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April 2014

ÂŁ7.50

The Voice of The Industry

Incorporating

Gems&Jewellery

April 2014 / Volume 23 / No. 3

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Jeweller

Contents & Contacts |

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The Voice of The Industry

C O N T E N T S

www.thejewellermagazine.com

A P R I L

1 4

Achieving your potential

14

Editor’s Letter

5

Rawlinson Speaks Out

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Industry News

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Belinda Morris reports on the N.A.G. Members’ Day conference

Brand Profile — Talbots Group

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The difference a new generation can make to a family business is revealed

EPoS: Getting started

International News

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N.A.G. News

16

Education & Training

19

Feature: Judith Lockwood

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The Jeweller picks…

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Feature: Stella Layton interview

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Notebook

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Louise Hoffman explains how independent jewellery retailers can reap the rewards of an electronic point of sale system

N.A.G. Presentation of Awards 2014

Feature: Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship 49

and Design Competition awards

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Business Support: Insurance

32

Display Cabinet

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Last Word

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An interview with this year’s Greenough Trophy winner and the full list of Professional Jewellers’ Diploma graduates

April 2014 / Volume

Gems&Jewellery

23 / No. 3

The Jeweller is published by the National Association of Goldsmiths for circulation to members. For more information about The Jeweller visit: www.thejewellermagazine.com

Gem update from Gary Roskin, the ‘busy laser’ investigated, focus on East African yellow sapphires and unusual opal composites, plus much more…

The busy laser Composi te opal East Afr ican yello w

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

The National Association of Goldsmiths 78a Luke Street, London EC2A 4XG

Cover Image

Jeweller the

April 2014

£7.50

The Voice of The Industry

Incorporating

Gems&Jewellery

April 2014 / Volume 23 / No. 3

In conjunction with Bransom Retail Systems Ltd

Tel: 020 7613 4445 www.jewellers-online.org CEO: Michael Rawlinson michaelr@jewellers-online.org

The busy laser Composite opal East African

yellow sapphires

Suite 7 & 8 Amberside, Wood Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP2 4TP

EPoS systems evaluated N.A.G. Education Awards Staying cyber-safe

Tel: +44 (0) 1442 256445 Email: sales@bransom.co.uk www.bransom.co.uk

Editor: Belinda Morris bmorris@colony.co.uk

Sales Director: Ian Francis Tel: 020 7749 1705 Fax: 020 7729 0143 ian@jewellers-online.org Publishing Enquiries/ Classified Advertising: Neil Oakford neil@jewellers-online.org Contributors: Louise Hoffman

Art Director: Ben Page ben@jewellers-online.org The NAG is responsible for producing The Jeweller and, although every effort is made to ensure that the information supplied is accurate, the NAG does not accept liability for any loss, damage or claim whatsoever that may result from opinions expressed by contributors. Information and ideas are for guidance only and members should always consult their own professional advisers. The NAG accepts no responsibility for the content of Gems&Jewellery or 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 |

Editor’s

Letter

This month: Judith Lockwood used a card trick to demonstrate that “putting a brand in a shop window is not about magic”.

here are many times during the course of my job when I wish that I was sitting on the

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other side of the fence. Don’t get me wrong – I love being an observer and chronicler

of this amazing industry and also being an imparter of information. But there are moments when I get a little pang of regret that it isn’t me planning for a new season’s buying/redesigning a store/creating a marketing campaign…

Over the last four weeks I have felt many such moments. For instance, there was CMJ’s up-close-and-personal buying event in Birmingham last month, which had such a buzz of positive energy that I would have been ready to place an unfeasibly large order with several designers if they’d let me!

Hard on its heels was the N.A.G.’s Members’ Day – ‘Achieving Your Potential’. The roll call of speakers suggested that this would be a first-class conference – and so it was. Covering

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subjects as diverse as selling techniques to working with brands, it made me want to dash back to my non-existent store and pass-on my new-found knowledge to my non-existent staff. On the plus side, I was able to sit back smugly while everyone else in the room got a ticking off (pun intended) for throwing away watch strap and battery-fitting opportunities.

All hail Hirsch’s Simon Walker for a very funny, home truth lecture.

Later that day I sat among proud employers, parents, partners, tutors and colleagues as the latest clutch of Professional Jewellers’ Diploma graduates collected their certificates.

The commitment, hard work and passion that this very long list of successful students represented was as awe-inspiring as the Goldsmiths’ Company’s Livery Hall in which the ceremony took place. I envied the accrued knowledge and confidence that these newly

Choosing a sectorspecific system means that the suppliers understand your industry, so the product is designed around your needs…

qualified individuals were taking back to their stores. It should have been me!

“Oh stop moaning,” I can hear you say. “Do something about it.” Which is how I found myself at the Birmingham Assay Office last week, taking a baby step towards further industry education.

It was just one day, but David Byrne’s excellent ‘Understanding Jewellery Valuations’ course gave an insight that can only make my chronicling more enjoyable and effective.

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 5

ŔŒ AUG – œ SEPT œőŒŕ OLYMPIA LONDON

BE INSPIRED by the finest in jewellery NEW LOCATION

O LY M P I A LO N D O N

INTERESTED IN EXHIBITING? jewellerylondon.com/exhibiting CONTACT THE TEAM ijlteam@reedexpo.co.uk | +44(0)208 910 7173

Comment |

Rawlinson

speaks out “ In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” o said Eric Hoffer. I was therefore very proud to see so many people from our industry receive their Professional Jewellers Diploma at our recent awards ceremony held at the wonderful Goldsmiths’ Hall. And as I chatted to the graduates afterwards I was very encouraged that so many were already talking about which course they wanted to study next. The names of those who have qualified – plus some photos from the event – appear later in this issue. It should also be noted that particularly successful retailers repeatedly crop up as the employers – hardly any surprise to see the correlation between investing in staff training and successful, profitable businesses. A head of a major multiple remarked to me how important the JET programme is to his business as far as product knowledge and staff personal development is concerned.

The return on investment is clear, and the individual gains confidence, increased self-esteem and motivation through the studying, testing and achieving cycle.

Earlier that day, other N.A.G. members and invited guests enjoyed a stimulating and entertaining day hearing speakers on a range of sales and marketing-focussed topics at our first members’ conference: ‘Achieving your Potential’. It’s a shame that more had not made the effort to attend. But no need to wait long if you want to try the next event which will be our Executive Development Forum Congress, taking place on 9th July in Oxford. Open to any member, further details of the event will be circulated shortly, but why not mark the date in your diary now?

The theme for the day will be business

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planning and I guess the old adage first spoken by Sir Winston Churchill – “If you fail to plan you plan to fail” – still stands!

I keep a close eye on the regular reports that are issued by SaferGems and I hope you do too. Some are issued to raise awareness of a particular gang or type of suspicious activity, urging everyone to stay alert. These highlight the value of prevention rather than cure. Others unfortunately report incidents against a jeweller or rep on the road. The good news is that through the reporting of these incidents into the central SaferGems hub, that Lee Henderson and his colleagues manage so efficiently, links can be made to other incidents, actual or attempted, and the relevant police forces alerted. This makes a connection that regrettably the police so often are unable to do as they operate as 43 separate individual forces! Which leads me to the third type of report I receive – the ones of which I feel the most proud – where a criminal is apprehended and bought to book.

Protecting your staff and stock should be your highest priority and this event will help you do this in the most cost effective way.

In my view live demonstrations and hearing from experts is the best way to gather knowledge and insight that can assist you in making the right security choices for your business. So I’m pleased to announce that in conjunction with SaferGems and TH March we will be running our 2nd Security Conference on 21st October, at the Building Research Establishment in Garston, Watford.

Mark it in your diary now. Protecting your

staff and stock should be your highest priority and this event will help you do this in the most cost effective way. If you have particular needs, please do let me know so we can ensure we cover these during the day.

Running SaferGems requires a major investment by the N.A.G. and our partner TH March but it is, we feel, money well spent, and a key benefit of being a member.

As I write this I am looking forward to my first visit to BaselWorld. From everything I’ve heard it’s a sight not to be missed! I know many of our members include watches as a key part of their offering, but I think it is a part of the industry that the Association has not focussed on for a long time. I hope that once I have seen the show, and spoken with some of the major manufacturers and suppliers, that we can ensure we don’t neglect this key product category in the future.

All jewellers need to pay close attention to every part of their business from the creative to the more mundane aspects such as keeping good accounts and records.

When we have all these aspects of our business running ‘like clockwork’ we can truly reach our full potential. As part of our membership benefits review, we will consider how we can support members to make the right selection of service provider. We’ll also produce relevant and up-to-date guides and checklists to help you deal with the important issues that crop up occasionally, freeing you to focus on the core business.

Finally, one more date for you diary – the 120th AGM will take place on 18th June at the Saatchi Gallery, Sloane Square, London, alongside the London Jewellery and Watch Show. No excuses as you can kill two birds with one stone!

The Voice of the Industry 7

| Industry News

N.A.G. AGM to be held during London show he 120th Annual General meeting of the National Association of Goldsmiths will be held this year at the Saatchi Gallery on 18th June. This will coincide with the Jewellery & Watch London show. The meeting is primarily for members but anyone in the industry is most welcome to attend.

Chief executive Michael Rawlinson said: “The AGM is an important meeting in the annual calendar of the Association as it allows members an opportunity to hold the officers and executive to account, and more importantly question the future strategy and direction of the organisation. Holding the event alongside Jewellery & Watch London will allow members to maximise the value of their time by being able to attend two events on the same day.”

Further details of the timing of the event will be announced shortly.

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Buyers power list launched ast month Jewellery & Watch London, organised by i2i Events, kicked off the hunt for the UK and Republic of Ireland’s ‘most influential and exciting’ jewellery and watch buyers with the launch of its inaugural Buyers Power List. Now open for entries, the List aims to recognise, celebrate and reward the individuals and companies that suppliers and peers in the jewellery and watch industry have nominated and voted for, as making an outstanding difference and being highly influential in the jewellery and watch market.

In the first stage of the process, Jewellery & Watch London is calling on the industry to help compile the shortlist of buyers by asking them to nominate either themselves, or others in the sector, across various categories. Initial nominations can be made in up to five different categories which comprise independent jewellery or watch retailer, multiple retailer and chain stores, individual person, department store and museum or gallery.

Once the nominations are in, Jewellery & Watch London will compile a shortlist based on those individuals and companies with the highest number of nominations. These individuals and companies will then be contacted and asked to rank their favourite five peers on the list in order of preference.

The final list, including the unveiling of the top 10 most influential buyers in the industry, will be revealed during a champagne reception at 6pm on Wednesday 18th June, after the first day of opening of Jewellery & Watch London at London’s iconic Saatchi Gallery.

Nominations making the final list will receive VIP admission to Jewellery & Watch London and the awards ceremony on Wednesday 18th June.

For more information on the criteria for each of the categories and to cast your votes please visit www.jewelleryandwatchlondon.com/buyers-power-list The initial round of voting is open until Friday 9th May, 2014.

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London show exhibitors revealed ewellery & Watch London has revealed a list of brands that have so far signed-up to exhibit at its forthcoming June show. Taking place at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea on the 18th and 19th June, the fair has confirmed that over 60 jewellery and watch brands have already confirmed that they will be exhibiting. These include: Chavin Jewellery, Deakin & Francis, BQ Watches, Fei Liu Fine Jewellery, Ingenious Jewellery, Maree London, Pearl & Queenie, Lars Larsen Watches, The Fifth Season by Roberto Coin, Rosato, Bizotto Gioielli, Martin Ross Group, Lucy Q Designs, Gemmini, Wedds & Co, Sonny’s, Willow & Clo, Aurum of Jersey, Beno, Dubini, Amore & Baci, Lalique and Costantino Rota.

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8 The Jeweller April 2014

IJL preview to be held in Manchester ollowing the successful launch of show previews in Edinburgh and Leeds in 2013, International Jewellery London has announced plans to hold an exclusive regional preview in Manchester. The invitationonly event will take place on 21st May at the Malmaison Hotel. IJL launches in its new venue at Olympia London from 31st August to 2nd September.

Guests of the preview will be the first to meet several of the newly unveiled 2014 KickStart line up, as well as a select group of brands and designers who will be previewing their new collections ahead of IJL. These will include Tivon, Mark Milton and Trollbeads.

The 2013 previews attracted leading retailers Macintyres of Edinburgh, Black Box Boutique, Hamilton & Inches, Berry’s of Leeds, Walkers Jewellers of Huddersfield, Argent Contemporary Jewellers, Phillip Stoner and Beaverbrooks, among others.

“We had such positive feedback from last year’s regional events that we had to build on that success. Senior retailers and buyers travel to IJL from across the UK and the mini events give them a taste of what to expect from IJL in more intimate surrounds,” commented event director Sam Willoughby.

The N.A.G. and the BJA will be supporting the event, which will be held in the early evening. Guests will be able to mingle with designers and the IJL team, see forthcoming trends first hand and benefit from an excellent local networking opportunity.

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Industry News |

Top brands join Luxury by IJL line-up uxury by IJL has announced two new elite exhibitors who will join the growing number of luxury, high end jewellery brands – Brumani of Brazil and Adolfo Courrier created by design duo Adolfo Courrier and Alessandra Zanchetta. Both are presented by Leoro Ltd. Other brands already signed up for the event include Fope (Italy), Al Coro (Germany), Ponte Vecchio Gioielli (Italy), C H Hakimi (New York) and UK designers Fei Liu and Sarah Ho Couture.

Luxury by IJL is a new premium jewellery Rings by trade event, which will showcase some of Brumani the world’s most prestigious jewellery brands at Olympia, London, and will run alongside IJL, in its first year at The Pillar Hall Olympia, London, from 31st August – 1st September 2014.

According to a report by Euromonitor last year there has been a steady growth of luxury jewellery sales in the UK since 2007 which, in 2012, hit £1.2 bn. The latest forecast reveals that luxury jewellery and watches will continue to grow, with jewellery outperforming watches with consumer demand growing in the UK for high end pieces. The number of watch brands at the main IJL event is also growing, with names such as Links of London, Festina, Tresor Paris, ToyWatch, BQ Watches and brands from the Peers hardy Group among the exhibitors.

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Smartphone interactive jewellery launched orkshire business Kiroco has won the Best Innovation of the Year Award for the world’s first Smartphone interactive jewellery. Introduced by master jeweller Nigel Townsend of Yorkshire-based Townsend Fine Jewellers – who set up Kiroco in 2010 – the award was given at last month’s Wearble Technology Conference and Expo, Olympia.

The ‘Kiroco Touch’ technology means that words, pictures or videos can be captured within the jewellery. With the addition of the ‘I love you’ sentiment locked into the jewellery a timeline of precious memories can be created with flexibility to change, update and resend messages. It is totally secure, ensuring every emotional message can only be viewed on a specified Smartphone. The jewellery incorporates an embedded, specialised communication chip that allows messages, photos and videos to be read on a specified mobile phone to ensure privacy of messages. This is a patent applied technology. The collection includes various designs of bracelets and pendants.

S N I P P E T S Monica Vinader launches new diamond line British jewellery designer Monica Vinader has introduced 18 new diamond set additions to her Art Deco-inspired Baja Collection. In 18ct gold, sterling silver and rose gold plated vermeil the range of pendants, bracelets, rings and earrings with pavé-set, ethically-sourced diamonds, the designs following the geometric shapes and clean lines associated with the movement.

New website for Fog Bandit Security fogging system company Fog Bandit has launched a new website. Key updated features include: fully compatible for access via smart phones and tablets; a new applications page and a new ‘video library’ hosted from Fog Bandit’s YouTube channel. There is also all the latest news, case studies and client testimonials and information about the system.

Hinds family out in force to cut ribbon in Bracknell

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N.A.G. Golf Tournament – dates ext month sees the 2014 N.A.G. International Golf Tournament which will be held at the prestigious Conwy Golf Club, North Wales. The practice round will be on Sunday 11th May, with the main competition on Monday 12th. The tournament will consist of the four home nations; the holders, Ireland, hoping to make it three wins in a row. There are currently places on the teams, which will be limited to 16 players a team, so interested golfers should reserve their places as soon as possible. The competition is open to all members of the jewellery industry and partners are welcome. It is not necessary for players’ roots to be in the their countries of choice. For more details contact: golf@braithwaitesjewellers.com

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In 1972, Roy and Eric Hinds cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of the company’s new store in Charles Square, Bracknell.

Last month they were both back in Bracknell to repeat the ceremony that officially opened the newly relocated F. Hinds store in Princess Square. They were joined by two more generations of the Hinds family: Paul and Jeremy Hinds (7th generation) and Andrew and Neil (6th generation), plus store manager Nick Dobinson and assistants Jazz Coke and Becky Walker. Eric (83), wielding the scissors and Roy (81), were delighted to be back in Bracknell 42 years on.

The Voice of the Industry 9

| Industry News

Assay office official opening at Allied Gold ast month the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office officially opened a new hallmarking facility at the Dalston-based jewellery manufacturer, Allied Gold.

This is the first time in the Assay Office’s 700 year history that a permanent hallmarking service has been established off-site on a customer’s premises.

The ribbon was cut by The Goldsmiths’ Company’s Prime Warden, Richard Agutter, and Deputy Warden Allied Gold's Jerry Anderson and Elizabeth Hunt of The Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office, Dr Robert with the Goldsmiths’ Company Prime Warden Richard Agutter Organ, together with Elizabeth Hunt, Allied Gold’s marketing director. Allied Gold Limited is one of the few remaining wholesale manufacturers based in the UK – it has been producing wedding rings in Great Britain for the past 30 years and continues to do so in its London-based workshops.

This new facility will significantly improve time-to-market for its customer’s merchandise.

The sub-office is currently staffed by two hallmarking experts from the Assay Office, with potential for the team to expand in the future. Dr Robert Organ comments: “We are delighted to be working with Allied Gold, a thriving UK-based manufacturer, which shares our progressive approach. Our new facility will bring great benefits to customers in terms of service, pricing and quality. This is an important milestone for the London Assay Office, building on the ongoing success of our Sub-Offices at Heathrow and Hatton Garden.”

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Houlden Group reveals new-look branding tuart Laing, CEO of the Houlden Group, unveiled a new look for the buying group’s logo and branding package during its recent Members’ Day. The reveal of the ‘contemporary, updated’ image was in line with Laing’s call to action: “You can’t just do what you’ve always done, because it’s not going to work anymore. Be open to new ways of doing business.

There’s been more change in the jewellery industry in the last three years than in 30 years.”

Also during the day two cost-saving initiatives were introduced. The One Click Marketing Solution allows members access to a range of customisable marketing literature. Together with Houlden’s bank of lifestyle images, members can create unique and high quality catalogues, posters and postcards and avoid high artwork costs. In addition 2bhr launched its HR Advisory Service. This gives members support in the field of HR with the aim of creating an optimal work environment and dealing with issues before having to resort to expensive legal involvement.

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Royal London sponsors Superbike he MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship has announced a partnership with watch brand Royal London, part of the Condor Group. As the official timekeeper of MCE BSB, the Royal London logo will be identified and credited on the official event live timing service and in the associated timing graphics embedded in the worldwide TV feed produced at each event. Prior to each of the 26 races, Royal London watches will be awarded to the rider starting in pole position, and at the end of the season to all of the British and national champions. In the near future the brand will add special limited edition BSB watches to its range.

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10 The Jeweller April 2014

Expansion and new agents for Danish brands & A Agencies has welcomed three new agents to its team and expanded the business by moving to a new North Manchester location. The jewellery agency, which is responsible for Coeur de Lion in England, Wales and Scotland and also Danish jewellery brand, Dansk Smykkekunst, has recruited Ann Regan and Lindsay Chappell as new agents for Coeur de Lion and Tracey Madeley as a new Dansk Smykkekunst agent for the South East region of England.

Regan began working as an agent in 2007 and has worked for various companies including Ortak Jewellery, Stratton, Cerruti, Murray Ward, Abbeycrest Jewellery, Royal Selangor, Comyns Silver and Jo for Girls Jewellery. Chappell has over 25 years of experience as an agent and has worked for various companies, such as Peace of Mind Jewellery, De Mexico Silver, Kali Ma Designs and Elran Aviv.

“The aim of the move is to provide a more efficient service for our customers,” explains P&A Agencies MD Peter O’Loughlin.

“We are always working to create a more effective system for our stockists and we hope that this investment will provide extra support and better customer service overall for our stores.”

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Fabergé and Harrods in Easter collaboration igital pioneer Miroslava Duma has teamed up with iconic artist jeweller Fabergé and Harrods, for ‘A Fabergé Easter at Harrods’ – an exclusive collaboration running from 1st to 21st April 2014. The store’s windows retell the story of the jewellery house. A pop-up salon features Fabergé jewellery collections and an interactive digital lounge allows customers to style and share Fabergé jewels. In addition, an ‘Egg Bar’ will showcase the iconic precious egg pendants. Finally, an exhibition space will present among other historic pieces the original 1901 Fabergé Apple Blossom Egg, never seen before in the UK.

