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Nov/Dec 2014

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The Voice of The Industry

Incorporating

Gems&Jewellery

Nov/Dec 2014 / Volum e 23 / No. 9

Gem-A Co nference 2014 Photo Co mpetitio n Winners Mischiev ous emera lds

Visual merchandising — business is booming!

Jewellery trends 2014/15 Security Conference report

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T. H. March

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Financial Planning Advice you can trust on all aspects of financial planning from our own Chartered Financial Planner who is a High Net Worth specialist.

Commercial Insurances Insurance covering a wide range of risks that all businesses face today. We’ll arrange cover that is designed specifically with you in mind so that your premises, income, employees, stock and so much more will be safeguarded to optimum levels.

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Neil McFarlane ACII Chartered Insurance Broker Managing Director

T. H. March Proud to be the National Association of Goldsmiths appointed insurance broker

Jeweller

Contents & Contacts |

the

The Voice of The Industry

C O N T E N T S

www.thejewellermagazine.com

N O V / D E C

Visual identity

1 4

26

Shop fitters, designers and display companies are enjoying brisk business, Belinda Morris reports.

Security Conference 2014

36

Advice, tips, networking, demonstrations and

Editor’s Letter

5

Rawlinson Speaks Out

7

Industry News

8

International News

14

N.A.G. News

16

Member of the Month

18

Education & Training

20

IRV Review

22

Insurance

39

Ethical

42

Gem-A Conference Report

55

Association Benefits

56

Preparing a Valuation

64

Antique Jewellery

66

Notebook

70

Display Cabinet

72

Last Word

74

inspiring talks on securing the future of our industry.

British talent fortnight

40

A review of the Goldsmiths’ Fair.

Jewellery trends brought to life

44

Fashion forecasting finds a footing further down the creative line

Take it to the bench

61

We continue to fly the flag with a visit to two key British jewellery workshops.

Nov/De c 2014 / Volume

Gems&Jewellery

23 / No. 9

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-A Conference 2014 review, photo competition winners, mischievous emeralds and much more…

Gem-A Conferen ce 2014 Photo Co mpetitio n Winners Mischiev ous em eralds

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

The National Association of Goldsmiths 78a Luke Street, London EC2A 4XG Tel: 020 7613 4445 www.jewellers-online.org CEO: Michael Rawlinson michaelr@jewellers-online.org Editor: Belinda Morris bmorris@colony.co.uk

Cover Image In conjunction with Hallmark Design Tel: 0121 355 3333 Email: info@hallmarkdesign.co.uk www.hallmarkdesign.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: David Callaghan, Robert Eden, Amy Oliver

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

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Comment |

Editor’s

Letter utumn’s unseasonably mild weather has been playing havoc with the Christmassy frame

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of mind that I ought to be in by now – I’m hoping that it hasn’t had a similar effect on

This month: “Very often consumers make a judgement about the retailer and retail proposition based solely upon the store environment before they have had any interaction with a member of staff…”

your customers. However, now that I have made my pudding and have picked the sloes for the 2014 vintage, the festive mood is beginning to kick in… along with the promise of proper November/December chilliness which should put us all in a festive (spending) mood.

By now you will, of course, have already dressed the store and windows to lure Santa’s little helpers, but if you’re running a little late on this front, or you’re looking for a few last minute ideas (beyond battered baubles and some strands of tired tinsel), Judy Head magics-up a tip or two in our shop-fitting and display feature (p26). Judging by the news of jeweller re-fits and re-furbs that have taken place over the past year, the festive season looks set to be fizzing in both senses of the word – business looks optimistic and champagne bars are becoming default fixtures! ‘Experiential retailing’ is what it’s all about.

Personally, I’ve been having something of an experiential month – store visits, workshop

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tours (thank you CW Sellors) and, most recently, the potentially intimidating Gem-A Conference.

Not scary at all if you’re a gemmologist of course, but as I’m not I was quite prepared to watch everything whizz over my head. Not so as it turned out. The two-day study bonanza was fascinating, eye-opening and as educational as I’d hoped it would be. And if the occasional science stuff took me out of my comfort zone, I’m sure that everything else has, in an osmotic fashion, been absorbed. As Gem-A’s CEO James Riley observed on my departure: “We’ll make a gemmologist of you yet!” Got to love his optimism.

While on the subject of learning, and without wishing to dampen the seasonal spirit, now might be a good time to take a long, hard look at two vital aspects of a jeweller’s business: security and valuing. Both are in danger of neglect and both go under the loupe in this issue; turn to p36 for a review of the Association’s successful Security Conference and learn, on

“The very least a ‘jewellery designer’ should have is the ability to sketch their ideas and the knowledge to explain what they want made and how it should be done…”

p64, the difference between a poor and a professional valuation. Pat yourself on the back, all of you who are getting it right.

All of which just leaves me room to wish everyone festive felicitations and a positively prosperous New Year!

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

Page 61

The Voice of the Industry 5

Collections to capture the imagination Be inspired at the UK’s largest dedicated display of jewellery and watches.

400 suppliers . 600 brands . 40,000 pieces . Exclusive collection launches Register for your complimentary ticket at jewelleryandwatchbirmingham.com/TheJeweller

Products featured: necklace & jewelled ring - Fei Liu, bracelets - Mark Milton, watch & gold ring - BERING, top - stylist’s own

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Comment |

Rawlinson

speaks out e asked for your views and we are getting them. If you haven’t responded and still want to, please do this as a matter of urgency. Thank you. Over 70 per cent of respondents said ‘Yes’ to the unification of the N.A.G. with the BJA. We are currently analysing the results in detail and will provide you with a more complete report next month, but the message coming through loud and clear is that the vast majority of members want a single voice to protect, promote and provide for the jewellery industry. I know that not everyone agrees with this and I will ensure that the concerns and worries of those members are not brushed aside.

We do need to retain our focus, not just on the retailer but also on the manufacturer, the designer maker and the needs of each and every specialist in the trade. We need to recognise that we won’t always agree on the best way forward but we need to respect other views and opinions. I also want to ensure that we set and maintain the highest possible standards for professional conduct and business practices. The irony is that members of both associations say: “We are the best but you have to watch the members of the other association.” Well, going forward, let’s ensure that we have a strong code of practice, underpinned by robust procedures to investigate potential breaches and a strong set of responses that, in the first instance, can support improvements and education, with removal only being seen as a last resort. The working party’s vision is to build the best trade association our industry has ever known and to support you, its members, so that you can run your businesses efficiently and profitably.

Do you know the old adage “Fail to plan or plan to fail”? I know you all have a passion and love for jewellery. But is that all it takes to run and sustain a successful

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business these days? With competition coming at you thick and fast from every direction, rival jewellery stores just down the road, online businesses and other products and services competing for your potential customers’ disposable spend, how do you decide on what to stock, what will be the next hot line and what is the dying dog that you don’t want left on your shelves for the next five years? To answer these questions and more, I believe that retail sales data is an absolute must. But it’s not enough just to have your own sales figures – although that is, of course, a good place to start.

What you need to do is put your figures into the context of the entire market, by comparison with other businesses like yours, whether by size, location, product type or brands stocked.

“I want to ensure that we set and maintain the highest possible standards for professional conduct and business practices.”

Of course, when it comes to comparisons, there are many different ways to cut the cake. But before you can start to analyse and evaluate you must have the relevant data to hand, classified and arranged in a logical and consistent way. Unfortunately, our industry currently has such information for watches only – collected, collated and compiled into reports by GfK. That’s why I am particularly pleased to be able to announce that, to fill this gap, I have gained the support of a number of key industry businesses to drive forward a project to repeat the work for jewellery. Our objective will be to create a standardised way of

grouping and sub-grouping products so that analysis and comparisons can begin to take shape. We will be looking to consolidate retail sales data in a way that does not expose the identity of any single business or group of stores from the information that is processed through existing EPoS sales systems. Of course, we are well aware that this data belongs to our members which is why, in time, we will need to gain your permission to let the software companies pass this data on to us in a way that is both secure and cleansed. Personally, however, I’m really excited about the way this project and its benefits could transform our members’ businesses and the industry as a whole and I hope that, when the time comes, you will give us your full support.

Finally I want to give a huge vote of thanks to Fog Bandit for being the headline sponsor at our recent security conference and to the event’s supporters for making it such a successful day. So many people told me they had learnt so much that they would be rushing back to their businesses to carry out an immediate review. You can read the report later in this issue. But rest assured that we’ve already got lots of ideas in the pipeline to make the next event even better.

And absolutely finally, I hope that, when I next write, you will all have had a highly successful and profitable festive season.

Then I hope we can look forward to a very exciting and ground-breaking new year together.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas.

The Voice of the Industry 7

| Industry News

Wakefields wins CMJ Award .A.G. member Wakefields Jewellers of Horsham, Sussex, was the winner of the Retailer of the Year at the Company of Master Jewellers 2014 UK Jewellery Conference last month. The store was up against a finalists list that included Drakes, Forum, Jeremy France and TH Baker.

Selected by CMJ-approved suppliers, Wakefields was described as “a passionate and forward-thinking watch and jewellery retailer who are a real pleasure to do business with” and was praised for its “friendly staff and well-organised store which is modern, bright and luxurious without relinquishing any of the values of a traditional family business”. The Supplier of the Year, as voted for by CMJ retail members, was Brown & Newirth.

The two-day conference comprised an impressive line-up of speakers – headlined

by Gerald Ratner on ‘day one’ and John Timpson on the second day – both of whom informed, surprised, entertained, enlightened and inspired their audience in equal measure. While Ratner was candid in admitting (and explaining) his mistakes, Timpson was unapologetic about his occasionally unconventional (but successful) methods of hiring and firing (among other

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Gerald Ratner speaking at the CMJ Conference

The Wakefields team accept their CMJ Award from Bill Turnbull

aspects of his £150m turnover business) and explained how he was able to lead a management buyout after the family business was taken over in 1973.

The conference also saw the popular return of Andrew McMillan of Engaging Service. The former head of John Lewis’ customer service presented a talk on ‘developing a distinct customer experience for commercial differentiation’, with an emphasis on leadership. He reminded delegates that they needed to “define what they wanted to be known for; measure what they’re trying to achieve; communicate to engage staff and be aware that good leadership is critical”.

Professor Damian Hughes, author of Liquid Thinking, whose innovative approach has found fans such as Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alex Ferguson, used amusing anecdotes and compelling analysis to explain how we can make change happen. From improving results to making a team act more responsibly, he offered guidance on how a leader can start to inspire others. Other topics that were covered over the two days included fashion trends; managing a family business (key to many delegates in the room); current crime trends from TH March; the precious metal market from Stella Layton, CEO of the Birmingham Assay Office, and a financial overview of the markets.

‘Origins’ is theme for Jewellery & Watch Birmingham nspired by the fashion trends for 2015, the theme for Jewellery & Watch Birmingham (1st – 5th February, 2015) is ‘Origins’ – the name is intended to “capture the essence of our identity through our jewellery; how it defines us, what it says about us and what it means to us”, says organiser i2i Events.

Almost 90 per cent of exhibitors from the 2014 show, which is held at the NEC as part

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8 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

of the Spring Fair, have re-booked for the 2015 event. Many brands have opted for larger stands to accommodate meetings and a high footfall of visitors. Among the confirmed exhibitors are: Carat*, Hot Diamonds, Domino, Mark Milton, Fei Liu, Dower & Hall and Chavin. Names in the Watch section include Bering, Lars Larsen, O.W.L and the Condor Group.

Once again the event, supported by the N.A.G., the BJA and CMJ, will play host to the Houlden Group’s Bridal Design of the Year and for 2015 the criteria allows for both one-off designs and pieces from exhibitors’ current collections to be submitted, opening up the entries to a wider spectrum of brands.

The five overall winners will be announced on the catwalk on Monday 2nd February.

Industry News |

London Craft Week debuts in 2015 ondon Craft Week, a new initiative that positions makers centre stage of the capital, will open on 6th May 2015. The event will bring together a public programme celebrating craftsmanship across the city, “where hidden spaces and little-known makers will be revealed alongside celebrated galleries and luxury brands, shining a spotlight on centuries-old skills and exciting new talent”.

Set up as a new independent non-profit initiative supported by founding partner Vacheron Constantin and strategic partners the Mayor of London, the Crafts Council, Walpole British Luxury and the Heritage Crafts Association, London Craft Week will run from 6th - 10th May and will continue to be an annual event showcasing exceptional and innovative British and international craftsmanship. The full programme will be available on 1st February, 2015.

Themed as a discovery of hidden crafts and the spaces in which they are created, the week will allow makers to show their skills and share their knowledge. Visitors will have access to studios and workshops, galleries and shops, and will be able to engage first-hand with the process of making. The wide and growing number of partners coming together to augment the programme with their own activities include headline show Collect, the V&A, Crafted, Savile Row, Contemporary Applied Arts as well as many makers with open studios.

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S N I P P E T S Jason Holt wins award Jason Holt, the CEO of Holts Group, has won the inaugural Enterprise Policy Influencer Award at the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs Celebrating Enterprise event at the House of Lords on 23rd October. He was recognised for his commitment to supporting the small businesses and apprenticeships. Holt was appointed Small Business Apprenticeship Ambassador in 2013 by the Government and has also recently been appointed the chair of the Government’s Craft Trailblazer Apprenticeship initiative.

F Hinds competition opens

‘Masters of Modern Jewellery’ revived ondon art gallery Beetles+Huxley of Swallow Street, has revived a renowned jewellery exhibition of the 1960s. Running until 13th December, Masters of Modern Jewellery 2014 has been curated by senior jewellery specialist at Sotherby’s Joanna Hardy (also of Antiques Roadshow fame) and celebrates contemporary jewellery which is shown alongside pieces from the recent past, thus showcasing the progression of jewellery design over the past five decades.

Among the 24 names on show – from the UK and across Europe – are: Disa Allsopp, Shaun Leane, Bjorn Weckstrom, Ingo Henn, Andrew Grima, John Donald and Louis Osman.

Two jewellery design graduates represent emerging talent. The 1961 exhibition was created

by Graham Hughes, the art director of Goldsmiths’ Hall, under the guidance of the V&A.

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Gem section launches at SalonQP ems of Time, a specially curated exhibition celebrating the heritage, glamour and craftsmanship of high jewellery watches, made its debut at the SalonQP show earlier this month. The space, a contemporary take on a jewellery box within the Saachi Gallery, added an extra – and particularly glamorous – dimension to the UK high end horological event.

It is the first time that women’s watches have been featured in their own right at the exhibition and among the pieces on show was The Harrods Princess by Backes & Strauss, created as a celebration of the store’s Biennale and hand-set with 80 Gemfields Zambian emeralds and 241 natural diamonds. Visitors were also able to see timepieces by other famed jewellery houses such as Bulgari, De Beers, Piaget and Cartier – all exploring the marriage of form, function and fashion.

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Multiple jeweller F Hinds and IJL are embarking on the fifth year of the High Street by Design competition. It is open to everyone – from current designers to students and jewellery lovers in three age categories. F Hinds will work alongside the winners to develop the pieces, which will be sold exclusively through the stores.

Deadline for entries is 31st March, 2015 (details on: www.fhinds.co.uk/hsbd.html).

F Hinds is currently supporting the Stand Up to Cancer fundraising campaign, by selling limited edition charms and bands designed by Henry Holland.

Selling at £5, all of the proceeds will go to the campaign.

H&T wins pawnbroking award Last month the National Pawnbrokers Association held its annual Conference and Awards dinner in London. The Store of the Year prize went to H&T, Dagenham, for its presentation of stock and strong link with the local community. This year’s annual conference was centred on ‘Driving Business Forward’. Attendees at the event, which saw Paul Smit elected as president, heard from the FCA about compliance, experts on jewellery, metals markets and security. Almost £7,000 was raised for the NSPCC.

The Voice of the Industry 9

| Industry News

Eighties’ jewellery making a comeback s buyers re-evaluate the designs of the decade that brought us big hair and shoulder pads, eighties’ jewellery is coming back into fashion, according Bonhams. Forthcoming sales in London, New York and Hong Kong over the next two months will see extravagant pieces – by designers and houses such as Marina B, Paloma Picasso, Bulgari, Tiffany and Cartier – like giant hoop and drop earrings, outsized torque bangles and sprung collar necklaces.

The auction house has compared sale figures of eighties’ jewellery in 2010 versus this year in London and New York and found pieces were now achieving an average of 70 per cent higher than estimated, though the final sale price on some lots was more than 200 per cent higher.

Jean Ghika, head of jewellery in the UK and Europe at Bonhams, said: “Women buying jewellery for themselves are looking for pieces that are easy to wear and adaptable from day to evening. Big, bold eighties’ jewellery certainly fits that bill with its unmistakable mix of stones and vibrant colour palette – often set in yellow gold rather than white gold or platinum.

Women are buying these pieces to wear rather than to collect. But the bonus is they are becoming valuable collectors’ items over time anyway.”

In March 2015 Bonhams New York will sell the collection – including jewellery – of Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall.

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Jeweller wins innovation award n conjunction with retail software specialist Pursuit, the Fourth Avenue Jewellery Lounge, Norwich, has won the 2014 Retail Innovation of the Year Award. The Lifestyle iPad-based mobile till and stock records technology developed by Pursuit is central to the Fourth Avenue store concept. The Award, presented by technology magazine Retail Systems, attracted entries from across the retail spectrum.

In winning, Fourth Avenue beat a shortlist of contenders including Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser and M&S. Steevan Whittam, operations and development manager of Fourth Avenue’s parent, W.R. Bullen, states: “Before creating the lounge concept, we decided it was essential that whatever we did had to break the mold. Using Pursuit’s iPad-based mobile till and stock records technology, we were able to reinvent the retail space. It was a step into the unknown and has proved a phenomenal success. The lounge concept has enabled us to transform the quality of interaction between staff members and customers and, with that, the total customer experience.”

S N I P P E T S Debut TV ad for Tresor Paris Hatton Garden-based jewellery brand Tresor Paris has unveiled its first ever TV advertising campaign. Called ‘Imagine’ it will showcase a range of crystal jewellery – worn by models and set against a backdrop of coloured smoke – and air across a number of TV channels including Sky Living and E! Entertainment across the UK between the end of November and early January 2015.

Molly B Couture opens in Piccadilly Jewellery brand, Molly B Couture, has opened its first concession with jewellers Simply Gem in Prince’s Arcade, Piccadilly, featuring high-end gold and diamond pieces and the new Slinky and Bubble Collections. Simply Gem approached Molly B Couture as its customer was looking for affordable, timeless, elegant jewellery as well as higher end gifting pieces. Alongside Molly B Couture, Simply Gem will also carry Molly Brown, the children’s brand.

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New Buddha to Buddha watches utch silver jewellery brand Buddha to Buddha has added seven new watch models to its collection.

The new line of Swiss-made timepieces includes three Accelerator and four Aquatic Explorer watches. All models are in stainless steel with sapphire glass and feature either leather or bracelet straps. Also in the collection is a bold, red limited edition DJ chronograph and features a special DJ mantra message on the B2B ‘mindset’ ring.

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10 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Inhorgenta offers pre-show networking opportunity The Munich jewellery and watch trade show Inhorgenta has launched a service to facilitate networking between exhibitors and visitors prior to the event (20th – 23rd February, 2015). This ‘matchmaking’ service enables exhibitors to post their services and target groups online as a profile, and visitors to specify their fields of interest. Based on the entered criteria, the tool searches for suitable business partners and offers first contact opportunities in advance, thus making participation in the trade show even more efficient and targeted for both sides.

Unique Jewelry Ltd. Tel: 020 7405 5523 sales@uniquejewelry.co.uk

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Carmen Electra

| Industry News

JCM opens first store IP customers, press and neighbours came together to celebrate the opening of JCM London’s first ever store. In Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge, the boutique houses the many collections of bold and colourful gemstone jewellery made by craftsmen in Hatton Garden as well as Istanbul. The pieces are inspired by the aesthetics and culture, the artefacts and architecture, of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

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S N I P P E T S New jewellery cleaner launches James Products has introduced a new ultrasonic jewellery cleaner to its line; the Ultra 7000S is suitable for use by retailers in-store or workshop, but has been designed for domestic use. Retailers can sell the device (which is compact and unobtrusive looking) or, possibly, gift it to customers who spend a significant amount on jewellery.

Westminster Abbey memorial for Assay Office Founder

Gem hunter speaks at Tustains dinner Gemstone hunter Guy Clutterbuck was guest speaker at a champagne dinner held by Tustains Jewellers of Leamington Spa last month. He described his experiences prospecting for rare gems across the world over the past 30 years, showed a video of a recent Sri Lankan trip in search of blue diamonds and outlined his charity Fine Cell Work that encourages prisoners who are serving long sentences to develop skills. Guy has donated a 60 carat Mozambican aquamarine valued at around £40,000 as a raffle prize, which will be drawn on the 20th of this month. (www.finecellwork.co.uk for details)

A service dedicated to Matthew Boulton, the Birmingham industrialist who founded the Birmingham Assay office, was held last month at Westminster Abbey. Hundreds of people, including Birmingham’s Lord Mayor and wardens, guardians and staff from the Assay office, attended the memorial during which a plaque was dedicated to Boulton.

Milestone for RJC

New country manager for Bering Danish watch and jewellery brand Bering has announced that Ian Latham as its new UK country manager with immediate effect. Latham has been part of the UK team since the brand launched in the UK three years ago and has been instrumental in its growth and development – Bering is now in 400 stores. Lars Skjønnemann, Bering’s president comments: “We have actively been working on a new structure for the UK that will meet the demands of our customers. Expectations are high with new plans and goals being implemented at the start of 2015.”

Stephen Webster nominated for American Gem Award ritish jewellery designer Stephen Webster has been nominated in the Design category of the 2015 Gem Awards, which take place in New York in January. Hosted by Jewelers of America, the annual awards recognise achievements by individuals and brands whose work “raises the visibility and status of fine jewellery and watches internationally”.

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The Responsible Jewellery Council announced last month that 75 per cent of its members (more than 400 companies and organisations) have now achieved certified Member status. Among the latest to be named are Asprey and Fope.

Colin Jackson opens Chatsworth Christmas show Derbyshire-based jewellery retailer and manufacturer CW Sellors was the main sponsor at the Christmas Wishes Fine Jewellery & Luxury Watch showcase at Chatsworth earlier this month; Olympic gold medallist Colin Jackson opened the event. In conjunction with Maurice Lacroix watches the athlete raised funds for the Movember charity. As well as CW Sellors, festive shoppers perused W Hamond, Shaun Leane, Trollbeads, Swarovski, Tivon and Breitling among others brands.

Shawish opens London store eneva-based high-end jeweller Shawish has opened a London flagship store on the Fulham Road in Chelsea. Renowned for its unexpected and flamboyant works, the company – co-founded and ‘driven’ by Mohamed Shawesh – has created a dramatic, boudoir-like shop incorporating black marble, fish scale panels and grey velvet carpeting.

A chandelier of glass tubes forms the centerpiece of the space.

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CW Sellors at Chatsworth – ring by Rebecca Sellors

| International News

Gemporia launches in northern Europe nline jewellery brand, Gemporia.com, owned by The Genuine Gemstone Company, has expanded its business into northern Europe by launching its site in France and Germany.

The online retailer, which specialises in affordable and responsibly sourced gemstone jewellery, has overhauled its Gemporia.com website as a result of the new venture.

The Gemporia website will now offer a full ‘human’ translation page, rather than just Google translate, to capture the look and feel of the Gemporia brand. This is a first for the company which, despite shipping worldwide, has previously handled all customers on its UK website. It will integrate its range down Google Shopping Channels, as well as developing a presence on social channels, which will further reinforce its understanding of customer demand in these terrorities.

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S N I P P E T S Watchmaker supports charity German watch brand NOMOS Glashütte has created six limited edition timepieces to help raise funds for the humanitarian aid charity Médecins Sans Frontiers and the initiative has been extended to include two models each for the UK and US. All six versions of the Tangente feature a red ‘12’ on the dial and a special engraving on the crystal glass back. At least US$100 will be donated for each watch sold.

Gemfields creates charity ring with actress ctress Mila Kunis, who became the global ambassador for Gemfields last year and a mother this year, has collaborated with the gemstone supplier and Italian jeweller Marina B, to create an emerald ring celebrating motherhood.

All profits from the sale of the US$4,80018ct gold ring featuring a Gemfields’ Zambian emerald, will be donated to the Nkana Health Center in Zambia, where the Gemfields mine is located.

The ‘more accessibly priced’ ring also represents Marina B’s decision to introduce the brand to a new generation.

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de Gisogno reveals £480,000 ‘Crazy Skull’ jewel watch espoke art, fine jewellery craftsmanship and watchmaking have come together in de Gisogno’s ‘Crazy Skull’ watch. Requiring a year of research and development and around 250 hours of collaborative work between gem-setters, diamond-cutters, goldsmiths and master watchmakers, the limited edition watch will retail at close to half a million pounds.

The skull is snow-set with either white or black diamonds or rubies, totalling approximately 23 carats and is embellished with a nose featuring a heart-cut white diamond of approximately 1.5 diamonds.

The dual time displays appear through two magnetic eyes on which a spiraling setting of black and white diamonds evokes movement.

When the lower jaw of the skull is triggered it sticks out a tongue set with sapphires or rubies.

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Deakin & Francis now in Asia Following a recent UKTI trade mission to Hong Kong, Birmingham-based cufflink brand Deakin & Francis (founded 1786) is now selling into the country’s leading luxury department store Lane Crawford.

Established in 1850, the store has the largest selection of luxury brands in Greater China and has chosen to carry Deakin & Francis’ vitreous enamel and 3D cufflinks and other accessories.

Blancpain wins top prize Swiss watch manufacturer Blancpain has taken the prize in the ladies’ watch category of the Grand Prix d’Horologerie de Geneve; the award went to the new Women Heure Décentrée Second Retrograde. Held in Geneva last month, 72 watches competed in 12 different categories. Blancpain created the first selfwinding watches for women in 1930.

Switzerland gets ethical gold The Swiss jewellery manufacturer Coop Group has launched the country’s first collection of jewellery made from Fairtrade gold. The gold has been mined by Fairtrade gold mine Sotrami located in southern Peru. The move will be a huge boost to certified miners and their communities, who will enjoy the benefits of selling more of their gold on fairtrade terms.

