Win a free stand at Treasure

Professional Jeweller is offering emerging designer-makers the chance to win a free stand at London Jewellery Week consumer-facing selling show Treasure.

The competition is open to all contemporary jewellery designer-makers that have been in business for three years or less. A shortlist of entries will be drawn up by the Professional Jeweller team and announced in the April issue of the magazine.

This shortlist will then be put to the industry to decide, with Professional Jeweller readers deciding on the winners by voting online at professionaljeweller.com.

The three designer-makers with the most votes will share a stand at Treasure’s new Bloomsbury location where they can sell jewellery direct to consumers during London Jewellery Week, which takes place from June 7 to 13.

To enter, designers must email one picture of a single piece of work with a description and a short biography to info@professionaljeweller.com. The deadline for entries is March 25.

To sign up for a free subscription of Professional Jeweller magazine, visit itp.com/subscriptions and select ProMedia from the dropdown list.

TW Steel teams up with Australian gold medallist

Oversize watch brand TW Steel has signed up Australian five-time Olympic gold medallist and 11-time World Champion in freestyle swimming Ian Thorpe as its latest brand ambassador. Thorpe is the Dutch brand’s first Australian ambassador since it opened a subsidiary office n Sydney in June.

Thorpe joined TW Steel chief executive and owner Jordy Cobelens at Sydney’s Nader Jewellers’ annual VIP night.

TW Steel is distributed in the UK by Swico and stocked at retailers including House of Fraser, Ernest Jones and Goldsmiths.

Pictured: Ian Thorpe and Jordy Cobelens show off their TW Steel timepieces

Kate Moss buys cuff right off the wrist of Mark Ronson’s jewellery designer mum

It seems that when Kate Moss sees some jewellery she wants, she gets it. Moss is reported to have spotted a black onyx, black diamond, solid gold and silver cuff on the arm of Ann Dexter-Jones – mother of music producer Mark Ronson and an aspiring jewellery designer – while at a wedding and got her friend Topshop boss Sir Philip Green to buy it for her there and then. Moss then gave Dexter-Jones the Chanel bracelet that she was wearing so she would have to bear a bare wrist at the festivities.

Pictured: Kate Moss wearing Fire of London by Stephen Webster

Christies prepares for bumper jewellery sales day

Christie’s will hold two sales of exceptional jewels in New York on December 10, which are expected to realise a combined amount of more than £9m. The sales will feature more than 180 pieces of jewellery from rare and important diamonds to period jewels, plus designs by brands such as Buccellati, Boucheron, Daniel Brush, Bulgari, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, David Webb, and Tiffany & Co.

The first sale will be New York Jewels, a selection of jewellery ranging from £600 to £1.2m. This will be followed by a Magnificent Jewels sale of 10 jewels from a private collector that includes the rare and important 39ct D-grade Evening Star diamond, which is expected to fetch more than £6m.

Pictured: The Evening Star diamond

Gucci joins Responsible Jewellery Council

Luxury brand Gucci, which designs a range of jewellery and watches, has joined the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), which requires all members to be audited by accredited third-party auditors to verify that they conform with the RJC’s ethical code of conduct.

Gucci president and shief executive Patrizio di Marco said: “We are extremely proud to join the Responsible Jewellery Council as we strongly belive in the role of this association. Our participation in RJC is a further step into an even more responsible path.”

The RJC now has more than 140 members, which includes brands Roberto Coin and Carrera y Carrera and retailers Beaverbrooks and the Signet Group.

Pictured: black Gucci chronograph

Swatch accused of price fixing in Australia

Swatch Group has been accused of price fixing in Australia by the brand’s former Australian general manager Mark Watson, as reported by Australian trade publication Jeweller.

Watson claims that he was dismissed from the company in November 2008 after refusing to enforce Swatch’s preferred retail prices. He is now suing the watch company in County Court in Australia for loss and damages.

The price fixing allegations are reported to affect Swatch’s premium brands including Omega, Breguet, Tiffany & Co and Tissot. Watson has accused Swatch of indulging in price fixing to maintain its exclusivity of these top-end brands.

To read the full story on Jeweller News Magazine, click here

Pictured: Omega gent's Constellation Skeleton self-winding watch

BrandAlley takes over Oxford Circus with FlashWalk

Luxury discount e-tailer BrandAlley, which sells jewellery and watch brands including Missoma and Baume & Mercier, sent six models to carry out a FlashWalk (that’s a flash catwalk) at the new diagonal crossing at London’s Oxford Circus on November 20. The models took centre stage at one of the world’s busiest shopping spots wearing nothing but body paint and jewellery from Dyrberg/Kern, which is running a flash sale of its watches at BrandAlley later this week.