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Industry News |

CMJ launches provenance initiative he Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) hosted its largest ever Trade Event last month in Birmingham, which saw 132 brands exhibiting. CMJ CEO Willie Hamilton also took the opportunity to launch ‘Just Ask’ a campaign aimed to help the jewellery industry track the provenance of its products. “Just ask your supplier every time you look at or purchase an item: ‘Do you know where this came from?’

And if they say that they don’t know, then at least you know that they don’t know. And it may well prompt them to ask further down the supply chain,” he told members. “I accept that UK Hallmarking is one of the best lawful labelling processes across the world but beyond that, we have little or no requirements. Believe me its coming and we better be ready for it,” he added.

Brands exhibiting at the show for the first time included Caravelle New York, Elliot Brown watches, Endless Jewelry, Sif Jakobs, Wolf Designs, Allied Gold and Stone Marketing. Other brands took the opportunity to launch new collections – SHO Fine Jewellery’s colourful rubber and silver Pop! bangles for example. Lucy Quartermaine of LucyQ won Best Jewellery Designer Award, while Diamonfire also took home a Lalique trophy for Best Stand Display.

The event also raised £5,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) from the sale of its CMJ Fest T-shirts as well as a charity auction. The MNDA charity was chosen in memory of jewellery retailer Simon Cupitt from Cupitt Jewellers, who sadly lost his battle against the disease last year. Also in his memory John Henn of T A Henn is raising money for the MNDA in a sponsored bike ride across the Alps this year. He will be riding with Simon’s 15 year-old son Olly Cupitt.

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Emporio Armani launches Swiss-made watch line aselWorld, which opened on 27th March, saw the debut of Giorgio Armani’s first collection of Swiss made watches under the Emporio Armani brand. “I have always believed in a mix of innovation and tradition: my entire stylistic path is based on this concept,” explained Armani at the launch. “[This collection] is a logical expression of this; I was inspired by the shapes of the 1930s and 1940s [watches] that were given a contemporary look, developing a refined and timeless design, which I combined with the best Swiss technology.”

The different stories in the collection include ‘Melting Gold’, with warm cognac and golden hues in the dials; ‘Glowing Rose’ offering a new shade of rose gold, complemented by grey and luxury leather straps; ‘Bright Mesh’ with metal bracelets and ‘Black Magic’ featuring matte black velvet plating and rubberised alligator straps.

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New chairman at BRC he British Retail Consortium has announced that Sir Charlie Mayfield will take the reins as chair of the trade association this autumn. He will start his term of office as vice chair in May and then take over as chair when Sir Ian Cheshire stands down at the end of September after a two-year term. Sir Charlie Mayfield is chairman of the John Lewis Partnership which is a longstanding member of the BRC.

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S N I P P E T S Nigel Ling joins Ti Sento IBB Amsterdam has appointed Nigel Ling as the new country manager for the Ti Sento and Mi Moneda brands in the UK. Ling replaces Judith Lockwood who left the company to join the Martin Ross Group (Arctic Circle Diamonds). Ling previously worked for Gieves & Hawkes, Dunhill, Jaeger Menswear and Harrods, so brings with him extensive luxury brand experience Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins is new face of Citizen Citizen Watch UK has announced that mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins is to be its new brand ambassador. She joins a team of female luminaries that includes US singer Kelly Clarkson and professional tennis player Victoria Azarenka. The move comes as Citizen prepares to launch its Citizen L Collection and build on brand awareness among female customers.

Ethical honour for GIA The Ethisphere® Institute has named the Gemological Institute of America as a 2014 World’s Most Ethical Company®.

This is the second year in a row the 83-year old Institute has received the designation, which recognises its continued efforts to build and maintain a superior ethics and compliance programme.

The Ethisphere® Institute is an independent centre of research, best practices and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance.

Weston Beamor sponsors design award Birmingham-based jewellery casting and rapid-prototyping company Weston Beamor will once again be sponsoring an award at ‘New Designers’. The annual exhibition, which will be held at the Business Design Centre, Islington, from 25th – 28th June, 2014, showcases the work of newly graduated designers from the UK’s leading universities. The Weston Beamor Award for ‘The Most innovative use of CAD in Jewellery Design’ will include a cash prize of £1,000 and a week of work experience at WB.

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| International News

ZA stamp launched for South African jewellery he South African bureau of Standards (SABS) has published the SANS 29 Standard, which includes a requirement for jewellery to be marked with a ZA stamp in order to be identified as ‘Proudly Manufactured in South Africa’. This has become a compulsory marking and is being phased in so that all jewellery produced in the country, destined for any market, should have a ZA stamp included.

In support of this initiative, the Jewellery Council of South Africa will offer manufacturers the opportunity to purchase these ZA stamps at the Jewellex 2014 event, which takes place in Johannesburg in August this year. The move is expected to bode well for the South African jewellery industry and assist in the growth of the market, as well as in the showcasing and recognition of local talent.

Lorna Lloyd, CEO of the Jewellery Council of South Africa explained that the main aim behind implementing the stamp is to identify locally produced products so that consumers, especially those from abroad, have the option of purchasing locally produced jewellery rather than imported products. “After all, South Africa is known worldwide as the land of gold, platinum and diamonds,” she notes.

S N I P P E T S Maurice Lacroix in three-year Barcelona FC deal

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IWC auctions timepiece wiss luxury watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen reprised its role as the Official ‘Festival-Time’ Partner of the Tribeca Film Festival® in New York City for the second year. Within this collaboration IWC again made a donation to Tribeca Film Institute®, the nonprofit affiliate of the Tribeca Film Festival, through an auction of a unique timepiece. The auction took place on 9th April 2014, at the luxury timepiece auction house Antiquorum, with the entire proceeds supporting the Institute.

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Yoko London wins JCK award oko London has been named winner in the JCK Jewelers’ Choice Awards 2014.

The luxury pearl jewellery brand (in the Euro Pearls portfolio) came first in the ‘Pearl Jewellery over $10,000’ category, for its ‘Carnevale’ necklace. Voted for by US jewellery retailers, the award recognises excellence of design offered by jewellery brands.

The ‘Carnevale’ necklace features an array of different coloured Australian, Tahitian and Indonesian South Sea pearls, along with pink and orange freshwater pearls, offset by G VS diamonds and 18 ct white gold.

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12 The Jeweller April 2014

Marc Glaser, MD of Maurice Lacroix with Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of FC Barcelona

Swiss watch brand Maurice Lacroix has announced a three-year partnership agreement with FC Barcelona; the club has a global fan base of over 300 million admirers and 100 million social media followers. Part of the deal will include an affordable ‘fan’s’ watch that will provide an entry-level opportunity for Swiss timepiece ownership; and for lovers of mechanical models there will be a ‘player’s’ watch and a sophisticated ‘executive’ model.

CIBJO releases project report Ahead of the opening of the 2014 CIBJO Congress in Moscow (19th May), the first of the CIBJO commissions’ Special reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Marketing & Education Commission, the report announces the start of a project aimed at measuring the jewellery industry's impact on the environment.

The jewellery sector cannot afford to ignore research showing that consumers under 35 are concerned by the impact industries have on the environment, it states. “As an industry it is time to act, as we are already behind the curve, and in five years’ time it will be too late to play catch-up.”

Swatch launches new art line Swiss fashion watch brand Swatch has launched a collection of designs created

by German artist Olaf Hajek, the latest in a long line of Swatch & Art collaborations.

Among others who have designed for ‘the world’s smallest canvas’ are Kiki Picasso, Keith Hareng and Spike Lee.

Achieving your potential If you were unable to make it to our inaugural Members’ Day Conference last month, you really did miss a trick, as Belinda Morris explains. f you snooze, they say, you lose. And it’s true. Those jewellery retailers caught napping – when they might have been attending what is to be the first of an inspiring series of business building events – have lost out ultimately.

Of course, we would say that. However, the line up of Members’ Day speakers was impressive enough to promise an informative, insightful and entertaining day and by the mid-morning break, the enthusiasm

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14 The Jeweller April 2014

among delegates was already genuinely effusive. “I’d expect to come away from a conference with one good idea and I have written down at least three already,” Andrew Hinds of F Hinds told me.

The day began with a tell-it-like-it-is talk

by Christine Colbert, the MD of her own marketing agency. Centred on a few ‘home truths’ she kicked off by reminding us that while a retailer’s business might be about selling brands, it is also, crucially, a brand

in itself. “Your brand is your message, the personality of your store,” she explained.

From the outset, she said, it’s important to identify your USP – what makes your business special – and build the brand on that. “It’s all about loyalty.” Christine concluded with two particularly effective case histories: a reworked brand identity for Liverpoolbased N.A.G. member Wongs and the clever employment of the ‘plus’ sign in the Green + Benz logo for promotional material.

Next on the podium was Jonathan Hedges, global product manager within the Retail and Technology division of market research business GfK. Pens were definitely poised as he began his over-view of the watch

N.A.G. News | market, specifically homing in on fashion versus traditional brands. In short, the main thrust of his message was that while there are fewer watches on wrists out there, the market is pretty robust in terms of value and that fashion brands are driving the growth. The top 25 brands are currently doing 80 per cent of business and having the right brand at the right time is obviously crucial to success in this sector.

A subject close to the N.A.G.’s heart is training, and Debbie Barrow began her talk by saying that sales training in particular changes every year to reflect the changes in the market. Virada Training’s MD outlined the many challenges of selling today – from savvy customers to increased competition – and how to deal with them. Here’s a new set of 4Cs : Conversation, Confidence, Control and Consciousness. “Be a polished version of your true self” was her parting message.

It’s not typical for seminar delegates to be rolling in the aisles, especially if they’re being ticked off, but that was virtually the case when Simon Walker, country manager of Hirsch Watch Bracelets, got up to speak.

He accused retailers of throwing away opportunities (and money) by not offering

certain services. He was talking about watch repairs and strap and battery replacements and reminded his audience that a great deal of money was going into the pockets of Timpson, which has become massive in this area. “People go to them now, rather than to you – and it’s not about price,” he said.

He then went on to list the number of (very many) reasons retailers give him for not offering these services. One or two members around the room definitely shifted uncomfortably in their seats. OK, it maybe doesn’t sound funny – you had to be there!

With Brown & Newirth’s John Ball playing Debbie McGee to her Paul Daniels, Judith Lockwood (newly appointed European director for arctic Circle Diamonds) used a card trick to demonstrate that “putting a brand in a shop window is not about magic”.

Drawing on her experience at Ti Sento she was well-equipped to throw light on the best way for brands and retailers to work to together – ultimately it comes down to open discussions and the realisation that both sides of the industry share the same goals.

Using examples from displays seen in retail stores like Boodles and Harriet Kelsall, as well as a table of props and images, Judy Head of Head Creative gave invaluable advice on the importance of individuality, brevity, story-telling and ambience in visual merchandising. The day closed with an introduction to Michael Donaldson, the new facilitator of the N.A.G.’s Executive Development Forum. In explaining how to ‘increase the value of a business’ he outlined the unique opportunity that the EDF gives jewellery retail owners and directors to meet with like-minded professionals, develop strategic thinking, benchmark their business and, ultimately, achieve their potential.

President’s Reception at Goldsmiths’ Hall ust ahead of the presentation of our Education Awards at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London, the significance of the glittering ceremony was marked by the President’s Reception. Supporters and close friends of the N.A.G. gathered in the beautiful Drawing Room – with its 17th century tapestries – to salute the hard work and achievements of the students.

For details of all winners of the N.A.G.’s Education Awards see pages 49-55.

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The Voice of the Industry 15

| N.A.G. News

N.A.G. Ethics Group meeting update ast month N.A.G. CEO Michael Rawlinson attended this year’s first Jewellery Ethics Group UK meeting. Among the topics covered was the BBC Newsnight feature on ‘conflict gold’.

The programme claimed that Dubai's biggest gold refiner committed breaches of the rules designed to prevent gold mined in conflict zones from entering the global supply chain.

A whistleblower from the auditors Ernst & Young claimed that Kaloti Precious Metals had paid more than $5bn (£3bn) in cash for the metal and accepted gold from more than 1,000 customers who walked in off the street with no paperwork.

Allegations like these, says Rawlinson, are a setback to international efforts – championed

by Barack Obama, the UN and EU, CIBJO and campaign groups – to eradicate the illicit trade in gold from conflict areas, by requiring the world's largest refineries to be independently audited to check that they are sourcing gold responsibly and publishing the findings.

Full details of the findings from this audit are set out in confidential inspection reports from Ernst & Young, which were brought in to review the practices of the Kaloti Group. It owns the largest refinery in the Middle East and is at the centre of Dubai's booming gold industry, estimated to be worth $70bn (figures from 2012).

Last October the Responsible Jewellery Council signed a deal cross-recognising the inspection programme of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), but requiring additional steps from companies wishing to become members. “Although the RJC will accept DMCC audit standards as part of its process of accreditation,” Rawlinson said, “I am concerned that there will be confusion in the market arisng from this report. I am keen to receive reassurances from RJC on how we can fully protect our members and the consumer going forward.”

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Independent Retail Consortium gathering n early March the Independent Retail Consortium (a group of associations with a substantial number of independent businesses as members) came together to discuss current issues facing retailers. As well as an update on political issues and business rates reform the event also discussed the Future High Street Forum, which will look at the promotion of local shopping environments following the Portas Review. During the meeting updates were given on plans for Small Business Saturday (6th December 2014 – save the date) and the Independents’ Day (4th July) that will promote ‘shop at your independent store’. To find out more about the IRC visit: www.indieretail.org/

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Bank of England Genesis meeting very quarter the N.A.G. is invited to attend a round table meeting at the Bank of England, alongside other associations and businesses, to receive an update from the Governor’s agent on the current economic situation as well as factors that have been affecting market conditions. A discussion on issues which will inform future predictions follows this. Through the input of a selected group of members, the N.A.G. provides the Bank of England with valuable insight into issues within the jewellery sector, which, when taken with the views of other participants, is fed back into the monetary policy committee. This in turn will form part of the evidence used when deciding a range of future measures, including the monthly Bank of England interest rate.

Points that were noteworthy included the work-readiness of school leavers, especially soft interpersonal skills and a good work ethic, and the issue of having sufficient working capital within a business to fund future expansion as customer demand grows.

These are issues the N.A.G. will be looking to assist members with through our JET courses and the Executive Development Forum.

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16 The Jeweller April 2014

SaferGems – more good news aferGems, the N.A.G./TH March initiative against crime in the jewellery, antiques and fine art trades, has recently submitted its annual review, which underlines its valuable work and achievements. In the past year SaferGems recorded 678 crimes and suspicious incidents reported by both the jewellery industry and police, circulated 218 alerts, 260 analytical reports to police and assisted police with six arrests and convictions. It is also believed that the scheme has prevented over 150 crimes.

Good news stories crop up on a regular basis and another has just arrived…

Between December 2013 and January 2014 SaferGems circulated numerous alerts containing images and warning members of a well-known, prolific jewellery thief who was committing offences at jewellery stores across the North West and Midlands regions. Due to previous dealings with the suspect, SaferGems was able to identify the man and linked him to two jewellery thefts in Cheshire and one in Lancashire.

His details were passed to aforementioned police forces by SaferGems and as a direct result he was arrested on 25th January 2014 by Lancashire Police in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

He appeared at Preston Crown Court on 5th March 2014 and was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment. This is the second time SaferGems has assisted police with the conviction of this man.

“To date, SaferGems and its members have assisted police forces across England with six arrests and two convictions,” said SaferGems’ Lee Henderson. “Without the support and vigilance of members, these arrests may not have occurred. We continue to encourage members to report all suspicious activity to police prior to informing SaferGems.” Michael Rawlinson also added: “I am delighted that the value and work of jewellers and the SaferGems team is recognised by the police, and I am thrilled by yet another success story.”

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N.A.G. News: Education & Training |

Bransom 2014 passion shines though!

The Education department would like to offer congratulations to our Bransom Award winners for January and February 2014, both of whom are employed by Beaverbrooks.

Our January award winner is Rosemary Stammer of Beaverbrooks in Dudley. e asked Rosemary how long she has been in the jewellery business and what appealed to her about joining the industry.

“I joined Beaverbrooks in June 2012 after spotting a recruitment poster in the window.

My husband suggested I apply as I loved jewellery so much – an understatement as I have a long time interest and love of jewellery and gemstones.”

On learning that she had won the award her reaction was “total shock followed by a great deal of screaming both by myself – and by the team in the store when they heard the reason for the call. I still cannot quite believe it.

“Naturally enough the most enjoyable part of the course was that which related to gemstones. There was so much interesting information it was difficult to know what to put in and what to leave out,” she explained.

“The assignments relating to diamonds were very helpful and have provided me with the knowledge and skills to help my interactions with the customers and enable them to buy with confidence.”

Rosemary is in no doubt as to the value of JET1. “The course has provided a solid base of knowledge to build on, together with some important skills which I feel will aid my progression in the jewellery business. I would thoroughly recommend

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the course to anyone who enters the trade,” she added.

Rosemary’s work was selected by her tutor because: “All of her assignments have had the ‘wow’ factor. She has put a great deal of effort into each one and produced superb quality JET1 coursework. All her assignments have been awarded with top marks.

“Her final piece of course work was truly outstanding. She provided full coverage about the 4Cs and thus demonstrated that she understands how important these are when selling diamonds. She has also shown that she knows how to deliver excellent customer service.”

Matt Haddon from Beaverbrooks Head Office is our February winner. att joins the ranks of the superlative Bransom Awards winners and took time out to speak to us about the course and his award. “I’ve been in the jewellery industry for just over a year now, which has absolutely flown by. I’ve worked in retail since leaving university but prior to joining Beaverbrooks these roles were with clothing retailers. I’ve always had a love of retailing and I truly believe that to be good at what you do you should also have a passion for what you’re selling. When the opportunity came up to work with Beaverbrooks it was too good to turn down; I have always had an interest in watches and jewellery.”

How did he feel on winning the Bransom Award for February? “Surprised – I was just glad I passed! I was not expecting it at all.”

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His success left us wondering which area in particular Matt found the most engaging.

“I enjoyed all aspects covered in the course.

It would be difficult to pick one that has been the most useful to me as everything I studied will help me with my role. If I had to pick one area that I found most interesting it would be the assignments centred around diamonds and gems. It was great learning about their physical properties and what makes them so special and unique.”

When we asked Matt how he thought the course will help him to progress in his career he was enthusiastic: “The course has given me a really good base knowledge of jewellery.

Being (relatively) new to the industry I can take this knowledge and apply it to skills I have acquired from my previous roles, to help me develop my role with the business.

The benefits of completing the course have meant I’ve already recommended it to others!”

Matt’s tutor Michelle McCormick was also pleased with his progress and achievements.

“Matthew has produced five top-quality pieces of JET1 coursework. All of his work has proven that he is dedicated to his studies and all have been answered in great detail.

His project about diamonds certainly deserves recognition for being outstanding. He has researched this subject well and shows that he possesses the qualities and knowledge needed to sell diamonds well.”

The Bransom Award In July 2010 the N.A.G. launched an award with the aim of recognising the very best JET1 projects. Course tutors put forward nominations before the winner is chosen by our chief moderator. The individual who is awarded the highest assignment mark is rewarded with a trip to the historic and prestigious Goldsmiths’ Hall in London for the presentation of their certificate at our annual award ceremony. The award, which is sponsored by Bransom Retail Systems, is made on a monthly basis.

The Voice of the Industry 19

| Feature

Judith Lockwood – Ready for a new challenge – The seemingly unimaginable has happened – Judith Lockwood has said ‘good-bye’ to IBB’s Ti Sento. Just a week after joining the Martin Ross Group of Canada, as European director for Arctic Circle Diamonds, she gave Belinda Morris the inside story. fter five years of steering Italian fashion jewellery brand Ti Sento from ‘largely unknown’ to ‘pretty ubiquitous’ in the UK, you’d be forgiven for imagining that Judith Lockwood was ready for a new challenge.

It would not be too far fetched to speculate that she might consider her job to be done.

But you’d be wrong – as I turned out to be when I mooted this theory.

“Not at all,” she says, fixing me with the famously direct, Lockwood grey-eyed gaze.

“I was definitely not looking to move on; I loved (and still love) Ti Sento and my leaving IBB was a very sad time for them as well as for me. There were lots of tears in the office that day! And they’ve been very supportive since I handed my notice in.”

She’s also quick to point out that putting Ti Sento so emphatically on the map was “a team effort” – as much about those in accounts and distribution, as about her. She also refutes any claim that the brand might have reached its natural UK zenith (hence her need for a new challenge perhaps).

“I always say that with Ti Sento ‘the best is yet to come’ and that I’ve just been a part of it,” she insists.

