No Dirty Gold campaign we have signed up to, even the careful small scale mining has its issues and the best choice we could make is recycled. We take this criteria to the Nth degree as we use only 100 percent recycled chain.”

London-based jeweller EC One is a pioneer in using conflict-free diamonds and stocks designers who use only ethically sourced gold in their designs. “However recycled gold is one of the most ecologically

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| Material W rld and socially responsible choices a consumer can make,” argues owner Jos Skeat. “As long as the piece is hallmarked we will often reuse a customer’s gold in a new bespoke piece. This negates the discussion around ethical or fair trade gold and can add weight to a customer’s feeling about a treasured piece retaining some of that emotion in a new design. Not all of EC One’s jewellery is made this way, far from it, however because we have the skills needed to recycle existing gold we feel we are offering something unique in the market.”

Fifi Bijoux

A question of source For London diamond jewellery company Wagner and Bond, the use of non-conflict diamonds is a priority. “It’s vital when I’m buying my diamonds that we’re buying from a secure source,” says CEO and founder

Wagner & Bond

Benny Wagner. “Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of eco-friendly issues… and we find that as a bespoke diamond jeweller, the nature of the service we provide dictates that we address those needs. And the customers’ awareness of their impact on the environment has inevitably affected trading for the better.”

And sourcing ethically, as Greg Valerio points out, can’t be hurried. “It has taken us nearly four years to source our 100 percent recycled silver and packaging and fairtrade gold,” says Lisa Ann Dickenson of LA Jewellery. “There is a slight increase in cost but we choose to take the rise out of our profit, so the consumer is not affected – this helps to spread the good word on ‘ethical’.”

26 The Jeweller April 2010

While some designers, like Dandi Maestro, who works with ‘found’ natural objects, embracing them for the flaws and irregularities, and Leju, which uses sustainable vegetable ‘ivory’ for bold colourful pieces, others, whose choice of materials is more traditional, have more of a challenge on their hands when sourcing ethically.

“You can’t just go to Cooksons and find recycled components,” says Sharon Walker, co-founder of hand-made eco jewellery label Urth (the company behind the label, Urth Solutions, ensures a portion of all profits is reinvested back into the communities where the gold used is mined). “Chain is difficult to get but we have found a supplier of recycled chain in Spain and findings have to be recycled or specially cast. And because you can’t get all the stones or materials you might want, you have to make some aesthetic sacrifices,” she adds.

As Made uses only sustainable and ethical materials it has access to, sourcing for their designers is not an issue. “This is why you will not find any precious stones in our collections, as it is extremely difficult to track their heritage,” says Cisilino. AvaSarah’s Tuck has come up against the same problem.

“Currently our only sticking point is ethicallymined coloured gemstones,” she explains.

“We are delighted with the family-run gemstone cutters we use in India, but as yet we do not have traceability on the stones before they come to the factory. We would like to improve on that side of the business.”

Consumer Awareness While for some trading ethically is a matter of personal values and conscience, there is a growing awareness that taking such a stance also makes sound business sense.

“There is a luxury value of knowing the provenance of a piece of jewellery,” says Fifi Bijoux’s Johnston. “Customers want to spend the time to learn how and where a stone or gold in an engagement ring was mined – it‘s important to them now.”

“When we started in 2003 we found that the majority of people hadn’t thought about the ethics of jewellery, so we were much more educational,” says Cred’s Cheesman.

“These days I think there is a broader understanding of fair trade and people realise Leju

Material W rld | that they can make a positive difference by choosing to shop in an informed way.”

At the fashion end of the market consumer awareness is more patchy. “We still have a long way to go to educate people,” says Tuck, “which is why it’s important to make the EarthAngel collection affordable. If we can get it out there, we can raise awareness.

We believe that we have a product that is desirable, emotive, ethical and very affordable.”

The fact that ‘ethical jewellery’ these days does not mean dull, worthy or dated, also helps the cause. “Made produces original, on-trend, fashion-savvy jewellery... and collaborations with top designers like Pippa Small, Natalie Dissel and Bex Rox elevate the brand,” says Cicilino. “When we have a piece featured in the press and it is not described as obviously ethical, that’s a great way of educating the masses,” says Madeleine King of Ecobtq.com which carries pieces by designers who work with fair traded and sustainable materials.

“I try to make accessible designs – quirkily mainstream and commercial,” says Johnston. “They’re fashion-focussed so that the fashion industry will accept them. That they end up in the pages of Elle is very positive – it means the brand is not being sidelined by the ‘ethical’ tag.” And, as Pippa Small points out, jewellery, ethical or otherwise, has to be beautiful – “there’s too much stuff in the world to make more stuff that isn’t wanted, worn and loved,” she argues.

“The pressure for change will eventually come from the consumer – young people in particular. People should be working together to find solutions.”

Industry Attitudes So why doesn’t everybody embrace ethical jewellery values? “It’s difficult to understand how retailers can turn a blind eye and not question the ethics in their jewellery,” says Cisilino. “However, these retailers are answering the demand of the market therefore we need to make sure that the public are properly educated in order to encourage the consumer to shop responsibly.”

While she understands their concerns, Johnston is occasionally frustrated by the attitude of some retailers she talks to. “A lot of them are honest and say what worries them,” she explains. “They may like and want to carry my jewellery but say they don’t want it in the shop in case their customers ask whether the rest of their stock is ethical… and they wont be able to say ‘yes’. But it’s been proven that people who choose to buy ‘fair trade’ aren’t hostile about non-fair trade products. It’s just about making a positive choice.”

“There’s a strong feeling that the consumer wants to buy ethically and this should feed through to the bigger companies [in the industry],” says Urth’s Sharon Walker. “The pressure for change will eventually come from the consumer – young people in particular. People I should be working together to find solutions.”

In a later issue of The Jeweller, Greg Valerio will look in more detail at the issue of recycled gold and silver.

The Voice of the Industry 27

| Material W rld

Giving African jewellers a hand-up not a hand-out Designer jeweller and long-term BJA member Paul Spurgeon is heavily involved in an innovative and ethical jewellery project in Soweto and is looking for UK backers to assist in its further development. here was huge excitement in Soweto last month when ‘NQ Jewellery’ – the first ever jewellery facility in the township – opened its doors for business selling a fusion of African and European designs made mainly in silver. The man behind this highly unusual micro-business is a talented twenty-something, Soweto resident called Nqobile Nkosi.

And the man behind him is Paul Spurgeon.

Paul’s involvement with jewellery-making in South Africa started last year when, following a chance meeting with an African exhibitor at the Inhorgenta fair, he was invited to provide some design advice to a project being organised by Vukani-Ubuntu, an

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crucial to the global jewellery industry. Paul jumped at the opportunity to provide some free consultancy.

“Young jewellers involved with the project were having difficulty creating pieces with appeal to a Western audience and it was my job to help them with their designs. I kept telling them ‘a little less giraffe – a little more style’ and it became something of a standing joke,” he says.

It was during the week that Paul spent working with Vukani-Ubuntu’s group of highly enthusiastic and talented young men and women in the townships of Johannesburg and Polokwane, that Paul met Nqobile Nkosi.

Nqobile Nkosi and Paul Spurgeon at the bench

“I kept telling them ‘a little less giraffe – a little more style” and it became something of a standing joke,” he says. established not-for-profit organisation working with disadvantaged communities in the townships to create jewellery products.

Paul is not an entirely disinterested party when it comes to Africa. His partner, Brigitte, is half African (her father came from the Belgian Congo) and both she and Paul have long felt the desire to give something back to the continent which – thanks to its raw materials – has for so long been so

28 The Jeweller April 2010

“Nqobile immediately stood out. He was hungry for success and with the very limited resources at his disposal had already managed to set up his own little company creating pieces of jewellery for a few private clients. I taught him to carve wax models and we got on extremely well together. He never stops asking questions and trying to learn and I could see at once that he had great potential,” says Paul.

Paul was determined to help Nqobile to realise his dream of opening a jewellery facility, making and selling locally produced designs in Soweto, and on his return from Africa he immediately set about raising the resources required. With the help of a number of prominent names in the UK industry, not least the diamond merchants Martin Dimond and Richard Haruni; the casting company ABT; and the tool suppliers Cooksons Precious Metals and Sutton Tools, Paul was soon able to provide the essential elements as well as funding for the project. Even Paul’s photographer Paul Hartley came up trumps with the donation of a digital camera, while he himself donated the models for many of his early designs.

They say that one good turn deserves another and this is exactly what has happened here. Thanks to an article about NQ Jewellery in a local Cambridge newspaper, Paul has been approached by Pauline Ntombura, a woman who runs ‘Salom Enterprises’ – a craft co-operative for women with AIDS in Kenya, which markets their products in Europe to bring them money and dignity. So inspired was Pauline

by Nqobile’s story that she is now arranging for him and Paul to visit Kenya in the hope of providing jewellery-making skills to the women she describes as ‘her girls’.

Another knock on effect of Paul’s involvement has been that Nqobile has in turn been approached for help by ‘The Key School’ for autistic children where jewellery making is now being used as a form of therapy.

Nqobile is making twice weekly visits to this establishment and with Paul’s help has assisted them in creating a range of fundamental designs using pliers, wire and beads. It is hoped to be able to develop their skills to a level where the jewellery they make can be sold to provide much needed funding to keep the school running.

Paul visited the school himself while he was in Africa. As they left the children sang them a song, the words of which were ‘Thank you very much, we try hard and shine.’ And they certainly do. “These people have so very little but they are so rich in spirit. It is impossible not to be moved and to want to help,” he says.

If you would like to help by donating either funds or materials please contact Paul Spurgeon on 01233 891181

the Embrace,

because love is a precious gift

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| Material W rld

How designer-makers can create jewellery with a conscience An increasing number of British designer-makers are striving to offer ethical jewellery collections… but what does that entail?

