PIXETJEWELRY

If you spend much time on antique jewelry Instagram, you’ve already seen GemBank1973’s posts. They’re always sharing beautiful jewelry close-ups and eye-catching themed group shots. But have you ever looked at their online store? Because I hadn’t until last week, and it totally blew me away.     GemBank1973: antique jewelry that collectors love. I knew from Instagram that GemBank1973 had great antique jewelry, but I didn’t realize that they were a family-owned business that has specialized in jewelry for three generations. That’s some serious history, the kind of background that brings connections and knowledge. They’re also an established member of LAPADA, a very well-respected UK Association for experienced antique dealers. And, of course, there was the jewelry itself! Continue reading GemBank1973: antique jewelry that collectors love. at Diamonds in the Library. Via Diamonds in the Library https://ift.tt/TIZ2DEB

The Royal Mint has partnered with Heritage Crafts to launch four bursaries to “preserve and champion” traditional British craftsmanship skills in precious metals.   It comes as Heritage Crafts said that many are dissuaded from training in precious metal heritage crafts because of the cost, and therefore “the make-up of the sector is not truly representative of the mix of backgrounds that make up the UK as a whole”.  In light of this, the bursary has been set up to help cover or subsidise the cost of training for someone who would otherwise be prevented from pursuing this career path as a result of the cost. Early- to mid-career craftspeople have until 5pm on Friday 10 March to apply for up to £4,000 to start training in a precious metal craft or to further develop their skills. Successful applicants will be supported by the Heritage Crafts team to develop an action plan, and staff will work with them to monitor progress. Grants can be used to pay a craftsperson trainer, attend a s

London based designer Rachel Jackson has launched the “Electric Love” collection, the first of three collections for Spring/Summer 23. According to the jeweller the line is the first of a three-part story of two great loves. A love affair between two girls. The pieces are crafted from sterling silver, 22 carat gold plating and garnet and are inspired by “the power of female bonds and a higher love”. There are a number of earrings and necklaces in the collection all shaped like hearts. The pieces include deep red, faceted Garnet hearts and signature Art Deco rays.Prices of the designs range between £50-£195. Rachel Jackson creates “symbolic jewellery designed to capture all of life’s beautiful moments”. The brand started as a stall in London’s Spitalfields market and is now sold in over 70 stores across the world. source https://www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk/209818-rachel-jackson-launches-electric-love-collection

Sterling silver first came to light in the 13th century, and ever since then, it has become an incredibly popular alternative to pure silver. Today, you can find sterling silver jewelry just about anywhere. After all, it looks just as good as real silver, and it is only a fraction of the price. If you have a sterling silver ring, you might be wondering how to care for it. Do you have to care for it in the same way as pure silver, or are there certain things you need to do to make sure it stays in good shape? Keep reading and learn more about how to care for sterling silver. Clean Your Sterling Silver Ring When Necessary It is not necessary to clean your sterling silver jewelry all the time. In fact, cleaning sterling silver too often can end up ruining it. Instead, you will only want to clean your ring when you see that it is starting to collect debris or when it seems to be getting a bit tarnished. If you clean it more often than necessary, you will actually end up removing a li

Fiorelli Jewellery has launched a new collection titled “Express Yourself” made from recycled sterling silver. The collection includes a mixture of interlinking styles and geometric shapes inspired by “current and upcoming trends”. There are a number of earrings and necklaces in the collection featuring either hexagons or medallions. Some of the pieces in the collection also feature both platinum and yellow gold plating as well as cubic zirconia stones. Fiorelli stated: “The collection focuses on adorning yourself with jewellery confidently. Shelving old styling rules and traditions by moving forwards with the idea of jewellery being not only personal but playful too.” Fiorelli Jewellery is a joint venture between women’s accessories designer Fiorelli and Gecko Jewellery which was launched in 2007. It markets itself as a premium silver and affordable fashion range of jewellery. source https://www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk/209813-fiorelli-launches-recycled-silver-collection

Retirement Sale Established fine jewellers and gemmologists Excellent city centre location £300,000 Financials available as required Leasehold Retail business Truro city centre, Cornwall This business has been trading in Truro for over 25 years having been set up by a husband and wife team, who were both qualified gemmologists, with a wealth of experience in the jewellery business globally. The central position in the city centre benefits from high levels of passing trade and is surrounded by other complimentary retailers and businesses.  Truro is the most important commercial centre in Cornwall attracting customers from all over the county and beyond. The sale includes all fixtures and fittings, safes, CCTV, alarm system, quality display materials, gemmological equipment such as synthetic diamond tester, microscope, etc. In addition to a very extensive number of regular clients and the excellent goodwill and reputation of the business, the buyer could benefit from taking on