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repeated on every occasion. “Each time they left a little of themselves with me,” she says.

The wooing coincided with Lockwood becoming a co-opted member of the National Executive Committee of the BJA (she becomes a full member at the AGM later this month). “I’ve been hearing discussions on all sorts of subjects… including ethical issues,” she explains. “It might sound like the sort of thing you hear all the time, but I want to make a difference. But I also like a great story and Arctic Circle has one. The Corporate Social Responsibility factor – the credibility and ethics – is important to Martin Ross. You can see and believe in this story.

And it really means something to me.”

Building a case for moving across to the Group, was, she says, a matter of layer upon layer of reasoning, led by heart as well as head. “And you know what they say? ‘What’s for you doesn’t go past you’ – I firmly believe that.”

Having spent the past five years immersed in fashion jewellery, Lockwood’s new role is clearly going to take her down quite a different track, but it’s not a wholly unfamiliar one. Prior to Ti Sento she spent

But the really big difference for me with this new job is that I’ll be going back to basics. I’ll be back on the road with my bag, visiting customers!

OK, so we’ve put that one straight. So, how on earth was she lured away? If Lockwood wasn’t actively seeking a career change, presumably Martin Ross did some serious pursuing? How did it come about? “It’s a small trade – our paths crossed,” she says.

“And during a conversation about a year ago they approached me. I said: ‘No, I’m happy where I am’.” As is the way with this industry, paths crossed again… and again – the offer

20 The Jeweller April 2014

six years as UK sales director for Hearts on Fire Diamonds, and before that worked for Cartier for over eight years. “Working with diamonds will need a new approach,” she concedes. “Retailers [looking for diamond jewellery] come from a completely different angle, with a different mind-set.

“But the really big difference for me with this new job is that I’ll be going back to basics. I’ll be back on the road with my bag,

visiting customers! That’s very important to me. I have already been to all existing Arctic Circle customers to find out about their experience of working with the brand. I’m here at the start and I really like to see if I can build things.”

Lockwood’s obviously aware that selling diamond jewellery is going to require a separate set of skills and vocabulary. As well as drawing on her past experience she has attended a Birmingham Assay Office diamond course. “It was short, but it has helped me

get back into the language and terminology,” she explains. But she also plans a trip to Canada to see the whole operation. “I want to be immersed in the culture; you need to see and experience these things… or at least I do,” she says.

As well as the selling of Arctic Circle’s Ideal Square Cut diamond and the 105facet ‘Northern Lights’ stone, she’s particularly excited about the ethical aspect of the brand (which is a signatory to the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct and diamonds mined, cut, polished and finished in Canada).

“It’s exciting. We have an education to give and we want people to have belief, faith and trust in the brand; for them to feel confident.

But they have to want it for the right reasons – because it’s beautiful and credible. This is also about other products – not just the ‘ethical’ ones – in a jeweller’s store; all of us, suppliers and retailers, are in this business together. In the end the proof is in the pudding. It’s about the product selling in, selling out and people wearing it.”

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Jeweller picks... the

Eye-popping colours; dramatic forms; bold dimensions; a sense of adventure; detailed craftsmanship… whether fine or fashion jewellery it’s all in the mix this season.

KATIE ROWLAND

Zelle is the latest collection by award-winning jewellery designer Katie Rowland, inspired by scandalous Dutch exotic dancer Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, who was charged with espionage during WWl and executed by firing squad. Among the dramatically edgy pieces are these statement earrings in rose gold vermeil, set with mystic blue topaz, lavender quartz and multi-coloured gemstones.

LILY KAMPER

This RCA graduate’s designs are delicate yet robust with a distinct architectural quality, taking inspiration from LED lights, abandoned Miami swimming pools, palm trees and the fictitious Kryptonite, to devise a collection that's unexpected and individual. Modern materials such as corian, resin, gold-plated brass and silver and dip-dyed perspex are used, as well as gems such as sapphire and garnet.

PRODUCT OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT THE BRANCH

Founded in 2003 by designer Wendy Pickard, The Branch collection revolves around bold, statement pieces using sustainably-sourced, beeswax-treated rosewood, accented with gold, silver, diamonds and gemstones. For this season vibrant stones such as blue howlite and agate have been introduced for chunky bangles and bold neckpieces.

The brainchild of Central Saint Martins MA graduate Rebecca Chitty, the PoYE collection encompasses everyday objects from teapots to doormats… jewellery included. And as this necklace from True Identity line suggests, the motto of the line is to ‘make everyday funny’, with other slogans including: “Frisky’, ‘Available’ and ‘Confused’.

ANDREW GEOGHEGAN

The BJA’s Designer of the Year continues to offer the wow factor with his cocktail rings – inspired by his Satellite collection is the Phoenix ring which features green tourmaline, tanzanite and diamonds in 18ct yellow gold. It is also available in platinum, white and rose gold with a wide variety of coloured gemstones.

SHO FINE JEWELLERY

BaselWorld last month saw the launch of Sarah Ho’s first designs in collaboration with the established Italian jewellery manufacturer Ititoli. Titled ‘Vita Vitae’ (‘The Vine of Life’) the line has been produced in 18ct rose gold, set with brilliant cut diamonds and is inspired by the heart (symbolising Sarah’s passion for design and craftsmanship) and the vine (the flowing lines of branches signifying the importance of family heritage).

RODGERS & RODGERS

PARISI

Launched in 2013 by designer Jane Mooney, Parisi debuted with the Elements Collection, which was inspired by a parcel of faceted diamond slices that she came across. Her hand-made jewellery showcases untreated gemstones set in 18ct yellow, white and rose gold – as in this ‘Dark Star’ pendant set with silver sapphire.

The Rodgers & Rodgers jewellery line has expanded to include a small range of raw stones including: labradorite, topaz, chalcedony and rose quartz – all formed in the brand’s signature organic shapes and set into sterling silver and 22ct gold vermeil.

JESSICA FLINN

Sheffield-based jewellery designer Jessica Flinn has extended her successful ‘Lace’ collection with the introduction of the ‘Emerald Lace’ line. This direction follows her blue ‘Ceramics’ range, the introduction of gold and silver and the original etched steel pieces that kickstarted Flinn’s career.

SUICIDE BLONDE

Gothic, melancholic romance is in order with the latest collection from this jewellery and accessories label. Inspired by European folklore, The Wild Hunt incorporates friendship bracelets with mother of pearl crosses, black onyx beads and glass buttons, as well as this oxidised silver spider pendant with black diamond eyes.

AUGUSTINE JEWELS

FIONA PAXTON

This new luxury jewellery brand was founded and created by jewellery designer Alexandra Morris Robson, whose aim is to offer “a piece that has an element of sentimental and lasting beauty for the wearer, an ‘heirloom’ or ‘iconic’ piece that can be easily identified as Augustine Jewels and treasured as an eternal keepsake.” Inspired by her travels, her latest collection comprises three lines using 18ct gold, sterling silver, precious coloured gemstones and diamonds.

Pearlescent, bubble-like beading creates a witty and colourful collection, the Swarovski pearls forming patterning reminiscent of blossom, sprinkles and foam. Chalky pinks, white and rose gold, copper and maroon and iridescent, oxidised grey are the key tones.

SWEETLIME

With over 20 years’ experience of designing jewellery, founder Elspeth J Walker is inspired by her extensive travels in Europe, India, Africa and South East Asia. Each collection is a mix of specially created pieces and the summer 2014 Carnival line is a riot of colour and texture, using glass, wood, textiles and base metals.

JULIA BURNESS

Working in recycled metals and fairtrade gold, Julia Burness introduces her latest collection ‘Lost Lace’ which brings vintage lace pieces back to life by casting them in metal.

The results are delicate, light and dramatic – as in the collar necklace – and sit alongside a more commercial collection of cuffs, rings and earrings.

JCM LONDON

Formerly JewelEver, the re-branded JCM draws on inspiration from the beauty of ancient and mythical civilisations, for collections that really resemble a glorious treasure trove of jewels.

Mixing classical and contemporary designs, stones, colours and materials, each piece is like a miniature work of art, as in these earrings that contrast natural and polished stones with Swarovski crystals, set in sterling silver.

TESSA PACKARD

Tessa’s ‘No Smoke Without Flowers’ collection is inspired by 19th-century Chinese opium dens, which were known as Hua-yan, or flower-smoke rooms. The ‘smoke’ was the opium; the ‘flowers’ the courtesans. The collection imagines what might be inside the jewel boxes of these courtsesans – these 18ct gold and lapis lazuli pyramid earrings with chrysoprase flower bomb drops perhaps.

| Feature

Brand Profile Talbots Group When she took over the reins of Talbots Group just over three years ago, Julia Fowler-Drake knew that the company had to adapt to survive. Today change is proving to be better than a rest, as she explains to Belinda Morris. alk the aisles of any of our trade shows – such as Jewellery & Watch Birmingham back in February – and it might be that one is so mesmerised by the sparkling displays of gems and jewellery, that the service companies could be seen as also-rans. As essential to business as they are, it’s harder for the likes of insurance, EPOS, CAD, security, labelling, machinery, display and packaging providers to compete with the big brand, fashion-fuelled showiness of the jewellery suppliers. Of course they don’t really need or try to compete – such serious back-room business doesn’t require a show-biz approach after all.

All that said, there was one such service provider that really did stand out at the fair this year. The Birmingham-based Talbots Group has been quietly getting on with supplying jewellery packaging since 1941 when Frederick Fowler founded Talbots; his son Graham taking over in 1962. Having merged since with Pickering & Mayell – which was born just over

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Julie FowlerDrake, MD of Talbots Group

26 The Jeweller April 2014

100 years ago – Talbots is obviously a familiar fixture on the industry supplier scene.

In which case, there may have been a few surprised buyers who were able to spot the Talbots’ stand at 50 paces and were subsequently lured – by vivid shots of colour – to the back of the hall.

The Group has had an overhaul of late, and it began back in 2010 when Julie FowlerDrake stepped in as managing director following the death of her father. Her aim was to turn what was essentially a packaging wholesaler into a ‘packaging partner’. Coming into the family firm was never her intention – she had a children’s clothing business, supplying 100 stores worldwide, which she had created herself (and has only just wound down). She was though pretty familiar with Talbots and, as a businesswoman, was well equipped to step into her father’s shoes.

She was also keenly aware that major adjustments would have to be made and pulls no punches on the matter: “It would not

have survived if I hadn’t made changes,” she says. “It took six months for me to get under the skin of the business and then I had to be very focussed and tear through the middle of it. It was about management, the supply chain, the people, the structure and the systems. Talbots is an old family firm and there was a reluctance to change,” she adds.

“It was too personal for my father, but for me, I had no choice. It was that or close down.”

(Ironically Graham Fowler always hoped that his daughter – his middle child – would join him in the business. “But I wanted

“In order to survive independents are having to compete with the likes of Pandora, and that means having to work harder at their own packaging…” to do my own thing. And it probably wouldn’t have worked – us working together – he wouldn’t have let me make some of the really big changes,” she says.)

A demand-planner was brought in to assess the direction that Talbots should be taking and needless to say, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “Twenty per cent of our business is with smaller, independent jewellers, many of them very traditional and set in their ways. The hardest thing was to manage and guide this group through the journey and explain why we needed to make the changes,” Fowler-Drake says.

Her position at the helm is now three years in, but, as she explains, it took two years of ‘fast, continual change’ to make the crucial differences. She outlines the significant

Feature | results of the upheaval: “Customer service has got better; we use a pool of factories rather than relying on just the one; the offer has become more focussed (we previously carried an enormous range and quantities of absolutely everything) and, as ‘solution providers’ our remit stretches from design and development to logistics. We now ‘partner’ with retailers; we’re not simply a wholesaler, and we have a team that is able to look after an entire project from start to finish, as well as nurture and grow client relationships,” she says. ‘Pro-active’ would be a particularly apt word to sum up the new ethos.

While Fowler-Drake arrived at her new role with business experience (plus a lorry-load of passion, drive and ambition), she recognised that while she was not fazed by the task ahead, she herself might benefit from a little help. She therefore signed up to a coaching scheme, which is part of the governmentfunded, Business Development Programme – great200leaders. “The focus was on strategy and how to share vision, values and purpose,” she explains. As well as workshops over a 12-month period, she was assigned a mentor.

“Who advises an MD or CEO? I’d recommend the scheme to anyone.”

Today, with business moving in the right direction, Fowler-Drake is happy to be pushing a few more boundaries. “We’re currently at the interesting, creative stage – which includes PR campaigns and social media – which I’m finding very exciting,” she says. “We have a design studio now and it’s a massive part of our business. We didn’t design anything before, but our product is becoming more design-focussed and innovative. We are also offering a premium range, which we never did before and we’ve really moved from dowdy and traditional to modern.”

This contemporary look applies to display as well as bags and boxes (leatherette has been abandoned in favour of high gloss materials for busts, for instance) and Talbots is also selling gift packaging, which is a new departure for the company. Inspiration, she explains, can come from a variety of sources: “I’m interested in fashion and interiors and am on Instagram a lot; I feed off lots of different things, from fabrics to furniture.”

Evidence of this creative streak can be seen in Talbots’ new book-cum-catalogue that outlines the latest collections. Stylishly put together, it gives an insight into the workings

of the design studio, including the various processes involved in a project – from research and definition through to sample production and eventually delivery. Images of the various lines are large and clear and, in the case of certain models, the backdrop for the photos is the actual print used for the boxes – as in the case of the pink textured snakeskin of the Paris hinged boxes. The book also gives generous space to the trends of the season – in the case of 2014 we’re talking metallics, black and white, UV spot and a mix of details. Sepia-toned images of Talbots, Pickering & Mayell – the founders, people and premises – are a nostalgic reference to how things once were, but also a reminder of how far the business has travelled.

“The jewellery industry is changing; people want something different now,” Fowler-Drake adds. “In order to survive independents are having to compete with the likes of Pandora, and that means having to work harder at their own packaging.

Even a very simple brand can look exciting.

Some people aren’t very ‘visual’ – they need to have the physical object in their hand, so in the studio we create a lot of CAD drawings of designs. We want retailers to come to us for this help.”

The Voice of the Industry 27

| Feature

Stella Layton – poised to make her mark Following the retirement last month of her predecessor Michael Allchin, this month sees the start of Stella Layton’s solo journey in the driving seat of the Birmingham Assay Office. Belinda Morris discovers the woman behind this prestigious post and the path that has brought her to the role of CEO. You were global divisional director for Cooksons Precious Metals prior to joining the BAO… what led you to the jewellery industry?

I joined the jewellery industry in 1987 completely by chance. My background is that I am an IBM mid-range systems consultant, specialising in Enterprise Resource Planning (or Material Requirements Planning as it was known then). A job became available at Johnson Matthey Jewellery as an analyst/ programmer, following the collapse of Johnson Matthey bank. I was offered the position, and moved on to become the IT manager, then the operations manager running all production facilities. We were bought by Cooksons some 17 years ago… which led me to be part of that company.

When I joined, my track record had been to stay at companies for two years and then move on in the IT field… I believed that would be the outcome at JM some 26 years later when I left! I think we can safely say I got hooked by the precious metals industry.

What does being a guardian of the Assay Office and a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’ Company involve?

It is a privilege to be invited to be a guardian, and when I was approached I was very flattered. It gives you an opportunity to be involved in the history of the Jewellery Quarter and Birmingham.

Wardens are the ‘board’ of the Assay Office, perhaps likened to non-executive directors and can only be recruited from guardians. Guardians are an extension of the governance structure, and are interested parties that support the Assay Office in its

28 The Jeweller April 2014

endeavours. They are briefed on what it is trying to achieve, and provide expertise and advice that it might need.

As a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’ Company, you are available to work on any of the boards that drive that business by invitation. You become part of an exclusive club that provides a networking capability, information updates about the Guild, and exclusive venues for events both social and business. This too was a great honour.

How did you get involved in the Hospital and Mental Health Trusts.

It happened around eight years ago. I think [this sort of involvement] is driven by reaching a certain age; you stand back and look at your life. I decided I wanted to put something back into society using the skills that I had developed over the years. This was what led me to look for non-executive roles in charitable institutions and the NHS. A position became available at the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust, which I applied for and, after a very rigorous recruitment process, succeeded in getting.

Mental health in my opinion is the underdog in the NHS; it also comes with a lot of stigma attached and raising the openness and acceptance around the various conditions is a continual battle.

I found my time there illuminating, fulfilling, frustrating and inspiring. It gave me a new dimension on which to view issues – socially, personally and in business. I left due to ‘day job’ work pressures some two and a half years ago; I was promoted to global divisional director of Cookson Precious Metals and spent a lot of time in the US.

However when my work/life balance returned to something more reasonable, a non-executive position became available at the Birmingham Women's Hospital Foundation Trust, which I applied for and got just a little over 12 months ago. This is a small, speciality trust, another underdog in the NHS economy, and has offered me exposure to the acute side of the NHS. How different do you think the BAO post will be compared to your previous role? What are the challenges that lie ahead for you (and the Assay Office)?

My predecessor is a great showman; that is not a natural step for me as I am more a behind-the-scenes character. So the profile of this role is a little different to what I am used to. The history and legalities behind the Assay Office are also a new field. But I have always reveled in new challenges and love to learn, so this all adds to the attraction of the role for me. All anyone can do is their best, and I will be trying my best to make this a success for all of the stakeholders of the Assay Office.

Have you had to do any new training for this role?

Yes – on the job with Michael, over the last three months.

What are the issues that are coming up in the next few months that are first on your agenda? Are there any major changes that you are planning?

Clearly the new build [of the Assay Office] is a major challenge over the next 18 months.

We hope to move by the third quarter next year, breaking ground in March. Until then ongoing, continuous improvement is the name of the day internally and for our customers. At the same time we’ll continue to manage our customer and product portfolio and diversify within our remit and competencies.

One of

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| Regular

Notebook

Where to go, what to read, what to see…

Exhibitions April 12th–27th July: India: Jewels that Enchanted the World. The State Museums of Moscow Kremlin, Russia Over 30 lenders have contributed to the most comprehensive exhibition of Indian jewellery ever staged. With more than 300 pieces it covers 500 years from the 17th century to the present day. www.kreml.ru/en June 26th-2nd July: Masterpiece London, The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, SW3 Jewellery, fine art, antiques and design from leading global names such as Verdura, Hammerle and Theo Fennell. Tickets are £25. www.masterpiecefair.com

Jewellery & Watch Trade Fairs May 27th – 2nd June: JCK, Luxury and Swiss Watch, Las Vegas, USA North America’s leading jewellery event showcasing collections from domestic

and international designers and suppliers.

The three days preceding JCK sees the invite-only ‘upscale’ Luxury show. lasvegas.jckonline.com June 7th-9th: Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl and Gem fair, HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad, India 125+ exhibitors from local and international markets offering fine finished jewellery, gemstones, pearls, diamonds, silver jewellery, equipment, software, display and services. www.ubmindia.in 18th-19th: Jewellery & Watch London, Saachi Gallery, London SW3 Over 134 jewellery and watch brands at the fair’s new venue on the King’s Road. Catwalk shows and seminars will enhance visitor experience. N.A.G. supported. www.jewelleryandwatchlondon.com 19th-22nd: Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, HK Convention & Exhibition Centre A showplace for loose gems, fine and finished jewellery, packaging, tools and equipment.

Plus fashion jewellery and accessories, including a section devoted to stainless steel jewellery. www.jewellerynetasia.com 25th-28th: METS, World-Expo, Hong Kong Machinery, Equipment, Technology and Supplies for the Jewellery and Watch Industry is a new exhibition, the only one of its kind in SE Asia. www.mets.hk

N.A.G. Diary Dates May 15th: Essential Display, London An opportunity to learn how to put together exciting displays with tutor Judy Head. N.A.G. members: £235 + VAT. Developing Sales Skills, one-day course, date and location TBC Virada Training offers this sales skills training course, to unlock potential and help a business stand out from the crowd.

N.A.G. members: £275 + VAT 20th–21st: Diamonds & Diamond Grading Introduction, London A two-day seminar aimed at helping staff increase their knowledge and understanding of diamonds. N.A.G. members: £402 + VAT For details of all courses contact Amanda White: amandaw@jewellers-online.org

Book Reviews Nardi, text by Nicholas Foulkes (£105, Assouline. hardcover in a luxury slipcase) In the early 1900s, inspired by the beauty of Venice, Giulio Nardi set out to create a jewellery house synonymous with Italian elegance and luxury. And this elegant and beautifully illustrated book, written by a lover of Nardi craftsmanship (and owner of several pieces) sets out to put the jewellery business into the context of the city and its colourful history. Nardi today has Alberto Nardi, the third generation of the family at its helm and the house style continues to be ‘an

30 The Jeweller April 2014

imaginative interpretation of familiar aspects of Venice in precious metals and stones’.