UPERB V ALUE A DIAMOND SU SUPERB VALUE VA DIAMONDS U E LUE D O DS UP T TO 4.00CTS 4.00C 00C CTS 1 CA CARAT ARA AT SI SINGLE NGLE S STONE TONE R RING ING as pr omoted promoted & best selling line in 2013 & 2014

CERTIFICATED C ERTIFIC E AT DIAMONDS IA MONDS CE A T TED DI ATED IAMOND Astonishing value at well below curr current ent market prices.

‘D’ ‘D D’ COLOUR UR SI DI DIAMONDS IAMOND S D COLOU DS att exceptional ti l prices. i S Supplied li d as earrings, i pendants, d t 3 stones or single stones, loose or mounted.

H.W. Tankel (Scotland) Ltd, 33A Gordon Street, Glasgow G1 3PF Tel: T e 0141 226 2200 • Fax: 0141 221 3040 • Email: enquiries@tankel.co.uk uk www.tankel.co.uk www .tankel.co.uk

| N.A.G. News

Guidelines for valuation work ince its inception the Institute has gone to great lengths to raise the standard required in a jewellery valuation and your attention is drawn to these improvements.

We would hope that whoever carries out valuations in your business already aware of this and indeed you may already be a MIRV or a FRIV or have someone on your staff who is. However, in case all this has passed you by we offer these guidelines to good modern valuation work.

CAT, The Certificate of Appraisal Theory – published by the N.A.G.’s IRV, has now been adopted as the yardstick by which good valuation practice is measured. If you haven’t yet obtained and read CAT, we urge you to do so as soon as possible. You should consider completing the programme and passing the examination to obtain your certificate.

Theory is one thing but of no use unless put into practice. We recommend that a well-crafted valuation should comply with the following and that these fundamental elements should be regarded as the minimum requirements in a modern valuation. This is by no means an exhaustive list and is not a substitute for studying CAT. • If goods are left with the valuer a take-in or declaration form must be used.

Important questions regarding provenance can be put to the customer and the answers should be noted on the form • A professional valuation document should be printed not hand written • It should give the purpose of the valuation – insurance, probate, open market etc • The title page or letter of transmittal should bear the name of the person

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or persons to whom the valuation is directed The date of inspection and a serial number should be added so that the valuation can be identified and filed for later reference Include page numbering in the form “page ## of ##” or a variant thereof Probate valuations must contain the name or names of the executors, the deceased person and the date of death

Include CAT Mod 1 6:01: A reference to compliance with Section 160 of The Inheritance Act 1984 The items in the valuation should be numbered. Photographs are considered essential and must be numbered to correspond to the descriptions, if placed on a separate page An item must be described in sufficient detail so that a reasonably competent person will be able to identify that item.

CAT Mod9 9:01:2 All descriptions should be written in good, clear, unambiguous English, exercising due

N.A.G. Chairman becomes a Mo Bro ndrew Hinds, chairman of the Association and director of high street jewellers F Hinds has done his personal bit for the funds of the men’s health charity Movember, by abandoning his razor for the whole of this month. As we go to press the moustache is doing quite nicely (as this rather coy photo proves… but it really is Andrew, we promise). The jury is still out on whether it should become a permanent fixture. To donate to Movember visit: www.movember.com/uk/donate

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16 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

care in respect of grammar, syntax, spelling and punctuation • The appraisal should contain only statements of verifiable fact. Subjective remarks such as ‘beautiful colour’, ‘wonderful lustre’, ‘finest I’ve ever seen’ should be avoided • Measurements should be written in a clear and easy to read fashion.

Metric measurement is recommended although imperial measure is acceptable for silverware • The valuation document should include the latest version of the IRV notes to the schedule • The valuer should use accepted trade terms or seek advice on terminology if unsure • Notwithstanding the above, the valuation must be suitable for a non-trade person to understand and therefore terms must not be used to obscure the facts.

Some valuers provide a glossary of jewellery trade related terms • Professional presentation – a valuation document should be durable, well laid out, easy to read with a professional appearance • You must write and keep clear notes regarding research undertaken, sources consulted and calculation steps made For anyone who feels that their valuing skills could do with a little polish, it’s worth remembering that the IRV’s Loughborough Conference offers the perfect opportunity to brush-up on valuing processes, whether or not you wish to take the CAT examination.

On page 64 of this issue you can also see an example of a recently executed, less-thanperfect valuation and the reasons why it falls far short of the expected mark.

N.A.G. News |

Minar Jewellers wins business award outh London N.A.G. member Minar Jewellers, whose owner and director Pravin Pattni is a past chairman of the Association, was announced as Best Independent Retailer at the Wandsworth Business Awards 2014. The Wandsworth Borough includes the town centres of Tooting, Balham, Putney, Wandsworth, Clapham and Roehampton and Minar Jewellers were up against a total of 15,000 businesses across the retail sector. “To come out top makes me an even prouder N.A.G. member,” commented Pattni.

The store was also highly commended in the Best SME category of the Awards, which were held on 6th November.

In 2013 Minar Jewellers, which was established in 1982 and has been owned by the Pattni family for the past 16 years, was a finalist in both the categories. Pattni, a keen gemmologist, is the deputy chairman of Tooting Business Network. He was accompanied by wife Jeshu, son Jaysal, who is manager of the business, and daughter-in-law Radhika.

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New member applications Members wishing to comment on any of these applications should call Catherine Mone on 020 7613 4445 or email her at: catherine@jewellers-online.org within three weeks of receipt of this issue.

Full Member Applications Heart of Gold Jewellers Ltd, Essex

Corporate Associate Applications Elite Protection Ltd, London Primassure Ltd, Essex Forevermark Ltd, London

Affiliate Applications Callaghan Jewellers Ltd, Co. Donegal, Ireland

Personal Associate Applications Rebecca Foster, Northampton (Associate) Kirsty Louise Young, Lincolnshire (Associate) Dawn Louise West, Surrey (Associate) Anastasija Gore, Northamptonshire (Associate) Kimberley Dawn Wilcox, Manchester (Associate) Joanna Hardy, London (Fellow)

IRV applications

Seminars and courses planned for 2015 he Education Department is in the process of finalising details of courses and seminars for Spring 2015. While dates are still to be confirmed, here are some of the topics that we will be covering…

Equip your staff with the knowledge and confidence to promote and sell more diamond jewellery. The Association’s two-day short course for retail jewellers Diamonds And Diamond Grading presented by Eric Emms will add to their knowledge of diamonds: why they sparkle; clarity, grade and colour; what is fracture filling? They’ll learn how to identify ‘fakes’, simulants (e.g. CZ and moissanite) and gem-quality synthetic (man-made) diamonds. Eric has been identifying and grading diamonds for thirty years and is well known in the diamond and precious stone industry.

Presenting your beautiful jewellery stock to its best advantage and filling your windows with stunning displays are retailing essentials. Look at display with fresh eyes at the Association’s Essential Display one-day course. Tutor Judy Head’s considerable visual merchandising experience and her abundant enthusiasm for her subject will inspire and inform. You have a short time to catch the eye of a potential customer – learn how to make the most of it!

Boost the confidence of your sales staff and you’ll boost your sales. Award winning training provider Virada has designed the Association’s Developing Sales Skills one-day course for jewellery retail staff to hone the skills of experienced staff and reinforce confidence in those new to your team. Managing customer interaction; establishing customer needs; helping with decision making and acting on buying signals are part of the agenda for this stimulating and rewarding training day.

Dates to be confirmed. Why not register your interest now? Contact Amanda White on tel: 020 7613 4445 or email her at: amandaw@jewellers-online.org

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Subscription alert etween Christmas and New Year we will be sending out invoices for your subscription to the N.A.G. If, over the past year, you have changed the number of branches your store has, or now have more (or fewer) members of staff, please let the team at Luke Street know as soon as possible as this will affect the amount payable. Send an email to them at: membership@jewellers-online.org

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Upgrading from Member to Fellow Lynn S Tones PJDip PJGemDip, Aurum Holdings Ltd, Leicester.

Searching for chains of office hen the National Association of Goldsmiths was founded in 1894, as well as having a London headquarters it also had regional offices, each with its own chairperson. Today just the very active Yorkshire Centre remains (our Member of the Month, Gladys Duranczyk was one of its past chairs).

Today the Association’s board is very keen to retrieve as many of the chains of office that existed – for safe-keeping and also to preserve the long history of the N.A.G. If any members know the whereabouts of any of these livery collars we would be very pleased to hear about them, so we ask you to get in touch. Should you be in any doubt as to what one might look like, here’s a snap of current chairman Andrew Hinds, wearing his.

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The Voice of the Industry 17

| N.A.G. News

Member of the Month This year T&G Durancyzk celebrates its 50th year as a member of the N.A.G. Before she folds away her loupe for good, Gladys Durancyzk spoke to Belinda Morris, who met her in her Hebden Bridge shop, about her half century in the jewellery business.

Tell me the history of T&G Durancyzk and how you came into the industry My husband Ted was a sheet metal worker and, after suffering from asbestosis, was sent off to train in another industry. They told him that clockmaking would suit him.

So I looked around Hebden Bridge for somewhere that he could work and learnt about a jeweller that was looking to sell up and rent out his space. After five years we moved from the original shop to a larger one over the road from where I am now.

After 23 years we moved into this premises, which was in a terrible state so we took it on as a shell that we did up.

How did you start to get to grips with the jewellery trade?

The gentleman I bought the business from was so keen on the industry that he offered to come in to help me, so I learned a lot from him. I had given up my job as a machiner and went on a new two-week training course in Switzerland to learn about different aspects of the jewellery trade.

I joined the N.A.G. and started five years of courses beginning with what was then called the Retail Jeweller Diploma. I could have carried on doing more courses, but about 25 years ago I was asked to be the chairman of the Yorkshire Centre and I’ve always been on its committee – I didn’t have time to do both. I’ve missed only one dinner in 50 years (that was last year) but I’m going this year!

18 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Has your business changed a great deal over the years?

Not really. We still have the same type of customer – all ages, men and women and, quite often, different generations of the same families, who we get to know.

Although tourism is big for Hebden Bridge, our customers tend to be locals. Service has always been an important part of what we do. We’re known for changing watch batteries and straps and people come from all over the area for that. We close the shop on Tuesday afternoon and that time Nigel – who has been my assistant for 31 years – spends doing watch repairs.

What stock do you carry these days?

We were always known for fancy goods as well as jewellery, clocks and watches, but these days it tends to be mostly everyday pieces like earrings and rings.

Branded names come and go. I used to go to Leeds every week to buy stock, but today I rely mostly on reps coming to me.

As I get older travelling is more difficult, so I haven’t been to one of the major shows for about eight years. We have a goldsmith who works on bespoke pieces for us – he comes in once a week to pick up jobs (I don’t post anything out).

In 50 years I imagine there have been a few downs as well as ups…?

People shopping on-line did have a negative effect on our business, but it’s less of an issue these days. In fact we probably have more customers coming in wanting new batteries now than ever. And we also see a lot of rubbish that people buy from the internet!

In 2000 there was a terrible flood here and it came into my basement. Apart from ruining everything in the kitchen down there, I lost all my tackle for valuing, so at that point I decided I was not going to invest in new equipment and decided to stop offering a valuation service. I was, until then, a registered valuer.

You’re now, finally, looking to retire.

What brought you to that decision?

Two years ago I broke my ankle and I realised that I really couldn’t carry on for ever. I could just about make it up the stairs to my flat and I could do the books, but coming into the shop six days a week was becoming too much. I have an arthritic neck which doesn’t help. And, I’m 88 next month!

My daughter was working with me in the business, but she’s unwell; not fit enough to carry it on unfortunately. I would love to sell it to someone who wants to continue it as a jewellery business.

Do you have an amusing customer experience to relate?

Plenty! One that immediately springs to mind is when a man came into the shop with a clock that needed repairing. “What have you done to it, it really stinks?” my husband said. “I have a bad knee and I used some of my wintergreen oil on the clock to try and get it going…” was his reply.

Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 306522)

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

Do you desire to learn best valuation practice?

We are about to relaunch our Certificate of Appraisal Theory (CAT) programme. It was originally launched in March last year and we successfully completed a third cycle of exams in October.

The learning materials have recently been reviewed and we can now start enrolling more students onto the schedule.

AT is a modular programme of study with a self-learning approach that teaches the basic theories, methodologies and good working practices needed to become a competent jewellery valuer. It is suitable for anyone with a desire to learn best valuation practice and is one of the pre-requisites for entrance into the N.A.G.’s Institute of Registered Valuers.

During this programme, the CAT student will learn to understand and appreciate the basic approaches to determine value, the forces that create, diminish and/or influence value, as well as how to seek, find and interpret comparables. The various components (or elements) of the written valuation will be fully explained, including how to write a skilful and succinct descriptive narrative to support the value conclusion determined.

Valuing a piece of jewellery or a gemstone essentially utilises the same basic principles as valuing almost anything and in this programme the student will learn how this science is applied to jewellery valuation to achieve consistently accurate values.

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is permitted and they will be assigned an advisor to provide feedback on assignments.

A limited amount of telephone and email support will also be available to CAT students.

There will be a final written theory examination. This will be held annually (usually in London). The Certificate of Appraisal Theory will be awarded to those who complete the assignments and who reach the minimum standard required in the exam.

Study materials for each module will be provided in PDF format and students will receive a memory stick with the information.

Analysing prices to determine value The purpose, function and intended use of a valuation Different valuation approaches The different types of valuations Different market levels for different types of valuation

Module Two • Theoretical methodologies and practices specific to jewellery valuation • Take-in procedures • Use of worksheets • Procedures and methodologies • Researching and recording gem and metal prices or market data comparables • Guide to mark-ups • Descriptions • Recording the factual data and judgments

Course Content

Module Three • Commercial, legal and ethical matters • Technology • Security • Legal matters • Insurance matters

Three detailed modules of study support the syllabus. These are: Module One • The basic principles and concepts of appraisal theory • The difference between price, cost and value

Students may enrol at any time of year and the programme will take students a minimum of seven months study. Students are allowed a maximum of 24 months to complete.

Students must complete seven self-learning assignments before entry to the examination

While the Certificate is the foundation on which to build, this is just the start of the aspiring valuer’s long journey in achieving their eventual goal of becoming a professional jewellery and gem valuer. CAT is one of the pre-requisites of joining the Institute and guidance on further study necessary to acquire the additional skills to become a jewellery valuer is given in the conclusion of the programme of study.

Fees: N.A.G. Members: £995.00 + 20% VAT (£1,194.00); Non members: £1,195.00 + 20% VAT (£1,434.00) These fees apply until 31st December 2014.

For an enrolment form contact the Education Department on: 020 7613 4445 (option 1) or email: jet@jewellers-online.org

20 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

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

Two Bransom winners This month the Education Department is delighted to offer congratulations to not one, but two Bransom Award winners – one for August and one for September 2014.

ugust’s victorious recipient is Jaspreet Chawla of Gems Jewellers in Hatton Garden, who has been in the jewellery business within the retail sector for the last ten years. So what was the appeal? “I joined shortly after graduating from university,” she told us. “I was drawn to a career in jewellery following summer jobs in the sector while I was studying, and also as I had spoken with friends and family who had worked in the industry.”

“I liked the fact that JET1 was courseworkbased and divided into five assignments, which gave me time to understand and appreciate each subject area in detail, allowing me to gather my thoughts and do further research within each area of the industry.

The information on palladium was particularly useful to me as I have found in my work that there is a growing demand in the retail sector for this metal,” she added.

“The course gives a good overall background on the jewellery industry and, on that basis, I would definitely recommend it to others. In particular, given that the focus of my career to date has been working with diamonds and coloured gemstones, the course has allowed me to learn more about other areas of the industry such as watches and giftware. I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and hope to study JET2 soon.”

Mary Garland, Jaspreet’s tutor said of her achievements: “I was delighted to hear that Jaspreet had won the August Bransom Award.

Her assignments have been a pleasure to mark. All of them were well thought out and well presented and on time. Each assignment contained not just the bare facts

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but background information as well, showing a real interest and pleasure in both her JET course and her daily work.”

The JET moderator said of Jaspreet’s work: ”Excellent detailed explanation of the current grading systems for diamonds – including GIA. The read was informative and very interesting indeed and well presented.

Diamond Certification by GIA, HRD and IGI was also fully explained in the text, in such a manner as would be beneficial in the sale of diamonds. The most commonly asked questions related to diamonds by the customer were included with the appropriate answers alongside each.

“The final section of the assignment covering the diamond ring brought in for repair or restoration was outstanding in the quality of its coverage. It is clear that Jaspreet possesses excellent sales and customer care skills. This was demonstrated in the final piece of course work.” ongratulations on scooping September’s Bransom Award goes to Dionne Mack of H.Samuel in the Arndale Centre, Manchester..

We asked Dionne a little about herself and her work – what made her choose to work in this industry for instance? ”I am coming up to my 10-year anniversary in the jewellery industry and have worked for H.Samuel for the duration of this time.

I enjoy working in this business because of all the different products we deal with and also meeting new people and helping them when they are choosing their special items such as their wedding rings. I really like getting to know the customer, and being part of helping them make their decision,” she said. “I enjoyed each of my assignments on my course, as all of them have helped me gain further knowledge. I found the diamond assignment to be the most useful as it has helped me to pass on information in a more comprehensive way, and with more confidence when doing so,” she explained.

“In fact the course has given me a lot more confidence in all different areas of my

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job and as well as in myself; it has given me the push to go for a supervisor position.

I would encourage everyone to go on this course. At first I was worried about it (how hard would it be, would I have time?) but in the end I have found it to be extremely helpful in gaining further knowledge. The help and comments that you receive from your tutors along the way are excellent.”

Her tutor, Anne Kings, said; “Dionne’s work has been lovely to mark from the start – her assignments have been punctual, and what’s been most noticeable is how well she has presented them, full of natural ability to convey good product knowledge into very interesting selling benefits and features.

“Dionne has worked with the Signet Group for nine years and she wants to further her knowledge of the stock, and enjoy a better understanding of the jewellery trade, both of which I know she would do if she could be encouraged to enrol for JET2.”

When asked about Dionne’s work, our JET moderator remarked: ”Dionne‘s final piece of JET1 assignment work was a real pleasure to mark; it was thoughtful and professionally produced. The diamond grading systems were clearly explained with interesting detailed coverage on each. A further section covered the variety of cuts that are applied to diamonds.

“Dionne excelled in the part of the assignment where candidates are requested to communicate the 4Cs grading system to a customer. It is obvious this account had been produced by someone with practical experience in the selling of diamonds.

“The final section, which is related to the repair or restoration of a Victorian diamond ring, displayed an excellent professional attitude to the situation, the advice given was very good.”

We all wish Dionne and Jaspreet continued success in their careers.

The Voice of the Industry 21

| N.A.G. News: IRV Review

In the second part of our review of September’s Institute of Registered Valuers Conference, four members offer appraisals of lessons learned at the successful event.

However Whittaker considered some watches to be underrated.

As Stephen explained the ins and outs of the various details of recent sales, a number of mixed jewellery items were passed around for us all to give our own view as to the catalogue figure in recent sales. This rather focuses the mind. Though described as “a bit of fun”, as the delegates are mostly valuers there was a certain consideration, a professional pride, when putting pen to paper.

Stephen is a popular regular at the conference. He’s engaging, and information and anecdotes, which make the detail much more memorable, are cleverly imparted.

The time flies by.

Alan Hayes FGA, DGA, DGD(HRD) AJA MIRV

Stephen Whittaker — Valuing for the open market

Eric Fritz, Charles Evans and James Riley — Treated corundum

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Loughborough Conference — workshop reports

It takes someone who is quick witted, fasttalking, knowledgeable and interesting to keep everyone on their toes. Stephen’s talk took us through the prices that diamonds realised, showing how different qualities fared ‘under the hammer’. Evidently quality still sells and at a good price!

After diamonds, we travelled through Victoriana and beads; amber beads described as the ‘horrible brown stuff’ usually left to the end of a valuation. But how this has changed! Both amber and banded agate are fetching remarkable prices currently, demonstrated by achieved sales in the recent past. And after one does well, aren’t there always a few others which find their way on to the market?

Branded jewellery, particularly boxed and certificated, fetch ‘over the odds’ when put to sale. Bulgari, Cartier, Chopard and particularly Tiffany, all achieve the highest prices. Typically a branded piece of jewellery can make five times what it might achieve given the same content… but unbranded.

When addressing fake branded items, even if accurately described and even suitably spelt ‘incorrectly’, can attract the attention of the legal department of particular brands, who will follow up and demand recompense for any harm one might have committed to a brand. Be warned!

Watches are often a thorny issue; certain brands making bigger contributions to the total sale than others. And within those brands certain models can attract notoriety and therefore higher sale prices.

Treated corundum is becoming more prevalent in the trade and, though a concern for valuers, gemmologists and retailers, it may have some advantages in making the

prices of rubies and sapphires more accessible to consumers. Lead glass composite rubies, for example, may sell for as little as six dollars a carat and subsequently be sold through the internet, shopping channels and even in department stores.

It may be possible to purchase a ruby cluster ring for as little as £100 retail!

Lead glass composite rubies originate from very low grade to non-gem-quality corundum, which is mined predominantly in Madagascar.

These stones are treated with acid to remove impurities; the acid may cause the rubies to crumble and become very unstable and spongy. Thus a high content lead glass may be infused with the stones in order to stabilise them so that they may be cut and polished.

22 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

N.A.G. News: IRV Review | importance of using split grades for the colour assessment of mounted diamonds and one clarity grade. He gave the reason for using a number of different sources for the diamond prices, so the model can be used. After the diamond value had been calculated, noted and a retail mark-up and VAT added, the value of the mount was worked out using the metal prices, workshop and retail mark ups. The two retail values were added together to form the final value of the ring.

The exercise was repeated with the same ring, but this time for a Probate Value, In 2010 the International Coloured Stone Association stated that these rubies should be described as ‘composite-ruby, glassfilled, requires special care.’ While this type of treatment should be readily disclosed, the consequences of over exposure to heat, household chemicals, ultrasonic cleaners, pickling acids and borax may not be fully appreciated by the consumer. An apparently highly valuable-looking stone may very quickly have a crazed and chipped surface after less than a minute of contact with something as common as lemon juice.

So how easy is it to identify lead glass composite rubies? Observation is the key; a lead glass ruby will lack a lot of the internal features seen in its natural counterparts, displaying instead an irregular striated surface with gas bubbles and glass-like abraded facet junctions. Rotating the stones may also reveal a blue coloured flash, which is a strong indication of a foreign material in the ruby.

The question often asked by retailer and consumer is: “Can a lead glass composite ruby or sapphire be re-cut should it encounter damage?” In reality the cost of re-cutting the material would far outweigh that of replacing the stone at six dollars per carat. There are other considerations such as finding someone sufficiently skilled to cut a stone composed of two different materials – the hardness of corundum versus the softness of glass. A material which is re-cut may be at least 20 per cent smaller and consequently won’t fit in its original mount.

Careful observation of flux-filled material may reveal traces of flux residue as small particles. Gas bubbles, not as widespread as in the lead glass composites, are restricted to fissures and cracks in the stone. Rotating a flux-filled ruby should reveal an orange or yellow flash, an indication of the flux material.

Careful observation with a loupe and pen light should facilitate the identification of both flux-filled and lead glass composite corundum and eliminate the risk of subsequent damage through cleaning or repair work. The message of the talk was: treated corundum need not be seen as the ‘Big Bad Wolf’ of the jewellery industry, but being aware of its existence is paramount.

Hannah McWhirter

Peter Buckie and Barbara Leale — Paws for thought I was very keen to attend this session; as a successful CAT student I needed confirmation that the valuations I produce are in accordance with the CAT guidelines and of the standard to be expected of an IRVer. The aim of Peter’s seminar was to ensure that everyone values to the standard set out by the CAT notes, and understands the reasons and methodology behind them.

He ran through the procedure and methodology in valuing a solitaire diamond ring, with a cast platinum setting, for New for Old Replacement Value. He explained how to fill in the worksheet correctly, outlining the

and again for a Second Hand Replacement Value. Peter explained the major differences between the different types of valuation and why the outcome of the final value can be so different. The process was repeated, using a hand-made mount and therefore calculating with a different manufacturing process to the preceding valuation.

Several amongst us had brought in a valuation for assessment. The idea was not to overly criticise anyone’s work (we could remain anonymous) but to assist and offer advice in maintaining the high standards and good working practice that is expected and achieved by gaining the IRV status.

The Voice of the Industry 23

| N.A.G. News: IRV Review Looking at each document and item of jewellery in turn, Peter assessed the working notes and the final submitted report of each valuation. There were some constructive criticisms of descriptions – they should describe the item fully enough so that the reader understands what the piece looks like without relying on the photographs. The method of working out also came under fire on occasion – he explained the importance of clear working notes to show how the final value has been reached and that the correct methodology has been used.

The assessments showed that most delegates are carrying out valuations in the correct manner – perhaps a little tweaking needed for clarity. I was very encouraged that my efforts passed scrutiny – I will certainly take on board all Peter’s comments!

His workshop was very helpful on many levels and if available at next year’s conference I recommend that CAT students attend!

Delyth Du Plooy FGA DGA

John Watson — The role of valuation in arranging jewellery insurance This was my first Loughborough Conference and I was hoping to brush up on my gemmology skills and to learn something new. My expectations in both areas were exceeded. One topic that is completely foreign to me is jewellery insurance, it can be quite confusing and daunting.

For instance, Self Issue Certificate is a type of insurance that requires no underwriting; it is based on retail price, usually requires a higher premium and has no excess.

24 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

This type of policy is often cost effective.

However, there can be gaps in this cover – it will not cover certain thefts or loss – it’s important to look at the clauses. This type of cover is also popular with fraudsters.

Specific Stand Alone Policy is specifically for items that are not covered under general home insurance. It has no excess, the valuation document is linked to the jewellery and valuer, and often the claims are paid out quicker.

Within the Home Policy there is usually a section where jewellery is covered. The average home insurance policy will cover jewellery from £1,500 and up to £4,000 per item. Under this policy it’s important to look at the clauses and warranties and how the policy settles claims.