Lindsey Straughton quizzed three BJA members on what ethical means to them.

Leblas Fine Jewellery

Ute Decker – sculptural jewellery in ethical silver What is Bioresin?

Resin generally used in jewellery is a toxic substance detrimental to the environment and to the jeweller touching, filing and sanding such resin. The story of bioresin on the other hand is a bucolic delight. Made from sunflowers, a renewable resource, it is non-toxic and even certified as food-safe.

One of the special techniques I have developed makes bioresin resemble sponge coral – an endangered species due to environmental pollution and high demand from our jewellery industry. Many of my clients confirm, when buying studio jewellery, they are proud of their patronage of the arts and crafts and even more so if the work is created in an environmentally conscious manner.

On my website I share links to further reading, fact sheets for jewellers on nontoxic studio chemicals as well as a growing list of ‘ethical’ suppliers. www.utedecker.com

Ute Decker

30 The Jeweller April 2010

Arabel Lebrusan – Leblas Fine Jewellery Why and how do you use recycled metals?

There are several ways of mining precious metal and many of these cause excessive environmental damage and do not provide adequate working conditions for miners.

Gold, platinum and silver have qualities that mean they are durable and hardwearing and therefore most of the gold ever mined still exists above ground. Recycled gold supports 23% of the global annual gold demand. Jewellery manufacturers widely use recycled metals to support the demand of the jewellery market, melting together new and old metals from multiple sources.

At Leblas, we believe there are enough gold reserves above ground to support our business. We source from a single refinery that refines 100% recycled gold, silver and platinum specifically for us. The precious

Oria Ethical Jewellery

recycled metal is kept segregated from all other precious metals and is transferred directly to our workshops to be made into Leblas jewellery.

What is the difference between recycled and ethical?

Ethical gold mining is normally undertaken by small scale artisanal miners and can directly and indirectly create livelihoods for more than 100 million people. Smallscale gold mining provides jobs in remote villages, helping to fight poverty and prevent forced economic migration to urban areas. But this mining may also involve considerable risks for the environment and people's health. The best working conditions for small-scale miners are not always ensured. Small-scale mining can be a sustainable activity, but is unfortunately mostly carried out with little knowledge of environmental and health hazards.

There are however a number of projects successfully establishing artisanal based cyanide and mercury free processes and a soon to be FairTrade Approved mine in Colombia. www.leblas.com

Tania Kowalski – Oria Ethical Jewellery What makes your gold fair trade and ethical?

We have full traceability on the gold that we use. It is sourced from Eco Andina in Argentina – these are small alluvial cooperative mines, where: • workers are paid a fair living wage • the working conditions are safe • they do not use child labour • the gold is mined with minimum environmental impact, which means that these mines do not use toxic substances such as cyanide and mercury In addition, a premium paid on the gold is invested back into the local community. www.oriajewellery.co.uk

Material W rld |

the

Jeweller picks... e t h i c a l Inspired by colours, music, nature, different cultures and traditions, Toronto-based, Colombia-born designer Dandi Maestre creates hand-made jewellery using natural materials found on shores, in rivers, jungles and forests.

Shown here are one-of-a-kind rings made from sustainable tagua nuts from an exotic palm and bold coloured necklaces made from seeds. Natural fibres, shed antlers and rough emeralds also appear in her collections.

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IO E TE

Meaning ‘me and you’ in Italian, this German-made brand

by Daniela Kuehling uses recycled gold and silver (using optimal environmentally-friendly techniques) and fair trade, conflict-free stones. Included in the collection is a range of rings in yellow or white gold or silver, which allow the customer to choose her own stones, setting and personal script. Daniela, who previously worked in fashion and PR, will also design for other companies who are looking for complete fair trade production.

L

Using silver mined in fair trade co-operatives in Argentina and Bolivia, Fifi Bijoux’s ‘Two Hearts Colliding’ collection brings a touch of light-hearted, summer romance frivolity amidst ‘economic gloom and horrid weather.’

Also in the line are classic and contemporary engagement rings using fair trade gold and platinum set with stones from socially and environmentally responsible mines and cutting workshops.

LA JEWELLERY

Based in rural Wales, designer Lisa Anne derives aesthetic inspiration not only from her surroundings, but artists such as Gustav Klimt and Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the poetry of Dylan Thomas. Her jewellery is made from 100% recycled silver and, to lessen the impact of the air miles involved, La collects all scrap silver to be recycled, causing as little waste as possible.

L

CRED

FIFI BIJOUX

L

DANDI MAESTRE

L

The number of jewellery designers and brands offering creative, beautiful collections with a conscience is steadily growing.

Editor Belinda Morris presents a selection of her favourites.

The Yamuna Collection designed for Cred by Annabel Panes and made by Nepalese craftspeople is created from 100% recycled silver and includes the first ever Oro Verde™ fair trade gold plate. The collection, which offers a contemporary edge to Nepali forms, includes bangles, pendants, rings and earrings. Also in fair trade gold and platinum is Cred’s range of statement rings set with ethically sourced coloured gemstones and diamonds.

The Voice of the Industry 31

| Opinion : John Henn

You had to be there but ...

John Henn ponders on the matters for discussion at the recent CIBJO Congress, which, for one reason and another he had to miss this year. ou had to be there – but this year I wasn’t, and now it seems I was a little over cautious, as one week after the due date, our new addition has still to put in an appearance.

The event was the 2010 CIBJO Congress which was held during the Inhorgenta Jewellery Fair in Munich. On the agenda were some hot, cold and overdone topics which, after a Wiener Schnitzel, could put some people to sleep. But this year the industry found itself going head to head with foreign governments and the personal agendas of some very big players indeed.

To begin with Zimbabwe, currently outside of the Kimberly Process, (the international initiative to ensure trade in diamonds does not fund violence) is building a secure runway in the middle of its diamond region which, when completed, will ferry the stones via Harare to China – another non

Y

Delegates and speakers at the CIBJO Congress

32 The Jeweller April 2010

Kimberly Process country – which will introduce them into the world via some fairly obvious means. All the world’s diamond people are trying to prevent diamonds from the Marange district being traded until a monitor is in place who will be ‘actively and effectively controlling rough diamond exports from this specific area’. Historically there has been agreement with Zimbabwe and the Kimberly Process but it seems there are ‘substantial indications of noncompliance’. Ultimately these diamonds may be offered to us in manufactured stock and we will have to make sure we are clear about our views on them.

Next on the agenda were the two new terms to describe synthetic diamonds for those who don’t understand the word ‘synthetic’, and it seems there are many!

Men and women with endless patience have finally mediated between the various

bodies to come up with the terms ‘Laboratory Grown’ and ‘Laboratory Created’.

Somebody’s research claims that most of the public assume that synthetic suggests that the item is cheap (well today you can buy a 5ct round stone on line for $450 mounted – sounds pretty cheap to me) or not real. Unless further terms were found the producers were going to do their own thing. One eminent gentleman did suggest that if the public were asked to imagine this laboratory, they probably wouldn't conjure up a concrete silo with a row of five meter high furnaces. Having witnessed the same thing a year or two ago, I had to agree with him. I also agree that the word ‘synthetic’ when translated to other languages can give a confusing message, and so the lengths these poor mediators have been to in order to accommodate the agendas involved is extraordinary and on behalf of the nonEnglish speaking world… I thank them.

Do you remember last year when the UK (me) voted against the somewhat absurd suggestion that the word ‘saltwater’ should be introduced into the sale of cultured pearls at some stage prior to taking the money? Well, I’m sorry to say I lost that one.

In future we are expected to use the term ‘saltwater’ before ‘cultured pearls’ It seems that those in the saltwater business are feeling a little threatened by the freshwater boys and girls.

On the subject of girls (tenuous I know), whilst I have been writing this article – that is between the start and the finish – I am pleased to announce that we have had a little girl. Amélie was born at 7.19am on the 9th March weighing in at 8.2lbs or 3690 grams for the converted. Mother and daughter are doing well, and the teeth marks should not leave any permanent damage to my hands, arms and shoulders! There is definitely a story in the whole experience, but not one you may wish to read.

As a new life arrives, so a significant one comes to a close. Edward Waine introduced me to the NAG in 1998 during a beautiful sunny day at the races. We were both guests of DeBeers and, with his great smile and a large cigar, he put his hand on my shoulder and asked me if I fancied getting involved. Recently we were both trustees of the Centenary Trust – what a delightful man, our thoughts are with his family.

| Industry Update

City-wide events celebrate London’s diverse jewellery industry

sign up as Prestige Partners, with more brands lined up to join in the event, which has been organised by a newly formed group of industry representatives, including the BJA’s Lindsey Straughton, with event experience from previous years. Cindy Dennis Mangan of Dennis & Lavery Fine Jewellery is the sponsorship manager.

A new LJW website, guide and advertising campaign will be launched to attract visitors to events throughout the week (www.londonjewelleryweek.co.uk). In the meantime, everyone in the industry is encouraged to think about how their business would benefit from taking part.

Email: pr@londonjewelleryweek.co.uk

Consumer magazine launches

London Jewellery Week 2010 will take place from 7th-13th June in venues across London. elebrating London’s unique position in the world of jewellery design, production and as a retail destination, this year’s event is being led by the industry itself. A group of cornerstone events will form the basis of a week of activities, encouraging visitors to experience and celebrate London’s diverse jewellery scene. The range of events will include special collection launches, exhibitions, receptions, seminars and fashion shows.