And, as the images demonstrate, the work is ‘elevated beyond the status of mere adornment…’ These are cultural objects… small works of art.

Jesper Nielsen, Inside Pandora – as told to Carsten Graff (£15.25, published in Denmark by StemningsHotellet. www.endlessjewelry.eu) Billed on the cover as ‘a simple and unconventional approach to business by one of the key players behind a billion-dollar global enterprise’ this book (written by a philosopher) gives a no-holds-barred insight into Jesper Nielsen. He was the man who could see

that Pandora – a small, low-key jewellery business back in 2003 – had global potential. In just a few years, without the aid of business plans, phones, emails and concern for competitors, he spread the Pandora concept in five countries – starting with Germany, despite not speaking the language. So, how did he do it (without formal education or special training) and why did he walk away from it eventually? Here, the charismatic Jesper – unplugged – at the start of a new (ad)venture, Endless Jewelry, tells it like it is.

April 2014 / Volume 23 / No. 3

The busy laser Composite opal East African yellow sapphires

Get closer to the source and venture to

Idar-Oberstein

21 June – 28 June 2014 Visits include Edelsteinminen Steinkaulenberg, Kupferbergwerk in Fischbach, DGemG, Schneider gem tools, Deutsches Mineralienmuseum and Historische Weiherschleife, as well as the chance to sample the very best of German small-town culture.

The price is inclusive of the coach to Germany, 7 nights accommodation (single or twin room), breakfast and dinner, and entry to museums, LQVWLWXWHV DQG ÀHOG WULSV For more information or to book contact events@gem-a.com.

Price

Single room

Twin room

(1 person)

(2 people)

Member

£1,455

£1,245

£1,745

£1,495

(Gem-A, NAG, BJA and GIA Alumni Association)

Non-member

All prices quoted are per person

™

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014 t

Editorial

Gems&Jewellery

April 14

Perception. Our business thrives and even depends on it. From the perception of what is ‘good value’ or what is a ‘nice stone’, right through to whether a sapphire is from Kashmir or not.

In the latter case there may be scientific argument, but in the final analysis one is relying on a lab’s experience and perception to arrive at an origin. Of course, this is why one gets differing

Contents

opinions on the same stone.

4

Stone grading, whether of diamonds or of coloured gemstones, is at best a subjective discipline. In spite of many scientific instruments being introduced which can tell us about proportions and light return, clarity is still in the eye of the beholder, although one might be forgiven for thinking colour is now an objective choice with colour grading machines and increasingly advanced colour grading systems from Gemewizard and Gemworld. The problem is we have not yet developed a machine which can replicate the human eye satisfactorily, so we

Gem News

rely on the individual. At the recent International Gemmological Congress (IGE) and Federation

5

for European Education in Gemmology (FEEG) conference in Madrid, the topic of diamond colour grading came up, and a seemingly non-PC comment was made that men and women grade colour differently. A cue for a potential riot I would have thought, had it not been for an affirmation of this

by Menahem Sevdermish of Gemewizard. Ladies, you will be gratified to learn that you are in fact more accurate and consistent graders than men! You might think this is anecdotal hogwash, were it not for the fact that we had on hand a scientific paper from Manchester University outlining a

Gem-A Events

study which came to this same conclusion. This is a subject which I think merits further research

6

and I hope that it might be the subject of an article later in the year. Menahem will be speaking about colour at the Gem-A Conference in November (Saturday 1–Tuesday 4 November) and will, I’m sure, be happy to engage on this topic.

Does this make men redundant in colour grading? Interestingly, nowadays the majority of gemmology students are, almost universally, female. Contrast this with 50 years ago when a female student was a rarity. I remain to be convinced about such generalization, even if backed

Shows and Exhibitions

by scientific study. For a start there are so many variables to take into account, such as the frame

8

of mind of the individual, their physical wellbeing — not to mention light sources. Light sources, now there’s another hot potato… Another time perhaps.

James Riley Chief Executive Officer

Gems and Minerals Awards

15

Instruments

16

Cover Picture Turbidity in hessonite garnet. Photo by Gary Roskin.

See Gems and Minerals, pages 8-12.

April 2014 / Volume 23 / No. 3

Hands-on Gemmology 18

Any opinions expressed in Gems&Jewellery are understood to be the views of the contributors and not necessarily those of the publishers.

Published by The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) 21 Ely Place, London EC1N 6TD t: +44 (0)20 7404 3334 f: +44 (0)20 7404 8843 e: editor@gem-a.com w: www.gem-a.com

Editor James Riley

Registered charity no. 1109555 Copyright 2014 ISSN 1746-8043

Design and Production Zest Design +44 (0)20 7864 1504

Production Editor Georgina Brown Advisory Board Mary Burland, Harry Levy

The busy laser Composite opal East African yellow sapphires

Advertising For mediapack and advertising rates please contact Ian Francis at the National Association of Goldsmiths on tel: +44 (0)20 7749 1705 or email him at: ian@jewellers-online.org

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Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Gem News

Gem news We report on an unsold pink diamond, an ‘outstanding’ vivid blue one, the opening of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Centre and the recent CIBJO seminar.

‘Pink Dream’ aptly named Sotheby’s, in its annual report, has announced that it has bought back the ‘Pink Star’ diamond, which had fetched a world record price in November last year, after its buyer defaulted on the payment.

The 60 ct oval-cut flawless pink stone sold at Sotheby’s Geneva for $83 million, making it the most expensive diamond ever sold.

New York-based diamond cutter Isaac Wolf outbid three rivals and purchased the stone on behalf of investors who gave their word to supply the funds for the purchase. After the bid was accepted Wolf renamed the diamond ‘Pink Dream’.

In a post-earnings conference call, the auction house said it reversed the related commission revenue as a result of the buyer default and recorded the pink diamond in inventory at a value of about $72 million.

“We are currently in discussions with the buyer, while also considering other alternatives,” Patrick McClymont, Sotheby’s CEO, said on the call with analysts. “In the meantime, we are quite comfortable with our valuation, and see real value in owning the diamond at this price.” The auction house paid the seller the guaranteed $60 million and is holding the stone for the time being.

Panama gem centre names directors The launch of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center, which took place in Panama City on 17 and 18 March, opened with the announcement by the Panama Diamond Exchange of its founding directors and members.

The hon. founding chairman of the PDE Board of Directors is Eli Izhakoff. The other directors include Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses;

Page 4

Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO; Avi Paz, president of the World Diamond Council and Erez Akerman, president of the Panama Diamond Exchange.

Founding PDE Members include Maxim Shkadov, president, International Diamond Manufacturers Association; Jeffrey H. Fischer, hon. president, of IDMA and DMIA and a member of the Board of Governors of the Gemological Institute of America; Reuven Kaufman, president, Diamond Dealers Club of New York; Ronnie Vanderlinden, president, Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of the United States (DMIA); Alex Popov, president, Moscow Diamond Bourse; and Mehul Shah, president, Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association (IDCA).

The Panama Gem & Jewelry Center is the first designated trading centre for the diamond, coloured gemstone and jewellery trades in a region that includes South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Vivid blue diamond sparkles at Israel show The inaugural International Rough Diamond Week (IRDW) kicked off on 9 March in the Rough Diamond Trading Hall of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE). Cora International LLC honoured the request of the Israel Diamond Exchange to display an exceptional vivid blue 29.6 ct diamond during the week on the rough diamond trading floor.

The vivid blue stone was recovered by Petra Diamonds Limited PTY at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa and purchased by Cora International for $25.5 million through a highly competitive sale process.

“This stone, an outstanding vivid blue with extraordinary saturation, tone and clarity, is the pinnacle of the rough diamonds that can

be viewed this week on the rough diamond trading floor,” Schnitzer said. “We’re very happy to have it on display and thank Cora International for its kind cooperation.”

During the IRDW, rough goods worth many hundreds of million dollars were present on the trading hall floor for viewing.

Some 400 buyers registered for viewing and bidding at the rough diamond tenders of the Israel Diamond Exchange.

NY CIBJO seminar focuses on CSR A CIBJO Luncheon Seminar held in New York on 9 April focused on the past 14 years of achievements toward achieving the UN’s 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDG), focusing especially on the jewellery and precious commodity mining sectors.

In particular the seminar looked at MDG#8, which concerns partnerships involving governments, civil society, academia and the private sector, in their joint efforts to achieve the MDGs and implement the UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda.

A review was made of a number of CSR programmes that have addressed one or multiple MDGs, such as: the eradication of extreme poverty, basic education, maternal health, food and water supply, and HIV/AIDs. In this respect, CIBJO members shared how they developed jewellery and mining sector awareness, involvement and contributions to MDGs and CSR including technology and innovation. A case study was presented by the Tanzanite Foundation on its community achievements related to the MDGs and the UN Development Agenda.

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Gem-A Events

Gem-A events Gem-A AGM Thursday 12 June — 17:30–20:00 Gem-A Headquarters, 21 Ely Place, London EC1N 6TD

Organic or imitation?

Monday 16 June Join our gemstone challenge and test your skills.

Gem-A Conference 2014 Business Design Centre, Islington 1 and 2 November: Conference 3 November: Seminars 4 November: Natural History Museum visit

All Gem Central evenings (except Specialist evenings, priced separately) are free for Gem-A members and Gem-A students; £5 for non-members.

Confirmed speakers include: • Edward Boehm GG CG from Rare Source • Bruce Bridges from Bridges Tsavorite • Brian Cook from Nature's Geometry • Thomas Hainschwang FGA from GGTL Laboratories • Alan Hart FGA DGA from the Natural History Museum • Dick Hughes FGA from Lotus • Dr Menahem Sevdermish FGA from GemeWizard • Chris Smith FGA from American Gemological Laboratories (AGL)

Gem-A Workshops

Show Dates Gem-A will be exhibiting at the following shows: JCK Las Vegas

Gem Central evenings Gem Central evenings take place once a month, at the Gem-A Headquarters (address as above) from 18:00–19:30.

Booking is essential.

Natural or synthetic?

Monday 14 April Join our gemstone challenge and test your skills.

From Mandalay to Mogok (Specialist evening) with Peter Grumitt Monday 19 May Following his recent journey to Myanmar, Peter Grumitt from Apsara Gems will give a talk on rubies from this area. £5 for Gem-A members and Gem-A students; £10 for non-members

Notes on workshops Our range of introductory ‘Understanding’ workshops are ideal for jewellers with no gemmological background, or for anyone who needs a refresher. The intermediate ‘Investigating’ workshops are for gemmologists and jewellers with gemmological knowledge.

Booth L116, Mandalay Bay 30 May – 2 June

International Jewellery London (IJL) Stand J31, Olympia London 31 August – 2 September

Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair Booth 3M046, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre 15 – 21 September

Investigating ruby, sapphire and emerald Friday 9 May 2014 Gem-A Headquarters, London Amanda Good FGA DGA will host an informative practical day covering all aspects of these beautiful and important gemstones. Attendees will begin by looking at the properties of natural ruby, sapphire and emerald, followed by their treatments (including lead-glass filling of ruby), their simulants and synthetics.

Participants will handle and examine a wide range of these stones from Gem-A’s extensive collection.

Gem-A/NAG/BJA Members and Gem-A Students: £110, Non-members: £130

Understanding diamond grading Friday 11 April 2014 Gem-A Headquarters, London This specialist workshop focuses on the key aspects of diamond grading, giving a unique insight into the 4Cs. Led by Gem-A’s experienced diamond tutor (with prior retail experience), Claire Mitchell FGA DGA,

participants will be guided through the underlying theory before seeing the practical side of cut, colour, clarity and carat weight on both loose and mounted diamonds.

Gem-A/NAG/BJA Members and Gem-A Students: £100, Non-members: £120

Gem-A Midlands Branch Organics with Maggie Campbell Pedersen FGA Friday 25 April For more information please contact the Midlands Branch chairman, Georgina Kettle FGA DGA, at georgekettle@hotmail.com.

The Scottish Gemmological Association Conference 2014 Friday 2 May – Monday 5 May Peebles Hydro Hotel, near Edinburgh For details of the programme please visit www.scotgem.co.uk/SGAConference2014.

To book please contact Catriona McInnes at scotgem@blueyonder.co.uk.

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Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Shows and Exhibitions

Cartier: Style and History Sabrina O’Cock

FGA DGA

visits the recent Cartier exhibition at the Grand Palais, Paris.

The Cartier: Style and History exhibition, held from 4 December 2013 – 16 February 2014, was a grand affair. The largest exhibition to be devoted to Cartier, the palatial Salon d’Honneur was filled with nearly 600 glittering jewels and precious objects from the jewellery house.

The curators of the exhibition, Laurent Salomé and Laure Dalon, stated that it was unusual for the museum to dedicate an exhibition to a large company that is still trading, but while Cartier is a retailer, it also shares two vital attributes with the usual museum pieces: heritage and virtue.

One of the exhibition’s objectives was to push boundaries in the history of art field to include jewellery and, in doing so, elevate the status of this particular craft to equal that of those decorative arts already recognized for their artistic integrity. The other was to showcase the complex history of Cartier from the Second French Empire to the 1970s and analyse its contribution to the evolution of style.

Cartier began buying back its classic pieces and building the Collection Ancienne Cartier in 1983, which now boasts over 1500 pieces. In addition to loans from private individuals and other institutions, pieces from this collection contributed a major part of the exhibition. Thanks to this and Cartier’s meticulous records of client purchases, as well as archival material from its workshops, the exhibition was so much more than a chronological display of spectacular pieces.

In mesmerizing fashion, the exhibition succeeded in bringing guests into the world of the jewellery designers and their inspirations, vogue ideas and technical challenges, as well as into the world of Cartier’s illustrious and exacting clientele. As the revolving cabinet greeting visitors brought glistening tiaras to life, so too did wellchosen contextual material breathe life into each piece.

1: The ‘Bérénice’ tiara, featuring a 141.13 ct engraved natural emerald.

V. Wulveryck © Cartier.

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2: Duchess of Windsor’s ‘Panther’ pin (1949), featuring two yellow pearshaped diamonds for eyes, a 152.35 ct Kashmir cabochon sapphire and cabochon sapphire spots. © Cartier.

Designer sketchbooks and studies, workshop moulds, historical dress, fashion illustrations and photographs of famous owners in their Cartier jewels wove a glorious ribbon through the exhibition, documenting many aspects of Cartier’s creative process and contemporary life. One often hears the expression ‘if only jewels could speak’ and here, being privy to so many behind-the-scenes artifacts, it felt as if they had a distinct voice.

From a gemmological perspective the exhibition was full of delights. Divided both chronologically and thematically, the exhibition took visitors on a journey through the changing scenes of the early twentieth century, and every so often a particularly breathtaking jewel would gather a devoted congregation. The Bérénice emerald tiara (1) was one such delight which held the crowd captivated. The engraved 141.13 ct emerald, a naturally hexagonal stone of Mughal origin, was set into a striking geometric scrolling diamond tiara which was easily convertible into a brooch. Previously known as the Taj Mahal emerald, it was renamed for the Exposition Internationale des Arts

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Shows and Exhibitions

Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925, an exhibition of contemporary applied arts at the forefront of design which gave its name to the roaring new style, Art Deco. A photograph of the centrepiece of Cartier’s display at the 1925 Exposition reveals the Bérénice emerald then set in an elegant shoulder necklace. Beside this photograph, from the same year, was Cartier’s original design for this necklace in graphite, India ink and gouache, and a fashion plate from La Gazette du Bon Ton showing this very shoulder ornament and matching parure on Bérénice personified.

Displayed majestically in its own cabinet, and quite unreal in stature, was Marie of Romania’s sapphire, a 478 ct unheated blue sapphire from Sri Lanka. Acquired by Cartier in 1913, it was shown at the San Sebastian exhibition in 1919, where it commanded the attention of Spanish royalty. Bought in 1921 by Ferdinand of Romania, it was often worn on a long chain (also by Cartier) by Queen Marie and can be seen in a 1924 portrait by Philip Alexius de Láslò, held in the Museul National Peles in Romania. It is one of the largest cut sapphires ever documented.

Of equal fascination, viewers encountered the hemispherical 152.35 ct cabochon sapphire of Kashmiri origin, set as the pedestal of the Duchess of Windsor’s famous panther brooch, 1949 (2).

The Williamson diamond, a 23.60 ct round brilliant-cut pink diamond from the Mwadui mine in Tanganyika, gleamed from within a flower brooch, 1953, belonging to Queen Elizabeth II and worn gracefully in a photographic portrait by Marcus Adam. Grace Kelly’s engagement ring (1956) was also on display — an elegantly simple emerald-cut diamond weighing 10.47 ct set between two baguette-cut diamonds (3), which surely touched a few heartstrings.

In 2011 Elizabeth Taylor’s famous Peregrina pearl earned world headlines when it sold for $11.8 million (£7.6 million). Although the pearl was not on show, Cartier’s 1972 design for the necklace the pearl would be mounted in was, and annotated with Elizabeth Taylor’s handwritten instructions. The Maharaja of Patiala’s ceremonial necklace (4) from 1928 was also on display. The necklace originally featured the De Beers diamond, a 234.69 ct yellow diamond and

3: Grace Kelly’s 10.47 ct diamond engagement ring. © V. Wulveryck / Cartier.

4: Parade necklace created by Cartier Paris for the Maharaja of Patiala in 1928. It is set with 2,930 brilliant-cut diamonds, two rubies and the De Beers diamond (234.69 ct). N. Welsh, Collection Cartier © Cartier.

the seventh largest in the world, set among 3000 diamonds and precious stones. The necklace disappeared at the end of the Raj, only to be rediscovered in a second-hand jewellery shop in London in 1998, missing the seven largest diamonds. Today these have been substituted with simulant stones but the necklace is in no way disappointing to see.

Pink conch pearls, natural pearls, rubies and fancy intense coloured diamonds were some of the other exquisite gemstones that illuminated the cabinets. The vast array of gems shown set in objects, including coral, onyx, turquoise, mother-of-pearl and agates, reflected Cartier’s eclectic style. Cartier’s exoticism permeated contemporary style beyond jewellery, as seen in fashion illustrations from La Gazette du Bon Ton. Perhaps the most astonishing exhibition pieces of all, however, were the small-scale Art Deco diamond- and gem-set brooches, unassuming in size but proud in their finite perfection, demonstrating the unparalleled technical skill and aesthetic excellence of Cartier’s craftsmen.

The exhibition successfully demonstrated Cartier’s complex history as a force of pioneering artistic innovation, and affirmed jewellery as an art form. The medium may be luxurious and independently beautiful, but the craft is complex and innovative, and the creativity reveals fascinating layers of human thought and imagination.

About the author Sabrina O’Cock FGA DGA is a jewellery specialist at Bonhams auction house.

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Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Gems and Minerals

Innovative opal composite Meenu Brijesh Vyas FGA reports on an unusual composite seen recently by the Gem Testing Lab in Jaipur, India.

2: Under magnification individual pieces of opal and dark brown polymer matrix with dull lustre were clearly visible.

Magnification 25×.

1: The composite weighing 186.43 ct, comprised of chips of opal bonded together with polymer matrix. Photo by Gagan Choudhary.

The submitted specimen was a dark brown, round cabochon showing attractive play of colour (1), measuring 54 × 53.5 × 12 mm and weighing 186.43 ct — a beautiful composite made up of small pieces of opal held together in a polymer matrix.

Visual appearance The initial appearance indicated that the stone could be natural opal with mother rock (boulder type), but close examination revealed small pieces of black opal held together in polymer matrix. The stone was

Page 8

dark brown in colour and exhibited a waxy to dull vitreous lustre, while the portion of polymer matrix showed even duller lustre — a feature commonly associated with polymers.

The pieces of opal in the specimen showed bright and vivid play of colour, and were the main attraction of the opal composite.

Microscopic examination Examination of the specimen under a microscope using fibre optic illumination revealed individual opal chips with a dull dark brown matrix (2). Almost all the opal

3: Distinct round gas bubbles and spherical cavities filled with polishing powder show evidence of polymer.

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Gems and Minerals

as opal. Although the identification of this specimen was not difficult, awareness and careful observation of similar composites was necessary. There is no doubt however that it was a good example of innovation in the field of composites.

Further reading on composites Other articles in Gems&Jewellery on composite stones reported by the Gem Testing Laboratory in Jaipur include beryl and glass (Spring 2010, Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 10–12), diamond and rock crystal (Autumn 2010, Vol. 19, No.3, p. 20–21), chalcedony (Winter 2010, Vol. 19, No. 4, p.28–30) and malachite (Autumn 2011, Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 3–5).

All photos by Meenu Brijesh Vyas, unless otherwise stated.

4: Clouds, streaks and irregular patches of colour were consistent with natural opal.

chips displayed vibrant play of colour, while the rest of the area displayed trapped gas bubbles and the flow pattern of polymer matrix (3).

The opal chips were examined individually under a microscope to judge their origin.