Credit Card Insurance has limited cover.

There is a misconception that items covered by credit cards are covered indefinitely.

However, more often then not, the item is covered only from the time of purchase until the item has arrived safely in the home where it is covered under the Home Policy.

If an item of jewellery is lost, stolen or damaged, a professional valuation is vital, helping determine the replacement cost.

It is the basis of the settlement and provides a full description of the piece. It explains what the item is, whether new, foreign, or antique. It establishes the metals, identifies the stones and notes damages or partial loss.

A valuation report reveals how the items are made up and what the insurance value is at the time of valuation.

John advised: “Do the underwriting as soon as you open the policy, not when the item is lost.” This avoids many pitfalls. A good valuation will establish ownership, contain photos and have good working notes to back up the report. It will mention treatments or enhancements and include gem reports and/or certificates. For watch valuations, the valuation will include after-market additions and a hybrid cost breakdown. It is also important to look at the packaging for counterfeit boxes and papers.

John also expressed that it is important to create a dialogue with the client. It is essential to find out how the piece is to be replaced as it affects the type of valuation produced. It is also up to the valuer to inform their client how often their items should be revalued as precious metals and gemstones costs fluctuate.

Having a professional valuation helps obtain satisfactory claims settlements.

Without a valuation report, any item that is lost, stolen or damaged will create future problems when making a claim. When an insurer has not requested a valuation, the claims process can be complicated and drawn out. In some cases, a financial ombudsman who specialises in this area may be called in to determine the value of the jewellery. This can lead to an unsatisfactory settlement being offered.

The floor was opened for discussion and in conclusion, we all agreed that the valuer has a great responsibility. John presented the topic in an interesting and engaging manner.

Everyone found his talk very helpful.

Mara Hotung

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The Voice of the Industry 25

Berry’s Nottingham by Hallmark

VISUAL IDENTITY If the state of the UK jewellery industry can be measured by the activity of interior designers, shop-fitters, visual merchandisers and display and packaging people, then business is booming, Belinda Morris discovers.

as catch that important footfall. We’re also finding that window re-vamp business is brisk.”

“I would suggest that all retailers are becoming more conscious of in-store aesthetic and styling,” says Caroline Myall, research manager at Shopworks. “Most are thinking

“

usiness has been fantastic over the

B

money is still accounting for some spectacular

hard about how to weave their brand DNA

past 12 months, from refurbishments

sales and our customers demand the design,

into the fabric of their stores, to ensure that

to updating key showroom areas,” says

detail and service which is commensurate

the store acts as a good visual representation

Suzanne Robinson of VM and Events. “I think

with their product,” explains Mark Giddings.

of brand values, brand essence etc. Very often

with the ever-improving standards of luxury

“It’s a mixture of work, but upgrades in

consumers make a judgement about the

watch brands and shop-in-shops from the

styling, décor, display and lighting feature

retailer and retail proposition based solely

well-known jewellery brands, clients are

most prominently.”

upon the store environment before they have

feeling the need to keep their businesses

At Nicholas Interiors, the specialist shop-

updated and in-line with them. They’ve

fitting company for jewellers, business “is

become wise to this.”

steady, with a mixture of total new shops

Jan Wojciechowski, managing director of

alongside the upgrading of ‘tired’ premises,”

Hallmark agrees. “Our business is very

says Paul Ponting. “We currently have

buoyant in almost all areas – from simple

enquiries for new shops which are extremely

re-vamps through to complete refurbishments

budget-sensitive, so we have to be flexible in

and new store openings,” he says. “Jewellers

our approach, tailoring the customer needs

really

without compromising on quality.”

do

understand

that

continuous

improvement in all aspects of their business,

Watts Design is also enjoying a busy period,

including their store design and layout, are

finding that it helps to be bespoke and

absolutely vital to continued success.”

flexible. “More jewellers seem to be spending

At Giddings Design it has been the ‘über’

time looking for the right premises on the high

end of the London market that has kept the

street rather than in malls,” says Lori Watts.

company particularly busy. “It seems foreign

“They want to create their own identity as well

26 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

had any interaction with a member of staff.”

Watt Design for Nicholas Wylde

Feature | Let there be light

popping up in more and more stores.

“Busy? We’ve been inundated!” adds Scot

Clearly defined with a change in floor finish,

Walker of Parify, known for its LED in-store

introduction of occasional furniture and soft

and display lighting, “and it’s been anything

furnishings and with differentiated lighting –

from small retro-fits to complete re-designs;

these spaces are used for husband or child-

from cabinet to full lighting. When we first

parking during the long shopping process.”

started exhibiting a couple of years ago, we

It isn’t simply about hospitality though.

found retailers saying that their lighting was so

“Champagne bars and special areas alone

bad, but they hadn’t realised it. It’s often the

don’t create an ‘experience’; our customers

high gloss finishes and frosting, certainly for

last thing on the list and yet the difference it

are smart enough to know that it’s the

when it comes to fine jewellery,” adds Suzanne

makes is between night and day – it should be

complete package that drives success; each

Robinson. At Nicholas Interiors the trend is

at the top of the list as good lighting attracts

area of even the smallest store has to look and

“for more circles and curved display areas

customers into a shop. Our role is to help

feel right,” says Hallmark’s Wojciechowski.

giving a softer look and wall coverings are

jewellers sell more jewellery, showing it in a natural light. We don’t believe in gimmicks.”

“There is a significant increase in the number

Giddings adds his own thoughts on lounge

becoming more of a feature with sculptured

areas: “There’s an increased understanding of

effect walls for a more robust finish. Superior

creating ‘luxury zones’ for premium clientele,

wallpapers with crystals inset can look

of jewellers who want to achieve the benefits of using LED lighting to showcase their jewellery,” adds Simone Breedon of Display Lighting. “The factors that sway them towards this are the potential increases in sales volumes, a significant reduction in running costs, reduction in heat output and the lower maintenance costs. The projects we are working on at the moment are a real mixture of brand new launches of independent jewellery stores, independents who are expanding into new

TagHeuer by Display Lighting

impressive in the modern jewellers.” Myall

“Very often consumers make a judgement about the retailer and retail proposition based solely upon the store environment…’

outlets, multiples opening new stores and many

also adds that there’s a move away from the ‘nose-to-nose service model’. “Staff are beginning to emerge from behind the counter in jewellery stores. It’s a clear effort to provide a more intimate, collaborative service.”

As LED lighting technology is continually evolving, improving this has been “a real practical game-changer in the world of jewellery lighting,” according to Breedon. “But for those jewellers who just about have the time for a quick lighting revamp, it is possible to easily

concessions and pop-up Christmas shops.

“I would say ambience is a key area of concern with clients,” says Giddings. “For example, when LED lighting was introduced, many jewellers rushed to change their lighting, resulting in anaemic, underlit areas which will lose custom, not gain it. However, there is much more shared knowledge available now, with some fabulous new generation lights, allowing for entire permutations of different lighting scenarios.”

“All jewellers need to display their goods to give the maximum impact – hence good lighting is something that cannot be compromised,” adds Ponting. “We have recently sourced a two-colour LED strip light from China which enhances yellow or white gold individually in the same display.”

Lighting by Parify

Display directions There’s a strong consensus of opinion on the

but this presents an issue with available

replace low voltage dichroic lamps with retro-

direction that store design is taking. “Customer

space. So one has to often consider the entire

fit LED lamps and this is a popular choice.

enjoyment of the retail experience is becoming

business strategy before we commence the

Another trend is an increase in demand for our

more important,” according to Ponting. “Private

design process, ie, do you set aside prime

freestanding LED lighting which jewellers/

areas are secluded parts of the shop where

space for the five per cent of customers to the

retailers can set up anywhere from a plug or

customers can view and discuss expensive

detriment of the 95 per cent of business?!”

battery. Shops aren’t always on the high street

purchases at their ease.” Mayall agrees. “Lounge

“There’s a current taste for plush fabric-

areas away from the main shop floor are

covered fittings – we are moving away from

these days and jewellers can take their LED lit store anywhere with this range.”

The Voice of the Industry 27

¯

il ta 4 Re 01 he s 2 f T ard ro w ne A in m W ste Sy

the new retail experience Our Pursuit software is a retail tool that enables jewellers to reinvent the way they relate to customers. It has been expressly created to enhance the interaction between jeweller, customer and so much more.

Improve the customer experience

With Pursuit staff need no longer be tied to the till. From guiding choices, card transaction and insurance to emailing the receipt to the customer, the point of sale medium can be an iPad or other tablet device.

Complete overview of sales from the web or in store

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Increase sales person performance Increased customer loyalty Wish lists can be created for customers

“We’ve seen innovative retailers using click and collect and other approaches to make a virtue of both their website and their physical shops. And that’s something we see growing in importance.”

HELEN DICKINSON Director General, British Retail Consortium

jewellery business software solutions

www.pursuit.co.uk

Feature | CASE STUDY 1 Jeremy France, Winchester “We moved our store from the top of the High Street to the centre 10 months ago.

This was a complete re-build of all three storeys of a grade 2* listed building. We were at the end of our 25 year lease and with the Silver Hill development in the city centre creating two acres of new retail, it was clear that we would lose business to it.

We looked at some of the more traditional jewellery shop fit companies but found them to be too ‘samey’ – creating similar shops to others, with no soul and, worse, too expensive. In the end we went to a local company, John Dyer, that specialises in fitting out sets at trade shows as well as several shop fits and we felt we would get a more ‘organic’ build, considering the difficulties we would face with planning and English Heritage.

“The resulting shop is very different from all our previous stores, with a slightly warm and cosy ‘Bond Street’ look. An oak hand-made staircase to the first floor and an opening cut through both floors, reveals

a two-metre circular hand-made stained glass roof window in the second floor champagne room.

“We needed to take the four units that we had spread out with the old shop to one building, and overall to lift the quality

feel of the store. We have re-branded ourselves completely; however, we have had terrible trouble with box manufacturers and even 10 months on we have not managed to place an order yet.”

Jeremy France

Clearly an advantage if you’re one of the

such bricks and mortar space for jewellery

increasing number of online businesses

retailer The Collective. “A good pop-up concept

market is also enjoying buoyant business,

looking to connect in a more physical way

doesn't necessarily have to cost a lot of

with confidence returning to the jewellery

with customers – ie via a pop-up shop. “With

money; it should be designed to be used

sector according to UK representatives from

online retailing now being so competitive,

again and again. The most important aspect

Ch. Dahlinger. “More and more are becoming

pop-up shops are a great way of getting

above and beyond the cost, is to accurately

conscious of the colours and style that fit

attention, gaining customer feedback and

convey your brand message.” Interestingly,

around new stock,” says Simon Ware. “Many

allowing you to connect with customers

Reid adds that generally, 75 per cent of online

choose darker colour busts when displaying

emotionally – something that is difficult to

retailers who have successfully operated three

white metals, but also like to add bright

do purely online,” explains Eve Reid of

pop-ups, look to open a permanent brick

vibrant colour that enhances the window.”

Metamorphosis which has recently created one

and mortar store.

He is also noticing a demand for higher end

The

packaging

and

display

material

boxes for diamond jewellery as jewellers Metamorphosis – pop-up shop for The Collective

become more aware for the need to present merchandise more luxuriously. His colleague Chris Dowrick adds that own-branding is becoming more of a concern “as jewellers seek to maintain their own identity alongside those of the brands”.

Talbots – recently re-branded – has tapped fully into the trend for more style-led, luxury packaging with a range of many new and innovative designs for boxes and pouches.

The company also offers a bespoke service, taking clients from concept to creation of trendinspired designs.

Graham Stock of Nathan & Stock which designs and sources bespoke display cabinets,

The Voice of the Industry 29

¯

| Feature

CASE STUDY 2 Frost, Bond Street, London “Dino D’Auria and Joseph Banin are the go-to guys for beautiful jewellery and high-end watches for London’s young, sporty and clubbers, and they wanted Hallmark to come up with a refurbishment that would be the envy of London. So, we increased sales floor space by 30 per cent, introducing space to showcase more than 10 watch and jewellery brands in a series of rooms designed to intrigue and entice their clients. If you pass through electronic glazed doors

Endless by Talbots

30 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

that flow through the airy atrium that houses their most precious brands, and where their famous events are now held in front of the cocktail bar and a huge tropical fish aquarium, you might be invited into Joe and Dino’s inner sanctum, where personal service is the order of business.

“No detail was too small. Even the lightboxes on the doors, protecting the privacy of their most distinguished clients, were custom made. The most intriguing part of the refurbishment? The store was never closed for business!”

Jan Wojciechowski, MD Hallmark

“We decided on a re-fit as we had outgrown our store and needed more space, especially to improve the experience of our VIP clients. The main consideration was to create a greater experience all round, so our own team would also enjoy day-to-day working. Practicality was also essential – creating as much storage space as possible; plus shop-in-shop facilities for brands to stamp their own identity; improved lighting and within the new layout we took into account the events we host in-boutique. It all adds to an improved customer service.”

Dino D’Auria

packaging and point of sale displays, comments

Morplan has also noticed an increased trend

that retailers “have recently become far more

for more ‘natural’ materials, albeit used in a

aware of the importance of good displays for

‘modern way’. Stone, wood, hessian and rattan

their shop windows and in-store, both for their

give a rustic, hand-finished, textural effect for

own brands and also their own generic ranges”.

all types of fine and fashion jewellery.

He also notes that eco-friendly packaging is

“I am always amazed that at meetings with

high on the agenda “but the cost implications

jewellery brands or retailers, packaging and

can be restricting for some”.

display is always the last thing on people’s

Nathan & Stock has recently sourced pouches

agenda. Not only does packaging take the

made from natural fibres such as cotton,

longest to sample and produce, in the present

bamboo and hemp, and new on the horizon

climate it is one of the most important factors

is a product made from cornstarch, which is

to promote your brand and differentiate

an alternative to injection-moulded plastic.

yourself in the high street,” adds Stock.

¯

Hand crafted in the South West of England to our acclaimed high standard of joinery and style.

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GLAZING SOLUTIONS

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Feature | CASE STUDY 3

furniture and areas co-habit seamlessly with the branded concessions.

“We put the design concept out to tender, strongly influencing the prospective companies with our own ideas and insisting on all parties visiting our existing stores to understand what works well and equally what doesn’t. We introduced the new designer, Nicholas Interiors, to our furniture makers and shop works teams that we have worked successfully with in the past.

“We’re always looking for improvements on previous efforts, as you only ever understand how successful a re-fit has been when you have a period of retailing.

We identify an area of the store that could work better and improve it. However, as time goes by certain areas can look more tired than the most recently improved.

Harrogate enabled us to use all our experience and deliver a scheme taking all the best ideas from our previous efforts, while still keeping a look that we consider to be us. We were lucky to have such a large area to incorporate all our brand partners’ needs and, of course, our own and give every square foot the same consideration.

“Most of our works are driven by a want to improve the customer experience, be it counter format, seating areas, etc. However the performance of a brand or product area can also influence the shaping of an environment, by the need for concessionlike furniture. Lighting is always constantly improved. We have engaged a marketing company to freshen up our branding so that we offer a more consistent message though all of our sales platforms. This will look at logo, boxes and bags and in-store messages and fonts.”

Paul Rice, Hugh Rice

Visualising Christmas

buy when convenient… and not necessarily

hanging displays of pearls, chains and beads,

Judy Head of Head Creative Associates, who

from you! So what is unique about your store

small pyramid-shaped displays featuring

gives regular display seminars to jewellers via

that might inspire loyalty?

wedding rings or earrings, and lots of images

Hugh Rice, Harrogate “Our Harrogate store is a new location for Hugh Rice, however we are extremely proactive and always have a programme of improvement that would involve small/ medium re-fits every year in all our stores.

The Harrogate concept involved delivering a scheme that clearly has the Hugh Rice identity, making sure that our generic

the N.A.G., has ready wisdom on the subject

Consider what you offer that’s unique to

of festive windows: “Gift-shoppers are probably

you and create a display in part of the window

looking in the jeweller’s windows in a great

that illustrates this. It might be the number of

deal more depth and detail – and they will

years trading, the qualifications held by staff

also research and compare online,” she says.

members, the offer of valuations, certification,

So here are some tips:

servicing or even gift wrapping and delivery…

Are people passing your window but not

The advantage of big brands is that they

stopping? Is the window packed with tidy (or

promote their ranges nationally and sometimes

untidy) but dull displays and an abundance

internationally and will support the retailer with

of stock? Select appropriate and balanced

display material, posters, advertising, brochures

collections of pieces to put in the window and

and even training sessions for staff. Play to

change them often – several times a day if it

the strengths of those brands and don’t cram

is looking very slow! Just the fact that there

so many into your windows that you confuse

is activity in the window will cause people to

the customer.

come and look.

to sell the emotion.

¯

Lapponia display by Judy Head

Create some small free displays in your

‘Google-isation’ has made customers lazy

main window that might inspire customers.

about remembering things they have seen;

Change the windows, change the emphasis –

they can just look it up again on a mobile

put in a complete Christmas display featuring

or iPad. Big brands can be bought anywhere,

many items of branded and non-branded

so no need for the customer to buy when they

stock. Make more use of interior displays to

see it – they can look for the best price and

segment stock, using trays in drawers or

The Voice of the Industry 33

| Feature CASE STUDY 4 Lila’s, East Dulwich Based on Lordship Lane in East Dulwich, owned by Catalina Rosca, Lila’s sells preowned gold and gemstone jewellery, and describes itself as London’s first ‘educational jewellery store’. The store was created by international retail design agency Four-byTwo, which aimed to reflect the core offer and purpose of Lila’s – to give it a focus on

educating the public into responsible gemstone and metals mining and to showcase the pre-owned and pre-loved jewellery for customers to buy.

So Four-by-Two used nothing new throughout the store design and build process. They sourced 1950s furniture, 1960s factory lamps and adapted existing materials like railway sleepers to form display cabinets and merchandising units.

Bespoke wallpaper was digitally printed and

CASE STUDY 5 – a future project…

PureJewels, Green Street, London “We completed our last re-vamp in 2008 and now need a re-fit to accommodate a shift in our business model – it’s now much more about relationships with clients and hospitality; people are spending longer with us. So it will be about softer materials (less wood and glass), internal curtains, soft and more fluid visual displays and different colour palettes that will be neutral but more interesting.

“We’re also looking at clever lighting systems for a more considered way to show product; it will help us to be more in control. And we will have displays that

34 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

show the whole, story-driven collections, because that’s how the business has evolved, post-recession.

“Peter Cunningham from Design CLD is our default store designer, but our creative team will work with him to take care of how our brand essence is displayed.

We will also be looking at new packaging and our recently re-designed logo – showing the heritage of the brand – will be incorporated. Gold is an important part of our business and there will be subtle references to this in the new look.

“A couple of years ago we experimented

inspired by a drawing of a diamond solitaire, created by one of the store's jewellery designers. The result is a jewellery store that is designed to be warm and exciting, with an overriding message that projects one of sustainability and education.

A central feature is an old mining cart once used for sourcing gold in Transylvania.

There’s a panning table, a cutting / polishing station, jeweller’s workbench and an architect’s drafting board used as the cash desk.

with closing off our windows, but have now decided to open them again to show the new system. The open view into the shop is in keeping with our values of being more transparent… as well as giving a brighter, more welcoming feel.

“Security has always been important of course (we have had double entry door systems and cameras in place from the beginning) but we’re now adding a special film onto the glass of the internal counters. If they’re attacked with a hammer they will stay intact for longer; it slows the process down and reduces loss. Attacks are a reality – security systems are a good investment.”

Jayant Raniga, PureJewels

I

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display-lighting.com

The Voice of the Industry 35

| Business Support: Security

Security Conference 2014 – securing the future of our industry On a blustery Tuesday in October, some of the industry’s most forward-thinking individuals and companies battled through awful traffic and the tail-end of a hurricane to fight the good fight on behalf of industry security. They came to the BRE in Hertfordshire to listen, observe, be involved, be informed and inspired, at the most up-to-date conference on security ever mounted on behalf of the jewellery industry. ssembled by the team at Luke Street in association with T H March and the BJA, specialists from industry providers furnished delegates with key insights into the latest security threats that can have an immediate impact on our working lives, how we can try to combat them and what measures we can take to protect ourselves and our businesses.

Delegates who attended were treated to a full day of inspiring talks, invaluable tips and advice, brilliant networking opportunities and product demonstrations.

A

Gems of advice The first speakers were Lee Henderson and Simon Gardner from SaferGems who brought delegates up to speed with this invaluable resource, emphasising that everyone should be involved in providing information and CCTV images, explaining how businesses need to train their staff to

be more aware and detailing the things they should look out for and how to deal with possible crime in store, for example: • If a customer is talking on the phone, emphasise that they will be happy to serve them once they finish their call • If a customer is wearing sunglasses, suggest that they should remove them to better view the merchandise • Spot if a customer is wearing clothing intended to conceal his or her identity • Be aware of a large number of people entering the store together • Be fully prepared to protect merchandise when large numbers of people are in the store • Notice when a customer is positioning items to obstruct their view • Be aware when a customer shows an unusual interest in cameras or security equipment

• Be on alert if a customer asks to see the ‘most expensive’ watch or jewellery in the store They suggested that delegates should make the following essential everyday procedures part of their staff training regime: • Make eye contact with and greet anyone entering the store • Use a pre-established code word to put staff members on high alert • Have an employee pick up the store phone in an obvious manner, dial someone and talk • Have more than one staff member attend to the suspicious individual • Keep display cases locked and show only one item at a time • Call the police if they feel there is a criminal risk They also announced the new SaferGems watch register. Find out more about this important initiative by contacting SaferGems direct at: watchregister@safergems.org.uk

Well Met indeed — delegates meet the crimestoppers DCIs Paul Johnson and Simon Cham, from the West Mercia and the Metropolitan Police respectively, explained why, how and by whom crimes are being committed these days, along with the background and intelligence involved in catching the criminals and organised gangs involved in robberies.

Simon also provided some enlightening advice on positioning CCTV cameras and on precisely what they need to be seeing and recording. (With this in mind, the Home Office website has a useful paper available on the subject: www.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/142684/cctv-small-businessguidance.pdf)

36 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Business Support: Security | attacked with an axe – the ordinary security glass left a hole big enough to put your hand through, while Tecdur, though crazed and somewhat discoloured, held firm.

Top marks for retailer protection

“We benefited from the knowledge of others, and all it cost was a day of my time. I am sure with what I have learnt today I will be better prepared tomorrow!”

Making sure it’s the criminals who pay, not you Credit card fraud is something that can affect any business was the message from Ryan Barry of WorldPay. In a useful, practical talk, he explained how we can be wise to fraud, identify when it’s taking place and train staff to check a card has been processed properly, while reminding us to always keep the terminal in view and always remember that the bank will never ring you.

He also brought our attention to a new type of fraud many delegates may not have been aware of – a ‘customer’ rings the store asking to buy something over the phone saying that a friend/brother/sister will come in later to collect it as they cannot make it in person. However tempting the prospect of making a sale, Ryan emphasised the importance of refusing any such arrangement and ensuring any sale is completed in store and not over the phone. He emphasised that this type of fraud is very much on the increase in the UK.

Above all, he emphasised the importance of using common sense, thinking about your actions, such as locking car doors as soon as you get in, varying your routes and arrival and departure times and, wherever possible, even your accommodation.

He signed off by reminding us all to use the invaluable resource of SaferGems.

A demonstration of endurance You may not have heard of Tecdur – it’s a new, more secure version of reinforced glass as Clive Meeks from Glassolutions, which supplies and fits the product, explained.

It represents a revolution in security glazing.

The difference between it and standard bandit glass was dramatically demonstrated as Tecdur and conventional security glass was

Not to be outdone, James Brown from SelectaMARK security systems explained and demonstrated the benefits of the SelectaDNA retail protection system.

The device leaves an indelible mark on offenders and operates from a small orange box that sits above the door of your premises and is activated by either a PA fob during opening hours, or by an intruder alarm out of hours. Key benefits include: • Marking offenders on exit to avoid further aggression • Providing police with forensic evidence • Helping safeguard staff and valuable stock (which is left undamaged) • The spray is only activated once movement is detected • Sprays a confined area and can spray multiple assailants in a short space of time

SkyGuard – avoiding corporate fines For Warren Ottaway from the SkyGuard Group, the burning issue of the day was retailers’ obligations towards lone workers in their store. The fact is, it’s the business owner’s responsibility to protect their staff and the latest directive from the sentencing council states that corporate manslaughter fines should be in excess of a staggering £500,000!

Security on the March Next up, Neil McFarlane from TH March covered the latest security risks in the world of travelling sales, reminding delegates to: • Keep their identity and occupation anonymous • Ensure security takes precedence over convenience • Stay alert and note anything unusual • Walk with purpose to suggest a harder target

The Voice of the Industry 37

¯

| Business Support: Security This is where SkyGuard comes in. Taking the form of a small fob, it provides extra security for a business and for those who work in it. It is GPRS and GPS-enabled and trackable and can identify where you or your employees are at any time to within approximately 10 feet.

SkyGuard provides the reassurance that your exact whereabouts will be known if you have an emergency, or if you fall over (it can even be set to recognise such an incident and call SkyGuard automatically and silently). The device has three buttons: an SOS button, a call button set to call a number of your choice, while the third is a record button to store relevant data that either you or SkyGuard may need to access later. There is also a built-in speaker and microphone for two-way conversations and recordings. The technology also meets evidential standards... should the occasion arise.

If you need help, SkyGuard will listen to see what the problem is; if a struggle is detected, they will immediately call the emergency services; if you can communicate with them, they will assess the situation and liaise with you directly through the fob.

SkyGuard has a direct link to the UK emergency services and, in some cases, it is quicker to get help through SkyGuard than by dialling 999.

These essential security devices are available to purchase now through the N.A.G. Make sure that you advise your insurance company that you’re using them!

“I thought it would be interesting, but now I have four or five things to action in my stores immediately.”

Fog to give retailers a clear advantage The final slot and demonstration of the day featured our headline sponsor Fog Bandit and Neil Chrismas from Bandit UK. As he explained, “You just have to see Fog Bandit in action to believe it.” The system emits an impenetrable ‘fog’ that can effectively fill a room in around four seconds, together with with a warning message and an explanation of what is happening.