The four key events will support new designers, feature established names and give visitors a unique experience of two of London’s traditional jewellery quarters: Treasure: a one-of-a-kind selling exhibition to be held at Victoria House on Kingsway, featuring over 80 of the best contemporary designers showcasing their latest bespoke collections. Email: ljw@treasureuk.com The Goldsmiths’ Company: from the UK’s premier and oldest supporter of the jewellery trade, Goldsmiths’ Hall will be the venue for a number of special events during the week, including the launch party, a Salon Privé fashion show and its renowned Day of Knowledge Hatton Garden: one of the oldest jewellery quarters will host the family-friendly Hatton Garden Street Festival, featuring open workshops, launches, activities for children

C

34 The Jeweller April 2010

and opportunities to learn about diamonds, stones, jewellery and the history of the area.

Green Street Jewellers’ Association: based in the heart of Newham, the GSJA represents the traditional centre for London’s Asian jewellery trade and will host a series of activities, including a sponsored prize draw.

LJW is supported by the London Development Agency via the City Fringe Partnership. Key industry participants have already indicated their intention to get involved, with the London Assay Office, BJA, NAG, the GIA and a host of others joining the cornerstone event organisers.

David Marshall, Pure Jewels and the London Assay Office have been the first to

London’s Green Street accounts for around one percent of total UK retail jewellery turnover and with the aim of increasing awareness further the GSJA is to introduce the first UK consumer jewellery magazine targeting the Asian market. The launch of Discover Jewellery will coincide with LJW when the Association will play an active role in raising the profile of their jewellers with a series of events.

PureJewels seeks designers for new platinum collection LJW Launch London retailer PureJewels is seeking applications from talented designers to create a new platinum jewellery collection, of three pieces – necklace, earrings and ring based on its heritage – for launch during London Jewellery Week 2010.

“We will work with three designers to come up with three concepts based on PureJewels’ heritage – Indian, African and UK themes,” said PureJewels’ spokesman Jayant Raniga.

From humble beginnings in east Africa, PureJewels is emerging as an key brand in the fast-growing east London jewellery quarter on Green Street, appealing to South Asian and Western tastes.

“These collections will be designed and manufactured here in the UK – a vanguard collaboration between the design, manufacturing and retail communities, breaking new ground in the UK sector,” Raniga said.

Designers interested in working on the PureJewels Platinum Heritage Collection should send their applications by early April to: jayant@purejewels.com

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A Retail Jewellery

STORY

Catching customers while they are young is a retail stratagem well recognised by retailers and, while Buzz Lightyear may be yesterday’s news amongst the ‘pester power’ generation, the good news for the jewellery sector is that the children’s jewellery market is buoyant and steadily growing year on year.

Josh Sims tells us about this growth story and discovers how designers and brands are responding to demand.

hen the jewellery brand Nomination recently considered where to go next, it took what might at first seem like an unexpected decision. With many other brands looking to create ever more exclusive lines, Nomination decided to think small – and launch a children’s jewellery collection. Its first for this market, Kiki is a range of cute animal character-driven designs out of steel, cubic zirconia and enamel pendants and bracelets.

That the children’s jewellery market should be a buoyant one – as, anecdotally at least, it is reported to be – might strike serious jewellers of serious jewellery as surprising.

As Harry Jacobsen of Jacobsen and Co, distributors of Little Diamond, Scribble and Me To You brands, puts it, “Typically they aren’t interested in kids’ jewellery and, unless some key designer brands enter the market, aren’t likely to be – it’s all just too cheap. And that lack of interest comes despite the fact that a large part of the industry has been looking for new angles for ages and now has found them not only in jewellery for men but also in jewellery for children.”

In fact, “most types of businesses, including jewellers, ignore the children’s market at their peril,” says Peter Jackson, of the Peter Jackson independent jewellers in the North West of England. “It’s not a big part of our business but it is important. Children bring parents in and they buy bigger ticket items.

But children also grow up…”

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36 The Jeweller April 2010

Feature | “The children's jewellery market is still a relatively new area, so there is a lot more to develop and explore," says Vicky Leyshon, head of design at Gecko, which has added a number of new and colourful styles to its D for Diamond range.” But it is not a fool-proof sector. Although good mark-ups of 2.5 to 3 times are possible, the competition is wide.

The fact that much of the product is accessibly-priced means that it can also be sold through children’s clothing and lifestyle stores, gift-shops, pharmacies and on-line with many such outlets often ready to take a smaller margin. Demand, Jacobsen argues, is also limited.

“It’s never going to be a huge market – there won’t be a kid’s Links of London – if only because lots of parents simply don’t want their children in jewellery, maybe for reasons of safety or of image,” he says.

“But it is definitely another part of business that retailers should explore.”

Indeed, with gold prices rocketing, retailers are increasingly considering any market sector in which silver (safe, affordable but precious enough to carry sentimental value and, should it be lost replaceable) remains

Just J

the business has “expanded beyond all recognition in 2009 and this year looks set to be even stronger.” The brand is set to announce a major international distribution

“Colour is a scope for exploration and one way to be original, which I think is especially important in this market now – that and being affordable,” says Yasmin Moss, Kit Heath’s creative director. “Children’s jewellery is an exciting area and a real opportunity for both new and established brands. We live in such a child-focused society now and the demand for nice gifts for them is on the up.”

The market may be seeing a growth spurt, but it is also going through changes that give rise to the question: just who is this category now aimed at?

Children ultimately of course, but adults may still seem to be the most obvious target, especially in relation to the traditional reasons for buying children’s jewellery – to commemorate an often religious rite of passage such as a christening, baptism, confirmation or important birthday, or to wear at a special occasion like a wedding. The dressing of children in jewellery is, from an anthropological viewpoint, an ancient practice, both an expression of mystical powers associated with certain gems but, more pertinent to today, as an expression of parental status.

“Children’s jewellery is an exciting area and a real opportunity for both new and established brands. We live in such a child-focused society now and the demand for nice gifts for them is on the up.” not only popular but the core material. This, with pre-teens largely unimpressed by more expensive precious metals and lacking the awareness of status and symbolism that jewellery can embody, is notably true of children’s jewellery.

With the gift market strong, greater spend on marketing and a growing fashion awareness of accessories feeding into that of children’s jewellery, it is no surprise that an increasing number of brands are launching specially to cater to this market.

Erica Illingworth of Molly Brown, one such children’s jewellery specialist, which launched only four years ago and whose best-selling Jelly Bean collection won Best New Product Award at IJL, claims that

deal in the coming weeks. Similarly, Kit Heath is already established in this market with delicate necklaces and bracelets based around the universally childfriendly themes of flowers, hearts, teddy bears, butterflies, animals and alphabet beads – beads being one of the biggest trends of the moment – with the focus squarely on the brightlyhued and eye-catching.

Jo for Girls

The Voice of the Industry 37

¯

Kids collection Tel 01271 329123 Email sales@kitheath.com Web www.kitheathkids.com

38 The Jeweller April 2010

Feature | Similarly, Kiki taps directly into pre-teens’ fledgling consumer psychology: the line is designed as a family of characters that enhances their collectibility. And that approach alone might be a tidy business: the brand launched its Composable Link Bracelet in 1987 – for adults – and the modern take on a traditional charm bracelet now has some 3,000 different links to choose from.

In many respects the children’s jewellery market – essentially jewellery for girls, especially in the UK – is increasingly emulating the drivers of the adult market.

The Thirteen Treasures

“The jewellery has to be attractive to the child but more so it has to appeal to the adult who is nearly always the one buying it,” says Harry Jacobsen. “The retail skill lies in making them aware that there is jewellery available and suitable for children and that it is a viable alternative use for money that could be spent on a posh toy or even a complete outfit. That’s down to carefully planned point of sale.”

But even that pattern seems increasingly to be breaking down: more sales are a consequence of both pester power and of children even buying jewellery for themselves – and with celebrity offspring the likes of Madonna’s teenage daughter Lourdes and even three-year-old Suri Cruise (Tom Cruise’s daughter) making it onto ‘best dressed’ lists, maybe this is no surprise.

The mini-me drive is, it seems, a strong one.

As Peter Jackson notes, there is a growing band of parents who, having run out of places to put brands on themselves, are now turning to their children.

“The distinction between jewellery for adults and that for children might in time even break down,” argues Darren McCormick,

Kiki by Nomination

managing director of DMJ, distributors for Pandora. “It used to be the case that they were very different worlds but increasingly you see mums sharing their fashion with their children, so I think we’ll see more crossover collections – those that appeal to both adult and child alike.”

Nomination’s new Kiki children’s line is, after all, also aimed at “adults who are young at heart”, as the company puts it.

With companies like UDoodle and AM Jewellery launching services that transfer your child’s drawings onto silver pieces chiefly to be worn by adults, shows just how integrated the two worlds, of jewellery for little ones and grown-ups, is becoming.

Meanwhile, brands are already having to respond with lines that are within the child’s own pocket (typically those in base metals, which Nomination says is a market to watch).

While £50 plus may not be ready money to your average pre-teen, pieces from the Just J brand, for example, attain more accessible retail prices by hanging symbolic pendants not on chains but different coloured ribbons (also allowing them to be worn around neck, wrist or ankle).

“Increasingly you see mums sharing their fashion with their children, so I think we’ll see more crossover collections – those that appeal to both adult and child alike.”

It is true that not everyone is convinced that price has yet been trumped as the most important factor in sales. “It is still a very price sensitive market, because the mindset of the end consumer is that the piece may well be lost or broken,” argues the designer of Jo for Girls, Linda Lambert, who suggests that although £60 retail price may be achieved for special occasion pieces, £30 is typically the optimum. “And younger children wearing these products are not so influenced by peer pressure and expensive advertising campaigns,” adds Sarah Clarke, of Donald Clarke Children’s Jewellery.

Some suggest that price will remain a factor as long as the children’s jewellery market is shaped (in the UK at least) by class issues: working and lower-middle class children are far more likely to wear jewellery, and to be bought it, than wealthier middle class children. And as David Hartley, national sales manager for beads brand Camelia, notes, at lower price points – the ground children’s jewellery occupies – the industry has a long, hard-to-change track record of buying and selling in bulk, with the value of unadventurous, ubiquitous product determined by weight alone.