Watches of Switzerland has reported that its revenues increased 17% to £407m in the 13 weeks to January 29 this year, narrowly falling short of analysts’ consensus expectations of £425m. The company said its lower than expected sales growth was because of rail and postal strikes over Christmas and general worries about the economic environment. It maintained its guidance for full-year revenues of £1.5bn to £1.55bn, but it’s share price was down 11% by early afternoon trading on Thursday in London. The group, which also includes UK jewellery chain Goldsmiths and Mayors in the US, said luxury watch sales grew 22% in the period. The group also said luxury jewellery sales, roughly a tenth of its revenue for the quarter, fell 2% year on year. Brian Duffy, chief executive officer, said: “I am pleased with our strong Q3 performance which is testament to our continued investment in leading showroom design, the strength of our brand partnerships, our scale, our dedication to omnichannel ex

The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust (SGT) has partnered with Marchmont House to create the Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop. The Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop is a national centre where up to five silversmiths at a time can design and create pieces from precious metals. The workshop is being fully equipped with the entire collection of tools, machinery and books built up by celebrated Scottish master silversmith Graham Stewart who died in 2020. The SGT convened a panel of acclaimed silversmiths to select four exceptional tenants for the workshop, with the final bench being reserved for short-term residencies. The workshop’s master silversmith is Ryan McClean and the other tenants are Hannah Keddie, Scott Smith and Katie Watson. McClean said:“I really wanted to come here because Marchmont has such a creative community, the workshop is going to be fantastic and it will be such a great environment to work in. I also hope that having a new home for silversmithing in Scotland will help

Inflation is set to add around £18.2bn to non-food sales in the UK according to the Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report 2023, commissioned by Auctane in partnership with Retail Economics. Sales values are expected to hit £249bn in 2023 with the additional £18.2bn, a 2.6% increase, driven entirely by rising consumer prices. A survey of more than 730 retail businesses across eight international markets found that 80% of retailers are planning to increase prices with 40% suggesting rising costs will be their biggest challenge this year. It found that two thirds of UK consumers said inflation is their biggest concern. Nearly three quarters of people plan to change their buying behaviour, with 34% saying they would only make necessary purchases while 29% intend to delay or reduce spending. As a result, UK retail sales volumes are set to fall by 4.9% compared with last year due to shoppers having to spend more to get less for their money. Retail inflation is expected to hit 7.5% this yea

Jeweller Steven Stone has launched a recreation of the Heart of the Ocean pendant from the film Titanic, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the film. The 50 carat piece features a deep blue sapphire, surrounded by a halo of round diamonds. Worn by Kate Winslet’s character Rose DeWitt Bukater, the fictional pendant is gifted to her in the film by Cal Hockley and also steals the show at the end of the award winning film. Maxwell Stone, creative director at Steven Stone, said: “The Heart of the Ocean is the Queen of on screen gems, so we were excited to replicate it for the 25th anniversary of ‘Titanic’. “Our creation features a deep blue heart shaped sapphire, surrounded by a halo of sparkling round brilliant diamonds. Whilst the prop from the film cost just $7500 (£6260) to produce, I’d estimate our 50 carat piece to be worth a staggering $150m (£125m).” source https://www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk/209702-steven-stone-recreates-titanic-pendant-to-mark-films-anniversary

Fun stud earrings are a daily staple for me – they’re subtle enough to throw on for any occasion but can still pack a serious style punch. I recently discovered Tai Jewelry’s demi-fine stud collection and I liked them so much that I knew I needed to share them with you! We haven’t done a Treat Yourself post in a while, so as a reminder: Treat Yourself is my series dedicated to jewelry under $300. Because museum-quality jewelry is fun to look at, but sometimes you want something that you can just snap up without needing to worry about your rent. Treat yourself: standout stud earrings under $100 from Tai Jewelry. Standout stud earrings are something I’m always on the lookout for and I came across Tai Jewelry’s current selection of studs while looking for holiday gifts for my sister at the end of last year. Continue reading Treat yourself: stud earrings under $100 from Tai Jewelry. at Diamonds in the Library. Via Diamonds in the Library https://ift.tt/09O5vuq

Jewelry has a special way of making every woman feel special and unique. It can enhance your outfits and help you express your personal style. But you don't need to wait around for a holiday or birthday to get the jewelry pieces you want. Around 51% of Millennial women are now buying jewelry for themselves. They no longer wait around to be gifted jewelry from a significant other. Modern women want to have their own high-quality, affordable, and fashionable jewelry collection that keeps up with current jewelry trends. But just what can you expect from jewelry trends in 2023? Keep reading this jewelry guide below to discover all about the hottest 2023 jewelry trends. Large Pearls Pearls are a timeless jewelry design that originated as a fashion accessory staple in the 1920s. Pearls have been thought to symbolize innocence and purity in the individual who wears them, especially for white colored pearls. Today, even male celebrities like Harry Styles (formerly of One Direction),

British jeweller Graff has unveiled a new necklace at Paris Couture, inspired by its Tribal collection. The new necklace features a rare 50 carat D Flawless oval diamond, accompanied by 100 carats of pear shape, emerald cut, oval, round and baguette cut diamonds. The design explores and expands upon contemporary motifs first seen in the Tribal collection with myriad layers of diamonds and contrasting diamond cuts. The design tempo “increases as the stones graduate in size” upon the necklace until they reach the 50 carat oval diamond in the centre. The pendant is designed to appear as if the D Flawless diamond is floating upon the diamond surround, with nothing visibly holding it in place. The jeweller also highlighted its selection of yellow diamonds in Paris. These include high jewellery rings set with a 10.11 carat D Flawless pear shape diamond and an unheated 30.73 carat emerald cut Ceylon sapphire. source https://www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk/209683-graff-unveils-new-necklace