The system works both during opening hours and when the store is shut. The only difference is that, at night, it disperses more fog making it impossible to see for longer

periods whereas, during working hours, you could effectively trade again around 10 minutes after activation.

It’s all about being ‘better prepared tomorrow’ Following the talks and demonstrations, delegates had a chance to network and exchange views and advice… with each other, the event’s supporters and headline sponsor.

The day had proved invaluable, with even the most security-aware taking at least one fresh new idea, or insight, away with them.

This feeling was borne out by some of the delegate feedback received: “I thought it would be interesting, but now I have four or five things to action in my stores immediately.”

“We benefited from the knowledge of others, and all it cost was a day of my time.

I am sure with what I have learnt today I will be better prepared tomorrow!”

I

38 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Nov/Dec 2014 / Volume 23 / No. 9

Gem-A Conference 2014 Photo Competition Winners Mischievous emeralds

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014 t

Editorial

Gems&Jewellery

Nov/Dec 14 Contents Gem News

4

Gem-A Events

5

6 Recent Events

16 Photography Competition

18 Hands-On Gemmology

22 Shows and Exhibitions

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

You know that feeling on Christmas Day — around 4pm after the Queen’s speech — when you think to yourself: “Well that’s it over for another year”? That’s perhaps how we are feeling here in Ely Place right now, coming down off the high of our conference. It takes a great deal of time, hard work and effort from the entire team to make it possible, and those of you who attended will agree that it was a resounding success. If you didn’t, you missed out on some fantastic speakers. We are wondering now how to top it next year. See page 6 for Gary Roskin’s report on the conference.

My thanks go to the Gem-A team and the speakers for a fun (and educational!) weekend.

At the meeting recently at the Foreign Office I was reminded that most people who work in the gem and jewellery industry are part of what was described as the ‘silent majority’. They are there, frequently seen but rarely heard. Often they lack representation or, if not, are merely part of a large number who are either swamped by the dollars of the big boys who shout louder or they just go with the flow, often unaware of the changes going on around them. The recent hiatus at the World Diamond Council (WDC) highlights this. It has representation from CIBJO and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), as well as the large mining companies and other industry stakeholders.

The silent majority is represented by CIBJO and the WFDB, but the problem is that they have just one vote — the same as a single company who may join the WDC — therefore tens of thousands of little guys are rendered impotent by one individual willing to pay a few thousand dollars for a seat at the table. In the last few weeks CIBJO and the WFDB have spoken out about this and we await developments. Closer to home we implore those merging companies, the BJA and the N.A.G., not to fall into the same trap. There is a lot of noise about all the good reasons for merging but there is much which needs to be made clear. Although ‘one member, one vote’ prevails, the reality is that this will be decided by less than 100 individuals out of a combined membership of 2,500.

The silent majority goes unheard. That is not to say that there is not good intent both here in the UK, and on a global scale with the WDC, but good intent can often be a very dangerous thing.

This is exactly the problem that one comes up against in the ethical debate; the good intentions of those seeking a ‘clean’ supply chain and only ethically sourced products. Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility are not black and white topics. Usually there are shades of grey, thus it is more correct to talk not about ‘conflict free’ — whatever that is — but ‘conflict managed’. Enforcing compliance to strict laws and guidelines such as the USA’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Act backfires when the reality is that the little guys can never fully comply without jeopardizing their livelihood while form-filling to satisfy a bureaucrat in Washington or Brussels.

The UK government’s position is one of pushing compliance with standards through voluntary procedures rather than mandatory, but do not for one minute think that things won’t change — for the better I hope.

Lastly, may I take this opportunity to wish you the compliments of the season and a busy time over the next few weeks.

James Riley Chief Executive Officer Cover Picture Microphotograph of an inclusion in natural pale beryl (‘Rainy day’ appearance) by Dayananda Dillimuni FGA. Joint 1st prize winner in this year’s Gem-A photography competition (see p14).

Nov/Dec 2014 / Volume 23 / No. 9

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

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Production Editor Georgina Brown Advisory Board Mary Burland, Harry Levy

Gem-A Conference 2014 Photo Competition Winners Mischievous emeralds

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 / Nov/Dec 2014

Gem News

Gem news Gem-A conference speaker wins gemmology award Dr Thomas Hainschwang FGA, one of the speakers at the Gem-A Conference earlier this month, is the recipient of the 2015 Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology. This prestigious award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the gemmological field. Recipients are selected by a majority vote of members of the Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA).

Dr Hainschwang, who is the director of GGTL Laboratories in Liechtenstein, earned his PhD at Nantes University. He is recognized for his significant contributions to the field of gemmology, among which his research on Type Ib diamonds had international impact. His contributions to gemmological literature include more than 100 articles on various aspects of gemmology and analytical instrumentation. AGA president Stuart Robertson noted: “At a rather young age, Dr Hainschwang has already distinguished

himself and made an enduring mark on the field of gemmology. Take any one of his numerous studies concerning various aspects of natural, treated and laboratory grown diamonds, their features and phenomena, and it would stand alone as worthy of distinction.

Yet with Thomas, we see a pattern of diligent investigation and desire to address the critical issues.”

Gem-A and GAA sign co-op agreement

The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) and the Gemmological Association of Australia (GAA) have come together to sign an agreement allowing

World’s largest Csarite® revealed

Milenyum Mining Ltd has announced the discovery and cutting of the world’s largest known faceted Csarite gemstone. The 121.65 ct pear shape stone was cut from a recently recovered rough of approximately 430 grams from the world’s only Csarite mine, which is in the Anatolian Mountains, Turkey. Previously, the largest known faceted Csarite was an 88.49 ct pear shape that took home a 2014 AGTA Cutting Edge Award. The only other large Csarite gemstones of a similar size have been cabochon gems that exhibit the cat’s-eye and colour-change effect.

“It was an exciting challenge to cut this stone,” said Rudi Wobito, master cutter of Wobito that did the actual faceting.

“The rough [of this stone] very rarely produces a fine gem of this size and calibre. And it’s a very slow process to shape the rough and finally arrive at the finished gem. We studied the material from all angles for weeks before deciding on the final shape.”

Murat Akgun, president of Milenyum Mining explained: “Typical loss from rough Csarite is 98%. We have recovered rough pieces three times the size of this one, and ended up with no faceted stones. We lost only 95% of the large specimen in cutting this gem, again setting it apart as a truly unique gem! This fine quality Csarite is certainly the world’s largest at this time, and we expect the retail price to be close to US$1,000,000.”

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Fellows from either organization to take Fellowship with each other’s Association from the start of 2015. This crossassociation agreement comes as the two associations vow to begin a new era of advanced co-operation.

The agreement, signed by GAA patron Terry Coldham FGAA FGA and GAA president Katrina Marchioni FGAA at Gem-A’s annual graduation ceremony on 3 November, recognizes the equivalent status of the Association’s two diplomas and allows fully paid-up members of either Association to become Fellows of their sister Association.

The agreement was co-signed by Gem-A president Harry Levy FGA, chairman Jason Williams FGA DGA, and witnessed by CIBJO president Dr Gaetano Cavalieri FGA. Gem-A CEO James Riley FGA DGA expressed the importance and practicality of this agreement for Gem-A, saying: “For many years, the GAA and Gem-A have been working alongside one another in our education practices, but these connections have not extended into membership services. As there is both a historical and practical connection between the two Associations, it only seems sensible for an agreement to exist whereby the membership services of each Association can be provided to members of the other Association. We’re very pleased to have come to this agreement with our friends at GAA and hope to continue a long and healthy relationship between the two Associations in the future.”

Gaetano Cavalieri and Terry Coldham accept Gem-A Honorary Fellowships

Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO president, and Terry Coldham FGAA, Patron of the Gemmological Association of Australia (GAA), have been named Honorary Fellows of Gem-A in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the field of gemmology. The awards were made by Gem-A president Harry Levy FGA during the Association’s graduation ceremony at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London on 3 November.

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Gem News

Speaking on Terry and Gaetano’s awards, James Riley FGA DGA added: “Gem-A is delighted to be able to award Gaetano and Terry Honorary Fellowships in light of their efforts on behalf of both the Association and the wider industry. Gaetano’s work on issues of ethics and social responsibility is unparalleled and we’re sure that his continued work will only strengthen the industry and leave a lasting legacy we can all be proud of.

Terry has made a massive contribution to our industry over the last 50 years. He has worked across all levels of the trade as a miner, cutter, wholesaler and retailer, and has written numerous papers and articles for journals worldwide, whilst also working as the editor of one of the most respected gemmological publications in the world. Without the vision and hard work of Gaetano and Terry the gemmological world would be a much poorer place, and it has been a truly great honour to recognize them today.”

New Gem-A team member This month we welcome a new addition to the team at Ely Place. Richard Lake FGA DGA joins Gem-A as Chair of Examiners, a new role that will support the chief examiner and the lead senior examiners in each of the subject areas.

Richard will also check the exam question papers, consider special needs and any issues with exam centres and oversee the moderation of new examiners.

As the Association grows and expands its examinations, Gem-A feels that now

Gem-A Events

Shows

International Jewellery Tokyo (IJT) 2015 21–24 January, Tokyo Big Sight, Japan The largest jewellery trade show in Japan, IJT is the gateway to expanding your business in Japan and Asia. Come and visit the team in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Booth number TBC. AGTA Tucson GemFair 2015 3–8 February, Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, USA Gem-A is once again headed stateside to the AGTA Tucson GemFair. The highlight of the gem and jewellery calendar, Tucson is renowned for being one of the best jewellery shows around. Booth number TBC.

Gem-A Workshops Understanding diamond grading Wednesday 26 November 2014 Birmingham City University, Birmingham B42 2SU This specialist workshop focuses on the

key aspects of diamond grading, giving a unique insight into the 4Cs and their impact on value. Led by experienced Gem-A diamond tutor Andrew Fellows FGA DGA CDG, 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.

Understanding diamond simulants Friday 28 November 2014 Birmingham City University, Birmingham B42 2SU This workshop is for those working, or considering working, in the diamond market. Gem-A tutor Andrew Fellows explains the key differences between diamond and its simulants, and how to recognize them both as loose stones, and in set or mounted jewellery. Using basic observation techniques and readily available instruments, such as diamond and combination testers, participants will be taught to quickly and

is the ideal opportunity to take this important step so that it can ensure standards are maintained and that the independence of the examination board is upheld, whilst providing a professional service to our members and students.

The position will remain independent of Gem-A’s other educational services, but will be answerable to the CEO as the responsible officer for Gem-A under our accreditation regulations.

Richard Lake has been a diamond practical examiner for many years and has both a geological background and trade experience, having worked for Robert Holt and then for Marcus McCallum FGA in Hatton Garden. Commenting on his new role Richard said: “I am now looking forward to working with Gem-A, as they continue to grow and develop in the face of challenges thrown up by this ever-changing, fascinating industry.”

effectively separate diamonds from all other imitations, thus preventing costly purchasing errors, and allowing informed buying decisions to be made.

Other events Colour and sparkle: A colour group meeting Wednesday 3 December 2014 City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB Gem-A tutors join The Colour Group of Great Britain to take a deeper look at the colours that exist within gemstones. In the first collaboration between Gem-A and The Colour Group, Claire Mitchell FGA DGA and Andrew Fellows from Gem-A will join Alan Collins and Lynne Bartlett for an afternoon event at the City University London. During the afternoon these four experts will take attendees on a journey through the cause of colour in gemstones such as ruby, emerald and sapphire, the latest theories about colour in diamonds and discuss how the trade assesses the quality of diamonds.

This is a free event for anyone wishing to attend. To print a ticket visit the colour group website at: www.colour.org.uk/ meetingDecember14.html.

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Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Recent Events

Gem-A Conference 2014 Gary Roskin FGA reports on the Gem-A Conference, held over the weekend of 1–2 November.

The two-day event, held at the Business Design Centre, Islington, was a feast for the gemmological palate; hosting 13 international experts in the field, and covering a diverse selection of topics on gems and minerals.

Bruce Bridges — The history of tsavorite and legacy of Campbell Bridges Leading the Saturday programme was Bruce Bridges, son of the late Campbell Bridges, the renowned discoverer of tsavorite. Bruce delivered a heartfelt family history of how his father first discovered the green grossularite garnet.

It was in 1961, while working as a consulting mineralogist in what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), that Campbell first caught a glimpse of the green gem.

Avoiding confrontation with a rogue cape buffalo by diving into a ravine, Campbell spotted beautiful green euhedral crystals glistening in the sun. Unable to get back to this find, and moving up the Mozambique

gem belt on business, he rediscovered the green gem in Tanzania.

Years passed, with Campbell prospecting around Komolo, Tanzania, but government nationalization of the mines in 1970 sent Campbell into Kenya. It was 1971 when he filed his first mining claims at the edge of Tsavo Park, Kenya, and thus began the jewellery industry’s love affair with tsavorite.

Working alongside Henry Platt, then vice president of Tiffany & Co., Campbell not only helped Tiffany to name tsavorite, but was also instrumental in working with the company to name tanzanite.

Bruce presented images and video of the tsavorite mining area, showing us the ‘local inhabitants’, in particular lions, ‘red’ elephants and scorpions, as well as images of the original Scorpion Mine (and yes, you do need to check under the covers and inside your shoes for scorpions).

Bruce also noted that there are other grossularite garnets in the area, including

Tsavorite rough production from pocketing. Photograph courtesy of Bruce Bridges, Bridges Tsavorite.

‘Merelani mint’ and ‘green grossular’. Similar to the comparison of green beryl vs emerald, the differences between these three garnet colour varieties is described by the tone, saturation and chemistry. Tsavorite has considerably more chromium — described

by Bruce as being at least five times greater than the other green grossulars, whilst the amount of vanadium found in tsavorite is reportedly at least two times greater. This difference in chemistry can be seen in the actual colour hue, tone and saturation.

Left: The late Campbell Bridges.

Above: 12.46 ct antique cushion-cut tsavorite.

Photographs courtesy of Bruce Bridges, Bridges Tsavorite.

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Recent Events

Typically, fine quality tsavorite will be graded as having at the very least a medium tone and moderate saturation. It is also interesting to note that the more chromium, the more bluish the gem appears.

The Bridges’ Kenyan tsavorite mines have been closed for the past five years since the death of Campbell Bridges. However, Bruce announced during his talk that the mines will be re-opening in January 2015. With regard to the availability of the green gem, the current tsavorite mines are approximately 175 metres deep. The theoretical producing depth has been estimated at 2 km, and, if correct, we should have tsavorite for many years to come.

Edward Boehm GG CG FGA — Analysing gems on the go: tips from the field Edward Boehm is a coloured stone dealer and consultant from Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. His company Rare Source Gems specializes in fine and collectible gemstones, collection sales and acquisitions, and museum consulting.

Edward took delegates into the field with pocket instruments, reminding us just how important it is to be able to make identifications away from the desk, and how easy it can be with practice — a technique he learned from his grandfather, Dr Eduard Gübelin.

Using the dichroscope and loupe we can tell if a gem is doubly refractive or showing natural features. As with the larger desk gem equipment, eliminating possibilities and narrowing our choices is the goal.

Edward also discussed the advantages of the darkfield loupe. Better than a standard loupe, it lights up the interior of the gem, as would a gemmological microscope. Such an inexpensive attachment to a small flashlight, this is a tool the wandering gemmologist should not be without.

Whilst having the right equipment is certainly important, it can be just as important to have a great reference library, including journals. (Vol. 34 Issue 1 of The Journal of Gemmology is available to view online for free, perfect for the travelling gemmologist!)

Edward Boehm addressing delegates.

Edward also advocates developing relationships out in the field, acknowledging that it is more challenging to purchase gems from someone you have never met.

Show them that you know what you are doing by identifying and quality-grading what they have shown you and then sharing your knowledge with them — they will appreciate your expertise and remember you.

Edward noted that another pocket instrument you should always carry is a small gram scale. A head loupe of 3× magnification also comes in very handy as it leaves you hands-free and able to pick through a large parcel of stones at once.

Edward’s last words of advice were to go to museums any time you can to familiarize yourself with natural gem forms and colours, and, most importantly, to pass on the tips you have learnt to colleagues and friends — as Edward reminded us, you learn more when you teach.

Dr Thomas Hainschwang FGA — The challenges faced by green to greenish blue diamonds coloured by natural or artificial irradiation Dr Thomas Hainschwang is managing director

and researcher at the Liechtenstein branch of GGTL laboratories in Balzers/Liechtenstein.

He founded the GEMLAB Liechtenstein laboratory in 1996.

Like most gem identifications, there are some that are relatively easy, some that are more challenging, and others that are seemingly impossible — and so it is with fancy green diamonds. The question is simple: is it natural or treated colour?

As both are created by irradiation, the identification is anything but simple.

Thomas discussed the treatment of diamonds with radium, stating that radium-treated greens are still potentially dangerous. Even though radium treatment of diamonds has not been seen since the early 1900s, the colour and radioactivity of these stones is shallow because the radium does not penetrate very far. It was also suggested that anyone dealing with these stones have a Geiger counter handy to test for radioactivity.

Thomas noted that it was in the 1930s when we started to see electron (relatively no danger) and neutron (potentially lingering radioactivity) irradiation of diamonds. Visual identification of an electron-irradiated diamond could show what is described as an ‘umbrella effect’, but these diamonds, and therefore their identification features, are rare.

Some diamonds, typically treated with irradiation along with high temperature annealing, seem to show very strong H2 centres, which give the gem a noticeable

A naturally coloured green diamond mounted as a three-stone ring dated 1821 with blue and orange brown diamonds, also naturally coloured.

Photo copyright Thomas Hainschwang.

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Recent Events

Gem-A Conference 2014 (cont.) brownish olive colour, described by Thomas “as if someone tried to change an ugly colour to something better”.

With other greens, the question becomes whether the diamond has been HPHT treated, or whether it is natural.

Diamonds that are considered a ‘green emitter’ (what used to be termed ‘green transmitter’) typically have strong blue fluorescence with yellow body colour. When we look at spectra from these gems, we are no longer simply looking for a spectral peak, but measuring the width of the peaks.

The real challenge comes however with some diamonds of green and green-blue body colour. Whether produced from natural or artificial irradiation, they both show the same GR1 spectral line (741 nm).

Thomas stated: “In order to have a reliable database for natural green coloured diamonds, we need to find those diamonds that have strong provenance prior to the 1930s.” There’s a great deal of insecurity with green diamonds having provenance only after 1930, because, as Thomas noted, you do not know what has happened to the diamond.

Alan Hart FGA DGA — Gems at the Natural History Museum, a review and forward look Alan Hart is head of Earth Sciences Collections and curator of Minerals and Gemstones at The Natural History Museum, London, which houses one of the world’s finest gem and mineral collections in the world, and he is considered by many to have the best job in the world!

The Hope Chrysoberyl, a 45 ct chrysoberyl gemstone from Brazil, housed in the Natural History Museum, London. © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

Alan took delegates on a historical tour of this incredible museum, with its beginnings rooted in the purchase of the famous Sloane Collection by the British Government in 1753.

Some decades later, in 1881, the collection was given a new home at the Natural History Museum, and is still on display over 250 years later. When the Geological Survey merged with the Natural History Museum in 1985 it transformed the museum; the collection grew to over 5,500 specimens, which Alan called “a superb collection of unheated, untreated gems”.

The Natural History Museum is also home to special exhibits and has displayed several important diamonds: the Moussaieff Red, a 5.11 ct fancy red cushion triangular brilliant cut, the De Beers Millennium Star, a 203.04 ct flawless gem, as well as the Aurora Collection, a triangular pyramid display of

The Minerals Gallery at the Natural History Museum, London. © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

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296 natural fancy coloured diamonds — 267.45 ct in total, now on permanent loan.

The Natural History Museum may not have the Hope Diamond, but it does have the Hope Collection, an incredible collection consisting of diamonds and other gems and displayed to maximum effect under different light sources, and which includes the Hope Chrysoberyl (pictured).

With free public access, the Natural History Museum has over 5.6 million visitors per year and is a much-loved cornerstone of English heritage. Alan discussed the museum’s plans for continuation, stating that in order to keep the gem and mineral collection alive for future generations the museum needs to keep up to date with market values, needs to attend gem and mineral shows with the collection (they are now regularly attending the Tucson AGTA GemFair, to which they took the Hope Chrysoberyl), and they need to make educated decisions on the purchase of new material, not only for research but also for the museum’s legacy.

Lastly, Alan gave delegates a sneak preview of the museum’s exciting plans for expansion; a project which will no doubt mark the museum as one of the finest in the world and securing its history for the next generation of geologists and gemmologists.

Watch this space.

Dr Ulrich Henn FGA — The different types of moonstone Dr Ulrich Henn is managing director of the German Gemmological Association and head of the German Gemmological Training Center.

Ulrich began by discussing the chemistry of feldspar that allows the optical phenomenon to exist. The adularescence is caused by the interference of multiple reflections of light coming from the combination of orthoclase and albite layers.

Ulrich noted several useful articles by Lehman and Fritsch and Rossman, available in gemmological journals, which discuss adularescence and the iridescence of reflected light, or ‘Rayleigh’ scattering. While some texts confine moonstone to being an orthoclase feldspar, adularescence is actually not limited to any one specific feldspar.

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Recent Events

Above: Tanzania moonstone — colourless to white with blue schiller and antiperthitic texture.

Left: Ceylon moonstone — colourless to muddy white with a blue to white or yellowish schiller and cryptoperthitic texture.

Photos DGemG – German Gemmological Association.

Ulrich then then described moonstone from Sri Lanka, India (including a 'rainbow' variety) and Tanzania. The colour of the adularescence exhibited depends on the width of the layers as well as the particular feldspar itself.

Ulrich then gave identification techniques for the different varieties of moonstone; for example, low-quality white adularescence with labradorescence is termed ‘white labradorite’.

If, on the other hand, we should have higher quality moonstone (adularescence) with a little labradorescence, giving spectral colours to the adularescence, this is termed ‘rainbow moonstone’.

similar goods: Mulungu and Quintos de Baixo (owned by Paul Wild) in 1991. Spessartite and spinel have also been found in the area.

While current production is not commercial, Barbosa continues to dig deeper, hoping to find more of this incredible gem.

A lover of unique gems, Brian has been collecting rutilated quartz for years. He mines for the material in Formação Rio dos Remédios, Bahia, Brazil. Rutilated quartz can be described as a crystalline quartz containing golden coloured fibres of rutile.

The bundles of needles and the patterns or

designs in which they appear give the gem an infinite and unique beauty.

Business in rutilated quartz is currently good, with 95% of the material being sold to China. For Brian, sustainability (a resounding theme throughout the Gem-A Conference) is first and foremost. Brian realizes that gem mining can be a finite venture, and so he is assisting with the development of other businesses, including growing food crops — a commodity that the community needs, and can sell. “The lives of close to 15,000 people are directly impacted by this one

Bahia golden rutilated quartz gem specimen. Photo © Brian Cook.

Brian Cook — Paraíba tourmaline: an update and Bahia golden rutilated quartz: the introduction Brian Cook, geologist and purveyor of minerals, took us on a geological tour of the mining areas and discoveries of cuprian tourmalines in the northern Brazilian states of Paraíba and Rio Grande de Norte.

He also gave us a brief look at a second gem from the region: rutilated quartz.

Paraíba tourmaline is a copper-bearing cuprian elbaite. The primary discovery of Paraíba tourmaline at the Batalha Mine in 1987 was through the determined search of Heitor Barbosa, who believed that there were tourmalines in the area. The discovery had everyone digging in the region to find more. Two other localities have produced

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Recent Events

Gem-A Conference 2014 (cont.) gem material,” said Brian. When all the material has been exhausted, he wants the community to be able to stay in the area and continue to thrive. Aware of the impact the gem industry can have on a community, Brian continued, “What we do now is going to affect their future.”

Vincent Pardieu GG — From Jedi to Windex: a quest to the origins of the ultimate red and blue spinels Senior manager of field gemmologist for the GIA Bangkok laboratory, during the past five Natural (left) and synthetic (right) highly saturated blue (‘Windex’) spinels displayed on a lavender spinel matrix specimen seen in Luc Yen, Vietnam. Photo V. Pardieu © GIA.

Stunning red (‘Jedi’) spinels crystals from the Man Sin spinel mining area, presented in a gem market in Mogok, Burma (Myanmar).

Photo V. Pardieu © GIA.

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years Vincent Pardieu has led successful field expeditions to gemstone-producing areas in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and East Africa. Another gemmologist with a dream job, in 2008 Vincent was asked to visit the actual gem deposits and collect on-site gems. Since then he has made 57 trips, visited 15 different countries and has collected over 120,000 samples. He noted that two thirds of his time is actually spent in the lab examining and documenting the stones collected. Some of these gems are cut into wafers so that the laboratory can perform chemical analysis, gaining a complete data set for the reference collection. As we learned earlier from Dr Thomas Hainschwang, having a reliable database is essential for any important laboratory and teaching centre.

With enthusiasm Vincent shared his love of spinel with us. He started by offering a robust argument for ruby getting the image and popularity it has based on misidentified spinels such as the ‘Black Prince’s Ruby’, and many others in European collections from centuries past. Many or all of those wonderful stones were spinels, with ruby the imposter!

The oldest records of spinel deposits come from the Tajikistan/Afghanistan area, which was near the original overland trade route called the ‘Silk Road’. It is likely that the historically important spinels in Europe and Asia, including the Black Prince’s Ruby, are spinels of this origin. Vincent believes there is still great potential for vast deposits of spinels from this area.

The second historical site for spinel is Burma. When the Silk Road collapsed, the oceanic ‘Spice Route’, sailing around India, became the area from which stones were collected. The gems that were found were traded all along the coastlines of the Indian Ocean. Early in his career Vincent, who studied gemmology in Burma, had the opportunity to see spinels form two major deposits: Mogok and Namya. The colours are similar, but the rough crystals are different. Mogok, a primary deposit, shows sharp crystal faces, whereas Namya, a secondary alluvial deposit, shows round crystals — naturally tumbled.

Specific localities will also show you specific inclusions or chemistry — all of which Vincent examines in an effort to maintain a complete and reliable database.