Brand is still a novel idea. ¯

The Voice of the Industry 39

| Feature But, he stresses, the price issue is fading.

“The public is constantly looking for the next branded children’s jewellery concept,” he says. “The big one right now happens to be beads but the point is that it’s increasingly about brand. All big jewellery names out there will have an eye on the children’s jewellery market now, catching up with the fashion brands that have long tapped into the children’s clothing market. Many jewellers have yet to grasp the idea that in this sector price alone is not enough.”

“A keen price point certainly has been very important in this market but I’m not sure for how much longer,” agrees Natalie Morphet, product manager for Heaven Jewellery, which has been selling baby bangles for eight years and which last autumn launched a new bridesmaid’s jewellery line in solid silver, with freshwater pearls.

“Assuming it’s a well-made, obviously pretty item I think the end consumer is going to mind less and less about price. You see Pandora beads being bought for children now and they are ridiculously expensive relative to the norm in the children’s market.“ Indeed, even demand for bespoke children’s pieces is on the increase, as children’s taste becomes more sophisticated.

“Girls under seven typically tend to be into pink, sparkly designs, anything suggestive of princesses, butterflies and fairies. They’re quite content to wear cheap plasticky stuff,” reckons Anna Dimdore, the designer/maker behind The Thirteen Treasures, whose recent pieces for children have included a gold leaf hair-band, pearl pendant, mini tiara and Kit Heath

40 The Jeweller April 2010

D for Diamond

“Children are our mainstream customer in a few years – it’s about introducing them to the brand as a whole, something I think many retailers still don’t get. Many are still buying very classic, samey products.” coronet, the latter two piece being for wedding days. “But over seven and they quickly become very discerning. They start to have favourite colours and shapes.

They start to value objects.”

“Girls love the jewellery mainly because these days they buy into the whole brand business from a very young age – whether we like that or not,” says Molly Brown’s Illingworth. “One reason all of our jewellery features our silver logo tag is because

girls want to be seen wearing a piece of Molly Brown jewellery. It adds to the value of the brand and building brand awareness with both adults and children is equally important to us.”

Such is the brand power of some children’s jewellery brands that Vogue, without tongue in cheek, cited Molly Brown as ‘Tiffany for girls’, just as Camelia has been namechecked in the likes of Grazia and InStyle.

Or that, as Sarah Clarke notes, Pandora has proven such a hit despite being based on an idea pioneered by Troll Beads – Pandora has simply been better marketed. Brand is why Nomination launched Kiki – “not least because the children’s market has a huge future in branded goods, but because it’s about building a long-term brand loyalty as well,” says Alessandro Gensini, the company’s fashion director. “Children are our mainstream customer in a few years – it’s about introducing them to the brand as a whole, something I think many retailers still don’t get. Many are still buying very classic, samey products.”

It is in response to the same brandconsciousness that Camelia owns and maintains the exclusive rights to produce Disney-related beaded product. “It’s valuable enough for us to pay the royalties,” says

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| Feature David Hartley. “A licence captures children’s interest and association with a brand the size of Disney gives credibility. But a license has to be relevant for it to dovetail nicely with the children’s jewellery market – and there aren’t many that can do that.”

A license is, arguably, an obvious path into a child’s nascent consumer brain. But these days it does not take much persuasion to transmute identification into desire.

“Increasingly, children have strong opinions of what they do and don't like – even if they're not shopping on their own yet,” says Leyshon. “And they definitely want to follow the jewellery trends that they see their mums wearing.” “They’re also influenced by people they look up to in music and on TV. If they’re spotted wearing a certain look, it’s going to be something they are drawn to,” adds Gensini.

In other words, in time children’s jewellery is as likely to be as subject to fashion changes as the adult market, giving rise to particular design challenges. Quality is likely to be an increasingly important factor, not least because consumers want such gifts to last but, says Lambert of Jo for Girls, “especially since design differentiation in children’s jewellery is now very hard to pull off.”

She argues that a balance needs to be struck between designs that obviously appeal to children (the brand sometimes takes its inspiration from comics) and those that appeal to the adults typically buying the items.

Donald Clarke

42 The Jeweller April 2010

Molly Brown

“Children want two things at once – something fun but which also imitates what mum might wear,” she says. “It’s not surprising the designers get it wrong sometimes.”

And yet try they must. Gensini suggests that a rapid change of styles is even set to become more important to the children’s jewellery market than it is in that targeting adults, which will knock more traditional pieces into the shade for all but the baby market. “Kids today get bored quickly – so it’s important to create something they can relate to and identify with, and collections which evolve and grow with them as they grow up,” he says. This is likely to be especially true of the most under-developed

“More and more kids know what they want from a young age and develop their own strong feelings towards certain products early on.” part of the market: catering to children on the cusp of teenage years, in that taste space between child and adult.

Sarah Clarke of Donald Clarke even argues that this will be the sector’s next major growth area. The brand best able to meet the complications of designing for a market not yet sold on classicism but bored with bears and butterflies is likely to swiftly attain market dominance. “Lots of colour and cuteness are undoubtedly the mainstay of design for the kid’s jewellery market – for the moment. But you have to recognise that teddies, ladybirds and similar designs are now massively catered for and that brands need to explore new ways of standing out,” she says.

“With that crossover demand, the market still has an important and largely vacant gap for more sophisticated children’s designs,” she adds. “It’s not an easy market to design for – the balance is hard to pull off and collections for that age have to keep moving forward because at that age children are trend-aware. But that’s the next chapter for the market. And, given the amount of money we now spend on our children, that someone will fill it successfully I seems inevitable.”

baby

FREEPHONE: 0800 328 5704 Email: sales@watchstraps.biz Website: www.silverjewellerybella.com

The Voice of the Industry 43

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Forthcoming Event |

BJA members set to shine at BCTF Members of the British Jewellers’ Association will be well represented at the 34th British Craft Trade Fair which takes place in Harrogate this month. “

his is an important show for many of our designer-maker members,” says the BJA’s Lindsey Straughton. “Once the haunt of gallery and craft shop buyers, the BCTF is increasingly visited by more traditional jewellery retailers looking for products that are a little different and I would urge readers of The Jeweller who have never visited the show to take a look.”

The BJA has strong links with the BCTF, which takes place at the Harrogate Show Ground on 11th-13th April, 2010. Not only does it sponsor an annual prize for the ‘Best Jewellery Product’ on display it is also, thanks to a deal with the show organisers PSM, able to offer member exhibitors a ten percent discount off the price of their stand.

“As the small selection of products shown demonstrate, the BCTF offers a truly eclectic mix of pieces all of which are designed and produced here in the UK. It is a huge repository for home grown talent and buying here is a great way for retailers to support the very best of British,” says Straughton.

For a full list of BJA members exhibiting at the BCTF please visit www.bja.org.uk

T

Rachel Helen Designs (Stand 241) has three distinct collections ‘JuniperTree’: using recycled materials, ‘Precious’: bespoke designs in gold and gemstones and ‘Night Shade’ (pictured) incorporating silver and crystals. www.rachelhelendesigns.com

Dot Sim (Stand 188) creates distinctive swirling, sterling silver designs inspired by her rural Scottish environment – from windswept beaches to stormy seas. www.dotdotsim.com

Hazel Atkinson Jewellery (Stand 114) is offering a number of new designs within its popular and brightly coloured ’Heaven and Earth’ collection of anodized aluminium jewellery. Trade prices are £16 per bangle with a free ring for all orders placed during the show. www.hazelatkinsonjewellery.co.uk

Becky Crow (Stand DE 385) offers unique hand-cut designs incorporating patterns drawn freehand through the gold leaf. This ‘reaching for the rushing wind’ brooch in silver and 22ct gold leaf has a RRP of £128. www.beckycrow.co.uk

Cathy Newell Price (Stand DE 214) offers silver jewellery inspired by flowers, birds, textiles and architecture. Her designs are embellished with gold, enamel and colourful gems. Pictured are her best-selling birds and hearts on cord. www.cathynewellprice.co.uk

The Voice of the Industry 45

| Antique Jewellery I n

a s s o c i a t i o n

w i t h

F e l l o w s

&

S o n s

Antique JEWELLERY Hoarding Treasure Jo Young takes a look at the Cheapside Hoard, the largest and most important collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery in the world, soon to be shown to the public in its entirety for the very first time. rior to the discovery of the so-called Staffordshire Hoard, a collection of Anglo-Saxon jewellery and artefacts found by a metal detector enthusiast in a farmer’s field in July last year, the Cheapside Hoard was undoubtedly the most famous jewellery ‘find’ in the country. Indeed, the Cheapside Hoard remains the most important collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery to be found anywhere in the world, and is one of the greatest prizes in the Museum of London’s collection.

The story of the Hoard is – for those of you who’ve not yet heard it – the stuff of which legends are made. On June 18 1912,

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between Bread Street and Wood Street on London’s Cheapside – today a largely unremarkable thoroughfare leading from St Paul’s Cathedral at one end and Lombard Street the other, but once the centre of the jewellery trade – a group of workmen were busy tearing down a series of timber houses that had stood on the site since the 17th Century. As the cellar floor was being broken up, a workman realised that he had struck the remains of a wooden casket.

As he scraped the soil aside and the box was opened, it was found to contain rather a large and clearly valuable selection of jewellery and gemstones.

Selection of chains from the Cheapside Hoard. From top to bottom: Gold chain of flowers, enamelled white and set with table cut diamonds; gold chain enamelled and set with amethysts, fancy-cut on front and trap-cut on back; Gold chain enamelled and set with cabochon and star-cut emeralds; Gold neck chain enamelled white and blue and set with table-cut yellow garnets (hessonite); Gold chain enamelled and set with amethysts, fancy-cut on front and trap-cut on back.