Spectators, including tourists and policemen, stood with mouths agape as the nearly naked models dropped their trench coats and transformed the pedestrian crossing into an impromptu catwalk. On their fronts, the models were painted with clothing to represent key looks from this year’s global Fashion Weeks and on their backs “The sale goes on and on and on” was painted to reflect BrandAlley’s new slogan “The non-stop designer sale”.

The FlashWalk has been used to create an online viral video. You can watch the video by clicking here.

BrandAlley has also relaunched its website this week with a fresh look and increased search functions.

Watch brand Lancaster to create jewellery line

While doing a bit of freelance work, I've rediscovered Lancaster watches. I've seen this brand in the flesh a few times before but it's not one of the best known brands in the UK. However, should Santa be reading, it's certainly on my Christmas list this year.

Also, just read on its website that Lancaster is currently developing a range of jewellery and accessories - should be interesting. The brand also creates sunglasses, small leather goods, bags, cufflinks and writing implements.

Chamilia creates exclusive Marie Curie bead for Ernest Jones

High street jeweller Ernest Jones and bead brand Chamilia have teamed up with charity Marie Claire Cancer Care to create an exclusive bead in the shape of Marie Curie’s iconic daffodil (pictured). The enamel and sterling silver charm is on sale in Ernest Jones stores now and £5 from the £30 retail price of the bead will be donated to Marie Curie.

Ernest Jones, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, announced plans to stock Chamilia in June and has been selling the popular bead brand online at ernestjones.co.uk and in selected stores. It also stocks Pandora beads and charms from Hot Diamonds and Truth.

US brand Chamilia opened its first UK sales and distribution office in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in May.

European sales sparkle for Tiffany

Luxury jeweller Tiffany recorded double-digit sales growth in Europe in the three months to October 31, driven in part by the opening a store in at Selfridges in Manchester. European sales rose 12% to $65m (£39.2m).

However, the retailer struggled in the US, which accounts for more than half of its total sales. Like-for-like sales dropped 10% and total sales fell 9% to $303.5m (£183.1m).

Tiffany chairman and chief executive Michael Kowalski said: "We were pleased to see that the rate of sales declines in the US lessened as the quarter progressed. At the same time, many countries in Asia-Pacific and Europe achieved considerably better-than-expected sales. These results, combined with ongoing expense restraint, contributed to earnings above our prior expectation."

In the UK, Tiffany has eight stores in London in addition to the newly opened Manchester boutique. It also has a concession in upmarket department store Brown Thomas in Dublin.

Pictured: Rings by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co with diamonds, green tourmaline, tanzanite and pink tourmaline

Giles Deacon unveils latest H Samuel collection

Giles Deacon’s latest jewellery collection for Signet-owned high street retailer H Samuel has now gone on sale. The range includes designs featuring crystals and sterling silver and locks, keys, hearts and stars feature heavily in the designs.

Deacon’s first collaboration with H Samuel in 2008 was his first eve high street jewellery collection.

At the time, Deacon described his designs by saying: “Jewellery is becoming so much more important in fashion. I think the woman who will wear the collection is fashion conscious with a sense of humour and loves to accessorise her outfits."

Retail prices range from £29.99 for a pair of crystal-studded earrings (pictured) to £69.99 for a sterling silver charm-style bracelet. The collection is on sale now at H Samuel stores.

Clogau Gold creates new heart collection

Brand Clogau Gold has launched a new heart-inspired collection called Close To My Heart. The pendant and set of earrings in the set feature lustrous ribbons of gold that have been twisted into heart shapes and have the Welsh word Cariad engraved on them, which means beloved, sweetheart or darling.

The retail prices for the Close To My Heart collection are £260 for the pendant and £149 for the drop earrings.

Lily Cole evokes otherworldly glamour with Shaun Leane’s Luna

Model of the moment Lily Cole chose jewellery designer of the moment Shaun Leane when she glammed up for the London premiere of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Cole wore black diamond multi-drop earrings from Leane’s Luna collection.

The surreal Luna range is inspired by astronaught Neil Armstrong’s quote “it’s different but it’s pretty out here”. Also in the range is a cocktail ring with a carved centre surrounded by glistening black diamonds that evokes otherworldly glamour.

Leane was crowned Jewellery Designer of the Year at the UK Jewellery Awards 2009 in July.

Kabiri hosts Jayce Wong glow-in-the-dark exhibition

At a special launch event at the Kabiri store in Covent Garden, London last night, Jayce Wong showcased her collection of precious jewellery featuring naturally fluorescent gemstones. The range, which uses stones such as rubies and diamonds, was displayed in a blacked out room in the store, lit only with UV lights to highlight the fluorescent properties of the jewellery.