Craig Lynch GG — The Recovered Jewellery Kicking off the Sunday sessions was Craig Lynch, an independent jewellery appraiser from Phoenix, Arizona, USA, who was asked to examine and document all of the jewellery and watches recovered from the shipwrecked RMS Titanic, which has been at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean since April 1912. So how does an appraiser from a land-locked state like Arizona get an assignment like that? Craig is well-known in the trade, from his involvement with the Accredited Gemmologists Association to his book on glass-filled rubies, as well as his work with the ‘Somewhere in the Rainbow’ collection. However, what many of us did not know about Craig was that before his jewellery career he was training to be a professional commercial diver, so it was only fitting that he should get the call that applied his accumulated knowledge and put his two careers together, to examine the jewellery from the wreck of the Titanic.

The wreckage of the Titanic was discovered on 1 September 1985. Located 2½ miles deep in the Atlantic Ocean, at 6,000 pounds of pressure per square inch, the wreckage is scattered over 15 square miles. Due to the location of the wreck, there are only six weeks out of the year in which you can safely dive to it.

Craig explained that there were approximately 80 jewellery artefacts recovered from the Titanic, most of which

Cufflinks recovered from the HMS Titanic.

Photo Craig Lynch.

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Recent Events

were found in the scattered wreckage and not from exploration inside the ocean liner.

Craig’s task was to identify and document the artefacts, but he first needed to determine the use of some of the pieces — some had been eroded by seawater or damaged and so were only partially present — and, as they were all dated from 1912 or before, some of their uses were a mystery.

One such item was a box full of identical unknown objects. Craig then introduced Peter Mitchell, who was dressed in gentleman’s attire of a similar fashion to what would have been worn on board the Titanic in 1912. With full theatrical flair, Craig explained that what they had found were buttons. Men’s fashion at the time required the buttoning up of many items — collars to shirts, cuffs to sleeves, breast fronts to shirts, etc.

Most of the jewellery recovered was found in two Gladstone bags and a suitcase.

The items were, as one might expect, Victorian, Art Deco, Art Nouveau and Belle Époque. There were wrist-watches and pocket-watches of 9 ct gold, Russian silver and men’s jewellery, including cufflinks, buttons and tie clips. Craig also showed an image of a beautiful 18 ct yellow gold fine mesh purse and a match safe — a little container for matches, with a ridged bottom to be used as a strike plate. He also noted that most of the women’s costume jewellery had degraded — pearls were wholly or partially destroyed, but it was inconclusive as to why, raising many intriguing questions.

Dr Laurent Cartier FGA — An update on worldwide cultured pearl production Laurent Cartier holds a PhD in Geosciences, focusing on sustainability and traceability issues in the marine cultured pearl industry, and has a Master’s degree in Earth Sciences from Basel University, Switzerland.

He works for the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), and lectures on gemmology at the University of Lausanne.

Laurent gave an update on the global pearl production, looking at pearl farming, including the natural pearl fishing industry.

Up until 1910, the pearl industry was solely concerned with natural pearls —

Pearl grafting in French Polynesia. Image Laurent Cartier.

pearls were harvested from oysters through natural means; oysters were opened, and if there was a pearl inside it was harvested.

Natural pearls are, by definition, formed accidentally in wild oysters, with one natural pearl being found in approximately every 4,000 oysters. On the other hand, cultured pearls are formed via human intervention, a process which came about mainly due to the experiments of Mikimoto Kōkichi.

While natural pearls are certainly worth mentioning these days, cultured pearls make up the bulk of the pearl industry. Laurent went over the process of culturing pearls; discussing the insertion of a mother-of-pearl bead nucleus with a small piece of mantle tissue into the oyster, which then produces calcium carbonate and aragonite layers (nacre) onto the inserted bead.

Beadless cultured pearls, typically grown in China, currently overwhelms the production of bead-nucleated pearls. Laurent noted that Chinese freshwater cultured pearl production topped 800 tons last year. In comparison, Japanese and Chinese Akoya (bead-nucleated) cultured pearls production was listed at a diminutive 25 tons. Even smaller in production figures are South Sea bead-nucleated white and golden cultured pearls at 12 tons.

Japan has turned its stalling production numbers around, and is producing more

Akoya pearls each year. Laurent also briefly mentioned that the original definition of ‘keshi’ is small accidental pearls caused during the Akoya culturing process versus what may or may not be accidental larger South Seas and Freshwater cultured pearls.

He also noted that mother of pearl is no longer the only nucleus being used to grow cultured pearls, with Galatea using coral, turquoise, citrine, amethyst and opal beads to create cultured pearls. We were treated to a summary of Laurent’s PhD work, and learnt how sufficient DNA could be collected by minimally destructive means to give us a DNA profile and therefore provenance of a pearl. He also spoke of experiments with the use of RFID chips as the seed nucleus, which would revolutionize identification and tracking of pearls.

Always of concern in pearl cultivation is climate change and the affect this has on ocean nutrients. A campaigner for a sustainable pearl industry, Laurent is focused on sustainable goals, and for more and better natural and cultured pearls.

Because pearl production is so dependent on a global response, perfecting the biosphere is the goal. For more information regarding what can and what is being done on regional as well as global levels, visit www.sustainablepearls.org.

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Gem-A Conference 2014 (cont.)

Chris Smith FGA GG — Ruby and sapphire source-type classification: an objective approach to help make country of origin determinations more consistent Chris Smith is president and CEO of the American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) located in New York, USA. Chris began by discussing why gemmologists and labs issue origin reports and why these reports differ from other reports. He noted that a surprisingly vast majority of the gemmological data collected for the origin reports is exactly the same as a normal lab report. Maybe not so surprisingly there is a high degree of consistency amongst the professional identification labs in this regard.

While origin determination is often easy when concerned with unique gem sources and therefore distinct deposits, it can be a challenge when the sources are not unique and not so distinct. Therefore, instead of looking at geographical boundaries such as whether the gem is from Burma or Kashmir, it is more important to examine the gem deposit’s geological boundaries.

Chris discussed the three major geological structures which are significant to gemmologists. We were taken back to Godwana some 550 million years ago where three major structures formed.

First, there is the Mozambique Belt: a line of geologically important deposits that include portions of what we now know as East Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka.

It is interesting to note that from these areas we see similar gems with very similar appearances. The second major structure occurred when the Indian continent (which was an island at the time) ‘slammed’ into the southern Asian continent. This gemmological-geological region includes India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Cambodia and Vietnam. The third major structure occurs near the subduction zone, where the Pacific Plate is moving underneath the Indo-Australian Plate.

Chris noted that the geology of these three areas of gem deposits are distinctly unique, and it therefore makes more sense to note gems in geological classifications than geographic classifications.

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Geological deposits include those that are metamorphic, magmatic or a combination of the two. Chris noted that within these geological classifications we have two different deposits: primary and secondary.

If the labs were handed rough crystals, their identification, whether identifying for geological or geographical purposes, would be easier. However, most of the material the labs see are fashioned (and potentially also treated) gem materials.

The beauty of source-type classifications is that it’s objective, it’s repeatable, and it’s relatively easy. For example, if we see a sapphire that shows metamorphic origin, it could be from Burma, Ceylon, Kashmir or Madagascar. We can eliminate all of the magmatic basaltic deposits like Australia, and metamorphic-magmatic deposits like Colombia, Tanzania and Montana. After eliminating other deposits, we can then look at chemistry. Metamorphic sapphires contain iron and titanium, while magmatic 2+ 3+ sapphires contain Fe and Fe . These are markers that can be easily identified using UV-VIS-NIR. Chris reminded us that after all of this science and detective work about where on earth these gems originated, it’s not really the locality that matters so much as how the gem shows itself. We all need to step back and simply look at the stone.

Dr Menahem Sevdermish FGA — Further developments into digital colour analysis, grading, pricing and trading of gems Menahem Sevdermish is an educator, inventor, leading gemmologist and a suc-

GemeWizard's GemePrice software.

Image GemeWizard.

cessful gem trader. He and his team have developed the revolutionary GemeWizard; a unique colour communication, grading, trading and pricing system for gems and diamonds.

Menahem took delegates on his journey to develop the colour grading and pricing program he calls GemeWizard, a computer aided colour tree, based upon the traditional 31 hues, but multiplied by five, and divided up by tone and saturation — leaving us with a comparison chart of over a 500,000 images.

However, matching just one colour was not good enough, so his team developed an expanded software update, the GemePro. New this year, it’s a colour converter, which changes the 500,000 images into Munsell colour nomenclature, CMYK notations for publishing, and RGB, a standard for most social media and blogging needs. GemePro also converts colours into trade names and GIA fancy colour diamond labels.

Also new is the ability to search the internet for comparables. Do you need a blue sapphire of a particular colour? Just ask GemePro and it will do a global search of suppliers, show you the possible matches, along with the price of the stone. This can also be used to collect pricing data for diamonds and coloured stones. Menahem was enthusiastic about the software as it can collect so much information.

GemeWizard and Gem-A have recently launched a new Colour Grading Course.

For further information please email education@gem-a.com.

Terry Coldham FGAA — Australian sapphire: a forgotten foundation stone of Thailand’s gemstone industry Terry Coldham has been in the Australian jewellery business since 1965 and has a degree in Mineralogy and Petrology. A man of many hats, he has been a member and officer of several gemmological organizations, including his current position as ambassador for the International Coloured Gemstone Association (ICA). Terry is a patron of the Gemmological Association of Australia (GAA), and is chair of the editorial committee of The Australian Gemmologist.

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Recent Events

Parcel of fine Australian sapphire. Photo Terry Coldham.

Terry gave delegates a first-hand account of what was happening in the relatively small Thai gem cutting business in the 1960s, and its relationship to the Australian sapphire market — with Australian sapphire playing a major role in the evolution of the Thai gem industry.

Sapphires were discovered in Australia in the late 1800s, first in New South Wales, then later in Central Queensland, with numerous deposits being found up and down the east coast. Approximately 98% of the gem material was and still is blue, with colours ranging from blue-black to black- and inky blue-black. A small percentage of the material consists of large yellows and golden sapphires, along with some star sapphire material.

Whilst the Australian sapphire was not the best quality, there were substantial amounts of it which could be calibrated for use in manufactured jewellery. However, with the sapphires showing strong pleochroism of greenish blue, it was a challenge to orient.

Terry pointed out several mining areas, with one of the more important localities in Queensland sapphire mines, producing ‘silkies’ and ‘milkies’ — sapphires with lots of inclusions. Sometime between 1967 and

1969 gem merchants in Thailand developed the heat treatment of these gems in order to clarify and to improve their transparency.

Thailand already had a processing industry — something Australia was sorely lacking.

In 1970 the global gem industry saw a huge rise in sapphire, with the Thai gem processing and cutting industries utilizing Australian sapphire material, eventually growing into the large treatment and cutting industry that it is today.

Richard Hughes FGA, with special guest John Saul — Heretical gemmology Richard Hughes is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on ruby and sapphire; he has authored several books and over 150 articles on gems and gemmology.

Today, he and his family operate Lotus Gemology in Bangkok, the world’s first lab exclusively devoted to ruby and sapphire.

His latest book Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector’s Guide was published in 2014.

For those of you who do not know Richard, it was fitting that he closed the Gem-A Conference, as he lived up to his reputation of delivering ‘intriguing’ talks.

He began by defining what he means by ‘heretical gemmology’; ‘heresy’ simply

means ‘contrary to the doctrine’. Richard states: “There are certain ideas that gemmologists and geologist accept as being unabashedly and unassailably true.

But are they really?”

Richard began by answering this question with another question: where did the carbon that created diamond and oil come from? The carbon that made oil — and diamond for that matter — was not from organic material. It was actually elemental carbon trapped below the earth’s crust, and not carbon from decaying plant materials.

Whilst most (if not all) delegates would have known that for diamond, not all would have known this for oil. As a future reference for all things carbon, Richard pointed delegates to one of his favourite sites, www.deepcarbon.net.

Another gemmological heresy on Dick’s list is the idea that “the higher the refractive index (RI), the better”. Take, for example, the RI of spessartite garnet at approximately 1.76 and opal at approximately 1.43. Which one will show better colour? You might think that it would be spessartite, but you would be wrong. Because of the higher RI, more light reflects off the surface of the spessartite.

This means that less light will actually enter the gem. On the other hand, less reflection and more light enters the opal. And we all know that more light in the stone means more absorption, and that translates into more colour. As Richard says: “Reflected light is the enemy of colour due to first surface reflection.”

Richard also spoke of pink sapphire, and how some say that you can identify the subtle ‘lower temperature heating’ by examining zircon crystals. When zircon crystals are heated, they turn white and expand, causing stress fractures called ‘halos’. This is said to be proof of heat treatment. Richard calls this a heresy — in Madagascan pink sapphire we typically find zircon crystals with halos close to the surface. What we have not considered is why we see this with close surface zircons and not deep zircons. If temperature flows evenly through the crystal, then even low temperature heating would penetrate the entire gem. What we may not have

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Recent Events

Gem-A Conference 2014 (cont.) considered is just how these gems are being polished — consider surface disruption cracks, typically seen on synthetics that have been polished too rapidly. Thai cutters are polishing pink Madagascan sapphire using diamond cutting equipment — probably for a better and faster polish. Unlike traditional slow lap polishing, these fast steel diamond wheels generate a lot of heat. That heat causes disruption cracks and disturbs near-surface crystals.

Therefore, these so-called ‘heat-treated’ sapphires are not heat-treated at all, merely polished on a diamond lap.

Richard finished by noting that the science of gemmology allows us to understand the properties of the gem, but that we need to pull back and admire its natural beauty, and feel the emotion and the romance that it brings. “Gemmology is love and emotion for beauty,” says Richard.

“Our science needs art.”

Seminars The Gem-A Conference was complemented by a range of seminars and workshops, including the ‘Coloured stone grading and pricing workshop’ with Richard Drucker FGA GG, president of GemWorld International; ‘Gemmological applications of Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy’ with Mikko Åström FGA and Alberto Scarani GG of GemmoRaman; and, new for this year, ‘A portable EDXRF device in gemmology: toy or dream?’ with Dr Franz Herzog FGA. On Tuesday morning delegates were given a private visit to the mineral collection at the Natural History Museum — a highly popular event and one which always sells out quickly.

Also new for this year was the ‘Global ethical challenges within the industry’ seminar — see Michael Hoare’s report below.

Global ethical challenges within the industry Michael Hoare gives a summary of the ethical challenges seminar with Greg Valerio, Vivien Johnston and Dana Schorr, held at Gem-A Headquarters on Tuesday 4 November.

“Is armed conflict always wrong? What is child labour; is it always wrong? Are

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The speakers and seminar leaders of the 2014 Gem-A Conference with Gem-A CEO James Riley, Gem-A President Harry Levy and Chairman of the Gem-A Board of Trustees Jason Williams.

From left–right: Bruce Bridges, Dr Franz Herzog, Chris Smith, John Saul, Richard Hughes, Dr Ulrich Henn, Dr Menahem Sevdermish, Terry Coldham, Brian Cook, Harry Levy, Dr Thomas Hainschwang, Jason Williams, Richard Drucker, Vivien Johnston, Dana Schorr, Vincent Pardieu, Edward Boehm, Alan Hart, James Riley, Craig Lynch, Mikko Åström, Laurent Cartier and Alberto Scarani.

gemstones taken from indigenous peoples’ land without compensation ethical?” These are just a few of the questions posed by Dana Schorr at the Gem-A ethics debate I chaired recently, where three speakers with decades of jewellery experience challenged notions of what is ‘ethical’ or ‘moral’.

Dana, of California-based Schorr Marketing, illustrated the worst (and possibly the inevitable) consequences of globalization.

He also tested the rights of corporations to determine ethical or moral standards, questioning the work of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) as ‘just marketing’, and making a case for moral relativism?

Apologizing for an anti-corporate rant, Greg Valerio, human rights and environmental campaigner, made a passionate plea for real solutions by real people; for building a system and process that verifies truth and builds confidence, transparency and traceability; not permitting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to be swallowed up by corporatism, subsumed by profit motive, or abandoned with change of ownership. He wanted to see sustainable economic impact on the ground, rejecting Dana’s assertion that consumers balk at the cost of ethical assurance.

Vivien Johnston, Gem-A Ethics Manager and a responsible sourcing consultant, reminded us that the majority of the jewellery supply chain are small businesses, and that the corporations stand on the shoulders of the little guy, concluding there is little sense in dumping the ‘good’ we already have, because it’s hard to define what’s ‘ethical’, or we suspect corporations’ motives. She cautioned against CSR becoming a tick box activity, against failing to capture best practice and to educate or develop. Endorsing the work done by Branded Trust, Gem-A and The World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), Vivien commended their new online course as a holistic toolkit for success.

Personally, I lament the slow pace of change, but I took comfort from participants’ thirst for knowledge, goodwill and energy; believing it should be harnessed in favour of a transparent jewellery sector.

Gem-A, in association with WJCEF and Branded Trust, has recently launched a new online course called ‘CSR for the Jewellery Professional’. For more information or to sign up contact education@gem-a.com.

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Recent Events

Graduation Ceremony and Presentation of Awards Gem-A’s annual Graduation Ceremony and Presentation of Awards were held at Goldsmiths’ Hall on Monday 3 November. The event saw students from over 20 countries around the world join together with fellow students and professionals from the industry to celebrate success in their studies.

As well as awarding students with their Gemmology and Diamond Diplomas (including Gem-A’s very own Natalie Harris FGA DGA and Cathryn Hillcoat FGA DGA, who were presented with their Diamond Diplomas), prizes were given to those students who had excelled in a particular area of their studies. The winners and their prizes are as follows: The Anderson Medal, awarded for the best set of papers of the year in the Foundation examination, was presented to Andrew Barrett; the Anderson Bank Prize, awarded to the candidate who submitted the best theory papers of the year for the Gemmology Diploma examination, was presented to Dilyara Khabrieva; the Read Practical Prize, awarded to the candidate who submitted the best practical papers of the year for the Gemmology Diploma examination, was presented to Claire Ito; the Christie’s Prize for Gemmology, awarded to the best candidate of the year for the Gemmology Diploma, was presented by Mr Keith Penton, director of Christies, to Elie-Anne Caya; the Deeks Diamond Prize, awarded to the best theory candidate of the year in the Diamond Diploma examinations, was awarded to Ching Man Wong; the Mok Diamond Practical Prize, awarded for excellence in the Diamond Practical Examination and sponsored by Dominic Mok of AGIL, Hong Kong, was awarded to Doerte Herold and the Bruton Medal, a particularly special award given to the overall best candidate of the year in the Diamond Diploma examinations, was awarded to Andrea Von Allmen.

Awards were also presented to members and friends of the Association who have made an extra special contribution to the Association or the wider industry. In particular, awards were given to both Dr Jack Ogden FGA and Mary Burland FGA, who each received an Honorary Lifetime Membership of the Association for outstanding contributions to Gem-A over the years. Jack’s award was presented in respect of his outstanding commitment to historic research and the reinvigoration of Gem-A’s international reach, particularly in regards to North America, whilst Mary Burland, who celebrates 50 years with the Association this year, was awarded for her outstanding work across all areas of the organization, particularly in regards to her contribution to The Journal of Gemmology throughout the years.

The Association also gave special Honorary Fellowships to members of the industry who have made outstanding contributions throughout their career. These were granted to Terry Coldham FGAA, patron of The Gemmological Association of Australia (GAA),

and Dr Gaetano Cavalieri, president of The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO). In similar fashion, the GAA also presented Honorary Fellowships to Gem-A CEO James Riley FGA DGA and Terry Coldham FGAA, as the first cross-Association Fellows of both the GAA and Gem-A. In addition, Gem-A granted two Gemmology Diplomas by redemption to those people who have had a significant influence on the world of gemmology over a number of years: Dr Ulrich Henn of the German Gemmological Association and Edward Boehm GG of RareSource Gems.

The presentation of awards and prizes was followed by an address from special guest speaker, Tim Matthews FGA DGA, CEO of Jewelry Television, who encouraged the students to be responsible with their learning, stating: “This is not the end of the student’s journey, but the beginning, and I think it’s important for students to be responsible with their knowledge and experience, making an important impact on the frontline of the industry.”

Following the ceremony, students, their guests and ceremony attendees were invited to a drinks reception.

Gem-A would like to congratulate all our graduates and wish them every success for the future.

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Photo Competition

Gem-A photo competition winners The winners of the 2014 Photo Competition were announced at the Gem-A Conference on Saturday 1 November. The photos were judged on the basis of gemmological interest, inspiration and artistic quality.

The joint winners were Grenville Millington FGA with his impressive photo ‘Trigons across table facet in diamond’ and Dayananda Dillimuni FGA, with his wonderful ‘Microphotograph of an inclusion in natural pale beryl (‘rainy day’ appearance’). Grenville and Dayananda receive a year’s free membership with Gem-A. Second and third prize winner was Billie Hughes FGA with her photos 1a

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‘Inclusion photo of pyrite in quartz’ and ‘Inclusion photo of petroleum in quartz’. Billie was presented with a copy of Dictionary of Gemstones & Jewelry by Akira Chikayama. Richard Hughes FGA and Dayananda Dillimuni also received an Honourable Mention with their photos ‘Trapiche sapphire’ and ‘Sun spangles in amber’. All winners also received a professionally-printed copy of their photos.

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Photo Competition

1b

2

3

1a

1b

2 3 4

5

4 5

Joint 1st prize, won by Grenville Millington FGA — Trigons across table facet in diamond. The diamond is approximately 2 mm across.

Joint 1st prize, won by Dayananda Dillimuni FGA — Microphotograph of an inclusion in natural pale beryl (‘Rainy day’ appearance).

2nd prize, won by Billie Hughes FGA — Inclusion photo of pyrite in quartz.

3rd prize, won by Billie Hughes FGA — Inclusion photo of petroleum in quartz. This includes a bubble in the negative crystal that forms a ‘yin-yang’ symbol.

Honourable Mention, Richard Hughes FGA — Trapiche sapphire from Mogok.

Honourable Mention, Dayananda Dillimuni FGA — Sun spangles in amber.

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Hands-on Gemmology

Tales of the unexpected Grenville Millington takes a look at a ‘mischievous’ emerald.

It looked like an emerald, it was cut like an emerald and the man who brought it to me said it was emerald. I assumed, therefore, that it probably was an emerald. I recall a gemmologist once saying that if one or maybe two tests were sufficient to identify a gem then it was pointless in carrying out further tests.

If gemmology was about testing gems to identify them, then we could leave it all to the people in white coats who could feed in gems at one end of a machine and get the answer out of the other. However — as I think I’ve demonstrated in previous articles — there is no fun in that and for gemmology to be appealing we need to be interested and have some fun. From a professional point of view, there is a huge difference between a gemmology student (and anyone else) saying, “I think it’s an emerald” and giving this advice freely, and a gemmologist

2: The emerald showing general inclusions.

stating, “It is an emerald and here’s my signature on a certificate to that effect” — it doesn’t matter whether that gemmologist charged for the service or not.

Therefore, if we carry out the one or two tests that are necessary to identify a gem, then how very nice if one or two more actually confirm that identity. There is another

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1: The 2.65 ct emerald. All photos in this feature by Grenville Millington.

reason (other than niceness) for these confirmatory tests; some gems like to play games! A favourite gemstone game is not allowing a refractometer reading to be taken, despite all cleaning efforts or prayers being offered. Other gems, although being highly colourful, seem reluctant to show off a decent absorption spectrum, whilst others (one of the most infuriating of games) sit there without a single inclusion being visible even under 80× magnification!

These are the more mischievous gems, and fortunately they are in a minority.

However, some gems (like us) just like to have fun and offer up a few surprises… just to see if we are alert.

The stone in question was an emerald weighing 2.65 ct, one of a few assorted stones that were visiting me for a very short time. Included were three blue sapphires, one yellow sapphire, two emeralds and some diamonds. All seemed straightforward, including this particular emerald (1).

It was compliant on the refractometer, enabling me to read 1.590–1.597.

The spectrum was not too strong, considering the strength of green of the gem, but it showed a distinct set of fine lines in the red in the manner expected. The Chelsea Colour Filter produced a yellowish residual colour (with the stone’s tone of green, I would have been surprised if a pronounced red colour had been visible). Under the 10× lens there were obvious inclusions, nothing too specific, except for quite a few needle-like ones (2).

3: Viewed through the pavilion, displaying hundreds of needles. Dark-field illumination; magnification 10× approx.

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Hands-on Gemmology

I decided to place the stone under the microscope. I did not expect what I saw next: in place of the few needles there was a firework display. We expect to see ‘rain’ in aquamarine and yellow beryl, but it’s actually not that common in emerald, and in this stone it was positively torrential. Under the 10× lens the needles were transparent and not overtly obvious, whereas under the microscope lens and with darkfield illumination the needles picked up and reflected the light, providing a spectacular display (3).

The first thing to be established was that the needles were in fact hollow tubes, so when I noticed many had dark ‘ends’ I immediately thought of nail-head spicules.

Such inclusions we associate with hydrothermal synthetic emeralds. Cue mild panic! I had already established in my own mind that this was a straightforward, natural emerald (or rather, one of natural origin, as I hadn’t yet looked for any fracture filling).

The RI was surely too high for a synthetic

4: The starting point of the tubes is where the facet surface cuts across them.

Magnification 35×. Inset: viewing angle

(it is at this point that I acknowledged the fact that I can’t possibly be up-to-date with all developments that might have happened anywhere at any time, and why was I even bothering to look at someone else’s gems/problems when I could be sat outside on a warm beach drinking a cold beer?!)

Despite all this, another view through the microscope eyepieces was called for, once my rational side had said, “The RI is what I expected of an emerald of this tone of green, there is no redness under the Chelsea ColourFilter, it is hand-faceted,

5: A larger tube with black triangular cross-section visible at the facet surface.

Magnification 75×.

and I’ve looked at enough emeralds to know that this one is all right, even if it is playing games.” This highlights the importance of the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind in looking at gems for identification.