46 The Jeweller April 2010

Gold scent bottle enamelled white and set with opaline chalcedony plaques, rubies, spinels and diamonds, with a gold suspension chain. This richly decorated bottle was designed to contain perfume made from flower distillations and spices, which were widely used at the time to disguise unpleasant odours. Indeed, one of Shakespeare’s sonnets refers to a bottle of this type, which he described as being filled with “summer’s distillation left/A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass/Beauty’s effect with beauty were bereft”. (1502AD – 1625AD).

The circumstances of the find itself are slightly murky, it must be said: this may have something to do with the fact that several of the 500 or so pieces found were ‘liberated’ by the workmen in question before the discovery could be reported to the foreman; some even made their way onto the jewellery market before being recovered as part of the Cheapside find.

The importance of the Cheapside Hoard cannot, really, be overstated. Hazel Forsyth, the senior curator in charge of the Museum of London (where the majority of the collection now lives, with the exception of a small number of pieces on display in the British and Victoria and Albert Museums) puts it quite succinctly when she says, “The Hoard is the finest collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery in the world. It’s probably the most remarkable find ever recovered from British soil.”

All images in this article courtesy of the Museum of London

The Cheapside Hoard, which was found accidentally by workmen on the City of London thoroughfare, is the greatest hoard of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery in the world.

Back then of course, Cheapside was at the very heart of the City of London’s teeming commercial district (the word ‘cheap’ itself meant market in medieval English). Indeed, some of the street names in the area that survive today offer colourful and imaginative testament to what Cheapside must have been like when the Hoard was first hidden: Great Swan Street, Bread Street, Honey Lane, Ironmonger Lane and, of course, Poultry.

The area was a very popular one for jewellers: from the early 14th century Cheapside was the commercial and retail centre of the goldsmiths trade. Goldsmiths Street sold exactly the kind of goods that the name would suggest (back in the day when traders congregated together, all similar sellers trading from the same location).

As you will no doubt know, the Goldsmiths’ Hall still stands just off Cheapside: this area was, if you will, the epicentre of the city’s jewellery trade from the 15th century right

through to the 17th Century, when the collection was buried and forgotten about.

The actual identity of the person who buried the Cheapside Hoard is, to this day, not known (although the curators at the Museum of London are understood to be at work trying to uncover the individual’s identity). However, it is widely assumed, naturally, that the Hoard originally belonged to (and was hidden by) a prosperous trading jeweller. The location of the find is, of course, not the only signifier. The Hoard includes some fine examples of finished pieces of jewellery – earrings, long, enamelled necklaces and gold stone-set rings, for example – but also includes several unfinished pieces, as well as loose stones and other articles. There are even several Roman objects in amongst the newly-finished items; gems, Roman carved stones and rock crystal that came from the Rhineland. These are all clues that clearly indicate that the owner was in the trade:

the Hoard offers, in essence, a snapshot of what a jeweller’s stock would look like from this period.

The fact that much of the collection appears to have been newly finished and unworn at the time of its being hidden is, in some ways, part of the reason for its importance and its appeal. Complete, undamaged jewellery pieces from this period are extremely rare; enamelled pieces (of which there are several in the Cheapside Hoard) are notoriously easily damaged so it is fair to say that most antique jewellery dealers will never see such high quality pieces as these in their professional lifetime.

As one dealer put it, “The most amazing thing from an antique jewellery dealer’s point of view are the chains, which simply do not survive. Personally, I’ve never, ever known a complete enamelled chain come onto the market, and in the Hoard there are several.

They were brand new when they were buried and lost, which is why they are the

The Voice of the Industry 47

¯

| Antique Jewellery

Hat ornament, in the form of a salamander. 16th-17th Century.

Hat ornament in the form of a salamander with cabochon emeralds and table-cut diamonds, several of which are missing. The ornament is set in gold, and has two curved and overlapping pins at the back, which were used for attachment. The tongue is missing. Tudor and Jacobean hat jewels often expressed the sentiments or the sporting, spiritual and cultural interests of the wearer. The salamander had an emblematic significance, since it was thought that the creature could pass through fire without harm by exuding a milky substance which moistened its skin. Fashions in Renaissance jewellery were international and the salamander appears elsewhere, particularly in Spain and, as here, in England.

most ‘mint’ examples of jewellery from this period to be found anywhere in the world”.

Another of the more amazing things about the Hoard, as far as the modern observer is concerned, is the sheer geographic scope of the collection. Within the Hoard can be found gemstones from all over the world: garnets from India, emeralds from Columbia, turquoise sourced from Iran. When you consider the period in which this collection was being put together, the breadth of the London jewellery trade’s global reach is nothing short of breathtaking.

Of course, this was the time that Britain was getting its first taste for colonialism: one of Elizabeth I’s greatest passions and, arguably, her triumphs, was in sending intrepid explorers to far-flung locations around the world, furthering the English reputation for power and wealth and securing, moreover, its dominant position as a global trading partner. The Cheapside Hoard, in effect, tells the story of this expansionist ambition in microcosm – in jewels.

Tragically, really, the collection has barely seen the light of day – at least in its entirety – in recent decades. Though some pieces of the collection have been exhibited together (namely, a small number of enamelled necklaces and one or two Jacobean gem-set rings), the Cheapside Hoard has, somewhat remarkably, never been displayed in its entirety, or even been completely catalogued.

However, in a second very exciting move for London’s jewellery lovers (following the opening of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s

48 The Jeweller April 2010

newly revamped jewellery galleries last year), the curators at the Museum of London are planning a series of events around the Cheapside Hoard, which are due to take place in 2012 – the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the collection under those dusty Cheapside floorboards. Not only will the Museum be putting on a major new exhibition and producing a book to go with it, but a team of archeologists have already been back on the site of the original find, hoping to find out more about the history of the goldsmiths’ trade exactly where it once stood. Sadly, no more jewellery has been found, but several new discoveries about the history of the industry have been made, and the exhibition itself looks set to be a very interesting one

Fellows & Sons

both from a jewellery and simply a historical point of view.

One can only hope that this project will involve putting the whole (or at least the majority) of the Cheapside Hoard on display, in the Museum of London’s newlyrevamped exhibition halls. The Museum’s Forsyth is enouragingly ambitious: her aspiration is to ensure the Hoard gets the public recognition it deserves. “I want it to be fully known and as accessible to as wide an audience as possible,” she says Given its international fame, the emergence of the Hoard from the shadows of the Museum of London’s strongrooms will be a very exciting development indeed, and one to which lovers of antique jewellery will no doubt flock.

(Est. 1876)

Forthcoming Auctions

• Antique & Modern Jewellery – Thursday 8th April, Thursday 20th May • Wrist & Pocket Watches – Monday 12th April • Furniture, Clocks, Pictures, Porcelain and Collectables – including gemmological equipment from Gem A and the Reference Library Collection on Jewellery, and Watches belonging to David Callaghan – Tuesday 13th April • Secondhand Jewellery & Watches – Thursday 15th & Thursday 29th April, Thursday 13th & Thursday 27th May, Thursday 10th & Thursday 24th June • Silver, Plated Ware, Coins and Medals – Monday 24th May • Costume and Silver Jewellery, Memorial Jewellery, and Novelties – Monday 24th May A catalogue is available at www.fellows.co.uk or by post.

Online bidding is available at www.the-saleroom.com/fellows For further information please call 0121 212 2131.

The Voice of the Industry 49

NAG Institute of Registered Valuers R

E

V

I

E

W

The Assessment of Lost Property A reminder of the process involved in helping customers who have experienced a loss or theft of jewellery. ollowing a loss or theft, an insurance company may request a description and an estimate of the replacement price for the missing items. Such work should be correctly referred to as a POST-LOSS ASSESSMENT (PLA). It must not be called a VALUATION, as you cannot value what you have not seen. The following points may help you prepare the document in a competent and professional manner.

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General • Always make an appointment, even if it is only to ‘come back in ten minutes’ or show them to your ‘waiting area’.

You are a professional and this allows you time to gather relevant equipment together.

• Have the clients made a comprehensive list of the lost property? They should be advised when they come in or telephone to make an appointment, of the benefits of saving time and of remembering everything that is missing. This list should include as full a description as possible, with sketches. Colour, number and size of stones. Age. How long owned. When and where bought.

Price paid. Length of necklets and caratage of gold, etc. Receipts, valuations and photographs should also be brought as all can assist in arriving at the correct figure.

• Agree a method of charging, preferably

50 The Jeweller April 2010

•

•

•

•

•

on a time basis or a price per item.

When noting the client’s name, address and telephone number also add the details of the insurance company or loss adjusters and claim reference numbers.

Make your list in a similar style to a valuation schedule. Always start with a heading, e.g. Ring, Brooch, Watch, etc.

Don’t be afraid to use wording like ‘thought to be’; ‘possibly 18ct gold’; ‘stated to be sapphire’; ‘probably’; ‘considered’; etc.

Think of what you see in your work as a jeweller/valuer. Platinum jewellery is quite a rare sight, and only about 5% of most jewellery is 18ct gold. Twenty-two carat is normally seen only in wedding rings, and most of those are pre-1970.

Show illustrations or examples to get an idea as to style, shape, pattern and size, etc. Use manufacturers’ and mail order catalogues whenever possible.

Assessing gem-set jewellery • Use a millimetre gauge or other slide gauge to determine width of bracelets and chains, size of lockets, signet heads, etc.

• Observe caution when and if the occasion requires that it is appropriate to show items of stock. Was it like this?

What colour was the sapphire? View the differing colours of ruby and garnet.

•

Try not to show the price tickets if you can so as not to inadvertently influence the client’s recall of size and value.

Showing items of stock as part of an appraisal on a regular basis is not recommended.

If you have ‘Gemset’ or an equivalent colour grading system you could show the client the many various shades of differing colour and could thereby establish the approximate colour of that missing sapphire or ruby, but just as importantly, you can certainly establish the colour it was not.