They were sufficiently different from their synthetic counterparts to identify them as being natural. All the pieces of opal showed natural type growth structure (4), including clouds, streaks and patches of colour.

Small pieces of plastic netting were also observed in the specimen (5), possibly trapped during production.

Conclusion The composite is formed from chips of opal held together in a polymer matrix. Based on microscopic studies, the components or chips of this composite were identified

About the author Meenu Brijesh Vyas has been assistant director of the Gem Testing Laboratory in Jaipur since 2003 and is currently involved in their testing and research activities.

Gemmological properties Several standard gemmological tests were performed to identify the specimen.

The refractive index was determined at approximately 1.45 by distant vision method. Measuring the specific gravity was not applicable in this instance.

Under both long- and short-wave ultraviolet light the specimen remained inert overall. Previous lab experience has shown that polymer fluoresces under ultraviolet light, but in this composite the result was negative.

5: Unusually, a piece of trapped plastic netting was observed in the opal composite.

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Gems and Minerals

Gem update Gary Roskin FGA presents a selection of news and comments from his Roskin Gem News Report.

This issue, we see donations to the Smithsonian; a unique tender from Rio Tinto; a time to go Herkimer hunting; the new ivory ban; the confusion with tanzanite, and the sight identification of hessonite garnet.

Museum donations Recent donations to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History’s Gems and Minerals Collection represent unique localities for beautiful gems.

Two in particular caught our interest.

Four Peaks amethyst At this year’s annual AGTA GemFair in Tucson, Arizona, the Smithsonian Institution once again brought a display of special

1: The 10 ct Four Peaks amethyst trillion ring, inspired by the Alexander concave scalloped cut.

Photo courtesy of John Parrish Photography.

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items from the nation’s gems and minerals collection to inspire and generate interest in possible donations to the museum.

For the past several years there has been a prominent display of recently acquired — purchased and donated — gems and jewels, inspiring gem suppliers and jewellery designers to consider making their own donation.

It was only a few years ago that the Smithsonian Institution’s Gems and Minerals Collection staff began an outreach programme to gem suppliers and jewellery designers to consider the United States’ collection as a place to expose the public to the wonderful variety of gems provided by Mother Nature and the jewels created by gem and jewellery artists. For the most part, we think of a museum collection of gems and minerals as simply a mineral collection. But the curators here are actively searching for gem-set jewels and unique polished gems.

Two recent donations have been announced and they are great examples of what the collection is looking for, and the direction of its collection. The first is a uniquely American gem: the Four Peaks amethyst.

The ring (1) features an amethyst mined from the Four Peaks amethyst mine in Four Peaks, Arizona (elevation 7657 ft). It is recorded that the Spaniards who explored Arizona in the 1500s once worked the Four Peaks mine. Apparently, the gems found were of such excellent quality that they were sent to Spain where it has been reported that they became part of the Spanish crown jewels.

2: Csarite™, or turkish colour-change diaspore.

Photo courtesy of Milenyum Mining.

The Four Peaks amethyst mine is now privately owned, accessible only by hiking or helicopter. The donated amethyst was mined and cut in 2010 by Darryl Alexander from Arizona, with permission from brothers Mike and Jerry Romanella, Commercial Mineral Company, Inc., who have an interest in the mine. The ring was designed and created by Brenda Smith of Brenda Smith Jewelry, LLC, specifically for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. It was in 2013 that Smith met with Russell Feather, Museum Specialist, and discussed the possibility of a contribution.

It is one thing to sell unique gems and jewellery, but it’s a totally different feeling to have one of your pieces in a museum, and especially one like the Smithsonian.

“I feel very privileged to have my design chosen to represent this very special gemstone from our country,” notes Smith.

“The full impact of this wonderful opportunity hasn’t completely penetrated since it all happened rather quickly. However, I appreciate the recognition and opportunity.”

For more information regarding Brenda Smith Jewelry, visit her website at www.brendasmithjewelry.com.

Csarite™ or Zultanite?

The second gem donation was uniquely Turkish: Csarite™, or Turkish colour-change diaspore (2).

Csarite™ is gem-quality, colour-change diaspore, actively mined at only one global source (that we know of) in the Anatolia Mountains of Turkey. Many of you will be

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Gems and Minerals

thinking: “But isn’t that Zultanite?” The answer is yes, but with an explanation.

It turns out that the two principals in the production and marketing of this unique gem have gone their separate ways, leaving the mine to one, and the previously faceted goods — and the trademark Zultanite — with another. Which is why the owner of the mine has created a new trademark name: Csarite™.

But whether you call it Zultanite or Csarite™, it is still colour-change Turkish diaspore. And the latest donation of the colour-change diaspore was presented, as was the Four Peaks amethyst, at the AGTA Tucson GemFair, and accepted by Dr Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection, and Russell Feather.

“Large colour-change diaspore gemstones are rare, indeed,” stated Post. “The 159.33 ct cat’s-eye cabochon and 44.48 ct faceted oval are both significant upgrades to the collection, so we are very appreciative of the contribution.”

Murat Akgun, president of Milenyum Mining and owner of the mine added: “To our knowledge, currently there are fewer than 20 faceted Csarite™ gemstones in the world that have a weight of 40 ct and above.

Given the rarity of this unusual gem, we feel the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection is a fitting home for two of the few examples available in this size and quality.”

Rio Tinto: unique rough tender Although it is now over, it is worth mentioning that Rio Tinto hosted its first rough diamonds tender for 2014, held in Israel and Antwerp from 9 – 28 March.

This particular Tender consisted of 124 lots of rough diamonds from the Argyle Mine in Australia, the Diavik Mine in Canada and the Murowa Mine in Zimbabwe, and showcased unique combinations of colourless and fancy coloured rough. The most notable diamonds included a 70 ct colourless diamond from the Diavik mine, several fancy and fancy intense yellows from all three mines, several large fancy dark brown diamonds and a range of extremely rare fancy pinks from Argyle, and several purple diamonds from the Diavik.

Patrick Coppens, general manager of sales for Rio Tinto Diamonds, said: “This tender offers an opportunity to view and bid for the full suite of Rio Tinto’s diverse diamond productions, for which there is continued strong global demand.” With the majority of Rio Tinto's rough diamond production sold in Antwerp to designated ‘Select Diamantaires’, these rare open tenders give others an opportunity to bid on goods that they wouldn’t normally see.

This image of rough crystals gives us an opportunity to see some of these as well (3).

4: Cubic zirconia (top) imitating colouring of tanzanite (bottom).

The unfortunate gift

3: Parcel of rough crystals from the 2014 tender.

Photo courtesy Rio Tinto.

Tanzanite should be a relatively easy identification, but, for some reason, it is all too often mislabelled. Because tanzanite is a softer gem material (hardness 6 to 7), it is fairly common to see rounded facet junctions on a finished gem. Rounded facet junctions, however, are typically associated with glass and plastic. Therefore, when jewellers look at the gem under magnification and see rounded facet junctions, the identification is too quickly made as glass.

A quick peak around the gem should have revealed doubling of back facets, therefore eliminating glass as a possibility.

Lately, however, the opposite has been happening — only instead of hardness being considered, it’s simply the colour.

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Gem Update (cont.)

Cubic zirconia can be made in almost any colour, and so the colour of tanzanite can easily be recreated (4). Recently, a client handed us a ring set with a beautiful tanzanite-coloured gem. Given as a gift, the client had been told it was tanzanite.

We were given the opportunity to offer a third opinion. Yes, there were already two previous opinions who told the client that the gem was in fact not tanzanite. A quick refractive index showed the gem to be over the limits of the refractometer, therefore, the previous opinions were absolutely correct. The RI of tanzanite is around 1.69–1.70.

So what was it? Under the microscope, it was apparent that the hardness was very good as the facet junctions were nice and sharp, bruised but not worn. The second clue under magnification was the lack of doubling of back facets when looking in several directions. After a number of conclusive tests, the gem material was identified as CZ. To make matters worse, the client’s friend is a bench jeweller who had “gotten a very good price on a large parcel of tanzanites”.

Hunting for Herkimers A city in upstate New York between Syracuse and Albany, Herkimer is a wonderful source for the coolest doubly terminated quartz crystals (5).

Even though it is below freezing as we write this report, we know that the weather will certainly be changing for the better in the next few weeks, and that means it will be perfect to go to Herkimer and go ‘diamond’ mining. Well, not diamonds, but beautiful doubly terminated quartz crystals called ‘Herkimer diamonds’. Around this time, during the ‘rainy’ Spring season, you have a very good chance of finding crystals just waiting to be picked up — those who were mining last year and who broke them out of the hard rock have left many of them scattered along the ground. The rain has washed them off and this of course makes them more visible. For the more adventurous, you can use the hammer (provided at the mine, along with safety glasses and a plastic bag for all of your finds) and start banging on the rocks to find your treasure. It’s great fun. Whether you can get away just for a day or two, or maybe a long weekend, you will have a blast.

5: ‘Herkimer diamonds’ — rock quartz crystals. Photo Gary Roskin.

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The Herkimer Diamond Mine is located on the banks of the West Canada Creek and is one of the finest Kampgrounds of America (KOA) campsites in the country.

You can camp out, spend some time by the river and go gem mining. Dr Renee Shevat, owner of the Herkimer Diamond Mine, would love to have you come and dig.

Be sure to log onto their website at: www.herkimerdiamond.com.

Ivory — a new U.S. ban?

While it sounds like a new direction, the latest ivory ban in the U.S. could simply be nothing more than rhetoric. It is a noble cause for the federal government to eliminate the illegal trafficking of elephant ivory, but there is not much new in the press release issued by the United States government (see box) that will make a significant difference. Individual states’ copy-cat laws like the bills introduced in the Hawaii legislature have the local collectors, along with local and Alaskan tradesman, worried that the possible ban on all sales of all ivory could destroy small businesses.

Brenda Reichel Keanu, well-respected appraiser and retail jeweller in Honolulu, Hawaii, told us that the national ban will affect the collectors’ market in Hawaii. “There are two Bills going through our legislature,” notes Reichel. “One is SB2024 and the other is HB 2183.” These bills would effectively ban all sales and purchases of all ivory. Reichel attended the hearing on 25 February, stating: “My problem with these bills is that, here in Hawaii, we had a long and well established jewellery firm called ‘Mings’.

Very collectable. Little old ladies in their 80s and 90s still sell their ‘Mings’ pieces or give them to their kids.” Because there is little or no proof of age of ownership, these pieces would now become illegal to sell or to own.

Reichel demonstrated for the legislature an easy identification of ivories, and asked them to reconsider banning all ivories.

She also brought up the fact that most consumers who had purchased or were given ivory jewellery have no proof of ownership. After a day of testimony, both bills died in the legislature.

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Gems and Minerals

The Ivory Ban The White House issued the following press release regarding the proposed ivory ban: “Today we are also announcing a ban on the commercial trade of elephant ivory, which will enhance our ability to protect elephants by prohibiting commercial imports, exports and domestic sale of ivory, with a very limited number of exceptions. This ban is the best way to help ensure that U.S. markets do not contribute to the further decline of African elephants in the wild.

“To begin implementing these new controls, federal Departments and Agencies will immediately undertake administrative actions to: • Prohibit Commercial Import of African Elephant Ivory: All commercial imports of African elephant ivory, including antiques, will be prohibited.

• Prohibit Commercial Export of Elephant Ivory: All commercial exports will be prohibited, except for bona fide antiques, certain noncommercial items, and in exceptional circumstances permitted under the Endangered Species Act. • Significantly Restrict Domestic Resale of Elephant Ivory: We will finalize a proposed rule that will reaffirm and clarify that sales across state lines are prohibited, except for bona fide antiques, and will prohibit sales within a state unless the seller can demonstrate an item was lawfully imported prior to 1990 for African elephants and 1975 for Asian elephants, or under an exemption document.

• Clarify the Definition of “Antique”: To qualify as an antique, an item must be more than 100 years old and meet other requirements under the Endangered Species Act. The onus will now fall on the importer, exporter, or seller to demonstrate that an item meets these criteria.

• Restore Endangered Species Act Protection for African Elephants: We will revoke a previous Fish and Wildlife Service special rule that had relaxed Endangered Species Act restrictions on African elephant ivory trade.

• Support Limited Sport-hunting of African Elephants: We will limit the number of African elephant sport-hunted trophies that an individual can import to two per hunter per year.”

6: The cushion-cut hessonite garnet. Photo Gary Roskin.

6a: The appearance inside the hessonite is as if the trapped crystals were somehow caught up in a storm of growth. Magnification 65×.

Some gems are easy There are some materials that are easy to identify and hessonite garnet is one of them.

John Koivula writes in his Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones: Volume 2, that “Often, one particular mineral, or a specific ensemble may so exclusively single out its host gem that no further test is necessary to identify the latter.” The second example in the list of gems reads: “Roiled appearance caused by mosaic structure in combinations with myriads of apatite and calcite crystals in orange-brown to brown-red hessonite…”

We looked at the following gem and immediately knew we were indeed looking at hessonite.

6b: Everywhere you look, the hessonite is packed full of small, low relief, round, elongated crystals, along with needle-like inclusions.

Magnification 65×.

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Gems and Minerals

Gem Update (cont.)

6c: You can almost feel the turbidity in this hessonite — it was impossible to focus on the back facets. Magnification 45×.

The medium-dark, strong, saturated, brownish-orange elongated cushion cut (6) was found in a plastic bag, along with other yellow and orange gems such as citrines and Mexican opals. Looking for something interesting, one second under the microscope and we knew what it was. There’s just something about a gem that allows you to identify it within a moment of looking into its interior. It has now received its own separate gem paper.

Of course, this reminds me of a time back in 1977 when Richard Liddicoat, then president of GIA, on his morning coffee break, came into the laboratory to rummage through the ‘stones drawer’ — a drawer full of donated loose faceted gems just waiting to be identified and placed into student stone sets. One of the lab staff gemmologists had placed a client’s 3 ct demantoid garnet into the mix, just to see

if Liddicoat would find it. And as you can imagine, it didn’t take more than a minute before we heard, “Hey, who put the demantoid in here?” Nothing really difficult in spotting a 3 ct medium dark yellowishgreen round brilliant showing off a bit of dispersion, with a nice fibrous inclusion — the classic ‘horse tail’ — smack dab in the middle of the table. No further tests necessary.

All photos by Gary Roskin unless otherwise stated.

About the author Gary Roskin FGA is the author of Photo Masters for Diamond Grading and hosts the online gem news magazine The Roskin Gem News Report. For more information visit www.roskingemnews.com.

The Scottish Gemmological Association Conference 2014 The Annual Conference of the Scottish Gemmological Association will be held at Peebles from Friday the 2nd May to Monday the 5th May 2014 Join us for a fabulous programme of lectures, workshops, a gala dinner and Ceilidh and dinner at a Michelin rated local restaurant Enjoy gold panning in the world famous locality of Mennock Water Speakers and Workshop Leaders MALCOLM APPLEBY, DAVID CALLAGHAN, JOHN HARRIS, ALAN HODGKINSON, BRIAN JACKSON, DR MICHAEL KRZEMNICKI, DR CIGDEM LULE, ANTOINETTE MATLINS, GORDON McFARLAN, CLAIRE MITCHELL, STUART ROBERTSON, ALISTIR TAIT, ROBERT WELDON

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Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Awards

Craftsmanship and Design Awards 2014

From left-right: Gem-A CEO James Riley, Joanna Fronczak-Jabbal, Victoria Barker and Prime Warden Richard Agutter.

The intricacy of Victoria’s design impressed the judges, as did the forethought applied to her application. Judges were also extremely impressed with Victoria’s personal statement, which explained how winning the scholarship would be the first step in making The Reign of Stones by the most of her industry Joanna Fronczak-Jabbal contacts and in generating interest in her designs from companies overseas.

It was this focus on the future of her designs and career that made Victoria a strong candidate for the award.

Upon the presentation of the award Victoria said: “As someone with a lifelong love of gemstones, coupled with a passion for materials and beauty, the course will bring me another step closer to realizing my designs in precious gems and metals.” She continued: “I feel that a deeper understanding of diamonds in all their breathtaking glory will lead to a greater confidence in my designs. Jerboa Jewellery is a young brand, still finding its feet in many ways, but has always prided itself in its integrity. This applies to our designs, our materials and, most importantly, the way we deal with our clients. Having a chance to take this course can only help improve these key elements.”

Joanna Fronczak-Jabbal, from Birmingham-based Weston Beamor Ltd, was selected on the basis of her stunning 2D pastel design, entitled ‘The Reign of Stones’ (above). Although these designs had yet to be realized, the judges saw potential in Joanna’s vision. An elaborate and sophisticated combination of gemstones set in silver, her pieces reflect the natural beauty of the peacock’s plumes, using coloured stones to create a stunning rainbow effect.

Joanna’s personal statement conveyed her enthusiasm for both gemstones and diamond – and emphasized that the place on the Diamond Scholarship would give her a step toward studying them both more closely.

Joanna said: “I was delighted to receive the scholarship… as an emerging jewellery designer and craftsman my goal is to establish myself as a designer who creates pieces from precious materials and gemstones.

I believe that to be a good designer I need to have a deep understanding and respect for all the materials which I will work with and I believe this is what the Gem-A Diamond Scholarship will give me. It is a privilege and a huge motivation for future work and personal development.”

Each year the Goldsmiths’ Company celebrates some of the up-andcoming designers from the UK jewellery industry by offering them the chance to enter the Craftsmanship and Design Awards, a national competition focused solely on new design talent. The competition culminates in a glamorous award ceremony at Goldsmiths’ Hall – an opportunity for entrants to showcase their work to a host of industry professionals. To celebrate this event, each year Gem-A awards two Diamond Scholarships to the individuals who demonstrate a passion for gems and gem-set jewellery in the designs of their pieces. Selected by members of the Goldsmiths’ Council and experts from Gem-A, winners of the scholarship receive a free place on Gem-A’s Diamond Grading and Identification course, giving them a chance to further their knowledge of diamonds and the diamond industry.

This year’s winners, Victoria Barker and Joanna Fronczak-Jabbal, displayed an inventive use of gems in their designs and successfully demonstrated in their personal statements how winning the scholarship would assist in their personal and professional development and benefit their design and craftsmanship skills.

Victoria Barker of Jerboa Jewellery was selected for her outstanding use of crystals Pearl and Crystal Neckpiece in her piece (right).

by Victoria Barker

Gems&Jewellery would like to congratulate both Victoria and Joanna on their awards and wish them all the best with their scholarships.

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Instruments

The busy laser

Two plane polarized transmitted beams

Harold Killingback FGA describes how the fluorescence effect caused by the beam of a violet-blue laser pointer can be used to demonstrate birefringence in calcite.

Jack Ogden has discussed applications 1 for laser pointers in gemmology , where he praised the usefulness of blue and violetblue lasers for exciting fluorescence in certain gem materials. He was dismissive of the red laser since, as Stokes* had observed, the wavelength of fluorescent light is always longer than that of the radiation which excited it. Therefore, even if a red laser could excite fluorescence, this would be at a wavelength invisible to the human eye. The red laser pointer can, however, be helpful in demonstrating the path of a light ray when it interacts with a gem material.

It has even had the honour of being featured in this role on the front cover of an issue

Calcite The softness of calcite (it is the reference for point 3 on the Mohs’ scale of hardness), together with its easy cleavage, make it unsuitable as a gem material, but it does have an established place in the teaching of gemmology. The transparent variety, Iceland spar, which is readily obtainable as cleavage rhombohedrons, demonstrates well its high double refraction (0.172, negative); 1 shows the doubling of 3 mm typescript through a calcite thickness of about 26 mm. A stereoscopic view would show that the images are at different apparent depths, the one associated with the ordinary ray being the closer because its RI, 1.658, is the higher.

When a single dot is viewed through the crystal and the block is rotated, the two images rotate also. In 2 the calcite is over an arrow rather than a dot, so as to indicate orientation; the view is through a calcite thickness of about 50 mm, the width of the rhombohedron. As the crystal is turned about the arrow, the two images of it remain pointing in the same direction. It is interesting to note, however, that the line between the heads of the arrows, turns with the crystal and remains at a constant angle of about 50º to its edges.

Unpolarized incident light

3a: A text book ray diagram for calcite.

Calcite fluoresces orange under shortwave light — the brightness and exact colour is variable and is influenced by the wavelength of excitation.

3b: Photograph of the ray path.

1: Double refraction by a rhombohedron of Iceland spar.

of Gems&Jewellery (August 2007, 16(3)).

The path of a laser beam through a crystal can, however, be made visible if the light is of a wavelength which can cause fluorescence. In the experiment described here, a violet-blue laser is directed through calcite. But first: a reminder of optical effects in this material. * George G. Stokes, after whom the Stokes shift was named.

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Use of 405 nm violet-blue laser

2: Variation of images according to orientation.