Hand- or machine-faceting is no proof when it comes to identifying a gem, but it is usually found that natural gems are hand-faceted, whilst usually more synthetics are machinefaceted. The quality of the surface polish is usually good on all, except the very poor qualities of natural gem, with the girdle being multi-worked on most natural stones, whereas machine-cut synthetics usually have a relatively poorer polish and a single surface girdle, often fairly thick. Probably more importantly, after the brain has examined thousands of gems, natural, synthetic or artificial, then subconsciously it picks up within less than a second on anything that appears untoward. This is not proof of course (which is why we carry out physical tests), but it is usually a good line of defence — if it looks wrong it probably is.

The second look at this emerald showed that the ‘dark ends’ of the tubes were not crystals at all, but the point at which the facet surface had cut across them and debris or polishing compound had accumulated. As no light was being reflected off the surface through which I was viewing, the facets seemed invisible and I was unaware at first that I was seeing the tube ends being cut by the facet (4). One larger, short tube displayed a black triangular end section (5).

Inclusions in Gemstones (Gübelin and Koivula, 1986) shows a Brazilian emerald with a host of parallel growth tubes and something similar in a Pakistani emerald. Just as I appeared to have solved this synthetic/

nail-head spicule anomaly, a turn of the stone to a different view presented another.

The hydrothermal synthetic emerald is characterized by an optical effect, usually giving a chevron, or rippled effect, or what I described in an earlier article in Gems&Jewellery (Millington, 2013) as crumpled tissue paper. This stone presented such a refractive aberration effect, as shown in 6.

This effect is similar to the gota de aceite (‘drop of oil’) effect seen in some Colombian emeralds, but I am unsure whether it is applied to other emeralds. The fact that the effect seen here is irregular in pattern points to it being a natural phenomenon, rather than the regularity of the effect I’ve seen in synthetic emeralds, grown under stable conditions.

Other inclusions visible in this emerald were rather explosive, yet non-descript, as seen in 7.

Examination also revealed that what few surface-reaching fractures there were The stone in question was an emerald, one of a few assorted stones that were visiting me for a very short time. evidence of filling. So far I had come across two unexpected scenes: the light effect from the multitude of included 6a

6b

6: Crumpled effect.

Magnification (a) 25× and (b) 50×.

Page 19

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Hands-on Gemmology

Tales of the unexpected (cont.)

7: Light, explosive-type inclusion.

Magnification 40×.

tubes (that was not hinted at under normal 10× lens conditions) and the ‘roiled’ effect due to growth interruptions or grain boundaries. I returned the stone to the white paper pad and looked again with the loupe. The ‘roiled’ effect was visible but not obvious, and as I looked through the table facet I was aware that when the stone was tilted approximately 30° to the left it looked yellowish green and when turned the same to the right (i.e. through 60° in total) the stone took on a bluish green colour. This emerald was not what you would call a pretty stone and all emeralds ought to show some aspect of their dichroic nature without us resorting to a dichroscope. It is part of that subconscious view I mentioned earlier — if it wasn’t there then we would be suspicious.

So what (having noticed this dichroism by eye) made me reach for the dichroscope?

Probably the same insanity that makes me notice in daylight that a diamond is fluorescent (because of a vague, bluish haziness), yet I still feel compelled to place it under long wave ultraviolet light (LWUV) just to prove it.

Viewing with a split-polaroid dichroscope (8b), I noted two things: one of the rays is blue, not bluish green as expected (this will be the extraordinary ray) and it is quite dark. I recall when Zambian emeralds were made available to the trade (1970s, maybe 1980s) their general colour was a lightish bluey green, and they showed a blue ray through the dichroscope. However, I was not expecting such a strong blue in this stone.

Gems&Gemology (Moses et al., 2003) once reported a Brazilian emerald showing greenish yellow and blue dichroism. The stone also had higher-than-usual RI figures for Brazilian stones (1.595– 1.601), which Page 20

are quite close to those of the emerald in question (1.590– 1.597). The blueness was attributed to iron — the stone showed a line at 427 nm in its spectrum. I did not notice such a line in the spectrum of the 2.65 ct stone, but I only had time for a quick spectrum test, and the stone had to be returned before I could look up the Gems&Gemology report (Moses et al., 2003).. There was no fluorescence from this test emerald under LWUV, which is the result that would be expected if there was a significant iron presence. Also, in that same Gems&Gemology magazine, there is a report of ‘nail-head spicules’ in a natural emerald with flat platelets in place of the crystal head, and with an RI of 1.584–1.590.

I said earlier that there were two things to note about the photograph in 8 — the second is also something else that I did not expect. Look at the diagram in 9.

This emerald was a standard emerald cut, 9.4 × 6.3 × 5.3 mm, and rather ‘chunky’.

We would have said its shape was probably dictated by the original crystal and we would expect it to be as in 9. In other words, when we point the dichroscope at the table facet we would expect to see maximum dichroism (90˚ to the c-axis). After all, I have already mentioned that I looked through the table facet with the loupe and as I turned the stone through to the left and right I could see a yellowish green in one way and a bluish green in the other, as expected. But, when I applied the dichroscope to the table facet, there was hardly any change of colour in the two windows. Unexpected, because I had already (or so I thought) noticed strong dichroism.

When the stone was viewed through the dichroscope from its side direction then the result was as is seen in 8, i.e. maximum

dichroism. Now, if that were the case, then the stone could not be cut as expected, as in 9a. I moved the stone to the polariscope and could easily get a uniaxial interference figure with the stone turned just off perpendicular to the table. It must have been cut as shown in 9b. As far as I could tell, the tube inclusions were parallel to the c-axis.

This rather unassuming emerald had fooled me several times during the course of examination. It had been having great fun at my expense and I wonder how much longer it will have to wait before it finds someone else it can challenge in the same manner. I’m almost sure I could hear this emerald chuckling as the package went through the door. a

b

9 (a): Usual orientation of a cut emerald in relation to the original crystal. (b): Orientation of the stone and original crystal.

Now, imagine if all the jewellers, or ‘ordinary’ people, knew about this great interest and fun that was available to us gemmologists — they’d all want to be in on it! So perhaps it would be better if you forgot all about what I’ve written above. This article will self-destruct in five seconds…

References

8: (a) side view of emerald and (b) through a split-polaroid dichroscope.

Gübelin, E.J., and Koivula, J.I., 1986.

Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones, Vol. 1. Gemological Institute of America, Carlsbad CA, USA, pages 244 and 255.

Moses, T.M., Reinitz, I., MacClure, S.F., and Johnson, L., 2003. Lab notes.

Gems&Gemology, 39(4), pages 316–317.

Millington, G., 2013. A rainbow — like unto an emerald. Gems&Jewellery, July, 22(5), pages 14–17.

Chesham House, Church Lane, Berkhamsted, Herts. HP4 2AX Tel: 01442 200030 - info@pjwatson.co.uk - www.pjwatson.co.uk

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Shows and Exhibitions

Goldsmiths’ Fair Kim Foxwell takes a look at some of the new and interesting pieces featured at this year’s Goldsmiths’ Fair, held at Goldsmiths’ Hall from Monday 22 September to Sunday 5 October.

Goldsmiths’ Fair is an annual Aladdin’s cave for gemmologists and jewellery enthusiasts alike — and this year was no exception.

Guest-curated by prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid DBE, the fair spanned two weeks and comprised some 170 designer-makers.

With the addition of a new series of breakfast and in-conversation talks, it provided nourishment for the mind as well. Other positive changes to this year’s fair included late openings on both Thursdays, which opened the fair up to a wider audience.

Fabulous stones

As to be expected, there were some magnificent examples of gemstones on display amongst the jewellery. Ingo Henn had several particularly incredible pieces that wouldn’t normally be seen outside a museum or a royal wedding, including a 17.23 ct trillion Santa Maria aquamarine and some brilliant green tourmalines (1).

Nearby, Luke Shimmell and Emma Madden

2: Luke Shimmell and Emma Madden’s mirrorcut aquamarine (left) and baguette-cut tourmalines (right). Photo courtesy Luke Shimmell and Emma Madden.

Page 22

3: Blue Andean opals by Jean-Scott Moncrieff.

Photo courtesy Jean-Scott Moncrieff.

displayed a mirror-cut aquamarine set in a ring and baguette-cut tourmalines (2) — the tourmalines being remarkable due to their length and precision of cut, and the way in which they had incorporated the stones into their designs. Jean-Scott Moncrieff also had some unusual Andean opals of a curious blue colour (3). There were also a number of lesser-known and rarely used gemstones making a debut; kyanite appeared more than once, while in amongst Catherine Best’s more traditional jewellery pieces lurked a ‘dinobone’ torso brooch (4), made from agatized dinosaur bone. Another unusual stone was shown by Josef Koppmann, who featured hypersthene

1: Brilliant green tourmaline set in a ring

by Ingo Henn. Photo courtesy Ingo Henn.

on carbon cufflinks (5) — something most people had never heard of, let alone seen.

Interesting and unusual examples of gemstone fashioning were also in abundance, with some beautiful fancy cuts nestling amongst the more traditional brilliants and baguettes.

There seemed to be no sign of the recent trend in rose cut stones abating, with Barbara Bertagnolli, Mikala Djørup and Disa Allsopp in particular employing rose cut corundum and beryl in their designs. The beauty of the rose cuts seen at Goldsmiths’ Fair was that they had clearly been chosen for the way they displayed and enhanced natural inclusions, usually considered a less desirable feature, in a complementary and more stimulating way.

Jacqueline Cullen also deserves a mention, as she continues with her lines of beautifully hand-carved Whitby jet (6).

4: Catherine Best’s ‘dinobone’ brooch.

Photo courtesy Catherine Best.

Gems&Jewellery / Nov/Dec 2014

Shows and Exhibitions

5: Pair of 24 ct gold and silver cufflinks with hypersthene on carbon by Josef Koppman.

Photo courtesy Josef Koppman.

Another theme that appeared to recur across the fair was the use of gemstones as a lens. Alexandra Raphael’s ‘Within the Stone’ series (7) is particularly worth a mention here, combining cloisonné with beautifully clear, mirror-faceted beryl and quartz. The subsequent effect is one of peeking into another world, where the slightest movement shatters your view, and where the delicacy of the subjects (often insects) is captured rather than overwhelmed by the solidity of the stones.

Another exhibitor to use gemstones in this way — but to an entirely different effect — was Sabine Konig, who placed green quartz cabochons over engravings, which gave the pieces an eerie, beautiful, gold-tinted depth.

Mimicking gemstones Conversely, rather than using jewellery to set off stones, a few designer-makers eschewed them altogether, instead employing a mixture of techniques and other materials to add colour and interest to their designs.

Enamellistengraver Rachel

6: Jacqueline Cullen’s delicate hand-carved Whitby jet earrings, set with black diamonds.

Photo courtesy Jacqueline Cullen.

Emmerson exhibited a few pieces that appeared to mimic trapeze-cut stones, combining colour and texture in such a way that it took more than one glance to realize this was enamelling rather than a faceted stone (8), while Cristina Zan’s pieces combined painted wood and gold which evoked much of the beauty of lapis lazuli. Similarly Jo McDonald used British porcelain in a mixture of jewel-tones to emulate the beauty of gemstones found in nature. Jonathan Boyed also mostly ignored coloured gemstones, instead letting his pieces give

7: Alexandra Raphael’s ‘Within the Stone’ series created with mirror-faceted beryl and quartz, featuring cloisonné butterlies. Photo courtesy Alexandra Raphael.

8: Ring by Rachel Emmerson, which uses enamelling to mimic trapeze-cut stones.

Photo courtesy Rachel Emmerson.

three-dimensional physicality to words — allowing the metallic corporeal to meet the literal ethereal.

There were also stories behind many of the pieces. Jo McDonald had some sapphires that had been passed down to her over a few generations, which had originally been smuggled out of Germany along with their owners when World War II began.

A grand finale

One of Martyn Pugh’s pieces deserves a particular mention. Commissioned to make a ring that would evoke the colours of a tropical sunset while including three stones picked out by the client (unable to decide between them she opted to have all three), he set about engineering a ring that would be both physically robust and aesthetically pleasing. Combining a variety of modern and old techniques and an array of gemstones, it is a fantastic example of ingenuity and engineering. With a hand-made shank, a mixture of CAD-CAM, model-made and wax-carved settings, and multiple layers to the design, it was a challenging piece — even for an experienced master goldsmith. There were several stages, beginning with the creation and assembly of the shank and the mounts, followed by a careful removal of the top layer so the sunset of sapphires could be pavé set.

The horns and the mounts of the top layer were attached to a specially-made metal jig so the diamonds, aquamarine, kunzite and spinel could be set, before being removed from the jig and laser-welded back on to the rest of the ring. As a final, special secret, inside the shank were set some family diamond chips. The ring itself took Martyn at least 75 hours at the bench, with another 40 spent on setting the stones. Needless to say his client was delighted, seeing it for the first time at the show, and exclaiming that it was even better than she expected.

Page 23

Business Support: Insurance |

Meeting the changing needs of the jewellery trade in the digital age Neil McFarlane of TH March explains how he believes investing in leading edge communications technology will help his company improve customer service and continue to stay up close and personal with the needs of its jewellery trade customers. short while ago T H March insurance brokers received a wholly unexpected, yet entirely welcome accolade via social media.

The Twitter comment simply stated: “The best things don’t change!” It was a fantastic thing to say and we are very grateful for the sentiment behind that thought. It is sincerely flattering and at the same time deeply thought-provoking because the fact is, things are changing! T H March, bastion of traditional, highly personal customer service, is taking a massive leap into the next generation of communications technology with the installation of state-of-the-art Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation (MA) systems.

Tommy March, the diamond merchant’s son who founded the company back in 1887, would be proud. He was, after all, a man way ahead of his time so I have no doubt that he would be applauding the fact that we are going to be one of the first UK companies of our size and type to install these systems from world-leading cloud marketing systems supplier Oracle Eloqua.

A

What is it?

In a nutshell, cloud marketing is the process of an organisation’s efforts to market goods and services online, and through integrated digital experiences, that are tailored to suit every end user.

So what will this mean for jewellery trade customers?

Over the decades T H March has maintained its position as a trusted advisor to the UK jewellery trade by offering expertise and working in close partnership with the leading jewellery trade organisations, listening and responding to the needs of customers while always ‘keeping it personal’.

Naturally communications methodologies have evolved: but from quill to ink pen, typewriter to fax, personal computer, email,

EPOS systems and beyond, the job of being a good insurance broker still revolves around understanding exactly what customers need and how they like to be treated. Gone are the days when lines of communication were limited to a face-to-face chat, a phone call or a letter. Today we all have the ability to communicate in a multitude of ways and, like any professional service offering expert advice, the insurance broking industry needs to be able to do that in multiple ways.

It has gone way beyond making a call at the right time, sending a fax, email or text (although that’s still relevant). Our customers have preferred times for contact, where to be contacted (for example we know that young emerging jewellery designer makers like social media messaging), on what kind of device (pc, tablet, mobile), they’ll also have preferred subject matter, format, etc.

Insurance by nature can sometimes be perceived as an impersonal business. It’s not how we see it, but clearly you don’t get a tangible product. You get a piece of paper with a promise. Many of our manual processes have become inadequate for the needs of the 21st century. For example if we want to write to a particular interest group

from within our customer database, it would be problematic to do that in a completely personalised way because the cost, in terms of staff hours, would be prohibitive.

This means we’d probably have to construct a ‘generic’ letter; it wouldn’t feel personal.

The new systems will allow for better, more relevant engagement with valued clients while improving on response times, innovation and service.

Going further into the digital age I was recently invited by US-based Oracle to present this vision at an annual customerfocussed session at its Open World conference in San Francisco. Entitled ‘Customer Voices: IT Strategies and the High-Growth Organization’, the session focussed on thought leadership from executives at growing companies, relating to how they will be deploying technology solutions to adopt modern best practice in order to better meet their customers’ needs in the digital age.

I explained that although the fundamental insurance product needs of T H March jewellery trade clients may have not changed much since 1887, their expectations have. Today, customers expect their sales and account managers to have a comprehensive view of all past interactions as well as insightful anticipation of their future needs.

Additionally, they require ready access to customer service across all their preferred communications channels.

I shared plans to adopt modern best practice for sales, marketing and customer care by using the technologies of cloud, social, mobile and analytics.

We’re currently in the process of installing Oracle Sales Cloud to facilitate more effective and efficient client interactions and Oracle Eloqua Marketing Automation, which will allow for a better understanding of and improved response to the ‘digital body language’ that identifies the interests and preferences of customers.

‘Going digital’ might seem to be a seismic shift for a company that is known first and foremost for its traditional values, but not really. For THM the insurance business will always be about knowing, understanding and respecting its customers. However, it is now also about taking on board the reality that those customers have the right to choose exactly who, how, when and by what method they will engage.

The Voice of the Industry 39

| Show Review

fortnight

McCaul

The much-anticipated annual institution that is the Goldsmiths’ Fair turned 31 this year.

While that particular number might be inauspicious, the prestigious event could boast a few impressive figures this year. mpressive results were certainly hoped for, as the organisers of the Fair – held over two weeks between 22nd September and 5th October – had invested in several changes to the selling show. A new layout creating a fresher, more spacious look, two late evening shopping opportunities and a number of special events and talks all contributed to a success recognised by both sides of the exhibitor/organiser divide.

I

Jo Hayes Ward

Over the two-week period the Fair attracted just over 9,800 visitors, which represents a nine per cent increase on last year. The late openings and a two-for-one ticket offer for those with an EC postcode contributed to the uplift in visitor figures (500 extra visitors for the late evenings) and attracted new audiences to the event. For the first time a programme of talks was introduced covering everything from diamonds and hallmarks, to ‘how to commission’ to ‘fashions in pearls’.

The show also featured a guest-curated showcase of 20 personal highlights selected by renowned architect Zaha Hadid.

40 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Ulli Kaiser

Among the 170 exhibitors there were a record 34 first-timers, offering trade as well as consumer visitors the chance to discover very new British design talent, as well as jewellers and silversmiths who have perhaps kept a low profile until now. It was observed, particularly during the second week, that the show had drawn a greater number of designers producing particularly contemporary work. The exhibitors were also asked to feature their latest work to ensure that new ground was being broken.

Ruth Tomlinson

Whether modern or traditional, across the board £2,453,895 worth of jewellery and silver was sold, with £902,030 worth of projected post-Fair commissions for exhibitors from buyers from UK, Europe, the US, China and Russia. Exhibiting for the eighth time, the artist-goldsmith Tom Rucker commented: “This has been one of my most successful Goldsmiths’ Fairs, not only in terms of sales and orders but also for building client relationships.”

Ethical jewellery designer Ute Decker, renowned for her spare, sculptural pieces, was another happy exhibitor. “This year was my best Goldsmiths’ Fair yet – sales were great with a series of new rings completely selling out, plus some very exciting commissions and exhibition projects were discussed. So I am very happy and very busy for the next few months,” she told us.

“Visitors to the Goldsmiths’ Fair love the idea of knowing the maker and an increasing

Show Review | number of discerning clients equally love and value the provenance and beautiful story of responsibly sourced materials. Moreover this year I also noticed an increasing interest among colleagues at the fair to look into working with Fairtrade gold or silver. Now with better availability and heightened sensibility – it just makes sense,” she added.

Ulli Kaiser was one of the first-time exhibitors at Goldsmiths’ and it was hard for visitors to pass by her booth without stopping

“The fair went well and was a great experience.

Hardly anyone knew the technique I am working with and all were amazed – that is a very good feeling!” she added.

Ornella Iannuzzi, who is famous for her particular love of opals and un-cut gemstones, took the opportunity of the fair to introduce her new prêt-a-porter collection – ‘Rock It’.

A continuation of her ‘fine art jewellery’ collection ‘Les Exceptionelles’ offers a more simplified construction, basing the range on a geometrically correct polygon, the platonic body of a dodecahedron. The result is more commercial and more suitable for everyday wear. Available in white gold, yellow or rose

For the visitor, the joy of the Goldsmiths’ Fair lies in the chance to discover such a disparate array of jewellery – every pitch being quite unlike the next.

Jacqueline Cullen

to get a closer look. The eye was first arrested by the bright colours, but a closer look revealed the incredible detail. The designer takes a contemporary approach to the old Austrian technique of bead crochet, allowing the gemstones and glass beads to shine, complemented with handmade organic silver vessels.

“My pieces are inspired by 19th-century botanical drawings, nevertheless all of them evolve while making,” she explained.

Jig Pattni

Jennifer Saker

gold, the collection contains earrings, rings, pendants, cufflinks, and sautoirs, all set with white, black or champagne diamonds.

“It’s been an incredibly great show for me this year and I am really thrilled with the outcome and the response on the new collection,” Ornella said.

Exemplifying the marriage of a contemporary feel with traditional craftsmanship, the work of Exmouth Market-based goldsmith brothers Barry and David McCaul has a fluid signature style – pure minimalist forms that complement the contours of the body.

The unusual cuts of coloured gemstones in the ‘Carve’ line give an organic feel to rings that meander round fingers and earrings that follow the contours of the jaw line.

Ornella Iannuzzi

The functional aspects of a piece are made a feature of – for instance an ear wire in an earring is a feature rather than an afterthought to be hidden.

Ruth Tomlinson’s fascination with ‘unearthed treasures’ could be seen in the new additions to her ‘Hoard’ collection featuring rubies, spinels and sapphires held in gold granules. Handcrafted using innovative settings, the pieces – also featuring diamonds and Brazilian green tourmalines – display Ruth’s signature textures. New for Spring 2015 the designer also showed ‘Lustre’, a variously-hued, 9ct yellow gold ring featuring a natural formed as well as faceted grey diamonds. Jig Pattni’s filigreestyle pendants are modern interpretation of his grandfather’s work, while the angel pendant with brown diamond and South Sea pearl is inspired by Archangel Michael.

For the visitor, the joy of the Goldsmiths’ Fair lies in the chance to discover such a disparate array of jewellery – every booth being quite unlike the next. There was something for every taste, from the engineering and architecture-inspired pieces by Jennifer Saker (who enjoyed a successful first Fair) and the geometric structures of the diamondframed textured pieces by Jo Hayes Ward, to Jacqueline Cullen’s collection of Whitby jet jewellery – the black diamond set pieces receiving the most interest during what turned out to be one of her best shows yet for sales.

Ute Decker

The Voice of the Industry 41

| Ethical Jeweller

UK and Ireland jewellery industries unite over ethics Industry leaders from the major trade associations and buying groups in the UK and Ireland have come together to take a lead on issues of ethics and corporate social responsibility in the jewellery industry by backing the work of the Jewellery Ethics Committee UK (JEC-UK). t a designer-maker event organised by JEC-UK at the Goldsmiths’ Centre on 2nd October, chair of the Committee, Vivien Johnston, announced that the Houlden Group, the Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) and Retail Jewellers of Ireland (RJI) will work alongside the National Association of Goldsmiths (N.A.G.), British Jewellers’ Association (BJA) and the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A), in supporting the work done by the JEC-UK. The initiative, which commenced in 2009 under the stewardship of former N.A.G. CEO Michael Hoare who recognised the importance and potential of this emergent movement within the industry, has since been working towards researching jewellery supply chains in and around the UK market and providing recommendations for jewellers to make their businesses ethically and socially responsible.

The addition of the UK’s two largest buying groups and the largest jewellery trade association in Ireland to the JEC-UK rostrum, gives further credence to the Committee’s continued work around the industry and shows how the trade as a whole is getting behind the efforts to tackle the ethical challenges that currently face

A

the jewellery industry. It is hoped that the additional support of these organisations will urge the industry to re-examine its approach to sourcing, particularly from ethical suppliers and manufacturers, as well as how its business impacts the wider community it trades in, whether that be at a local, national or international level.

Importantly, the initiative has now also taken roots beyond the boundaries of the UK – a hugely positive move for the future of Irish jewellers, as well as for the continued partnership between trade bodies in the UK and Ireland. The N.A.G.’s CEO Michael Rawlinson commented: “I am delighted to see the JEC-UK expand and be strengthened by the addition of CMJ, Houlden and Retail Jewellers of Ireland. I hope that we can encourage other associations representing memberships in other key areas of the trade to join the group. When this is achieved we will be fully equipped to speak to external stakeholders and government with a single united voice on important ethical issues that affect our industry.”

The move to support JEC-UK was broadly welcomed by RJI president, Alison Browne, who commented: “I’m so pleased to be involved with the work the JEC-UK is

Holden, RJI and CMJ join members of JEC-UK for photos following landmark agreement

42 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

carrying out. Ethical issues are important to our members and we welcome the opportunity to share our retailers’ experiences and address the issues collectively. I was interested to learn from the JEC Gold Paper that up to 90 per cent of UK gold is recycled and much of that is subject to self-regulation. I am realistically, at this point, looking for choice for our customers, enabling them to have the option to order a ring in fair trade gold.”

Browne’s sentiment was echoed by Holden Group’s Helen Haddow, who commented: “It is encouraging to see the development within the ethical trade movement over recent years. The JEC has made significant development towards educating all aspects of the industry, including the supply chain, with its protocols and procedures. These practical solutions allow the different sectors within the jewellery industry to contribute towards the responsible sourcing of product, which we at the Houlden Group fully support.”

During the evening Greg Valerio of Fairtrade Gold introduced the Fairtrade ‘I Do’ campaign to stress the importance of ethics to new consumers of jewellery (bridal in particular), while JEC-UK’s chairman, ethical jeweller Vivien Johnston from Fifi Bijoux, presented an interim report on the JEC Diamond Paper. The full paper (which follows

The JEC has made significant development towards educating all aspects of the industry, including the supply chain, with its protocols and procedures. the Gold Paper launched in 2010), is to be released in 2015, and will aim to give retailers, manufacturers and suppliers the tools they need to understand diamond supply chains in the UK, and how they can best position their businesses to ensure they are acting as ethically as possible. The interim report is available to download from the BJA, N.A.G. and Gem-A websites, as well as the JEC-UK website at: www.jec-uk.com which is due to be launched shortly. For more information on the Jewellery Ethics Committee email: info@jec-uk.com

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The Voice of the Industry 43

JEWELLERY TRENDS brought to life Fashion forecasting is more than just stylish hot air. Predictions turn into inspirations and ideas, which then translate into real, precious pieces. hen style pundits talk about future fashion trends – way ahead of the season – the predictions can often sound fanciful, far-fetched or even plain foolish.