Assessing necklets • If you have a cultured pearl comparison necklet or a necklace it will help the assessment if the client can select the colour, lustre and surface purity, etc of the lost necklace and a simple calculation soon establishes the current price range.

• For necklet lengths, have a metre of rolled gold belcher chain or something similar and flexible to put around the neck. Get the customer to stand in front of the mirror and adjust it to what they think was the right length.

• Have pictures of samples of chain pattern ready to show.

Assessing watches • Is the customer certain beyond reasonable doubt that it was ‘Rolex’ and not ‘Rotary’ on the watch dial?

• If it was a gold watch, was the colour of the back of the case gold or grey?

If it was grey, this would have been a steel back with a gold-plated front.

IRV Review | Prices • Try to find out what was paid and when.

• Be realistic. It is unlikely and unusual for an engagement ring, bought by a young couple, to have cost more than a month’s wages – usually a lot less.

• All assessed prices should make reference to the basis for that assessment, namely new, second-hand, antique, etc.

• There are figures, published by the Government, of the retail price index.

The easiest way of obtaining these is to use the chart indicating the values of index-linked National Savings certificates available at www.nsandi.com (www.statistics.gov.uk) and the NAG Institute Registered Valuer Inflation Factor Calculator and Historical Gold Price sheets.

Post-Loss Assessment Letter The letter written to the customer should be a special Post-Loss Assessment letter.

Do not mention the word ‘valuation’ or use a valuation schedule. Two copies should be provided for the customer, a top copy for them (with the NAG Institute Registered Valuer seal on it if the assessment has been compiled by an NAG Institute Registered Valuer) and a photocopy for the insurance company. A third copy must be kept in a special file of your own together with all relevant working notes, etc where they can be found quickly when the insurance company telephones to discuss the claim. Unless you use your PC, it is probably more convenient to have a standard letter already photocopied with the usual disclaimers, and with a space to fill in the list of missing items. It must above all state that all the prices given have been based wholly on the information provided by the client. Use the same font so that a professional and coherent ‘look’ is obtained. Sign your name at the end of the list of items so that nothing can be added in afterwards without it being obvious.

Enclose an insurance replacement services leaflet to the effect that the customer can come back to you to replace the items, and need not use the jeweller recommended by the insurance company (depending on their policy). Stress the refund of the fee paid if you operate this scheme.

Sample Insurance Replacement Services Leaflet XYZ Jewellers Insurance Replacement Services Note: Whilst we will be pleased to provide post-loss assessments of replacement prices, insurance replacements as instructed by you or your insurers, and general information about typical insurance practice, we are NOT able to advise you about the cover provided by YOUR policy, or to act on YOUR behalf in presenting or negotiating your claim with your insurers. If you require independent technical advice about your policy conditions you should consult an authorised insurance broker. The official insurance brokers to the National Association of Goldsmiths, T H March & Co Limited, tel: 01822 855555, specialise in this field.

Following a claim for missing items, your insurers will usually be entitled by the policy wording to replace the pieces, rather than send you a cheque to cover the loss. If they choose to exercise that right, they can usually select the jeweller you must use to effect the replacements, but those replacements must be broadly similar articles. If they are not so, you will be entitled to purchase the items from whichever jeweller you prefer. We would like to think that this might be ourselves. The insurance company may insist that they settle the account directly with us rather than with you, and this is reasonable.

As members of a unique Claims Services offered by the National Association of Goldsmiths, we have access to a specialist team of claims handlers who can liaise with your insurer on your behalf to settle your claim. At no cost to you, the Claims Service can take away the hassle of paperwork and telephone calls and work to ensure your jewellery claim is settled to your satisfaction.

Here at XYZ Jewellers we would be happy to advise you on replacements and look forward to helping you further.

The fee, which you paid us for providing the list of the lost property and its prices, will, of course, be refunded to you if you replace items from us on a pro rata basis.

After your loss Your insurer’s requirements following a claim for loss of theft will depend on whether they have already accepted a detailed valuation for the item(s) concerned. If they have, settlement of your claim should be based on that valuation. If not, they will usually ask for evidence of ownership and replacement price. Post-loss assessment of replacement price requires skill and experience; without that professional advice you may receive inadequate compensation for your loss.

It is recommended that in order to save time and therefore money, before you come write as full a description as possible of the missing items. Make sketches if necessary and state the various metals, approximate measurements, number of stones, their colour, length of chains, make of watch, year of purchase and the price paid if you can remember it, etc. Also please bring with you any documentary evidence you may have relating to the missing items, e.g. old valuations, insurance papers and, of course, photographs. Sometimes the most seemingly insignificant detail can prove to be invaluable in determining the identity and therefore the price of a missing item.

For a post-loss assessment report we charge £XX.

Sample Post-Loss Assessment Letter Mrs A Jones 33 Berry Lane, Barrington Town BZ20 9HH

(Date)

Dear Mrs Jones, Loss of property following theft Following your recent visit when you described in detail the missing goods, I have now had the opportunity to research the current replacement prices and can report the following:1. Ring: Platinum solitaire old-cut diamond ring, approximately 0.60ct - £X,XXX. 2. Bracelet: Victorian 15ct gold gate linked bracelet - £XXX. 3. Necklace: Single row 7mm cultured pearl necklace - £XXX. On the basis of the enclosed descriptions, the details of which were supplied by you, it is my opinion, having undertaken further research and investigation where necessary and in the absence of any other specific information, that these pieces could be replaced with reasonably equivalent items at the prices indicated, inclusive of VAT where appropriate. Please appreciate that it is very difficult to determine prices for items that cannot be examined.

I consider the prices stated represent true and reasonable sums for the missing items, having regard to whether they are to be replaced with similar new, second hand or antique items. I must state that, as I have not seen the lost items, the opinion expressed regarding the replacement prices relies wholly on the completeness and accuracy of the information provided by you. Accordingly I disclaim any responsibility should it subsequently transpire that this information is incomplete and/or inaccurate in any material particular.

The prices stated reflect my opinion at the above-mentioned date and I am quite happy for your insurers to have sight of this letter in support of your claim and enclose an additional copy for this purpose. Should there be any queries or points that need clarification please do not hesitate to contact me and I shall be delighted to assist further.

Should your insurers approve your claim I will endeavour to supply replacement goods as close as I can to the originals and at the prices indicated.

Meanwhile I enclose our invoice for the fee of £XX in this respect for your consideration in due course and remind you that this can be refunded on a pro rata basis when replacement goods are purchased from me.

Yours sincerely

XYZ Jewellers

The Voice of the Industry 51

| Education + Training

L ATE ST

N E W S

F R O M

TH E

E D U C ATI O N

Historic night for NAG graduates Graduates of the National Association of Goldsmiths’ Professional Diploma courses helped celebrate 65 years of jewellery education and training at a historic Presentation of Awards night at Goldsmiths Hall last month. n front of an assembled audience of friends, family, colleagues and industry personnel in Goldsmiths’ auspicious Livery Hall, 76 graduates, who completed one of the NAG’s professional jewellers’ courses in 2009, collected their diplomas before enjoying birthday cake and champagne at a drinks reception in the sumptuous surroundings of the Drawing Room.

This was where, as a prelude to the main event, NAG president Patrick Fuller played bounteous host at the President’s Reception.

I

The early evening drinks gathering provided an opportunity for a little light networking for the throng of jewellery business invitees, including Bransom’s Chris Garland and Mark Smith, director at TH March and NAG dignitaries.

“It was a wonderful night” said Catherine Pengilly. P.J.Gem. Dip, from Gerry & Co Newton Abbott, who attended with her husband and two children. She added, “I could not have done the course without the Centenary Trust award [a percentage of

D E PA RTM E NT the fees awarded by the NAG to deserving students] I was given, so thank you.”

The lavish annual event was particularly special as it marked 65 years of NAG Education and Training. In 1945, Mr T P Cuss, then chairman of the NAG Education Committee announced the introduction of the new correspondence training course with the suggestion that “superior service was [the jewellers’] main line defence against the co-operative societies. Service could only come from knowledge. This kind of knowledge their correspondence course papers attempted to give.”

Sixty-five years later and knowledge and customer service remain at the core of the courses.

“Research shows that seventy-four percent of customers will leave a store if they are not happy with the service and nowadays customers are more informed than ever” says Victoria Wingate, NAG’s education manager. “The right product knowledge is now absolutely vital just to keep people in the shop. Luckily, our graduates can be confident that they have the skills to keep making sales.”

The Drawing Room, Goldsmiths’ Hall

THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS ARE TOO LATE....

....TO START TRAINING YOUR STAFF START NOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR HOLIDAY COVER IS COVERED A student who enrols on the Professional Jewellers’ Diploma now could have finished by this summer and could have passed JET 2 and mastered all the practical skills that a retail jeweller requires by next summer.

OUR CONTACT DETAILS The National Association of Goldsmiths 78a Luke Street, London EC2A 4XG Email: jet@jewellers-online.org Tel: 020 7613 4445 (Option 1) Download a JET Course prospectus at www.jewellers-online.org

And the winners are...

Among the gathering of proud graduates at this year’s NAG education awards, were two students who have just cause to feel particularly pleased with themselves. The Jeweller spoke to Claudia Sarti and Steven Pike who achieved award-winning grades.

Claudia Sarti

54 The Jeweller April 2010

irst presented in 1946, the coveted Greenough Trophy was awarded this year to Claudia Sarti of Laings of Glasgow. Given each year to the student who achieves the highest total marks in the Professional Jewellers’ Diploma programme, it was a great personal achievement for Claudia as she is only the second Scot to win the trophy in the history of the Awards.