The ray path diagram is shown in 3a as it 2 appears in many gemmology text books .

A similar view is shown in 3b, a photograph of the ray path made visible by fluorescence.

The laser pointer, in the lower left of the image, shows the direction of the incident ray.

The light travels about 76 mm through

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Instruments

a

b

c

d

4(a–d): Effects due to polarization of the laser beam.

the length of the crystal, the resulting separation of the parallel emerging rays being about 9 mm.

The two rays within the calcite (and after leaving it) are polarized — the plane of one being at right angles to that of the other. Laser beams are also polarized, so rotating the pointer, but leaving everything else unchanged, results in first one ray, then the other, being extinguished as shown by the series in 4. The pointer rests on a V-block, which keeps its axis in the same direction while leaving it free to be rotated.

Here, the pointer has been turned by about 45º between shots. The background, bluegrey velvet for low reflectivity, has been folded upwards forming a screen on which the emergent beams will be shown. In 4a there are two rays with two bright spots, while in 4b there is one ray and one spot, then two again in 4c and finally, in 4d, the other ray and spot are on their own. Two rays occur when the plane of polarization of the laser beam is midway between the planes acceptable in the calcite; then a component of the incident beam can be accommodated in each plane of the crystal.

In 5, which shows the view more neatly along the laser beam, it appears as if the (invisible) incident beam divides into three rays on entering the end face of the calcite.

Nevertheless only two rays are visible through the top face and there are only two bright spots on the background cloth. I cannot

explain the triple ray effect. Other photographs of it that I have taken do show a faint third light spot on the back cloth. This could, however, be from an internal reflection.

In this particular specimen of Iceland spar, it is apparent that there is inhomogeneity of the phosphor distribution. At one end, the luminescence is a reddish orange, but further along it becomes more yellow.

Conclusion I found that having the ray path made visible by means of fluorescence gave a helpful

insight into what was happening. I hope this technique will be of use in the teaching of gemmology. If nothing else, it produces very beautiful effects.

References 1. J. Ogden, 2013, Gems&Jewellery, 22(3).

2. R. Webster, 1995. Revised P. G. Read.

Gems. 5th Edn. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. p. 668, Fig. 30.16.

All photographs by Harold Killingback.

5: Apparent three-way division of beam.

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Hands-on gemmology

Yellow sapphires Grenville Millington yellow sapphires.

FGA

investigates a parcel of

It was therefore a rare opportunity that presented itself when I was asked to provide ‘authenticity certificates’ for 41 yellow sapphires. It was thought, but not fully confirmed, that all the stones were from East Africa. As is usual with requests from within the trade, the job had to be done quickly, over just a few days. Fortunately the deadline was extended by another two days and I was able to produce some photographs of the inclusions as well as the ‘passport’ photo of each stone for the certificates. A composite picture of all the stones is seen in 1 showing the range of colour tones, although the size ratios are not to scale.

As can be seen, some of the stones were rather pale in colour, with greenish, 2a

1: Yellow sapphires, ranging from 1.22 ct to 7.44 ct.

Yellow sapphires of 35 or more years ago mainly came commercially from Sri Lanka and, for the most part, were rather light in colour. A few stronger-coloured stones came from Australia, but, on the whole, this colour of sapphire was not a common sight. Then heat treatment in the early 1980s became the big change that not only hit ‘blue’ sapphires, but also brought about an increase in the attention given to yellow sapphire due to the much stronger yellow to golden colours available after this treatment.

After the exploitation of corundum of various colours from the East African regions in the late 1980s, it was only to be expected that heat treatment would be applied to these stones as well. The yellow or yellowish brown East African sapphires did not disappoint, with some splendid,

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strong to vivid shades of golden yellow becoming available. Also, with yellow sapphire being a main gem of Indian astrology, this stone became widely seen in the market place.

A potential problem of this heat-treated golden sapphire is that it looks very much like the standard, flame-fusion synthetic sapphire that has been around since long before this modern heat treatment.

I, like others, have come across yellow sapphire fairly regularly since the 1970s, and I have been extremely grateful when an internal feature of the natural stone has made itself known to me, as the synthetic version is notoriously difficult to detect without immersion in methylene iodide and looking down the optic axis under a microscope to detect the Plato lines effect.

2b

2: Yellow sapphire, 4.30 ct (a), when held up to light from a window, displayed internal straight graining (b).

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Hands-on gemmology

3a

3b

3c

3d

3: (a) Yellow-brown sapphire 7.44 ct, showing no iron bands in spectrum, (b) crystal inclusion with stress haloes, magnification 60×, (c) halo feather of fine liquid droplets, magnification 80×, (d) other halo feathers from side view, magnification 30×.

brown and/or grey tones, although all ‘yellow’.

All of these (in my opinion) were natural colour, and invariably showed colour zoning, mostly of parallel bands, albeit not easy to spot because of the light colour. Included in this group was the largest stone, seen in the third row from the bottom (1), which was midway between yellow and light brown. The remainder were of the more intense yellow or golden tone and all showed signs of heat treatment.

I mentioned earlier that I had come across yellow sapphires such as these on fairly frequent occasions, but it was always single stones or maybe two at once. This meant that I was familiar with the inclusions, but what I hadn’t fully appreciated was the presence of ‘graining’ within such stones.

Graining (which is rather like the curved striae in flame-fusion synthetic rubies, only straight) is a distinguishing feature of some stones, such as low-type green and brown zircon, but it had not become fixed in my mind with regard to East African yellow sapphires. Now, having all these stones together at the same time, it struck me that, without exception, they all contained graining which was visible to a lesser or greater extent. When faced with a stone with no feathers or crystal inclusions, the distinguishing of such a stone from a synthetic one is not easy. As an example, a 4.30 ct oval sapphire (2a) worth several hundred pounds per carat fortunately displayed strong graining (2b), thus distinguishing it from a synthetic version.

A feature one has come to expect from these golden sapphires is the presence of very strong absorption bands across the 450 nm part of the spectrum, often

appearing as one dense band unless very strong transmitted light is used. This was the case here, except for some of the light coloured stones and also the brownish large stone of 7.44 ct (3a), where no bands (or very faint) were seen. Inclusions inside this brownish stone are shown in 3b–d.

The nature of the inclusions in 3b–d would indicate no heat treatment, or certainly no high temperature treatment.

The presence of ‘silk’ was seen in the majority of stones, some of which was obvious, but which in others was quite faint.

4a

4b

4d

4e

In some stones the silk was long and ran the full length of the stone (4a) whilst in others it was confined to an area (4b–d).

Although many of the sapphires showed some zoning or colour banding, the 3.19 ct example showing very distinct zones (5).

Feathers of varying types were a common feature, ranging from rather small and insignificant (not visible with the naked eye) to larger, extensive feathers. Some were rather flat and uncomplicated; the example in 6 is probably representative of an unheated stone. Feathers in other stones

4c

4: Yellow sapphires showing silk. (a) Pale yellow 4.76 ct sapphire showing long silk aligned with graining direction, magnification 30×; (b) yellow 2.95 ct sapphire showing silk through most of the stone, magnification 15×; (c) yellow 3.02 ct sapphire, showing general silk inclusions but more dense in a concentrated area, magnification 7×; (d and e) bright yellow 3.19 ct sapphire displaying a small area of extremely fine, small silk particles, magnification 7× and 15×.

Page 19

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Hands-on gemmology

5

5: Although appearing even in colour when viewed from the table side, this 3.19 ct sapphire displayed strong colour zones when held up to a window and viewed through the pavilion.

proved to be more complex. Twisted multifeathers associated with a double row of crystals or negative crystals were seen in the 3.19 ct stone (7a,b).

An octagonal sapphire of 3.68 ct exhibited more prominent examples of feathers and negative crystal inclusions (8).

Near the centre of 8a is a faint, ghostly feather of fine ‘droplets’ that, in magnification, show small X-shaped voids (8c,d). (Photo 8d is just an enlarged section of 8c; the microscope did not have this high a magnification.) Also present in this sapphire is a burst halo, where fluid from a centre negative crystal has spread into the surrounding tension halo, which shows a typical atoll-like perimeter. This is proof of high-temperature heat treatment (8e).

Further along more haloes overlap each other (8f). Photo 8g is seen in usual dark6a

field light arrangement and then with the stone tilted slightly to arrange transmitted light reflected from back facets (8h).

The transmitted light enables us to see the multi-phase nature of these negative crystals.

The sapphire depicted in 5 also exhibited a fairly large, spectacular tension halo, showing the effect of heat treatment, which can be seen towards the right-hand side in that photo and in more detail in 9.

The 6.74 ct sapphire was, by contrast, free of inclusions throughout most of the stone, but displayed some graining, as previously discussed, and under a 10× lens showed an area of minute dark spots on the girdle edge. The microscope gave a better view of what turned out to be globular-shaped negative (assumed) crystals, accompanied by a fanciful halo arrangement (10).

Another stone, a 5.29 ct emerald-cut sapphire, was clean on initial inspection but under the 10× lens showed three widely separated specks that looked like bubbles, which the microscope showed to be individual globular shapes like those in 10. Graining was also present in this stone, but it can be difficult to distinguish this from surface polishing lines, and I did wonder at first whether a synthetic stone had crept in with the rest. The magnified image cast doubt on the bubble theory but I was now viewing this stone after having already seen the inclusions in the 6.74 ct stone. Looked at in isolation it may have been a different story.

6b

7a

7b

7: Yellow 3.19 ct sapphire at magnification of (a) 20× and (b) 70×. The green line is a facet edge.

The refractive indices for all the stones lay within the limits of 1.761 and 1.775 and all had the birefringence of 0.008.

The only thing left for me to look at was reaction to long-wave ultraviolet light (LWUV). The result was more mixed than I had anticipated. The lighter-coloured stones showed what would be expected of 6c

6: Light yellow 1.81 ct sapphire showing a large, but simple feather. Magnification shows the ‘droplets’ to be rectangular or negative crystals.

Magnification (a) 10×, (b) 30× and (c) 80×.

Page 20

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Hands-on gemmology

Sri Lankan pale yellow sapphires: a strong apricot-coloured fluorescence, while many of the golden-coloured gems showed no or very slight orange fluorescence — all as might be expected. What did surprise me was the number of stones (including the large brownish stone) that showed a pure orange fluorescence, varying from low to moderate to strong (11). With these four stones, the bottom and left-hand stone showed strong iron bands in their spectra, whilst the other two showed none.

Consulting my ‘Gem responses to UV’ personal notebook (an ongoing project — all serious gemmologists need to keep one), the flame-fusion synthetic yellow sapphire shows the following: pale yellow stones (not commonly seen) — orange to pink reaction; yellow stones — dull orange to red; orange stones — very dull reddish; brownish orange stones — none. The responses of the flame-fusion synthetics (in addition to lack of iron bands) are really too close to the results shown above to make fluorescence response and absorption spectra of much practical use in distinguishing them from the natural origin sapphires.

One other observation put me in mind of my old text books with regard to synthetic corundum. Anderson (1980) states: “Small, roughly parallel crack-like markings are often seen… in synthetic corundums.

Lapidaries call these ‘fire-marks’…

They are only seen on corundum, and are only indicative of a synthetic stone because in these less care is taken to avoid such blemishes.” I quote this from my 1980 edition, but no doubt this was present also in earlier editions. A similar explanation was also found in my Webster’s Compendium (1964). I have seen such surface marks on a peridot, but one of the 41 sapphires showed them quite prominently. It was the pale brownish yellow 4.76 ct stone, the one showing the bright apricot fluorescence in 11. Such was the size and depth of these ‘fire-marks’ that they were visible in the face-up position of the stone. I did not have time to properly photograph them, but they are visible in the general photo of the stone (12).

8a

8b

8c

8d

8e

8f

8g

8h

8: Octagonal 3.68 ct sapphire: (a) long feather showing typical ruckled edge, magnification 10× and (b) where the feather is reflected at its interface with the back facets; (c and d) faint feather showing ‘X’-shaped voids, magnification 50× and 200×; (e) a burst halo, where fluid from the centre negative crystal has spread into the surrounding tension halo, which shows a typical atoll-like perimeter, magnification 40×; (f) the prominent negative crystal is the shadowy one shown to the right in 8e, magnification 50×; (g) multi-haloes, magnification 60×; (h) the area in 8g is shown in the top left, but with transmitted light it reveals the different phases of matter within the negative crystals.

Page 21

Gems&Jewellery / April 2014

Hands-on gemmology

9

9: The 3.19 ct sapphire (5) showing reflective halo disc and frosted rim, a result typical of high temperature treatment, magnification 40×.

10a

Summary of findings To summarize, the East African yellow to brownish sapphires examined gave the following reactions: • all showed straight growth striae (graining) • many had colour zoning (straight or zonal, minimal to pronounced) • some had feathers consisting of rounded rectangular negative crystals • many had feathers exhibiting folded or ruckled edges • negative crystals were present with tension cracks in untreated stones • negative crystals were present with atoll-like haloes in heated stones • negative crystals were present as rounded globules, as individual inclusions, in formation of one or more rows, or as a random cluster • all stones showed ‘silk’, varying from very fine which was not immediately visible, to coarser clouds, or aggregated as lines, and all could be described as ‘pecked-line’ rather than ‘dotted’ • the 450 nm complex of bands was strongly present in the absorption spectra of many, but missing in some

12a

11

11: Reactions of yellow sapphires to LWUV (clockwise from top); light brown showing strong orange fluorescence; pale yellowish brown showing strong apricot fluorescence; rich golden yellow showing no effect; medium golden colour showing medium yellowy-orange fluorescence.

• the LWUV fluorescence varied from inert to slight to moderate to strong orange, or in some light-coloured stones, bright apricot.

References Anderson, B. W., 1980. Gem Testing.

Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd, London.

Webster, R., 1964. Compendium.

N.A.G. Press, London.

12b

10b

12(a and b): ‘Fire-marks’ on the pavilion facets of a 4.76 ct brownish yellow sapphire.

Magnification (a) 8× and (b) 35×.

10a and b: The otherwise clean 6.74 ct sapphire showing a cluster group of globular negative crystals (the yellow bright area at the bottom is the girdle edge), magnification 80×.

Page 22

About the author For many years Grenville Millington ran his own gem and jewellery business, and taught gemmology and retail jewellery at the Birmingham School of Jewellery.

Further your career with the Gemmology Diploma, the most SUHVWLJLRXV LQWHUQDWLRQDO JHPPRORJ\ TXDOLÀFDWLRQ LQ WKH JHP and jewellery trade.

Gemmology Diploma (Four month Daytime study programme in London, only open to those who have completed the Gemmology Foundation course) Start date: 16 September 2014 – January 2015 Class days: Tues, Wed, Thurs* Course fee: £4,780 *Self-study day.

™

Feature | Pearls, it transpired, were the feature of another winning piece – this time one created for the Gem-A Award. The ‘Pearl and Crystal Necklace’ by Victoria Barker of Jerboa Jewellery, whose prize is a scholarship for Gem-A’s Diamond Practical Certificate course and examination. Joint winner was Joanna Fronczak-Jabbal of Weston Beamor for her ‘Reign of Stones’ necklace.

Simon Coldicott

The winning numbers Regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of our industry, the annual Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship & Design Competition celebrated an abundance of outstanding creativity and technical excellence. very year the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council runs a competition to encourage, promote and celebrate excellence in technical skill and originality in design within silversmithing, jewellery and allied crafts. Designers and craftsmen (including apprentices and students) are invited to enter and this year saw a total of 130 winners honoured in 23 categories. In fact there was a record 769 entries for the judging teams to consider.

The highlight of the event was the presentation – by Royal Patron HRH Princess Michael of Kent – of the Jacques Cartier Memorial Award to Simon Coldicott of Theo Fennell for his ‘exceptional and outstanding’ model of a motorbike. Given at the discretion of the Council, the award comes with a cash prize of £1,500 and the winner’s name inscribed in the Jacques Cartier Memorial Award Gold Book.

Another special presentation during the evening was the Lifetime Achievement Award, which, for 2014, was given to Gerald Whiles for his outstanding contribution

through his work, career and legacy at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham. He has also been a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’ Company since 1995. His silver medal was created for the event by Thomas Fattorini.

For the first time this year the competition incorporated an award that was focussed on pearls. Sponsored by Raw Pearls, the UKbased supplier of cultured pearls (including

Andrew Lamb

freshwater, akoya, South Sea and Tahitian) this fell within the 2D Design Section.

Entrants were invited to design a piece of contemporary fine jewellery using pearls as the main focus. The Raw Pearls Special Award was won by Lindy Neave, who works at Jana Reinhardt, for her ‘Black and White Pearl Necklace’. Silver prizes went to Owen Bather and Annabel Eley; Zoe Harding and Siobhan Maher received commendations.

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Lindy Neave

Kevin Grey

As well as fine jewellery, the competition accommodates all crafts and design plus diamond mounting, setting, silversmithing, chasing, enamelling, 2D design – including CAD – fashion jewellery (Adam Mclaren took Gold for Production Jewellery), smallwork, technology and many more.

In the Craft section of the competition, Kevin Grey’s dramatically awe-inspiring ‘Sculptural Bowl’ took gold place in the Senior Silversmiths category. The extremely high level of technical skills, creative design and originality demonstrated so impressed the judges that the Birmingham-based Grey also took home – for the third year running – the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Company Award.

A special award for contemporary jewellery (in the Design 3D Finished Pieces category) was sponsored by IJL. Creating in gold and platinum, Andrew Lamb’s ‘Multi Metal Colour Ring’ and Tomasz Donocik’s ‘Dragonfly Ring in Palladium’ took the prizes. Other sponsors of awards included Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery, Bentley & Skinner, Marcia Lanyon, Catherine Best and Hean Studios.

Adam Mclaren

All images in this feature by Richard Valencia

The Voice of the Industry 31

Staying cyber-safe Your reputation has taken years to build and in this digital age news – good and bad – spreads rapidly. It can take minutes to cause lasting damage to a business … so, are you cyber-secure?

Neil McFarlane, MD at T H March, can advise. he technological advances we have witnessed in recent years, along with the exponential growth of the internet in this socalled ‘digital era’, far out-strips anything that could have been imagined just a decade ago.

And while it is true that the internet has brought forth a multitude of benefits to all business sectors – including the jewellery industry – by lowering barriers to trade and allowing people worldwide to communicate (research, buy, advertise, sell) as never before, we must be aware that such opportunities will to some extent increase vulnerability as our growing dependence on cyberspace opens up our lives to new risks.

The systems on which we now rely so heavily, including personal mobile devices and USB sticks, and the information those

T

32 The Jeweller April 2014

systems contain, often customer data, credit card and bank details, sensitive company information and much more besides, can be compromised, damaged or indeed stolen.

So, while it is clearly vital that we continue to fully embrace the benefits of the digital age, we must be aware too of the need to maintain our ‘cyber security’.

Many businesses, particularly smaller ones, still don’t have in place an internet security policy for employees, and many others have never even had their computer systems tested to ensure that they are protected from threat. Does that describe you?

The widespread belief that small businesses are unlikely targets for cyber attack is naive to say the least when in fact the idea of a perceived ‘soft target’ often proves to be a strong attraction to criminals.

A recent study by the global software security firm Symantec found that 40 per cent of attacks are against organisations with less than 500 employees.

In a survey carried out by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) last year it was discovered that 36 per cent of the worst cyber security breaches in 2012

A recent study by the global software security firm Symantec found that 40 per cent of attacks are against organisations with less than 500 employees.

Quite simply this means thinking carefully about protecting all of your computer-based systems and the information stored within, from threats – both internal and external.

were caused by inadvertent human error.

The BIS survey also found that the vast majority of small businesses believe that cyber security should be a high priority.

Business Support: Insurance | Some simple steps you can take to protect your business: 1. Staff training is essential because all your employees should be aware of the possibility of cyber security risks. This may mean bringing in outside help, but it will be money well spent.

2. Install, use and regularly update your anti-virus and anti-spyware software on every computer used in your business. This is a sensible precaution for home computers too.

3. Use an internet firewall for your connection.

4. Download and install software updates for your operating systems and applications as and when they become available.

5. Always make back-up copies of important business data and information. For jewellers this includes security video too.

6. Control physical access to your computers and make certain that you know who has access and when. If there is ever a breach this knowledge will help to establish who, if anyone within your organisation, was involved.

7. Make sure that your WiFi network is secure. In your business premises, make sure the Wifi is secure and hidden.

8. Set up password-protected user accounts for each employee and make sure that these are not ‘shared’.

9. Give your employees access to data and information strictly on a ‘need to know’ basis.

10. If you don’t have a dedicated IT department in your organisation, strictly limit the authority to install software onto your systems.

11. Regularly change your passwords.

12. Speak to your insurance broker about arranging cover to protect you and your business against cyber threats. Don’t simply assume that you are already adequately covered.