Four trade bodies within UK retail and hospitality, including the BRC, have called on the government to reform the “broken” apprenticeship levy system, as so far, £3.5bn has reportedly expired before businesses could make use of it. This call on the government comes as businesses were also unable to meet the restrictive requirements of this “use-it-or-lose-it” scheme, which they had to meet in order to make use of funds. In a letter sent to the government, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UKHospitality, techUK, and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said that the government was “holding back investment” in critical training that is vital to train the future workforce, provide better wages, increase productivity, and boost economic growth. Furthermore, UK job vacancies have soared to 40% on pre-pandemic levels, as the economy’s growth prospects shrink once more. In spite of this, trade bodies believe that businesses are “being blocked” from investing in their wor

Lab grown diamond firm Created Brilliance has announced the launch of its new pink diamond range in time for Valentine’s Day. The new range offers lab grown pink diamonds at a fraction of the cost of natural pink diamonds. Among the new pieces is an Emerald Cut 1-carat lab created pink diamond ring and The Norma ring which also includes 0.5-carat earrings and a 0.33-carat pendant, alongside other ring designs. The range starts at £1,050, with the 1 ct pink diamond rings the most expensive products at £2,750. Previously pink diamonds were estimated to be worth 20 times more than a clear one as 90% of the world’s supply came from one mine in Australia. Sophie Milner, owner of Created Brilliance, said: “We expect our pink diamond range to be hugely popular and become one of our top sellers. Natural pink diamonds are extremely rare and expensive, so to be able to buy a real pink diamond at a fraction of the cost, will be hugely appealing to our audience.” Created Brilliance was laun

Michael Jones Jeweller has revealed seven-figure plans to revamp its outlets in Grosvenor Shopping Northampton and Gold Street as part of a project to create a “luxurious” new look for customers. The independent jeweller, which is run as a co-operative, has had a presence in the town for more than 100 years and will be extending into the former Burton’s unit in the shopping centre – a store it previously occupied back in the 1970s. Its flagship Gold Street store will be extending into a former hairdresser’s next door, creating a new high-end destination. The works will coincide with the multi-million-pound redevelopment of the Market Square, with the company confident the works will trigger a bright new era for the town centre. Branch manager Thomas Sinclair said: “For 100 years, Northampton has been our home and now feels the right time to underline our commitment to the town and invest in our stores to create an unforgettable retail experience for our customers. “Retail in the 2

French jeweller Dior has announced the launch of its new “Dioramour” collection. The collection is a reinvention of its 2005 “Oui” collection which was designed by Victoire de Castellane. All the pieces in the “Oui” line contained the letter O,U and I. The new line has three pieces made of gold. A necklace, a ring and a bracelet. All the pieces bear the name Dior on them, with the letters on the ring wrapping around the finger like in the “Oui” collection. All pieces in the collection are made from 18 carat yellow gold encrusted with 0.10 carat diamonds. The necklace retails for £1.8k, the bracelet retails for £1.7k and the ring retails for £1.45k. Describing the pieces, Dior said: “As if drawn by hand, the curves of the iconic “Dioramour” collection pieces create joyful, graphic designs. Each curl twists like a strand of couture thread in a nod to the ateliers’ savoir-faire.” source https://www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk/209642-dior-launches-new-dioramour-collection

A return to the office has boosted footfall in January despite the effects of rail strikes over the month, Springboard has said, with footfall up by 10.7% against the prior year. This was greater than the annual uplift of 9.9% reported in December 2022 and marked the largest annual increase since July 2022. According to Springboard, the move of workers back into offices last month was “clearly demonstrated” by a greater annual rise in weekday footfall than weekend footfall in both high streets and shopping centres. Footfall in high streets rose annually by +17.2% on weekdays and +10.3% at the weekend, while shopping centre footfall rose by +12.4% on weekdays but only +4.8% at the weekend. This was in sharp contrast to December 2022, when weekday high street footfall was +11% higher year on year but +18.8% higher during the weekend. Similarly, weekday footfall in shopping centres was just +6.6% higher year on year but +20.2% higher over the weekend. Springboard noted that with many

The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that interest rates will be raised by 0.5%, bringing the base rate of interest to 4%, the highest level in 14 years. The increase, which is the tenth consecutive increase, was decided after the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 7-2 to increase the rates, as part of efforts to meet the 2% inflation target. As part of its summary, the MPC said the decision comes as global consumer price inflation remains high, although it is likely to have peaked across many advanced economies, including in the UK. On the outlook, the MPC has said there are still “considerable uncertainties”, and ​​that it will “continue to monitor closely indications of persistent inflationary pressures”, including the tightness of labour market conditions and the behaviour of wage growth and services inflation However, the BoE improved its forecast for the economy, and while still anticipating that the UK economy will enter into a recession in 2023