To say that she was ecstatic to have won the trophy is an understatement, particularly as she admits that she felt she had done less than brilliantly in the exam. “I have to be honest, I was in tears afterwards – I found it very difficult, so I was shocked as well as thrilled to learn I had the top grade,” she says. “Doing the course was hard work, with lots of studying, research and essay writing – but certainly worth the effort, it has really paid off.”

“Laings is a family-run business and my director Stuart Laing funds his staff to do a

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number of different courses, which I think is fantastic,” she adds. “Doing the JET courses has been extremely useful – just knowing that you have the experience to go into detail about pieces with customers gives you such confidence. And you don’t forget that knowledge, I’m constantly using it.”

Claudia has worked for Laings for just over three years, having first studied jewellery design and silversmithing at Glasgow’s Cardonald College. “I still have a wee workshop in my garden and make a few pieces, but after college I wanted to expand my knowledge and work with precious metals and stones,” she says.

“Jewellery is a wonderful business to be involved in – it’s luxury! Everyone who comes into the shop is in awe of what we are selling, which makes it a pleasure to come to work everyday. And doing the courses just gives you the drive and passion to continue.”

Education + Training |

Steven Pyke

his year, the Gemstone Award, for the student with the highest aggregate marks in the Association’s Professional Jewellers’ Gemstone Diploma programme, was given to Steven Pyke of WM Pyke & Sons of Birkenhead. Naturally Steven was pretty chuffed with his success, but just as pertinently, with his decision to take this and the other NAG courses.

“Gemstones are a fascinating subject and something that I am increasingly involved in,” he explains. “Telling natural ones from synthetics is an aspect that I am improving on and the course I have done has helped me on that road and the further studies that I’m planning to do will continue the process.

“The course has given me a great grounding in the gemstones side of the business – rather than just jewellery – but I started with the Jet1 and Jet 2 courses and would, without a doubt, recommend anyone in the industry to do as many courses as they can. They help in every aspect of the trade,

T

from buying to serving customers – who are becoming increasingly educated about jewellery, so we need to stay ahead of them.”

Although Steven is a fifth generation member of the WM Pyke family business, it was by no means a foregone conclusion that he would become a jewellery retailer.

He studied business and economics at university and then took two years to make up his mind before joining the firm five years ago. “There was no family pressure at all, but I had gown up around it of course and had heard stories from my father and grandfather, so it was always an option that was open to me,” he says. “And before I started on the shop floor, I spent two years working for other jewellery retailers first, to get a different viewpoint.

“I love the business because there are so many aspects to it – there’s so much variety and no two days are the same. The interest in the jewellery itself develops while you’re working with it.”

NAG Education Award Winners 2009 Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Pass with Distinction Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

Greenough Trophy winner Sarti Claudia

Laing International

Glasgow

Behrens

Anna M.

Michael Jones Jeweller

Northampton

Bratek

Elizabeth Jane

Frederick James

Pitsea

Francis

Vivienne Nuku

Beaverbrooks

Milton Keynes

Ganly

Hannah

Weir & Sons

Dublin

Lerman

Ilan

Alistir Wood Tait

Edinburgh

Magowan

Claire

Fields

Dublin

Orton

Sabine

David Dudley Jewellers Ltd

Marlborough

Pedley

Jessica M.

S Carr & Son

Garstang

Quick

Kimberley

The Loss Management Group

Bath

Sheffield

Simon

Signet Group PLC

Hantsworth

Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Pass: Grade A Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

Baker

Kylie

Jewellery by Design

Birkenhead

Bass

Harriet Grace

Thomas Cleaver Jewellers

Rugby

Butts

Laura Anne

F Hinds Ltd

Hereford

Cartledge

Oliver James

Striacroft Ltd

Louth

Cassidy

James Colin

–

Blackpool

Charles

Ben-Simon

Parkhouse & Wyatt

Southampton

Clifton-Orie

Deneice

Albemarle & Bond

London

The Voice of the Industry 55

| Education + Training Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Pass: Grade A (cont.)

Criaco

Leo

Bentley & Skinner Ltd

London

Cunliffe

Lisa Jane

G S Milton

St. Helens

Deyes

Sarah Elizabeth

Berry’s

Hull

Dodgson

James Michael

Fraser Hart

Cambridge

Felstead

Amy Amanda

Allum & Sidaway

Dorchester

Grady

Jacqueline

John H Lunn (Jewellers) Ltd

Belfast

Grenney

Paula

The Guild of Valuers & Jewellers

Bath

Hilton

Dawn

Fraser Hart

Manchester

Howitt

Claire

E S Poyser & Sons Ltd

Nottingham

Howson

Margaret E.

H Hogarth

Kendal

Hutchinson

Sarah Elizabeth

Gold & Platinum Studio

Bath

Jackson

Christopher M.

N G Bolton

Leeds

Jeffries

Scott

C L Jeffries Jewellers

Newport

Ling

Carrie Emma

Goldsmiths

London

Loney

Rebecca Jayne

Carol Anne Jewellery

Barnstaple

McCormack

Yvonne

Keanes

Cork

Middleton

Beverley

Belson & Skyes Ltd

Keighley

Millington

Sarah Frances

W A Bramwell

Darlington

Munt

Natalie

Goldsmiths

Harrogate

O’Connell

Leonie Emily

Bernard John

Dublin

Pawlonka

Monika

Weir & Sons

Dublin

Peoples

Alex

John H Lunn (Jewellers) Ltd

Belfast

Phillips

Candy Louise

Fraser Hart

Manchester

Phillips

Zoë

Onyx Goldsmiths Ltd

Beeston

Profit

Antonia

Rubinstein Keightley

Uppingham

Reay

Derek

–

Sunderland

Robertson

Stuart John

Robertson’s Jewellers Ltd

Wadebridge

Rogers

Lacë-Chantelle

Beaverbrooks

Croydon

Sampey

Natalie Kay

–

Leicester

Sandgrove

Aine

Gerry Browne Jewellers

Co. Laois

Sargent

Laura Louise

Parkhouse & Wyatt

Southampton

Sliney

Melanie Jane

E J Wright & Son

St. Albans

Stevenson

Victoria Louise

Steffan the Jeweller

Northampton

Sykes

Stephanie

Belson & Skyes Ltd

Keighley

Tabard

Jonathan Paul

J T Snuggs

Banstead

Tedder

Susan Dorothy

John Bull & Co Ltd

Bedford

Thornton

Victoria Ann

Gold Arts II

Eastbourne

Graduates, family, friends and industry guests

56 The Jeweller April 2010

James Riley, Frank Wood, Michael Hoare and Sarah Wood

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The Voice of the Industry 57

| Education + Training Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Pass: Grade A (cont.)

Tiplin

Leah Ellen Mary

J T Snuggs

Banstead

Tolmie

Craig

Goldsmiths

Dundee

Tunio

Salwa

–

Kent

Walsh

Paul Joseph

Paul Sheeran Jewellers

Dublin

Wealthy

Alexandra Rose

Beaverbrooks

Leeds

Westwood

Helen Jane

George Pragnell

Stratford-upon-Avon

Williams

Katharine Elizabeth

W H Peplow Ltd

Worcester

Woolley

Gillian Louise

Lunns II

Belfast

Wright

Sarah Louise

Goldsmiths

Leeds

Yarker

Jane H.

W H Peplow Ltd

Worcester

Yuk

Simon

Fraser Hart

Gateshead

Kehan Li

PJ Val Dip

Deneice Clifton-Orie PJ Dip

58 The Jeweller April 2010

Education + Training | Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Pass: Grade B Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

Adair

Andrew

Marston Barrett

Newhaven

Andersson

Annica Marie

–

Sweden

Austen

Samantha

Allum & Sidaway

Ringwood

Baxter

Katie M.

Beaverbrooks

Swindon

Brock

Elaine Pauline

Mallards

Basildon

Brotherston

Kirsty

Cox & Son Ltd

Great Yarmouth

Burrows

A. J.

Beaverbrooks

Nottingham

Byrne

Carol

McDowells

Dublin

Campbell

Vicky

Albemarle & Bond

Manchester

Carr

Jessica

Fraser Hart

Manchester

Cartwright

Bethan May

Robert Carr

Lichfield

Da Silva

André Fortunato

Aurum Jewellers

St. Helier

Davies

R. O.

–

Tewkesbury

Desmier-Brown

Paul A.

Fraser Hart

York

Diedrick

Serena

Albemarle & Bond

London

Eadie

Alexandrina Margaret

Chisholm Hunter

Stirling

Edlin

Gemma

G & F Cope & Son

Newart-on-Trent

Elen

Louise

Carol Anne Jewellery

Barnstaple

Glen

Tracey Karen

R J Yeo

Rochford

Harkness

Mary Louise

Portique

Wimborne

Hatt

Olivia

Goldsmiths

Swindon

Hodson

Daniel J.

Ian Keat Jewellers

Lincoln

Hunt

Wendy Kim

David Dudley Jeweller Ltd

Marlborough

Jackson

Rebecca

G A Baker & Son

Gloucester

Johnson

Amy

E S Poyser & Sons Ltd

Nottingham

Krzeszowski

Grzegorz

Weir & Sons

Dublin

Leech

Michelle Louise

Goldsmiths

Hemel Hempstead

John

Lindon

Albemale & Bond

Widnes

Liversedge

Kimberley

Goldsmiths

Coventry

Maloney

Zoe Louise

Beaverbrooks

Doncaster

Mangan

Emma Joanne

Swag Jeweller

Greenhithe

Marsden

Kelly Leanne

HIJ Jewellery

Titchfield

Maskell

Elizabeth

The Loss Management Group Ltd

Bath

McCarthy

Nicola

Neville Jewellers

Cork

McNie

Peter

Chisholm Hunter

Stirling

Middlemiss

Jennifer Susan

G W Thomson

Dumfries

Milek

Abigail Frances

A Fattorini

Harrogate

New

Melanie

Emlers Jewellers Ltd

High Wycombe

Niven

Bernadette

Albemarle & Bond

Widnes

O’Halloran

Michelle Ann

Tiffany & Co

London

Oliver

Hannah Louise

Beaverbrooks

Oxford

Prendiville

Juliet

Mappin & Webb Ltd

Auchterarder

Rawsthorne

Karen

Parkhouse & Wyatt

Southampton

Rout

Robert

Albemarle & Bond

London

Sharples

L. V.

Bell Brothers

Doncaster

Shaw

Rachael Marie

Beaverbrooks

Oxford

Shuttleworth

Laura

Beaverbrooks

Manchester

Small

Stephen H.