The internet is not going to go away any time soon and realistically most of us wouldn’t want it to. It has changed the business and communication landscape forever and mostly in a good way, but like all great inventions it is best treated with respect and a little caution.

A claim scenario following a card processing system being hacked might look like this: • Costs of forensic experts to find what data was stolen • Costs of notifying the (sometimes vast numbers of) individuals whose data has been stolen • Costs of credit monitoring for the affected individuals to make sure they suffer no ongoing losses after the breach • Costs of PR to mitigate the reputational damage to the business after the breach • Costs of a breach coach to prepare the business for investigation • The professional representation costs for the investigation by the payment card industry • Legal representation and defence costs for any legal action that was brought Equip yourself with some knowledge Advice and assistance is available on the subject of cyber security; ironically much of it is easily accessed via the internet. The following websites are a good place to start looking (if you haven’t already!)

• www.getsafeonline.org/businesses • ico.org.uk/for_organisations • www.gov.uk/government/policies/ keeping-the-uk-safe-in-cyberspace • www.fsb.org.uk

The Voice of the Industry 33

EPoS: Getting started Louise Hoffman speaks to six electronic point of sale experts and suppliers, to gain a clear understanding of how smaller independent jewellery retailers can embark on introducing a sector-specific system to their business – and reap its full rewards. lectronic point of sale (EPoS) systems are by no means a new concept – I for one have seen them grow and develop over several years in the jewellery sector – but the fact is that two questions remain unanswered for many smaller independent jewellers who are yet to adopt them: why and how?

There is a consensus among EPoS system providers when it comes to the primary reason for introducing such technology to a jewellery retail environment, and that reason is ‘the customer’. Each of the providers I spoke to specified the role of EPoS in keeping up with and fulfilling customer needs, and recording essential consumer information for marketing and research purposes.

“EPoS systems are critical in managing the functional elements of a jeweller, such as stock control, cost and margin, repairs, purchase orders and so forth, but they can also manage your customers’ details and are critical in creating and managing loyalty programmes,” affirms Adrian Mills, marketing manager at Cybertill.

“An efficient EPoS suite should be able to capture customer contact information – for marketing and mailshot purposes – and give instant access to a customer’s past purchase history,” adds Mike Burns, MD of Pursuit Software. “As well as for creating precisely targeted marketing campaigns

E

34 The Jeweller April 2014

(designed to appeal to a customer’s known tastes, interests and preferences), a customer’s purchasing history is a valuable sales aid when a regular customer’s partner comes into the shop to buy a gift. In this situation, sales staff can quickly check a ring size that’s stored on the system, new items to match an existing piece of jewellery, or perhaps a new charm or bead where a customer collects a particular brand.”

“EPoS systems are critical in managing the functional elements of a jeweller, such as stock control, cost and margin…”

The ability to view customer purchasing history is also useful in terms of stock control, because, as Ian Jukes, owner and director of IJS Ltd, points out, “Those businesses that understand what is selling and what is nonproductive are the most successful.”

Indeed, “to be properly efficient, an EPoS installation should seamlessly interconnect with stock control records”, says Burns. “This way, the stock position of all items (not all of which will be out on display) can be quickly

looked up and checked at the point of sale, with each sale then being automatically registered on the stock records section of a shop’s computer system.”

“And if the requested product is not in stock, you should also be able to find and order it in a very short time,” adds Karen Russell, MD of Clarity & Success Software.

Another aspect of retailing that raises its (ugly) head frequently when discussing EPoS is ‘competition’, and many of the system providers refer to its ability to help retailers stay ahead of the game.

“With competition in the marketplace on the increase, medium- to high-end jewellers need to differentiate themselves from other retailers and websites by enhancing the quality of their services with added-value extras and through engaging with customers, to build loyalty and bring customers back through the door,” says Chris Garland, MD of Bransom Retail Systems.

“For a jeweller keen to maintain competitiveness and sales and profit growth, it is a great advantage if the EPoS system connects to management software that allows executives to identify and analyse new sales trends, declining and slow selling stock, orders outstanding and repairs – indeed every facet of the business. Spotting new and emerging jewellery fashion trends in this way helps in reaching buying decisions and in deciding which items to feature in window and cabinet displays,” adds Burns.

Not only this, but as Garland highlights, EPoS can also allow updates to be fed directly through to your website, avoiding duplication of work; and limit errors by allowing you to alter product information, barcodes and pricing at the click of a button, or even through automatic updates in the case of B2B systems.

“The provision of complete article data for major brands without the need to manually record each item is also a must for time saving and subsequent statistical analysis,” adds Russell.

Tailored solutions “Choosing a sector-specific system means that the suppliers understand your industry, so the product is designed around your needs,” says Mills. “And with the benefit of that experience,” continues Burns, “the provider is in a position to advise on and suggest functions a retailer might not

Feature | necessarily think of if they previously only had a rudimentary till and transaction system – or no system at all apart from pen-and-ink ledgers.”

All of the providers point towards the many diverse and specific aspects of jewellery retail in recommending a tailored solution. “Additional data is required to describe diamond and gemstone qualities, and watch dial and bracelet types etc, and there are few systems that are able to cope with such enhanced item descriptions and search requirements,” says Jukes. “Add to this repair tracking, approbation, margin schemes and commission, combined with

Bransom Retail Systems

by Chris Garland, MD Capabilities Bransom’s ‘bsmart-links service’ enables retailers to benefit from having new products loaded onto their systems automatically, including all basic product information; supplier barcode; individual product attributes; price updates; stock discontinuation; and web descriptions and images.

This means the products are immediately available on the EPoS till as well as the website, saving hours of manual data entry, re-ticketing and taking images.

There are many options available with bsmart, such as customer relationship management (CRM), loyalty schemes, gift cards, credit notes, A4/A5 receipts with images, email receipts, text messaging, valuations, integrated Marchguard insurance, integrated finance options, stock transfers, Certificate of Ownership, serial tracking, product images and product guarantees with automated reminders.

customer relationship management and key performance indicator (KPI) reporting, and the need for a specific solution becomes clear.”

Karen Russell also highlights the stringency of the demands that are imposed upon the jewellery and watch sector – demands that cannot be fully met by standard software.

“Features particular to the industry and information requirements are important and often legally binding,” she points out.

Ultimately, “a system that is not industry specific is likely to incur extra costs to cover the system software supplier’s time in going up the learning curve to understand

software issues and development requests; and network, Windows and internet issues.

Installation time Depending on the complexity of the business requirement, a single user PC system can be installed and set up within a few hours, while a server with several stores and remote access can take a couple of days.

If the company has an existing database or uses spreadsheets we are able to import the data and get the system up and running within a day.

Training Sales staff members tend to master the basics of the EPoS system within a few hours, while senior staff training is more extensive and covers the end-of-day and other features in more detail. In-store training takes a full day and is typically carried out on-site.

the way a jewellery retailer operates – and of course, no two jewellers run their businesses in exactly the same way,” explains Burns.

The nitty gritty So, you’ve made the decision to go ahead and install your first EPoS system, or to replace your current standard system with a sector-specific alternative. Now, how should you choose from the many systems that are available?

The following breakdown of the key capabilities should help you to isolate the one that is most suitable for your business.

Cost From £3,995 for a single shop, which includes software, training, installation, consultancy and three months’ support.

Typically a retailer will easily recover the outlay within a few months. Subsequent stores would require the stock distribution and transfers module (£500 one-off price) and EPoS system.

Point of difference We have over 30 years of specialised knowledge within the jewellery industry; expertise in providing an outstanding service; and we were shortlisted as BJA Supplier of the Year, among other awards. We are always innovating to provide the best solutions; bsmart is highly configurable and meets the needs of the most demanding service-orientated business – even complex transactions can be simplified with the right business process.

Customer service and support Our trainers work exclusively in the jewellery industry and provide tailored training designed to meet the needs of an individual business. We also provide workshops for customers who are new to computerised systems and for experienced users.

Support is also available seven days a week during opening hours, to cover operational and minor hardware issues; complex business queries and accounts;

The Voice of the Industry 35

| Feature Clarity & Success Software

by Karen Russell, MD Capabilities An adaptable software range based on our modular principle (managing anything from an individual business to several branches), with branch communication to allow the transfer of stock between branches every few minutes; user-friendly, intuitive handling, even without PC knowledge (supplemented by training courses and telephone software support); and continuous development and regular software updates.

The sophisticated customer management allows more personal sales conversations and increases customer loyalty, while statistics allow users to control and monitor the work effort of employees, the purchasing of products, price levels and supplier sales and profitability in any given period.

In addition, iPad solutions and a Live Sales Tracker App allow flexibility and mobility, utilising the most modern technology.

Cybertill

by Adrian Mills, marketing manager Capabilities Managing a store and website as one is critical. This means having real-time stock levels available throughout the business so that customers can shop with confidence online and retailers can move stock to the right locations.

Cybertill’s EPoS system seamlessly links with Cybertill’s ecommerce solution, as well as third party ecommerce systems such as Magento websites. This means retailers can manage stock, images, customer details and other information through the EPoS system all in real time, as well as offering services such as ‘click and collect’.

A jewellery-specific system, it has features such as electronic receipts where jewellers can email receipts to customers rather than print them, and as the system is web based, jewellers can deploy mobile PoS in peak trading periods, such as Christmas, to help with queue-busting.

38 The Jeweller April 2014

Customer service and support Our customers receive high-quality software support from a dedicated software and technical support team. Our staff members are available continuously from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, while in the evenings and at weekends an emergency mobile number is continually manned, since we recognise that the main retail business hours fall outside of the standard working week.

Installation time From order to installation can take as little as seven days up to a maximum of 28 days depending upon configuration requirements (such as including integrated chip and pin, which has a longer lead time).

Training We provide training in our fully-equipped training facility at our Stafford office.

Customers can undertake training (up to 16 at any one time) in an environment without distraction and will spend a day learning the basics. We then support and continue the learning process by telephone and invite

customers to return for advanced training once familiar with the basics and ready to take the next step.

Cost Costs vary depending upon the requirements of the software, the number of users and stores and the hardware choice. A tailored quotation is available to suit individual requirements.

Point of difference Our customer testimonials speak for themselves. A selection can be read on our website and more are available.

Cybertill can also grow with retailers, and is incredibly easy to roll out. It is matter of deploying the hardware, plugging it into the internet and connecting to Cybertill.

The system helps jewellers manage their businesses no matter whether they are multi-channel or just retail.

retail outlet within a few hours and the engineer checks that everything is working normally. The training is scheduled over a period to suit the retailer. Most retailers have the first two days of training within the first two weeks, and the third day after using the system for around six months.

Customer service and support The Cybertill Support Team is available from 7:30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 8:30am to 6pm on Sundays, 365 days a year.

Training Cybertill provides three days of training with its own trainers as standard, either on-site or at Cybertill’s offices. The company believes that when retailers invest in an EPoS system, they should be properly trained in how to use it in order to get the most out of it.

Installation time It depends on the jeweller’s requirements.

The system is physically installed in a single

Cost Prices start from around £30 per week.

Point of difference Cybertill can provide a unified EPoS and ecommerce system to manage a retailer’s store and website. This helps manage stock seamlessly, no matter if you sell it in-store or online. Cybertill also, on average, reduces a retailer’s stock levels by around 20 per cent.

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Not all businesses are the same, so why buy the same stock computer system that your competitors are using?

• EasyStock is a software solution that can be tailored to your personal business needs.

• Do you have a unique and growing jewellery business? EasyStock is used by some of the biggest movers and shakers in the trade, winners of many accolades such as "Retailer of the year" and "Designer of the year".

• EasyStock has been developed using Microsoft's© own tools, making it flexible to change and adapt to the fast changing software environment. It is able to be installed on any standard personal computer including laptops and "all in ones". Devices that you probably already own, so helping to further reduce your initial investment.

• IJS Ltd have been serving the jewellery industry both in the manufacturing and retail sectors for 30 years. There is nothing we do not know about this specialist market and its ever changing needs.

• Easystock evolves too. New modules are added continually which work to expand and enhance the Easystock solution now and in the future.

So if you don't have a computer system yet, or need to assess what you are doing with your current system, TRY US OUT!!!!! Looking and seeing is without obligation. You can even "try before you buy" so you can be confident you are making the best choice for your business.

Do you have your own view on how you evolve your business and would like to use a system which could help you achieve this?

For an informal chat call us on 02921 250203 e-mail : thejeweller@software4jewellers.com web site www.software4jewellers.com.

Why not see if we are the answer you are looking for?

Feature | IJS

by Ian Jukes, company owner/director Capabilities IJS uses only Microsoft’s own tools to develop software, so we are always up-to-date as new versions of the Windows operating system are released. Our system works on any standard personal computer so there is no need to invest in costly till hardware. Also, as all functionality can work on any installed PC, our system requires only one PC per shop for both stock entry and PoS. At the same time the system is able to scale up just by adding additional PCs to any number of shops with no change to the software.

It is ‘cloud-ready’ by being able to run on hosted servers, and uses a centralised database, which ensures all data is up to date in real time. Users can identify which stock is present in every store immediately, with no need to call around to find stock.

The software itself is fully integrated and all functionality is available at installation.

Customer service and support Essentially our support provision is 24/7. We have a range of support ‘contracts’ geared to

Magpie (Europe)

by Caren Colabella, director Capabilities Magpie’s ETHOS software is extremely sophisticated with a vast spectrum of features such as point of sale, repair module, appro goods, stock inventory, manufacturing and full financial accounting. Our reporting module alone consists of a vast array of business reports.

What is important to our customers is that we have gone to great lengths to keep the ETHOS user interface and entire experience as simple and effortless as possible for the end user.

Customer service and support We offer full installation, training and support included in our affordable monthly fee.

Our call centre is at hand to offer immediate friendly advice and support for any questions or issues clients may have.

individual requirements. However, our main aim is to provide a reliable and stable software solution that requires minimal support, in order to help keep costs under control.

Our main support issues are networking and hardware, and in these cases we work with local providers who can get to the site immediately.

Training IJS gives training as an ongoing process, and this is generally provided to clients interactively online. Our experience has shown us that users require training during the lifetime of the system as new modules are accessed. The solution itself is highly intuitive.

Cost A single site (one shop) software solution with all functionality for up to five PCs costs around £2,500.

Installation time Once the hardware and network infrastructure is up and running, it will normally take us one to two hours to install the database engine and software. This can all be done remotely from our office. Remote sites (additional shops) are usually then very easy to link up, once our hardware experts have installed the necessary internet hardware.

Installation time Depending on customer requirements and hardware options, we can have the entire software installed within 15 minutes, and the importing of existing data and setting up of the entire system, to the point of going live with sales, in a matter of hours.

Training Due to the simplicity of our user interfaces, the average user can be self sufficient on our PoS module after just 15 minutes of training.

Instead of overloading new clients with intensive days of training and expecting them to retain all of this information, which may not always be used day-to-day, we concentrate on the main user needs, and recommend frequent short training sessions on the other modules that are not used daily.

Point of difference Our client base is made up of highly distinctive businesses that we are proud to have as users. They range from providers of highly-specialised, high-end jewellery, to award-winning designers and multi-awardwinning retail groups. We tend to deal with clients who rate themselves as slightly different from the regular, run-of-the-mill high street shop, and the majority of our new clients come via recommendation from existing users. We are perfectly happy for any prospective user to contact existing clients to discuss any part of our solution and service.

entry level package starting at £400. Pricing is transparent and shown on our website.

Point of difference Our goal is to provide the best value in the market to our customers. We also offer the option of installing the software onto clients’ existing PCs to save on expensive touchscreen computers and to utilise any existing EPoS hardware they may already have. In terms of our support service, we don’t just explain how the software works; we go out of our way to help our clients implement the software in a manner that will provide them with maximum returns and benefits.

Cost Our software pricing is structured to provide affordability and value to small independent retailers, with the ETHOS jewellery software an

The Voice of the Industry 41

| Feature Pursuit Software

by Mike Burns, MD Capabilities As well as, or instead of, a counter-top EPoS installation, options include ‘Lifestyle’, a mobile, hand-held EPoS package. This enables sales staff members to move and interact with customers wherever they are browsing in the retail space, with till functions and instant look-up records of all items in stock – complete with descriptions, prices and images – accessed on an iPad. Pursuit’s in-shop counter-top and iPad ‘Lifestyle’ EPoS systems, and the website equivalent, function in real time, so records are as up-to-the-minute as the most recent transaction.

Every sale (from all store branches) instantly registers on the stock control, meaning an out-of-stock item can be obtained from another branch, and those with responsibility for buying can track patterns of stock movement and re-order popular lines when stocks are getting low.

Where details and images for a brand’s entire collection – for example charms and beads – are held on a Pursuit EPoS system, items not actually stocked can be offered to the customer and ordered from the supplier.

Customer service and support Rather than having to text, leave a voicemail message or send an email and wait for someone to ring back, customers are able to speak directly by telephone to a systems engineer for technical support and troubleshooting. Over the peak Christmas period, this service is available from 8am until 11pm.

Installation time Where a new retailer is switching to Pursuit from another system, Pursuit has the advantage of being able to automatically transfer existing data and records that might otherwise have to be re-entered manually – with obvious benefit to the speed of installation.

Once the data has been imported, a core system can be installed and running within two or three working days, with an extra day or so for each additional shop.

Cost Costs are determined by how many functions are built into the system, and the extent to which it is configured to individual requirements. Once installed, costs are fixed – users do not pay extra for standard system upgrades as these are automatically provided from time to time.

Point of difference Pursuit has the depth of understanding and experience that goes with providing jewellery retail systems for nearly 15 years, and an experienced in-house team of systems analysts, developers and programmers.

Power, speed, robust reliability and ease of configuring to accommodate the needs of individual users are all areas where Pursuit enjoys a competitive edge.

Training The Pursuit system is designed from the outset to be user friendly. Operation is easy, simple, logical and, for all practical purposes, intuitive, therefore sales staff can be trained in a matter of hours. Pursuit provides on-site training, backed up by the availability of training courses at its training facilities in Norwich.

Case study: Fourth Avenue The Fourth Avenue jewellery lounge in Norwich, which stocks such brands as Swarovski, Hot Diamonds and Thomas Sabo, is an inspired reinvention of the jewellery shop – and the courage to innovate has already proved its worth in sales success.

Opened in September 2012, the store was probably the UK’s first jewellery retailer to go till-free. In doing so it has created a new business model that dispenses with the idea of a counter as being the focal point for customers and staff.

Rather than queue and wait their turn to be attended at the counter, the ambience and layout of the retail space encourage customers to wander and browse. Staff members are similarly free to mingle with customers and, rather than being psychologically anchored to the proximity of a countertop till, they use iPad tablet computers running Pursuit Software’s revolutionary ‘Lifestyle’ technology.

As well as performing till functions, the tablets allow quick searches of stock; customer choices can be explored and narrowed down according to price and taste preferences; matching items can be introduced to either add to the sale or create a ‘must have’ for purchase by the customer on a subsequent occasion; and explaining the finer points of a particular piece is made easier because individual images on the tablet screen can be displayed larger than actual size.

Like any retailer, Fourth Avenue’s objective is to build loyalty, and customers have responded wonderfully to the new environment and the experience it engenders – to the extent that Fourth Avenue has come to be perceived less as a shop and more of a regular ‘must-visit’ fashion destination.

42 The Jeweller April 2014

we’ll remember the date Our Lifestyle software is a powerful facility designed to enhance the process of increasing sales. The reason for individual purchases can be identified, for example birthday gift or anniversary – and how many purchases a customer has made in the past is recorded.

Improve the customer experience

With carefully tailored and personalised mailings customers can feel important and remain loyal to you.

Wish lists can be created for customers

Till functions are carried out on staff members iPads, allowing them to mingle with customers and carry out transactions on the spot.

Increase sales person performance Increased customer loyalty Increase stock turn

“It’s so simple and is a great way for staff to increase sales, whilst

To join the Lifestyle revolution and arrange a free, live online demonstration call

creating a whole new customer

+ 44 (0) 1603 263800

experience.”

jewellery business software solutions www.pursuit.co.uk

| Feature Tips to start your EPoS journey From the experts — handy tips on implementing your first (or replacement) system

Companies that are reluctant to visit when they are selling a system are likely to be unwilling to visit when there is a problem.

Chris Garland, Bransom Retail Systems

It is often wise to question how the system has been developed and how your data is stored. Are you able to gain direct access to the data itself from common tools such as spreadsheets? Is the system written using a commonly supported programming language?

Ian Jukes, IJS

It is important to plan the installation and training around you and your business. Choose a time when it is convenient for you and when it will cause minimum disruption to your business. This means that in quieter times, staff can get used to having a new EPoS system, as can you, running different reports, checking stock and so forth.

Adrian Mills, Cybertill

Probably the most fundamental question is: does the system function in real time?

Are all the sales, stock and other records automatically and instantly updated right across the system as each sales transaction is completed – or would you have to wait until the end of the business day to do a full sales and stock reconciliation?