Peel away the pontifications though and what lies beneath are design directions that, in one form or another, find their way into real-life collections, consisting of pieces worn by real people. Yes, really.

To prove the point we have taken some of the trends that have been talked about recently, and gathered together a crosssection of inspirational pieces from the collections of jewellery brands, established designers and emerging talent that have brought the trend analysers’ words to life.

It’s not a definitive list, it’s open to individual interpretation and there are plenty of creative cross-overs in our selection – jewellery is a very subjective as well as seductive business.

W

Main image courtesy of Maria Black, an example of ‘Working It’

Feature |

WORKING IT – architectural, industrial, structural, geometric…

Kristjan Eyjolfsson

Charlotte Valkeniers

Ruifier

Bouton

MFP

The Voice of the Industry 45

| Feature

NATURE – blossoms, beasts, bugs and birds

Ikuria

Amanda Coleman

Dodo

Tresor Paris

Fiorelli

46 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Nova Silver

Feature |

MAKING A STATEMENT – drama, colour, oversized elements

Mawi

Maiocci

Kalewala

Swarovski Jewellery

Ungar & Ungar The Voice of the Industry 47

| Feature

TRIBAL – ethnic, folkoric, fierce, bold

Katie Rowland

Amrapali

Ti Sento

Kirsten Goss

48 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Jade Jagger

Kosmos Design Antonio Mazzamauro Join the story 路 www.kalevalakoru.com Kalevala Koru Oy, PL 302, Str枚mbergintie 4, FI-00380 Helsinki, Finland Agent in UK: Charles Vickers, cwgvickers@aol.com, mobile 07836 607 238

| Feature

RETRO VIBE – Belle Epoque, Art Nouveau, Art Deco…

Rosie Kent

JCM

Miglio

Carat*

50 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Amishi

Feature |

EMOTIONAL RESCUE – faith, hope and love

London Road

ChloBo

Sarah Ho

Links of London

Oak

The Voice of the Industry 51

| Feature

IN THE RAW – uncut / unpolished stones, natural / organic shapes

Parisi

Feather & Stone Aziz & Walid Mouzannar

Vincent Van Druysen

Monica Vinader

Marco Bicego

52 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

The Executive Development Forum – actively delivering value to its members since 2005 The Executive Development Forum (EDF) provides a unique opportunity for independent jewellery retail owners and directors to meet with like minded professionals in a confidential forum that fosters supportive and trusting relationships. This enables them to benchmark their business with other jewellery businesses, develop their strategic thinking, invest in their own professional development and, ultimately, grow their business.

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The EDF’s totally confidential forum is a good place to talk about business issues and share solutions that you wouldn’t openly discuss. The breadth of experience and openness is second to none.

EDF member

”

The EDF facilitates the sharing of members’ experience, knowledge and expertise for the benefit of those running retail jewellery businesses and provides its members with access to: •

a members’ question and answer service on subjects as diverse as products, suppliers, policies and promotions

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a news flash service, where relevant articles are emailed to their inbox

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monthly performance benchmarking against other member retail jewellery businesses

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educational store visits which benefit members by seeing and hearing first hand what other owners are doing in their stores

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regional member groups which meet three times a year – working to a formal agenda that helps to stimulate, challenge and motivate The Annual Oxford Congress gives all the regional groups an opportunity to engage with each other, and to hear from invited experts who contribute their unique perspective from their specialist fields

Still time to get online for Christmas!

“UK retailers are on course to dispatch a record 900 million orders in 2014, with 120 million orders predicted for December 2014 alone,” according to the IMRG MetaPack Delivery Index… and that’s a lot of page views; so make sure you don’t miss out!

Whether your site is transactional or not you can still use it – and the rest of social media, including email – to give your customers a reason to come to your store to do their gift shopping. December is regarded as the most important month of the year for jewellers – well it certainly is for the EDF members who at our October meetings have been sharing their planned activity from sparkling magicians, to icicles, to balls (or perhaps that should be baubles).

The good news is that there is still time to create and execute an online campaign, assuming you have been collecting customer email addresses… you have haven’t you?

Here are few tips on how to put a little extra glitter in your tills this Christmas… but you’ll have to be quick: •

Create your email and website Christmas-themed templates – you know the sort of thing: headers, footers, banners; focus on shopping deadlines, late night openings, gifts for him and gifts for her – ensure that they complement rather than conflict with your offline / printed messages.

•

Develop your count down calendar, have a weekly themed message, write the message / create the offer and decide on which day of the week it’s best to send it. If you can segment your customers write more personalised messages and create more appropriate offers – this way you’re more likely to attract them to your store.

•

The third week in November is probably the best and latest time to start your email campaign, just before the final pre-Christmas pay day. Early shoppers are often keen to get going and you need to be on their shopping list, so why not add a discount voucher code for all in-store purchases before the end of November.

•

Measure the results everyday – metrics such as open rates, enquiries, store visits and of course sales. Don’t be afraid to tweak the campaigns if they’re not reaching your expectations, and you may need to create a brand new message for those who are opening but not converting – that is purchasing online or in-store from YOU!

For more information visit the N.A.G. website and click the EDF button, or call Amanda White, information and membership services officer, on 020 7613 4445, email her at: amandaw@jewellers-online.org or speak to the EDF facilitator Michael Donaldson on 07817 305 122

Gem-A Conference Report |

Gem-A’s meeting of minds...

Bruce Bridges talking about the history of tsavorite and the legacy of his father Campbell Bridges

Islington’s Business Design Centre hosted the annual Gem-A Conference earlier this month. Belinda Morris reports on the event and how one rookie gem lover fared among the industry boffins. s a first-time visitor at Gem-A’s famed conference, I was unsure what to expect – other than to be bamboozled by science.

As a non-gemmologist I simply hoped to soak up some accumulated wisdom, make new contacts and generally broaden my industry experience and insight. Happily I did all three over the intense weekend of talks – and without so much as a chemistry O Level to fall back on.

The event began with a fascinating and moving talk on tsavorite by Bruce Bridges, the son of legendary geologist Campbell Bridges, who first came across the beautiful green gemstone in 1961. Against a backdrop of images of Campbell’s Scorpion Camp and mine in East Africa, Bruce told the stone’s story – when compared with emerald it is a thousand times rarer, has better brilliance and hue, is always natural and yet can be a tenth of the price.

Campbell Bridges was also the first person to bring tanzanite for identification to the US and became Tiffany & Co’s consultant geologist on the stone. Bruce is president of Bridges Tsavorite based in Nairobi and his talk concluded with the welcome news that the Scorpion Mine will officially re-open in January 2015. It closed following the untimely death of Campbell Bridges in 2009.

For those not content to wait for specimens to come to them, coloured stone dealer and consultant Edward Boehm GG CG explained how to analyse gems while on the go, advising on the portable instruments field gemmologists should carry. But he added that you have to learn how to use instruments in the lab first; understand how light reflects, disperses and diffuses and be able to read surface features of stones. He also warned that at mine sites you will be as likely to encounter synthetics as actual gems.

Dr Thomas Hainschwang FGA of GGTL Laboratories discussed the analytical challenges presented by green diamonds that have been coloured by natural or artificial irradiation. He offered the sound advice to take a Geiger counter to a parcel of green

A

stones to check for possible radioactive contamination… rare but disconcertingly not unheard of! Dr Ulrich Henn of the German Gemmological Association defined the term ‘moonstone’ – not limited to any specific feldspar type, but actually describing an optical phenomenon known as schiller.

He outlined four types of moonstone – Ceylon, Indian, Tanzania and Rainbow.

Alan Hart FGA DGA head of Earth Sciences Collections and curator of Minerals and Gemstones (all 5,000 of them in the National Collection) at the Natural History Museum, offered a revealing glimpse of the institution, past and present. The Collection started with Sir Hans Sloane’s bequeathed collection in 1753 – all still on display today. Hart explained how the Museum has developed over the years (it now has around 35,000 visitors a day), leading up to today’s adventurous exhibitions and galleries and the planned

Robert Coin and Vivien Johnston. He revealed though that 95 per cent of production is bought by China – the gold colour has high significance for their culture. Vincent Pardieu GG, GIA’s head of field gemmology, gave a talk on his global hunt for spinel specimens, in particular the highly-saturated red and blue spinels he nicknamed ‘Jedi’ and ‘windex’. His 13 years of travel on this quest have resulted in the GIA lab’s ability to determine the origin of spinel from all over the world, thanks to the geological background as well as trace elements found in the stone.

Fascinating in a different way was Craig Lynch’s talk on the recovered jewellery from RMS Titanic – the Arizona appraiser (and scuba diver!) showed his personal images

‘Want cleaner oceans? Wear more pearls’ is one of the many messages I took away with me that weekend.

Earth Galleries. Future innovations aside, you’ve got to love the early, un-PC declaration that one NHM collection would be for “the man of science” and the other to attract “the stupid gaze of the visiting vulgar”!

Geologist, gem purveyor and jeweller Brian Cook gave an update on Pariba tourmaline (first discovered in 1987) which has a rosier future than some may have thought, then discussed his other passion – rutilated quartz, which features strongly in his own work and is loved by other jewellers such as Gem-A’s new member of staff – Barnett Bear

from the 70 or so jewellery and watch pieces recovered from the ship’s debris, most of which was found in a leather Gladstone bag.

Interestingly, while paper money was found intact, pearls had completely deteriorated.

The next speaker might have had thoughts on that matter – Laurent Cartier FGA is a cofounder of the Sustainable Pearls Project and gave a comprehensive history of and update on cultured pearl production. One piece of positive news is that Akoya farming is not dead – Japan is now a major producer. He also presented convincing evidence on the eco-friendliness of pearl farming (there are more fish in the waters where pearl farms exist thanks to good husbandry) and revealed that a major survey concluded that consumers would buy more pearls if it could be proved that this would have a positive effect on coral reefs. ‘Want cleaner oceans? Wear more pearls’ is one of the many messages I took away with me that weekend.

The Voice of the Industry 55

| Business Support: Association Benefits

TFS training It’s easier to deal with the unexpected if you expect it.

In the usual course of events your business instincts and professional knowledge will combine to provide a high degree of certainty. However, when the unexpected happens in the working environment, it’s only human nature for confusion and even panic to set in. A robbery, an abusive customer, an employee with their hand in the till, the risks of social media or confidence tricksters… can all have a catastrophically damaging effect. ecuring the health and safety of staff, protecting your assets and your precious business reputation are also very real concerns. The problem, however, is that reliable information on how to deal with these things can be costly and confusing, while releasing staff for training will, of course, eat away at your bottom line.

Therefore, ever-sensitive to the needs of its members, the N.A.G. is pleased to announce a new partnership with leading risk consultants and training providers Training For Success (TFS). What this means is that our members will be able to access discounted online training to meet the needs

S

Its areas of expertise include corporate investigations, protecting organisations against violence, robbery and kidnap, a bespoke consultancy dealing with protest activity, critical incident planning, loss prevention solutions and drug awareness in the workplace.

The company’s impressive roster of clients includes major retail businesses such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. TFS also has a strong presence in the wider criminal justice system, working alongside a number of police forces within the extended police family. It has an enviable track record in providing high-end quality training solutions across a number of public and commercial sectors.

of all business sectors, supported by ongoing professional development programmes created by leading educationalists and security professionals, delivered in affordable and structured bite-sized chunks. Purposely modelled around social media, training is practical, uncomplicated and accessible on all types of fixed and mobile devices.

A practical and highly effective training regime Training provision will be based upon a number of preventative strategies strikingly illuminated by the testimony of ex-offenders.

These strategies are designed to be easily implemented by frontline staff to thwart some of the most commonplace and cyclical scams and deceptions. Modules that deal with personal safety and internal crime can also be taken in isolation or combined to provide an accredited award that is transportable

The UK market leader in risk training TFS is the UK market leader in risk training with a range of training courses and consultancy services designed to provide practical and effective solutions to deal with business threats and risks.

“It’s like grabbing a coffee with a professional and learning the important, practical skills that really matter…” throughout the learner’s career. Programmes accredited by the sector skills body Skills for Security, meanwhile, are designed to focus specifically on the reduction of risk while at the same time enhancing the personal safety of employees and customers alike with new content being driven by service users.

As Ian Kirke, managing director of TFS, remarks: “It’s like grabbing a coffee with a professional and learning the important, practical skills that really matter.”

While on the topic of the specific risk of credit card fraud, Robin Adams, director of security, fraud and risk management, adds: “The Training For Success online intelligence portal is an ingenious method of providing security awareness training to staff, which can help reduce card fraud and aid a merchant in achieving this aspect of their PCI DSS compliance”.

56 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Business Support: Association Benefits |

Retail finance Helping smaller businesses to grow into bigger ones Remaining profitable in the face of fierce competition from their high street rivals is a real challenge for small jewellery businesses these days and all too often the multiple jewellery retailers can appear to enjoy significant advantages over smaller independents. here’s good news though. To help them compete on a more level playing field with the high street giants, smaller businesses can now offer the same retail finance services as their larger competitors, enabling customers to pay in manageable, monthly instalments if they so desire, instead of with a one-off payment.

Needless to say, this option is allowing them to compete more effectively with their larger counterparts when it comes to offering their customers a more flexible and enjoyable shopping experience.

In addition, e-sign retail finance services now provide a paperless transaction, making the application process a good deal simpler and faster so that online retailers too can offer retail finance to compete with their own larger rivals, in offering a highly attractive, more manageable choice of finance options.

T

What can retail finance do to increase sales for your business?

The fact is, most customers will come to you with a budget in mind, whether for an engagement ring or a Christmas present, and until now a jeweller’s ability to persuade a customer to increase their spend has been severely restricted. With retail finance,

however, the task is made easier by enabling you to offer a choice of payment plans that can encourage customers to push out the boat and spend a little more.

In other words, options such as Buy Now Pay Later are a great way to increase sales through enabling customers take their purchase away with them on the spot and pay six, nine or even 12 months later without having incurred any interest. It’s a cost-effective way to support interest free credit which, when you consider the alternative of giving a discount, can lead to significantly improved profit margins for your business. This also, of course, encourages instant decision-making as your customer can take home and enjoy that exciting new purchase today!

Helping you overcome the challenges that face small businesses Many small businesses face the challenge of pressure on their internal resource since very often there simply isn’t the time to deal with time-consuming paperwork or the infrastructure to laboriously file customer details.

Retail finance solves this problem too as your staff can simply input the customer’s information on a computer or iPad, making

applications quick and easy. The identification procedures are hassle-free as retail finance services provide automated systems using the customer’s credit or debit card details as the basis for an instant decision. Credit agreements can also be completed online with the simple e-sign option.

The latest e-sign technology will allow you to complete the purchase process within minutes, with the electronic transaction providing all the reassurance that comes with the maximum possible levels of legal protection on both sides of the transaction.

Not only that, but your staff will no longer have the responsibility for handling your customers’ personal documents. E-sign also means that, as all the files will be held electronically, you won’t need to worry about keeping your customers’ personal documents secure in the event of fire or burglary.

Last but not least, to save you time on filing and reporting, retail finance services can also provide real-time management reports and offer configurable access by user, branch level or at head office, helping to save you time on paperwork and leaving you to focus on what you do best: increasing sales of course!

In summary, the key to staying competitive in the face of major competition from the big boys as your busiest time of the year approaches, is choice. By opting for the sort of flexible payment plans described here you can encourage customers to spend more, instill loyalty by improving the customer experience, and save time and money on closing sales, leaving you free to focus on new sales opportunities. What’s not to like?

V12 Retail Finance.

V12 Retail Finance is the UK’s only specialist retail finance provider. Based in Cardiff, V12 has been offering Retail, Point of Sale and Interest Free Finance for over 20 years, with a particular specialism in online finance, through its long-term dedicated funding lines.

V12 Retail Finance Ltd. and V12 Personal Finance Ltd. are subsidiaries of Secure Trust Bank Plc. V12 has pioneered multichannel accessibility and functionality in the retail finance sector through its market leading online software system. Its innovative approach has seen V12 lead the way in the retail finance market and forge enduring and fruitful relationships with its retail partners.

The Voice of the Industry 57

Business Support: Association Benefits

Mirrors without the smoke The commercial benefits of marketing that truly reflect your business Marketing. The ‘M’ word…

It’s fair to say that most retailers know in their bones that it’s something they need to be aware of, something they can use to make a real difference to their business. The question is, though, what does it involve, what can it do for you, how does it work and, most importantly, what does it cost?

Basically, marketing can come across as a bit of a black art, as smoke and mirrors, even as posturing and preening, when all you’re really looking for is a positive impact on your bottom line.

You are a brand. Or at least you should be.

In a world where competition, both on the High Street and online, grows fiercer by the day, and where jewellers are increasingly becoming ‘department stores’ all offering essentially the same brands, retailers need to differentiate themselves through an identity that will give them a real edge with consumers in the face of this competition.

This means creating a brand for your store, and turning your store into a brand, that will endure and evolve as your business

58 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

changes and evolves, increasing footfall, encouraging repeat purchase and cementing customer loyalty.

Mirrors without the smoke Really successful marketing will first and foremost reflect the uniqueness of your business, giving your customers clear and compelling reasons to buy from you rather than from your competitors. It will be rooted in, and reflect, the realities of your business, your philosophy and the personality of your store. And it will both build an engaging image for the future as well as hard-nosed commercial results for the here and now.

Most importantly, the approach needs to be fully integrated. Very often, we find advertising and marketing being handled piecemeal by retailers, with the result that nothing is joined up, with part of the job sometimes being managed in house, ads being produced by media owners or small artwork shops, websites designed and developed by a web shop and other materials by third party local artwork providers. Which means, with an approach so disparate and

disconnected, it’s little wonder that the message gets diluted!

What is required, therefore, is synergy, a joined-up approach in which awareness of what your store has to offer, and stands for, builds incrementally in your customers’ minds. Essentially, to take two steps forward, you really do need to take one step back and develop a plan.

So, clearly, marketing can do a great deal for any retail jeweller. But those other questions still remain: the who, the how and that allimportant how much!

It’s all about transparency.

Here at the N.A.G., we’re acutely aware that, especially if you’ve never employed a marketing specialist before, the prospect can be a little daunting.

With years of hands-on experience in supporting jewellery industry clients, a successful presence at the trade shows and a series of stimulating marketing talks to the trade, the In House marketing agency has quickly developed a high profile in our industry.

This wealth of experience has enabled the team to help a significant number of jewellery retail clients to build high profile brands and increase footfall.

But what it has also done is help In House to understand, address and overcome those barriers retailers face when considering enlisting marketing support.

It’s this sensitivity to the concerns of retailers that has led the agency, in keeping with its philosophy of transparency and openness, to offer an easy and flexible solution to help retailers with their marketing, through transparent fixed price packages to suit all budgets, large and small.

The scheme is based on a simple good, better, best approach, aptly named Silver, Gold and Platinum (and branded as ‘Precious Marketing Packages’), while its entirely bespoke offering is for businesses with very specific needs or a bigger budget requiring a longer term marketing partner.

Retailers can also mix and match their chosen package with additional services including fully responsive brand and product or e-commerce websites, social media advertising or an outdoor or broadcast campaign.

We have also negotiated a special 10 per cent discount for our members on all In House marketing services.

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Be independent , but don t stand alone Become part of a dynamic co-operative that exists to benefit the retail jeweller.

The CMJ is much more than a buying group offering preferential terms. It is a network of retail members across the UK and Ireland, who together with the CMJ’s executive team, approved suppliers and professional experts can provide support, advice and friendship.

Call Lucy, our membership services manager, on 01788 540250 to find out how we can help you.

CW Sellors lapidary workshop

Feature | Chris Sellors: It’s extremely important. We employ a large number of local people in our workshops and it is essential that we continue to train new people to keep the lapidary and silver and goldsmithing skills that we are renowned for alive. Manufacturing ourselves gives us much greater flexibility regarding on-trend designs, quicker lead times and the ability to be dynamic in our ever evolving market.

It also means a lot to our clients – the public wants to buy British and to have the assurance that they are buying a quality piece of jewellery. Our trade customers really appreciate the bespoke service that we offer as this enables them to make more sales and offer a more comprehensive service to their customers.

Is UK jewellery manufacturing in decline? What can be done about it?

Chris: It is a shame that the advances in technology have meant skilled workers have lost their jobs and this skill base could be lost forever. Consumers are largely costdriven when purchasing most products, and mass production methods obviously reduce costs, and subsequently prices. The jewellery industry is a bit different as people will always pay a premium for quality hand-made jewellery, especially British manufactured, and we need a campaign to ‘buy British’ again, not just in our industry, but in every industry.

Continuing our ‘Flying the Flag’ theme from our last issue, we visit the thriving workshops of two key British jewellery names – CW Sellors and Theo Fennell – to gauge feelings on the health of the UK industry.

WB The Creative Jeweller y Gro up

Take it to the bench

As the Union Belin Jack flu da tters indust Morris co – int nside ry and rs the act – in the wh

at the health autum hile a ‘mad feature n bre e in Bri of the UK celebrat was eze, not con jew tain’ cla ing ‘Brit topical, ceived ishness’ there’s im me ellery to be over no dou ans tod quite the bor Bring bt that so up the der hav ay. recent collecti last mo subject e help matters ve min nth – ed to – as d on might persuas focus and I did what mean realists the ion are at IJL ‘made these it me jew of a day in ans to quick ellery Britain’ s. gloomy to poin manufac our frien We now kno closer it was t out to hom ture in To a w ds in . The purist e – ‘hom the Nor what Brita industry word in is not that Those it me here th, but ‘decima e’ bein – it is ans bein wor – not what g an epit ted’ is own Quarter, king in the as clea g man particul het that the jewelle imply, mu Birm r-cut ttered. ufacture ry with ar set as App comes ingham and con as that memo beyond d of em Studios with its le Noo Jewelle ditio word ries that otions, 15 yea ten-Boo might ry explain For edit ns.

But whi rs or so questio stretch importe s: m of orial pur le will atte ns back d produc “There is have Hean outnum factories and poses, st to this to draw now public t carrying and bec bered worksh a lot fact. don’t a line Britain’ hallmar by trad of ops ause underst importe som Produc e still means might ks that and as t is rs thes be a truth just that ewhere, ‘ma you the well-ma bustles with also e day being proces universa . Mad de in bro indu rket s, fore s ugh e the ed, boasts is stry lly in ign. t in, carried much – som as UK the fine accepted that Britain. It’s one of it unh e of it made… out, and schools other st jew this cou eralded then years in the not ellery ntry sub . manufac so. Ove mitted some world, and r turing and the of design turn has bee the last 25 army designe the most inno ing out, of con in turn r mak tract man n decimated, , ers. How vative and alumni creative ufacture ever, go on not all rs that The reas to of thes ons for produce in and the this cou e this are intentio ntry. many the man n and vari ufacture here is not ous to ackn to den availab owledg igra le te elsewhe craftsm e the re, but anship heritage that the , skill s and UK has to offe r.

W

‘Made in

How much do you manufacture in the UK and how important is it to you?

Theo Fennell: All our bespoke work, one-offs, masterworks and prototypes are made here in our workshop above our Fulham Road store. It is vital to me that the pieces are made here, next to my studio, as I work in a very organic way and need to be on top of the whole process. It’s like a chef being in the kitchen – here is the heartbeat of the business. I have had a workshop for 40 years and it is the absolute cornerstone of what we do – having a workshop full of great craftsmen who, in turn, train apprentices.

I am a great believer in adopting new

techniques but in traditional ways. We employ some of the most arcane skills and, in some cases I believe, have kept them going by giving them new life. Some of the ‘boys’ in the workshop have been with me for over 30 years and protecting and nurturing a set of skills like this is vital.

There is no doubt that ‘made in Britain’ has great kudos all over the world, so that is part of the importance. Our clients really do want to know that they can see these extraordinary pieces being made and that real heart and soul has gone into them.

44 The Jewel

ler Octob er 2014

PH Ring s

Britain’

means…

?

used to exis t have in Bon gone. d Stre Even et hav the top end jew names els mad e been hav ing thei UK-bas e in the r high ed ma makers nufactu Far East. I rely on as the rers and only ava for my designe casting ilable r custom services We mig er bas of the ,” he ht be e compan adds.

British lack ing an y,” exp Gary jewelle Wroe. lains man ‘army’, ry indu highly “If we but the motiva will; if stry can aging can pro director ted and not we And still boa duce it’s voc well-eq term endeav st a it here solu uipped iferous. our to proud we platoon find the to hav the skill tion with “We a view e bee s and ufacturi short n at the are extrem . to dev make technolo ng in ely forefron the step eloping years gy that the UK t of man – all fact change allow ory has for of Wes us to manufac to brin been ton Bea the past growth g it here tured custom 65 mor’s and exp was the . Our here -built outp in Birm with a ans very first Along ut is view to ingham. to use with thes ion.” , lost sized cen wax cast Ours manufac e and othe and we trifugal tech ing com CW Sell r sign nology turers pany have ificantly in this – suc since,” ors, PJ continu country h as Rings, ed to says Tankel, and Dea Watson, RE Andrew inno director Dennis make kin & Morrish Morton vate ever of WB & Lave at leas Francis, Group. , PH ry , man the Cre t 80 in the “As a all of aging per cen ative Group UK – whom heavily t of thei Jewelle there we hav concern in new r prod ry “…wh are s) have uct ile fac technolo e invested bee British-m smaller des (contrary to very gies tories igner competi n essentia ade goo and makers some l in by impo and wo tivenes these ds. “On maintai offe staff s. e hun We hav rkshops rters, ning training dred per ring our the tra and app e also inve proud might cent “We are sted in de still to be rentices passing proud skills hips bustles be outnumb of jew to the and are of our down ellery ered next long fam essentia with ind manufac setting to be departm generation. l han ily hist turing one of ustry...” d Our diam ent rapidly with the few and feel hon ory of my over rece in particula our own oured UK com produc r has exp ondfrom nt yea adds manufac retailers ts are panies Cindy anded rs to Suz made .”