Van Cleef & Arpels

London

Smart

Helen Emma

Laing The Jeweller Ltd

Edinburgh

Smyth

Orla

John H Lunn (Jewellers) Ltd

Belfast

The Voice of the Industry 59

| Education + Training Mark Adlestone, Patrick Fuller, Nicholas Major

Karen Rawsthorne and guest

PJ Dip

Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Pass: Grade B (cont.)

Snook

Emma Jane

Clive Ranger

Bath

Stovell

Helen

Fraser Hart

Watford

Tangney

Claire Louise

Boodles

Horsham

Taylor

Hollie Jade

Marston Barrett Ltd

Lewes

Tom

Welch

Allum & Sidaway

Dorchester

Wilson

Charmaine Suzanne

Baker Bros Ltd

Bedford

Wood

Natalie

G A Baker & Son

Gloucester

Wright

Mark Alex

Mappin & Webb

Bournemouth

Wynne

Rhoslyn Ann

Goldsmiths

London

Young

Anna Louise

Allum & Sidaway

Ringwood

Professional Jewellers’ Gemstone Diploma (P.J. Gem. Dip) – Pass with Distinction Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

The Gemstone Award winner Pyke Steven J.

W M Pyke & Sons Ltd

Birkenhead

Wall

Jayne Melanie

Michael Spiers Jewellers Ltd

Exeter

Willmott

Karra Jane

S Warrender Ltd

Sutton

Professional Jewellers’ Gemstone Diploma (P.J. Gem. Dip) – Pass: Grade A Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

Attwood

Amanda

Rock Lobster Jewellery

Worcester

Bird

Elaine Anne

R D Finnie Ltd

Aberdeen

Connard

Andrew Martin

Connard & Son Ltd

Southampton

Dean

William James

Jamieson & Carry

Aberdeen

Johnson

Emily Faye

Steffan The Jeweller

Northampton

McAllister

Elaine Mary

The Jewel Box

Basingstoke

Pengilly

Catherine Jane

Gerry & Co Ltd

Newton Abbot

Rook

Tanya

Baker Bros Ltd

Bedford

Watkins

Emma Rachel

Beaverbrooks

Chester

Professional Jewellers’ Gemstone Diploma (P.J. Gem. Dip) – Pass: Grade B Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

Blackmore

Elaine N.

Francis & Gaye

Coventry

Hookham

Tracy Jane

Charlwood Jewellers

Eastbourne

Russ

Tracy Sian

Picketts & Pursers Ltd

Petersfield

Sharpe

Julia D.

M Naulls & Co

Louth

Smith

Neil

–

Manchester

Smithurst

Amy Jessica

H L Brown & Son Ltd

Sheffield

60 The Jeweller April 2010

| Education + Training Professional Jewellers’ Management Diploma (P.J. Man. Dip) – Pass Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

Banks

Hilary

Goldsmiths

Chester

Cole

Jacqueline

F Hinds Ltd

Stockton-on-Tees

Cope

Deborah

Evan Foster & Son

Kidderminster

Francis

Mark

Francis & Gaye

Coventry

Lunn

John

John H Lunn (Jewellers) Ltd

Belfast

Lunn

Johanna

G Gaynor Jewellers

Stamford

O’Kane

Brian

Lunns II

Belfast

Proctor

Julia

Hester Clarke County Jewellers Ltd

Aylesbury

Robson

Fiona

Fraser Hart

York

Still

Tracey

Klimek Jewellers

Truro

Tomlin

Sarah

Fraser Hart

Watford

Professional Jewellers’ Valuation Diploma (P.J. Val. Dip) – Pass Hadler

Nicholas

–

Bath

Jones

Gary

J J Rudell & Co Ltd

Dudley

Li

Kehan

Loupe-Jewellery Valuation & Advisory Services

Enfield

McAuley

Lizzie

Baker Bros Ltd

Bedford

Pumphrey

Jessica

Susannah Lovis Ltd

London

Terras

Fay

Gerry & Co Ltd

Newton Abbott

Wootton

Sophie Louise

Bentley & Skinner Ltd

London

Institute of Registered Valuer Fellows (FIRVS) Surname

Forename(s)

Company

Town

Callaway

Heather

Peter Plant Jewellers

Stone

Carson

Steven C

Searl & Co Ltd

London

Chanter

James E

Gerry & Co Ltd

Newton Abbot

Deer

Georgina

Valuation Services UK Ltd

Manchester

Hartley

Pauline

T S Moodie

Halifax

Inkpen

Michael

Michael Inkpen FGA Ltd

Torquay

Jackson

Peter J R

Peter Jackson Valuations Ltd

Chichester

Jordan

Steven

Hawksworth Associates

Biggleswade

McPherson

Heather

Heather McPherson FGA Ltd

Coalville

Peplow

W Richard H

W H Peplow (Worcester) Ltd

Worcester

Plant

Avril F

Peter Plant Jewellers

Stone

Stephenson

Philip

Whitley Jewellery & Antiques Ltd

Whitley Bay

Taylor

Richard P

Taylor & Co

Shrewsbury

Alchemy

62 The Jeweller April 2010

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APPOINTMENTS

Princess Cut Fine Jewellery & Watch Specialist Sales Associates Princess Cruises Boutiques Onboard are recruiting experienced Fine Jewellery & Watch Specialist Sales Associates interested in advancing their careers in a highly successful retail operation at sea.

Take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase your skills in our unique fine jewellery salons. We offer a wide range of exquisite precious and semi-precious jewellery, fine and fashion watches, featured exclusively to our discerning passengers.

If you have relevant experience in fine jewellery and/or watch retail sales either at sea or ashore, you may be the perfect candidate for Princess Cruises Boutiques Onboard. Other pre-requisites include public speaking skills, the ability to foster a positive team environment, excellent customer service skills and a professional demeanour that demonstrates honesty and integrity.

To apply, please email your CV, quoting reference number TJ/04/10 to: princess.recruitment@princesscruises.co.uk www.princess.com

www.jewelleryjobs.com A selection of our current vacancies…

Retail

General

• Leading Bond Street jewellers require top class sales people with good and active client lists; languages an advantage but not necessary – excellent salaries and benefits

• Have you managed a website, can you sell jewellery over the telephone ‘off the page’? A great opportunity with a leading jewellery retailer awaits.

• Chinese and Arabic speaking sales people required in Bond Street and Knightsbridge

• Customer Service Coordinators, Sales Administrators and After Sales Service Managers are all being looked for in London currently.

• Salesperson for leading jewellers – West London • Manager for leading jeweller in Surrey required • High end diamond sales people and management required in the West End of London • Manager and sales people with good antique jewellery knowledge required - London • Assistant Manager for well-established quality Hatton Garden jeweller • Sales people and Assistant Managers/Manager Designates required throughout the country, particularly Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Chester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and the South East

• Sales Representatives throughout the country for both watches and jewellery • Essex Company needs an experienced setter; Yorkshire company needs a very experienced mounter • As always, qualified watchmakers, ideally Rolex-trained, required throughout the country All enquiries treated in total confidence. For more information on national opportunities visit our website.

Contact Katie or Grant on tel: 01756 753 or e-mail: jobs@jackson-maine.com

JACKSON MAINE

The Recruitment Specialists to the Jewellery & Watch Industries

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| Regular

The

Last Word Personal profile: Patrick is the first manufacturer in the 126 year history of the NAG to be appointed to the role of president, a position he holds currently. He is also: a Warden of Birmingham Assay Office, a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, a member of the regional CBI and a Freeman of the City of London.

And… he still found time to answer our, frankly, rather frivolous questions.

Where is your favourite holiday destination? Why? Anywhere on the water sailing. I love the independence and the thrill.

What feature do you turn to first in The Jeweller?

The trade news If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the jewellery industry, what would it be?

I would like to see a more dynamic retail market.

Do you know the price of a pint of milk?

No To what do you attribute your success?

An intuitive reading of retail markets

How would you describe your personal style?

Eclectic – I like to mix styles. I’m not fond of anything that feels like uniform.

What three words describe you best… in your view and according to others?

Gregarious. Creative. Enthusiastic.

I wouldn’t know what others think but I imagine that they might say I enjoy a party.

Looking back at your career, what one thing would you do differently if you had your time over?

I struggle to think of anything. I have no regrets.

66 The Jeweller April 2010

Favourite shopping destination (shop, street, city or country!)?

Venice, not only because I love Murano glass but also because I think the menswear shops there are very good – the windows always look so creative.

Photo by MorBCN

This month The Last Word hosts a quick-fire interview with industry heavyweight Patrick Fuller – chairman of the WB Group of Companies (Domino and Weston Beamor).

Tell us something not many people know about you…

I’m very fond of ballet

If you hadn’t gone into the jewellery business, what career would you have chosen?

I’m a frustrated retailer Quick fire: (no deliberating, straight off the top of your head please) • Tea or coffee?

Tea • Football or cricket? (team?)

Cricket – Warwickshire • Diamonds or coloured stones?

Coloured stones • White or yellow metal?

Yellow • TV or radio?

Radio • Bentley or Roller?

Bentley • Delegator or control freak?

Control freak • Fish and chips or Chinese/Indian?

Indian • Beatles or Rolling Stones?

Rolling Stones

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