Mike Burns, Pursuit Software

Be warned, if considering bespoke (rather than industry-standard) EPoS software. Ensure that a) you have specified and project managed software development before; b) your developer will continue to develop the software once it is complete at an agreed rate; and c) in the original contract you have ownership of the software (and source code) in case the developer does stop.

Adrian Mills, Cybertill

Don’t be afraid to put the salesmen on the spot; if they can’t answer questions about your business, how do they know their system will work in your business?

Chris Garland, Bransom Retail Systems

Retailer viewpoint: Philip Zelley, Stag & Doe I met Magpie at IJL and had a brief demonstration of its ETHOS system.

It offered me everything I needed… and it was one of the more affordable options on the market. The whole process from delivery and installation was very simple. Both computers (one back office and one till point) were set up in a couple of hours, and as for stock entry, with two of us working on data input (no previous stock records) we had everything entered within two days.

Going forward I had the support of the ETHOS call centre, which was great. In the first two weeks I probably contacted them every day with a question or two, but now I only ever contact them about once a month on average.

44 The Jeweller April 2014

Case study: F Hinds amily-run independent jeweller F Hinds, with 111 stores, selected Cybertill’s cloud-based EPoS system for use across its retail estate, enabling the jeweller to benefit from real-time stock visibility throughout the business, both online and across its 190 points of sale. “Cybertill is cloud-based and consequently hugely appealing. It will help ensure our branches can view one another’s stock levels in real time so that stores can check and transfer stock, minimising missed sales opportunities,” commented Paul Hinds.

Another important factor for F Hinds was the ability to deploy mobile points of sale at peak trading times. “Christmas is such a busy time for us and we wanted to be able to ensure that our customers don’t have to queue. To do this we knew we needed the ability to introduce mobile PoS into our stores as and when required. Cybertill’s cloud-based system allows us to do just this.”

“More and more retailers are turning to cloud-based retail systems to help them manage their business,” commented Cybertill founder and CEO, Ian Tomlinson.

“For successful and growing retailers, like F Hinds, having a cloud-based EPoS system means that it is scalable and can grow with them.”

Before making such a major investment, F Hinds carried out an exhaustive search for a suitable EPoS solution, looking at jewellery-specific to tier one systems, and decided that Cybertill’s cloud-based solution was the best fit. “Their managed service was also very appealing. As an organisation we don’t have to concern ourselves with data back-ups or software upgrades – we can focus on managing our business, not our EPoS system,” added director Andrew Hinds.

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The Voice of the Industry 45

| Feature More tips to start your EPoS journey

Sales online are consistently posting double digit growth figures, and around 16 per cent of all retail sales are now done online, therefore it is hugely important that retailers embrace the internet. Even if you don’t have an ecommerce site yet, you may want one in the future. Any EPoS system worth its salt should be able to integrate your stock in-store with the stock on your website in real time, so you only sell what you have in stock and, equally importantly, you only stock what you need to be able to fulfil sales.

Adrian Mills, Cybertill

Don’t be blinded by bells and whistles – those should be a secondary consideration.

Identify software that addresses the most important needs for your business and try to select software that does what it needs to do in as simple a manner as possible.

Caren Colabella, Magpie (Europe)

The rapport between client and supplier can make the difference between a good system and a great system. The calibre of training, support and customisation you may need comes down to the level of expertise and experience that your supplier can offer, so do your homework. Before committing to any system, check about training, support and software updates. It is no good investing in EPoS software and then not receiving adequate training. Also what are the on-going support costs each month, has the provider increased these over the last few years and is any increase capped in the terms and conditions of the contract?

Adrian Mills, Cybertill

Inevitably, a retailer’s needs will change and evolve over time, so it’s vital to establish how easily a system can be upgraded and new functions added – and the costs likely to be involved. In the jargon of the computer world, is the system future-proof?

Mike Burns, Pursuit Software

Retailer viewpoint: Graeme Mitchell, T B Mitchell The support Clarity & Success offer is phenomenal; the entire team is friendly, helpful, efficient and approachable. Every question we asked was answered swiftly, politely, patiently and with understanding.

Having now grown accustomed to [the system’s] layout and methods, the reports we can generate and information it yields are incredible.

Retailer viewpoint: John Davey, Lamb’s – Hartlepool Having introduced a fast-moving branded product into our store, which was proving to be challenging to oversee, we decided we needed to improve our stock control. We spoke to a few providers of EPoS systems and chose to opt for Bransom bsmart. Our stock control and ordering have vastly improved, and having overcome the initial task of putting all of our stock on the system we now feel that we couldn’t do without it.

We have added a marketing package that has been of great benefit in staying in touch with our customers and informing them of any promotions we are running. I recommend both the product and the company.

46 The Jeweller April 2014

In conclusion, Caren Colabella of Magpie (Europe) says to all jewellers who are questioning whether a computer system is a good investment, or should be a financial priority: “It is actually one of the best investments a business can make, especially small businesses where the owner must perform multiple tasks. Computer systems are much faster and more accurate at performing certain tasks than humans, specifically record keeping and calculations, and for a modest initial investment, retailers can purchase a computer system that will perform time-consuming daily tasks perfectly accurately and reliably – empowering him or her to focus on growing the business.”

Contacts Bransom Retail Systems: 01442 256 445, chris@bransom.co.uk or www.bransom.co.uk Clarity & Success Software: 01785 255 557, uk@clarity-success.com or www.clarity-success.com Cybertill: 0844 855 1600 or www.cybertill.co.uk IJS: 02921 250 203, info@ijs.ltd.uk or www.software4jewellers.com Magpie (Europe): 01773 749 237 or www.magpie-software.co.uk Pursuit Software: 01603 263 800 or mike.burns@pursuit.co.uk

N.A.G. Education & Training Awards |

Robert Kent, winner of the Greenough Trophy, with N.A.G. Board members (left to right) Andrew Hinds, Pravin Pattni, Margaret Harris and Nicholas Major

N.A.G. Presentation of Awards 2014 Industry luminaries, tutors, students, friends and colleagues gathered at the historic Goldsmiths’ Hall in London to celebrate the achievements of the N.A.G’s 2013 graduates.

Belinda Morris spoke to Robert Kent, this year’s proud winner of the Greenough Trophy. he breathtakingly opulent Livery Hall was the setting last month for the ceremony itself – the diplomas and awards, presented to each student by N.A.G. chairman Pravin Pattni following welcome addresses by president Margaret Harris and N.A.G. CEO Michael Rawlinson.

While every diploma received represented a richly-deserved personal triumph for the

T

is more about dealing with people and about talking to customers about the jewellery; the shop is equally split between fine and fashion collections. I’m quite opinionated and I really enjoy that aspect of my job!”

Robert had been at FJ Zelley a matter of months before it was decided that he should embark on the JET courses. “They cover so many elements of the industry – it’s a really wide-ranging set of courses – so they offer a diverse learning platform,” he explains. “While I had a keen interest in and knowledge of watches, I didn’t know a lot about diamonds, so taking the course has given me a great breadth of knowledge, something solid. I enjoy imparting knowledge to customers, so now I can explain about the different qualities of diamonds; why they’re so revered. Even friends come to me for advice – my future sister-in-law included – so that’s pretty cool!”

Having spent a total of six years studying for a degree prior to taking his first job, Robert was used to putting his head down and working hard for exams. “But this was an intense period of learning, so I wasn’t even sure I’d passed. Was I surprised to learn about the award? Yes, big time! Having the trophy is not just a reward for me, but also a reward for my bosses for putting me on it – for having faith in me.”

student concerned, the highlight of the evening was the awarding of the coveted Greenough Trophy. This year the inscribed silver award went to Robert Kent of FJ Zelley in Bishops Stortford. First presented in 1946, it is awarded each year to the student who achieves the highest aggregate marks in the Association’s Professional Jewellers’ Diploma programme.

Robert came into the jewellery trade via a rather circuitous route. Having just landed himself a sales job at an opticians, he went into FJ Zelley to treat himself to an Omega watch. While there he got talking to the boss (without realising that he was the boss) and they became friends. To cut a long story short, Robert started working part time for Zelley’s at events and quit his job at the opticians – he’s been at Zelley’s now for almost four years.

“It was watches that sucked me in – they’re my passion – but watches are just a small part of what we do,” he explains. “The job

The Voice of the Industry 49

| N.A.G. Education & Training Awards Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Qualified with Distinction Surname

Forename(s)

Town

Company

Greenough Trophy winner Kent

Robert

Bishops Stortford

F J Zelley Ltd

Anderson

Emma

Glenrothes

Jessop Jewellers Ltd

Badder Goode

Johanna

Bath

Nicholas Wylde Goldsmith Ltd

Bailey

Alice

Lisburn

Shannon’s Jewellers

Barber

Simon

London

–

Beynon

Ashley

St. Helier

Rivoli Jewellers

Bromsgrove

Christine

Liverpool

Suttons and Robertsons

Cain

Tracey

Gloucester

G.A. Baker & Son

Child

Teri

London

Fish Bros Ltd

Coppock

Max Giles

Oxford

Payne & Son (Goldsmiths) Ltd

Day

Frances

Liverpool

Suttons and Robertsons

Dow

Claire Louise

Stirling

Beaverbrooks

Dragan

Katarzyna

Dublin

Weir & Sons

Everard

Nathaniel

Chelmsford

Fish Bros Ltd

Houghton

Mia Helen

Salisbury

Allum & Sidaway

Johnson

Daniel

Wolverhampton

J.J. Rudell & Co Ltd

Kirkham-Wiley

Sally

Birmingham

–

Moug

Rebecca

Richmond

Gregory & Co

Newman

Paulette

Salisbury

W Carter & Son

Pace

Howard

Birmingham

Suttons and Robertsons

Regolo

Sophia

Bedford

Baker Bros (Jewellers) Ltd

Robertson

Catherine

Aberdeen

Jamieson & Carry

Rossall

Lucy Margaret

Leicester

Aurum Group Ltd

Stobart

James

London

Pravins

Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Qualified with Grade A Surname

Forename(s)

Town

Company

Armstrong

Ceri Louise

Bath

EP Mallory

Baker

Deana

Bristol

Pravins

Baxter

Dawn

Blackpool

Beaverbrooks

Brennan

Susan Caroline

Warrington

Beaverbrooks

Browne

Matthew Peter

Oxford

Payne & Son (Goldsmiths) Ltd

Butler

Tiernan

Dublin

Boodles

Carruthers

Paul

Birkenhead

M.S Milton Ltd

Carvell

Melissa

Dorchester

Allum & Sidaway

Chandler

Joanne

Banstead

J T Snuggs

Cheshire

Jason

Cheltenham

Beards of Cheltenham

Collier

Bernadette

Leigh

Harvey & Thompson

Copper-Ogle

Catherine Joan

Sheffield

H L Brown & Son Ltd

Cox

Susan Margaret

Birmingham

Signet Group PLC

Davies

Tristan

Horsham

Wakefield Jewellers Ltd

Duffy

Alisha

Liverpool

David M Robinson

Durbin

Katherine

Petersfield

Picketts & Pursers Ltd

Elsworth

Sarah

Shaftesbury

Allum & Sidaway

Elvin

Katie

Truro

Michael Spiers (Jewellers) Ltd

Evenden

Wendy

Eastbourne

W Bruford

Flynn

Jennifer Elizabeth

Tunbridge Wells

–

Frodel-Shuttleworth

Agnieszka

Twickenham

–

Gabe

Laura

Bath

Nicholas Wylde Goldsmith Ltd

50 The Jeweller April 2014

N.A.G. Education & Training Awards |

The Voice of the Industry 51

| N.A.G. Education & Training Awards Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Qualified with Grade A (cont.)

Surname

Forename(s)

Town

Company

Gaston

Laura Jean Doris

Ballymena

Goldsmiths

Greaves

Carrie-Ann

Blackpool

Harvey & Thompson

Grey

Julie Anne

Portsmouth

Harvey & Thompson

Haynes

Lesley

Wolverhampton

Harvey & Thompson

Henderson

Emma

Belfast

John H Lunn (Jewellers) Ltd

Hulland

Louise-Ann

Nottingham

Harvey & Thompson

Jack

Alan

London

Tiffany & Co

Jenkins

Sheree

Cardiff

Pravins

Jonas

Helen

Stanstead

Sworders Auctioneers

Kaur

Charanjit

Birmingham

Suttons and Robertsons

Ketcher

Alyce

Wellington

Joseph Welch Jewellers

Kilbride

Claire Elizabeth

Glasgow

Bernstones

Li

Wai-On Leon

Middlesex

Mappin & Webb

McDowell

Nicola

Lisburn

Shannon’s Jewellers

Morgan

Andrew

Belfast

John H Lunn (Jewellers) Ltd

Morgan

Hara

Bromsgrove

Cupitt Jeweller

Neale

Hayley Louise

Portsmouth

–

Noakes

Nicola

Swindon

Deacon & Son (Swindon) Ltd

Palmer

Emily

Shaftesbury

Allum & Sidaway

Piper

Louise

Portsmouth

Ernest Jones Ltd

Rolfe

Victoria

Chichester

Gold Arts

Ryszawy

Anna Maria

Jersey

Mappin & Webb Ltd

Sadler

Cheryl

Littlehampton

L Guess Jewellers Ltd

Seivwright

Emma Louise

Aberdeen

Beaverbrooks

Sherwood

Sarah Kaye

Gloucester

G.A. Baker & Son

Siberry-Scott

Vivien

Birmingham

Suttons and Robertsons

Simpson

Jo-Anna

Lerwick

J G Rae Ltd

Stent

Daniel James

Lewes

W E Clark & Sons

Wakefield

Laura

Manchester

Fraser Hart

Wesley-Holley

Clare

Sheffield

H L Brown & Son Ltd

Wright

Kim Sandra

Gillingham

Miss Grace Jewellers

52 The Jeweller April 2014

N.A.G. Education & Training Awards | Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Qualified with Grade B Surname

Forename(s)

Town

Company

Abrahams

Michelle Louise

Bury St Edmunds

Thurlow Champness & Son Ltd

Adcock

Kirsty Louise

Leicester

Goldsmiths

Angel

Rebecca Mary

Preston

S Carr & Son

Archodakis

Adonia Emmanuelle

Basildon

Harvey & Thompson

Ayres

Lisa

Kings Lynn

Tim Clayton Jewellery Ltd

Baird

Michael

Ballymena

–

Benn

Jennifer

Portsmouth

Harvey & Thompson

Bouali

Ellies

Southampton

Parkhouse The Jeweller

Bourne

Jessica

Stone

Peter Plant Jewellers Ltd

Brett

Sarah

Romford

Mallard

Carroll

Tim Richard

Leicester

Francis & Gaye

Casey

Siobhan Onora

Watford

Fraser Hart

Christy

Jeanette

London

Suttons and Robertsons

Clayton

Gillian

Manchester

Mays Pawnbrokers & Jewellers

Coupe

Kirsten Elizabeth

Stirling

Fraser Hart

Crane

David

Birmingham

Signet Group PLC

Cullen

Janice

Rustington

L Guess Jewellers Ltd

Cutts

Heather

Staines

Swag Jeweller

Danenbergs

Claire

Bedford

Baker Bros (Jewellers) Ltd

Dawkins

Sara Louise

Bristol

Beaverbrooks

Dea

Jean Hunter

Falkirk

Chisholm Hunter

Doidge-Coker

Sydney

Bedford

-

Drewell

Lindsey

London

Mappin & Webb Ltd

Eldridge

Jack Francis

London

Fraser Hart

Faben

Georgina

Brighton

Goldsmiths

Fitton

Joanne

Stockport

Beaverbrooks

Fogg

Kiyle James

Grays

Beaverbrooks

Grabowska

Marlena Anna

St Helier

Rivoli Ltd

Hamblin

Louise

Portsmouth

Harvey & Thompson

Haycock

Emma Catherine

St Ives

Piggotts Jewellers

Hayward

Frances

Wantage

Fraser Hart

Henderson

Kerri

Edinburgh

Beaverbrooks

Howard

Zoe

Leicester

Aurum Group Ltd

Hudd

Sarah

Marlborough

David Dudley Jeweller Ltd

Hunt

Katie

Horsham

Wakefield Jewellers Ltd

Irani Asl

Pedram

London

Pravins

Jeremy

John-Paul

Cardiff

Parkhouse The Jeweller

Joseph

Caliey

London

Harvey & Thompson

Knowles

Ellie Rose

Eastbourne

W E Clark & Sons Ltd

Koldan

Zora

Bedford

Baker Bros (Jewellers) Ltd

Lee

Isabella

London

-

Lelean

Louise

Birmingham

Roberts Jewellers

Lewis-Hillary

Michelle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Northern Goldsmiths

Lilley

Jennifer

Edinburgh

Laing the Jeweller Ltd

Martin-Wright

Alexander

Liverpool

David M Robinson

Mason

Jade

Boston

Maude’s The Jewellers

McQuilliam

Charlotte

Blackpool

Beaverbrooks

Moroney

Elouise

Ringwood

Allum & Sidaway

Morrison

Robert

Londonderry

John H Lunn (Jewellers) Ltd

Moss

Jodie Louise

Manchester

Fraser Hart

The Voice of the Industry 53

| N.A.G. Education & Training Awards

Professional Jewellers’ Diploma (P.J. Dip) – Qualified with Grade B (cont.)

Surname

Forename(s)

Town

Company

Murphy

Darren

Llandudno

Goldsmiths

Murtha

Jennifer Louise

Middlesex

–

Nivison

Chloe-Flavia

London

Goldsmiths

Nota

Claire Louise

Cheltenham

Beards of Cheltenham

O’Leary

Louise

Bristol

H Samuel Ltd

Owen

Sarah Caroline

Hitchin

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54 The Jeweller April 2014

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Last Word At the end of this month Professor Jack Cunningham retires from the post of head of Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery – so letting him have The Last Word seems right and proper…

Personal Profile Professor Jack Cunningham has been head of the School of Jewellery at BCU – the largest school of its kind in Europe – since 2008. He is also a curator and contemporary narrative jeweller, having studied for a PhD in this subject area while head of the Silversmithing & Jewellery Department at The Glasgow School of Art. What has been the stand-out moment of your time at the School of Jewellery?

Every day seems to bring its own ‘moment’, but what makes this such a special place to work is the staff (and of course the students).

They are passionate, dedicated, extremely hard-working and very good-humoured.

You couldn’t ask for more than that.

point in the future. The UK’s art schools and universities produce such wonderful graduate designers, which we see more visibly within the fashion industry. It would be great to see that spirit embraced within the jewellery industry. However, I appreciate that risk taking during a period of recession is perhaps not the best strategy.

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

I wish I had engaged more fully with the trade, as opposed to the contemporary gallery end of the spectrum which I am very familiar with. Also, I have come rather late to areas such as gemmology and horology, which are vital and exciting parts of our industry.

If not this one, what might your alternative career have been?

Something in the theatre perhaps, or food. I love the process of cooking as it’s such a great way to unwind at the end of the day.

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

I believe I’m pretty driven, creative and sociable. Others may say I’m efficient, easy going and pedantic.

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

I would love to see more risk taking in terms of design, creativity and innovation at some

58 The Jeweller April 2014

Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

My wife. She supports all my endeavours and career decisions, and made sacrifices when I undertook a PhD. She stops me from being too serious – when I’m being too serious – and keeps me focussed when I have a tendency to flip-flop from one thing to another – I’m easily distracted.

The last film you saw at the cinema?

It was so long ago that I can’t remember!

We watch box sets and DVDs to relax, and for live entertainment we go to the opera.

Most recently, in November, we saw Aida at the Bastille in Paris – magnifique!

Tell us something not many people know about you…

I love skiing. It only happens once a year, a week in the French Alps, and it’s over too quickly. However, I intend to rectify this and be on the slopes for longer periods in the future.

What keeps you awake at night?

I realised a long time ago that there is little point in worrying about anything. But if I find myself lying awake in the middle of the night, I just try to remember all the stations on line five of the Paris metro, in sequence.

I never get to the end of the line!

Favourite shopping destination?

We have had a pied-à-terre in Paris for 13 years, so this is my city of choice. Anything within a square mile of Le Bon Marché in Saint-Germain-des-Prés is perfect. Also Rue de Poitou in the 3rd arrondissement for quirky independent shops. Then again, Omotesando Dori in Tokyo is pretty cool too – see what I mean, flip-flopping!

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

You really don’t want me to answer that!

Do you Tweet?

Never, although I know there is constant tweeting around the School of Jewellery.

I can almost hear it.

Quick Fire • Cats or dogs? Cats • Fish ‘n’ chips or fruits de mer?

Always fruits de mer • TV or radio? Both • Jewellery on men? Yes • Delegator or control freak?

A delegating control freak • Beatles or Rolling Stones? Beatles • Paperback or e-reader? e-reader

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