Den turing left meet Fellow and EW anne Ada in Brita demand worksh “And that nis Mangan ms of Birmingh in,” Adams. op,” residen of means says London building am Jew “We feel reprod t and concep Dennis & Lav Road on the uced, family ellery passion (establi ery. two gen busines assayed tualised, prot Quarter succes Britain shed ate abo erations s Cha s of otyped, in 182 – end flag-wa and amazing rles Gre the prev ut 4) is -to-end hall and not on Briti ving. “For also up en resource ious manufac marked in sh soil is both squand us the team for a .I local ture mu erin we meanin ‘made of hug little manufac believe dee Beale st be gful and in Brita ely tale have, includin g the craftspe ply in ture. a nati head in’ tag nted critical,” suppor If thes ople.” on, it of des and exp g our have a ting e skill says Phil becom ign and Back in manuf long s are erience es dep lip acture marketi lost to and man and proud d endent 108 staf Birmingham, ng. “We from dangero history ufacture on Hoc f abr in of che kley us of our its fact British oad, position ap – mo produc design ory, with Mint emp produc which re than Alexand ts mad to be loys ts are therefor is a ra Rob 99 per the maj e ther in UK com of Aug made e e. As son, foun long term cent ority of panies, ustine on site with a .” possible we shout der and that there Jewels number pieces about – and on all it doe are som also des it as here of our of s not Meanwh e com technolo much (althoug manufacture igner marketi are Itali have ponents ile, in as gy to ng and s all her h cha an, a the cap equally Britain ins and London produc branding situatio to rem ability proud is a sign e ons , Allie n she findings .” edy). produc or of ite. “Ma d Gol would ificant “Made to us ing one its British d is ideally part of in Brita de in as it tag. As wedding in is very like hundred the foun means quality. well as ring dati imp that per s, on ortant the UK, I can we can castings cent and if see pro of it also control I’m not tooling manufac and stamping its duction the happy in-h tures s in with som every day too. “Ma ouse and very ofte all of its own ething de in n its equ Britain to us,” I can is extr ¯ says dire ipment emely pride ctor Eliza and plea beth Hun important sure in providi t. “We ng training take in its man product whi our staf ch has f and ufacturin full Retainin g, finis g hing and traceability somethi and develop ing skill hallmarking ng we . all hav s in the – onc e skill e a pas UK is sionate it is very s are lost belief to ove in rsea get them difficult, or indeed s production back aga imposs in,” she ible, to says.

Feature |

Deakin & Fran cis

Last issue’s ‘Flying the Flag’ feature

The Voice

of the Indus try 45

Theo: There should not be a decline and, if this is the case, it is of the trade’s own making – by allowing itself to have become too parochial and retiring. Britain is an absolute centre for design and craftsmanship.

If this message was projected properly there

The Voice of the Industry 61

¯

| Feature

What is your attitude with regard to apprenticeships? How well does it work for your business? Do they generally stay on afterwards?

Theo: I think that the apprentice system is absolutely vital to the future of the trade and of craftsmanship. Everyone who is in a position to should encourage not just the traditional apprentice system but also work experience in general and offer opportunities for youth in the design and development sector. We have had almost nothing but good experiences with apprentices, trainees and young creatives and those that we have offered a post to have stayed.

Chris: Apprenticeships are great, as learning on the job allows progression, development and an all round greater understanding of all processes. A good number of our employees have come to us straight from local schools and have been trained in-house.

We have had four employees this year who have served 25 years within our company who all came straight from school and were all trained on the job.

How easy is it to find the right craftspeople in the UK for your work?

Theo: As we have one of the few real workshops attached to a business and we make such unusual and technically challenging pieces, we get a lot of people applying to join us on both the creative and crafting sides, so we are quite spoilt. Arcane things, such as bone-carving, we get done where the best craftsperson for that skill is, and in some cases where it has been, a tradition. Sometimes I stumble on a skill and design something to utilise it. The great Willard Wiggan, micro-sculptor, with whom I am doing some rings, has a unique skill that suits the pieces perfectly, for example.

On a slightly more industrial scale we might get chains made for us wherever the finest chains are made… that can require years of trial and error to find the most suitable partner!

62 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

Theo Fennell workshop

would be more call for the products of the trade in this country. We need to make the whole trade – its designers, craftspeople, originators and technicians – more glamorous with the same sort of international appeal as, say, the wine trade in France.

Chris: Most of our employees are trained in-house and on the job – it can be difficult to come by that many already well-trained craftspeople as it is such a specialised and small industry.

Conversely I believe that craftspeople should have enough aesthetic and design appreciation to be able to talk to a designer.

Those who can do both themselves are gods and goddesses amongst us!

Are the UK colleges turning out the right calibre of students?

Chris: As a company we work quite closely with Birmingham School of Jewellery where both James and Rebecca (Chris’ children) have studied. We look at employing new graduates as and when required, as well as apprentices and local people. Graduates are taught to a high standard. A lot of graduates can have high expectations and learn further skills whilst working, being involved in a commercial business.

Do you think enough is being done to promote British design and craftsmanship?

Theo: Absolutely not. This is mad as we have often the very best schools, teachers, craftspeople, designers and original thinkers in the world. It is sad that we are so inept in this area. We have all suffered from British reticence and understatement and, in a trade and business where we now deal in hyperbole and the soundbites of ‘international brands’. Maybe the time has come to shout a bit about how much more original and brilliant we are than the rest of the world.

Theo: Yes and no. Jewellery seems to have divided itself into the expressionistic but impractical, the merely fashionable, the artistic statement and jewellery that can be highly original but still follows the basic precepts and traditions of jewellery.

Few of these paths will make its follower a living, let alone a decent living. The crafts and the arts have always existed through patronage and almost all the artists and designers we hold dear have had a level of commercial practicality and PR savvy amongst their skills.

I believe that all creatives should be given the tools to be able to make themselves a living and should have their talents and likely future pragmatically assessed so they don't have unrealistic aspirations. The very least a ‘jewellery designer’ should have is the ability to sketch their ideas and the knowledge to explain what they want made and how it should be done. Therefore, time at the bench and learning to draw, are vital.

Chris: The Government is really trying to promote the UK abroad and we are still world leaders in some areas of manufacturing, and it is essential that this skill base is retained in the UK. The jewellery industry has a relatively small number of British manufacturers and designers and I don’t feel that there is enough being done in the trade to promote them. Retail jewellers will jump on any brand that they think will sell well for them and most don’t really care unfortunately where the product is designed or manufactured.

There are certain industries promoting UK manufacturing, such as the food industry, and I think that more should be done to educate the public about the carbon footprint of goods manufactured abroad and how we can all do our bit for the environment by buying local and British manufactured products.

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Feature |

When valuations lack true value Preparing a valuation – for whatever purpose – is a standard service offered by many high street jewellers. Sadly, in the case of a few retailers, the ensuing document can’t always be described as their finest work; there’s definitely room for improvement. We asked David Callaghan FGA, a founder member of the N.A.G.’s Valuations Committee – now the IRV Committee – to cast his eagle eye over a particularly ‘problematic’ document that has landed on our desk.

• • •

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• few years ago – courtesy of Tony Blair’s Labour party and reference Iraq – we all became familiar with the term ‘dodgy dossier’. And, closer to home, they are words that spring to mind today – from time to time the IRV’s attention is drawn to valuations carried out by N.A.G. members; valuations that fall short of today’s more exacting standards. Such a valuation was brought to the IRV’s notice recently and it brings into focus not only its weaknesses, but also, perhaps, the valuer’s lack of understanding of the minimum requirements of a valuation.

The valuation in question was for insurance purposes and is dated 6th February 2014.

The purpose of this ‘response’ is to highlight the areas where it falls far short of today’s minimum expectations.

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The valuation consists of two items and the description of the first item is as follows: Jade hinged bangle with yellow metal trim clasp engraved 208. Valued as a high carat gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£ 600. 00 • • •

• •

What colour is the jade?

By jade does the valuer refer to jadeite or nephrite jade?

Is the colour natural or has the jade been stained or otherwise treated to enhance or introduce a colour?

What is the condition of the jade and the bangle itself?

What is meant by the term “high carat gold”?

• • • •

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Was the metal tested in any way to reach the valuer’s conclusion?

There is no period given in relation to the likely/possible date of manufacture Where was the bangle made?

The $/£ exchange rate and bullion price relevant on the date of the valuation should be stated What is the gross weight of the bangle?

Why are no dimensions given?

Was a photograph issued to the client and/or retained for the valuer’s records?

On which basis of settlement was it valued: SHRV/NRV etc?

The other item is described as follows: White metal seven stone diamond cluster ring. Claw set stones. Total weight approx.

1.40cts. No hallmark or stamps. Valued as 18ct white gold. Round brilliant cut diamonds.

Gross weight approx. 3.5gms . . .£ 3,800.00 • Was the metal tested? It should have been and the wording should then read “tested and valued as 18ct white gold” • The SI unit of weight is the ‘gram’ There is no need to abbreviate it but if so it should be ‘g’ not ‘gms’ • The diamonds need to have been: measured for diameter in two directions plus the depth; assessed for colour and clarity • When was the ring made? There should be some indication of assessed age.

•

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Is the mount cast or hand-made?

What style of claw setting is it: coronet/ peg set etc.

As this is described as a cluster ring I assume this to mean a circular or oval cluster – the shape should be defined – with a central diamond surrounded by six stones. An assessed approximation of the dimensions and grades of closely similar stones is acceptable. However the centre stone’s parameters should be given and then the surrounding stones could be placed in a group PROVIDED that they are of a similar size and grade to each other. Then approximate average dimensions and weight could be given.

The $/£ exchange rate relevant to the date of the valuation should always be stated on the valuation The bullion price of the day should also be stated on the valuation Was a photograph given to the client and/or retained with the valuer’s records?

The basis of settlement is shown against this item – NRV. However this appears only at the foot of the valuation. Does it refer to both items, or the ring alone?

Finally: • The use of a pre-printed form with a hand-written text is unprofessional, giving the impression that the valuation had been prepared hastily or was temporary • Was a letter of transmittal given to the client?

• There were no explanatory notes accompanying the valuation The pre-printed form states: This is to certify that we are engaged in the jewellery business appraising diamonds, watches, jewellery and precious stones of all descriptions.

Clearly the valuer who prepared and issued this valuation is either very inexperienced or lacking in professional expertise. The work is totally unacceptable by today’s standards and, frankly, is not fit for purpose. The N.A.G.’s CAT programme should be undertaken in its entirety to enable the valuer to see and understand what is required of today’s professional valuer.

The Voice of the Industry 65

| Antique Jewellery

Antique JEWELLERY

they were also worn by men. Other materials were also used widely across the Indian sub-continent, as in other ancient cultures, such as shell, horn and bone (some of the oldest beads in the world have been found in India – beads made from ostrich shell date to 23,000 BC for instance and a bone bead and several cattle teeth grooved for stringing, date to 17,000 BC).

Mohenjo-daro Dancing Girl, Indus Valley, 2,500 BC

Ancient Indian jewellery With the appetite for gold jewellery growing stronger, as the price of the precious metal tumbles – for the time being anyway – it seems pertinent to look at one of the earliest centres for such gleaming, elaborate adornment. Amy Oliver dives right in… s the cold weather and dark nights set in across the UK, it can’t hurt to inject a little warmth and vibrancy and there’s also something festive about the jewellery that I’ve chosen to unveil this month. It’s that of ancient India, or rather the Indian subcontinent, which includes modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is a part of the world that has been one of the most interesting regions I’ve researched for this series of features on antique jewellery, as it can boast a number of ‘firsts’ in the history of jewellery (read on to find out which…).

The journey starts with some of the earliest cultures to develop on earth, in the Indus Valley.

A

Agate bead, Indus Valley, 1st millenium BC

66 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

8,000 BC to 5,000 BC The Indian sub-continent was one of the earliest centres of jewellery making, beginning around 8,000 BC in the Indus Valley – modern-day north west India and Pakistan. As with many of the civilisations that I’ve looked at over this series, beadwork seems to have been the earliest large scale form of jewellery crafting (when I say large scale I mean prevalent throughout society, not mass-produced).

Beads of both clay and stone were worn, predominantly, it seems, by women. These beads were made of raw materials traded from further east, specifically agate, lapis lazuli, cornelian, alabaster, turquoise and amethyst. Cornelian in particular was prized as when heated, a darker, richer red could be produced. Once a bead maker had the raw stone, it would be heated in a clay oven and shaped while still hot, then drilled and polished. These red beads took a great deal more skill and time to produce, and were therefore pricey; only the wealthy could afford them. The discoveries of stone bead-making from this period are the first examples of an industry that is as strong today in India as it ever was.

All beads, then as now, were used in the same ways: on pendants, necklaces and bracelets. Tiny beads, of approximately 1mm in size, were also fashioned to be worn in the hair, and not just by women –

The first metals The Harappan people in the Indus Valley (now in modern Pakistan) were the first on the Indian sub-continent to begin working metal into jewellery, around 3,300 BC. Copper was available in the area, and silver and gold were traded, probably from Iran and Anatolia (modern Turkey). They produced simple necklaces, pendant, bangles and headbands set with shell, horn and precious or coloured gemstones.

It seems that while social status dictated the types of jewellery worn and the materials used, nevertheless jewellery was worn by all peoples regardless of class. There’s a fine example of the types of jewellery worn in the Indus Valley during this period; the Mohenjo-daro ‘Dancing Girl’. It’s a bronze statue of a girl of about 15 years old, naked except for the jewellery she’s wearing while dancing. The bangles covering her entire left left arm are particularly prominent, as well as the pendant she’s wearing, holding three large stones. Though this may not be a dayto-day representation, it does show us the jewellery used on special occasions and,

Antique Jewellery | juxtaposed with her nudity, indicates just how important jewellery was as body decoration.

Gold, gold, gold...

This may sound like a rather presumptuous statement, but I’m going to make it anyway as it seems only fitting: the people of the Indus valley can lay claim to one of the greatest legacies in the history of jewellery…

They were the first to gather and manipulate gold. It’s quite a claim. In previous features , I’ve discussed the fact that the first real organised jewellery-making industries were developed in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, but it was in the Indus Valley that the art was actually formed. This made the Indus Valley a trading centre in the earliest times of the ancient world, and sparked the development of the industries prevalent in other ancient societies.

Gold ornament, 100 AD, India

ancient Greece and the Roman Empire for gold, and surprised them greatly by desiring it purely for decoration – whether it be in jewellery, woven into golden clothing and wall hangings, or to use in temples on religious statues. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder was even said to have commented on this trade: “We must be mad bankrupting ourselves for India.” (first century AD).

Diamonds in the rough

Gold jewellery has a long tradition in India, bracelets and bangles being one of the most popular forms from 1,500 BC onwards – probably as they were easier items to shape and produce. Yet there is evidence of gold earrings being made at this time, though only for the upper echelons of society due to the high level of skill involved in their crafting.

Gold held special significance in ancient India (as in most of the ancient cultures we’ve previously explored), and was highly prized by royalty. Gold was considered to be sacred, and representative of the sun – immortal, untarnished and pure. It was one of the most valued trading commodities (there not being a large enough supply naturally in India), but not in terms of currency. Indian dynasties of the first to the third centuries AD traded extensively with

Another major first for the region: diamonds were first used and traded in India. The Indian sub-subcontinent is, and always has been, a rich source of gemstones. Diamonds actually washed up in the rivers and waterways of India, and were highly prized in their raw form. They were called Varja in Sanskrit which means ‘Thunderbolt’ – they were held in high esteem for their healing and protective properties, and international trade in diamonds began around the fourth century BC when they were exported to Egypt, Greece and ancient Persia. Diamonds also formed part of the most famous gem-set in the Asian world – the Navaratna.

only for protection, but also for power. The Navaratna legends are common throughout Asia, not just on the Indian sub-continent.

They are mentioned in many texts, but the most comprehensive description of their properties is recorded in Sanskrit, in the Brihat-Samhita (written in the sixth century BC). Each of the gems is matched to planets: rubies represent the sun, pearls represent the moon, red coral for Mars, emerald for Mercury, yellow sapphire for Jupiter, diamond for Venus, blue sapphire for Saturn, and hessonite and cat’s eye represent the ascending and descending phases of the moon respectively. In the Karma Purana, the legend goes that the first seven gems were created by the divine light of the planets, and held within them the power of each.

The Navaratna One of the most interesting nuggets of jewellery legend I came across while researching the jewellery of the Indian subcontinent, was the power and prominence of the Navaratna, or the ‘Nine Gems’.

The Nine Gems are a collection of jewels combined to create a kind of talisman, not

Modern Navaratna pendant

The Voice of the Industry 67

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| Antique Jewellery dangers, while flawed stones have the opposite effect.’

So it wasn’t just that the Navaratna were worn together, the stones themselves had to be of good quality – I don’t imagine that a member of the elite would have taken any chances here! The Navaratna are still used in jewellery today across Asia, and can be worn as a pendant (see photo of modern equivalent), as earrings and rings. The fact that this particular jewellery tradition has been kept alive for thousands of years makes it all the more special.

Andhra Pradesh Royal earrings, 1st Century BC

Where to draw the line This feature has been a particularly tough one for me; there’s so much more that I could have included or expanded upon. And there are so many dynasties and empires, which have risen and fallen on the Indian sub-continent, that prized gold and jewellery highly, that omitting them for reasons of space has taken a great deal of restraint on my part. I hope however, that the fact that ancient India saw the earliest gold jewellery and the first use of diamonds in jewellery, has whetted your appetite. There is a wealth of books and articles – all available online – for anyone interested in further exploring I this fascinating subject further.

In the Tantra Sara, a philosophical Hindu text from around 1000 AD, the Nine Gems are also equated to parts of the human body, and you can see how these relate to the divine properties of the planets. Ruby, light of the sun, represents the human spirit or vitality; it is usually placed within the centre of a Navaratna talisman, and all the other gems encircle it. The other gemstones represent the following body parts: • red coral is for blood, so it makes sense that it is also for Mars, our very own Red Planet • diamonds for bone – not surprising being the hardest of the jewels here • emerald equates to marrow • yellow or white sapphire for flesh • cat’s eye for skin • blue sapphire for hair • hessonite for fat • pearls were apparently representative of either teeth or semen (I won’t explain further, form your own view…)

Other texts associate the different gems with slightly different body parts – notably

68 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

the Anubhut Yogmala indicate the healing power of each of the stones individually and advise readers with problems in particular areas to wear the corresponding gem, i.e. diamonds for bone disease, yellow sapphire for leprosy etc.

Other gemstones were also highly prized, though of slightly less significance than the Navaratna. The uparatna gemstones include blue moonstone, tourmaline, zircon, garnet, lapis lazuli, garnet, carnelian, peridot and quartz. And there’s even a second choice list of uparatna stones, such as spinel, red agate and amethyst.

Whether they were Navaratna or uparatna, a considerable amount of emphasis seems to have been placed on the purity and clarity of the stones themselves, which apparently directly corresponded to their abilities to heal or protect. According to the fourth century AD text the Garuda Purana: ‘Pure, flawless gems have auspicious powers which can protect one from demons, snakes, poisons, diseases, sinful reactions, and other

Harappan agate necklace, Indus Valley, 2nd-1st millenium BC

| Regular

Notebook

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

Jewellery & Watch Trade Fairs

February 2015 1st – 3rd: Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair, Antwerp, Belgium The sixth edition of this ‘by-invitation’ event. www.antwerpdiamondtradefair.com 1st – 5th: Jewellery & Watch Birmingham, NEC, Birmingham One of the UK’s premier trade events for the industry – covering fine jewellery, designer makers, international brands and a section devoted to timepieces. For a full preview of the event look out for next month’s issue. www.jewelleryandwatchbirmingham.com

December 3rd – 6th: Dubai International Jewellery Week, Dubai, UAE The Middle East’s leading exhibition for fine and antique jewellery, loose diamonds and pearls and timepieces. www.jewelleryshow.com January 2015 18th – 20th: Scotland’s Trade Fair, SECC, Glasgow The perfect place to source Scottish-made jewellery, gifts and accessories. Names such as Sandia Silver, Alison Moore, 21st Century Silver, Aurora, Badger & Baird, Hazel Atkinson and I love a Lassie. www.scotlandstradefairs.co.uk

14th – 1st March 2015: Indian Encounters, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Exploring the changing relationship between Great Britain and India during the 18th and 19th centuries. Includes 19th century jewellery once owned by Maharaja Duleep Singh. www.nms.ac.uk 27th – 30th: Made in Clerkenwell: Winter Open Studios, Craft Central, London EC1 Over 100 designers selling ready-to-buy jewellery, fashion, accessories and interior products. Names such as Sima Vaziry, Mark Nuell, Maia Bonner and Jeanne Marell will be among those showing across three buildings. craftcentral.org.uk 28th – 30th: Cockpit Arts Open Studios, Northington Street, Holborn, London WC1 A chance to get to know designers and their work, with designers (such as ethical jeweller Ute Decker and Jacqueline Cullen) showing fashion, crafts and jewellery. www.cockpitarts.com December 5th – 7th: Cockpit Arts Open Studios, Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 As above, designer maker names include Jo Hayes Ward, Maud Traon and Sara Gunn. www.cockpitarts.com

Indian Encounters

20th – 23rd: Inhorgenta Munich, Germany Annual trade fair for jewellery and watches, spanning seven halls including a platform for designers. www.inhorgenta.com

Sales & Exhibitions

Earrings by I love a Lassie

70 The Jeweller Nov/Dec 2014

November 9th – 11th January, 2015: Dazzle, Oxo Tower Wharf, London SW The second year in this riverside venue for this selling exhibition of contemporary designer jewellery. Names include: Yen, Cara Tonkin, Anna Wales, Jenny Llewellyn and Jacqueline Cullen. www.dazzle-exhibitions.com

Cockpit Open Studios – Maud Traon

Regular | Books Floral Jewels by Carol Woolton (£65, Giles, ACC Distribution) Fragrant prose backed-up by excellent, uncluttered pictures and interesting original drawings of designs, takes the theme of flower-inspired jewellery from the Belle Epoque through to the present day. Woolton (the jewellery editor of British Vogue) has chosen a really eclectic range of jewels, from clunky hippy necklaces to exquisitely fine work – with some reassuringly showy pieces thrown in. Making a change from the expected chapters on different eras, the book is divided into the four seasons – and the flowers associated with each. Featured designers range from Adler, Boucheron and JAR to David Morris and Shaun Leane.

Michele Della Valle: Jewels and Myths (£125, Antique Collectors’ Club) A brief introduction gives a sketchy insight into the life and work of this leading Italian jeweller (he did not want ‘a boring autobiography’) who was renowned particularly for his love of gemstones. With no explanatory text, this substantial and beautifully produced book relies on pictures of iconic figures, quotations and large scale photographs of his work. The latter are at times impressionistic – others might say blurred – and at times they are pin sharp, not airbrushed: this is of great interest to craftsmen who can see the level of skill in the stone setting… warts and all. Some of the warts are very beautiful however, and add to the overall quality of the piece.

Cartier in the 20th Century

by Margaret Young-Sanchez (with essays by experts and scholars Martin Chapman, Michael Hall, Stefano Papi and Janet Zapata) (Thames & Hudson, £45) A robustly bound, beautifully designed book, Cartier in the 20th Century is as much about people as the pieces made for them. Watches, cigarette cases, ornaments and jewellery for royalty and socialites, aviators and film stars – a 478 carat sapphire pendant for Queen Marie of Romania; the necklace set with the De Beers diamond, created for Sir Bhupinder Singh in 1928 – all are crisply photographed, giving great detail showing off lush colours and contrasts. The narrative is above all about context, giving many fascinating insights into the manners and fashions of the time, as well as the history of the house.

The Voice of the Industry 71

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Last Word The ubiquitous Dr Gaetano Cavalieri is president of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation. Last month he was named as president of the World Diamond & Jewellery Forum (WDJF).

Personal Profile Dr Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO since 2001, was responsible for the organisation receiving ‘Special Consultative Status’ with United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs in 2006. He is also a member of: the International Executive Council of the GIA, the Goldsmiths’ Company of London, the European Assay Association, Goldsmiths’ Hall London, the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) and a board member of the World Diamond Council.

Dr Cavalieri graduated from the University of Catania, with a thesis in Techniques of Market Research. He completed his PhD in economics and political economics, specialising in Marketing.

What is the role of the WDJF within the wider industry.

The Forum is not intended to supplant or compete with any existing organisation, but to complement and support them by serving as a bellwether, predicting challenges and opportunities and considering alternative strategies for dealing with them.

Too often we have been surprised by events, and then had to scramble in order to react appropriately. This certainly was the case with the conflict diamond crisis and also, more recently, with the appearance of undisclosed lower-quality synthetic diamonds in the marketplace.

The WDJF will help plan strategy, but will neither decide nor execute strategies. That will be up to other industry organisations.

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

I would like to see international standards endorsed by the International Standards Organisation. Harmonisation, or the lack of it, has been a major challenge for our industry,

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and as we become more international the need to achieve it is more critical than ever.

Through its system of Blue Books, CIBJO has advanced the degree of harmonisation in our industry, but I would like to see those carefully formulated documents transformed into sets of standards.

If you could go back in time, what era or moment would you choose?

I would go back by a fraction of millisecond.

We must learn from the past, but the present always represents the only real challenge.

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

Honourable, reputable and loyal is how I try to live my life, and it’s how I hope that people see me.

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

I honestly would do nothing over, including the mistakes. It was because of them that I learned to do things differently.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?

My father and my children. My father helped me become what I am today, and children provide me with purpose for moving forward.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

Constantly working. I enjoy what I do; if I did not, I would not do it. But I realise that the time I spend travelling has often kept me way, at least physically, from my family.

Tell us something not many people know about you…

In my twenties, I raced a sports car in the Italian national mountain championship.

I have not slowed down since then.

How can CIBJO work closely with the Responsible Jewellery Council?

Both bodies work hard to promote corporate social responsibility, although CIBJO has tended toward a more proactive route of social activism, while RJC is more specifically involved in development and implementing systems for protecting the integrity of the chain of distribution.

But we certainly complement each other, and this holistic approach has been reflected in some of the joint events we have participated in over the past year. We have looked at not only how our industry should cause no harm, but how we may organise ourselves to contribute toward society and monitor how well we are doing that. We’ll continue to find ways of doing that together.

What keeps you awake at night?

Not worry, but jet lag. I generally don’t sleep at night. I only seem to sleep well on planes.

How do you spend a holiday?

I actually don’t. The last time I took a real holiday was in 1993!

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