Kabiri will be hosting an exhibition of Wong’s work, entitled A New Stone Age, at the store from now until December 3.

Wong is a classically trained jeweller and gemologist and earned a Bachelor and Master Degree in Jewellery Design at London’s Central Saint Martins. Jayce Wong's opulent jewellery showcases her passion for coloured gemstones and is inspired by the how light affects each piece.

Coloured Rocks revamps website

Online retailer Coloured Rocks has launched a sleek, new-look website somewhat reminiscent of top fashion e-tailer Asos. Top-selling products on the site, which is co-owned by Gems TV founder Steve Bennett, include agate bangles retailing for £19 and its Kama charm collection retailing from £8.

Pictured: Colouredrocks.com

Recognise Alexa's skull necklace?

A friend of mine spotted a picture of Alexa Chung (ignore the becoming expression) wearing a delicate necklace with a skull motif at The Whitney Museum Gala at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. She’d love to know who has designed it but I’m at a loss – any ideas, please comment below!

Pictured: Alexa Chung (Picture from Contactmusic.com)

Watch sales soar in September

Sales of watches in September jumped 30.4% in the UK compared to the previous year, according to analysis conducted by GfK. However this impressive increase only equated to an uplift of 3.4% in terms of value due to a decrease in pricing over the year.

A major driver of the year-on-year sales growth was the strong performance of ladies’ watches. Ladies’ watches were, on average, responsible for 49% of all watches sold. However, this increased to 51% in September, up from 45% in September 2008.

Pricing played a key factor with the average price for a ladies watch in September being the lowest it has been during the duration of GfK’s audit to date at £41, compared to £59 in September 2008.

The number of watches sold at specialist jewellery stores fell in September by 1.8% but value increased 7.4% with average prices rising from £212 to £232.

Elsewhere, average watch prises tumbled. In department stores the average price of watches decreased from £89 to £73 and at general retailers prices slipped from £25 to £18.

Pictured: diamond watch, £46, Coloured Rocks

Thierry Stern appointed president of Patek Philippe

Thierry Stern has been appointed as president of luxury watch brand Patek Philippe, continuing the family-owned tradition of the business for the fourth generation. Stern was also named president of the board of directors.

As part of the Patek Philippe family, Stern grew up in the world of watchmaking and took a hands-on role in the watchmaking industry from 1990, gaining experience in production workshops and business management as well as working with retailers and subsidiaries in Germany and the US.

From 1997 to 1998, Stern was in charge of the Benelux market and in 1998, he was appointed head of the creation department and took part in group strategic decisions by taking over the position of vice-president.

Patek Philippe is run by a management committee currently composed of Thierry Stern, honorary president Philippe Stern and chief executive Claude Peny.

Heart Gallery in Hebdon Bridge will be hosting its fourth annual selling exhibition

Heart Gallery in Hebdon Bridge will be hosting its fourth annual selling exhibition featuring more than 80 designer-makers from the UK, including jewellery designers Alice Gow, Andrea Thorpe, Claire Troughton, Karen Morrison, Lua Lua, Lucy Palmer, Nick Hubbard, Rubie Rae and Tanya Krackowizer.

The event takes place on November 7 at Heart Gallery, The Arts Centre, 4a Market Street, Hebdon Bridge.

Pictured: Rings by Alice Gow

CMJ reports revived demand for higher-end pieces

Demand for precious jewellery, particularly D- and E-grade diamond pieces, was revived at the August meeting of buying group the Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ), which attracted a record 500 delegates to the event at Chesford Grange. At previous meetings since the recession hit, CMJ members had been focused on topping up stock and buying into fashion lines such as beads but the mood has significantly shifted.

Sales of the CMJ’s own diamond brand MasterCut rocketed 500% in the eight weeks to September 15, and the group’s 12 key diamond suppliers reported that the August buying meeting was their best in 18 months – exceeding pre-recession meetings.

CMJ chief executive Willie Hamilton said: “There was a great buzz at the meeting and buyers are now realising that they have to shop across the mix. At the beginning of the year people were so cautious but now they realise that precious jewellery has held its value.”

Quality watches from brands including Raymond Weil moved well despite fears from independent retailers that multiples will repeat the heavy festive watch discounting experienced on the high street last year.

Platinum sales were said to be “exceptional” and there was increased interest in palladium jewellery as a result of the hallmark coming into place in July. Gold, however, evoked more caution from buyers due to continuing rising prices which broke the $1,000 per oz barrier in September and could be set to rise again.