Jewellery Focus February 2018 | Page 8

MONTH IN REVIEW www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk POP-UP Bucherer opens ‘experiential pop up’ in Selfridges’ Wonder Room Bucherer Fine Jewellery has announced a new ‘experiential pop-up boutique’ in London department store Selfridges. Bucherer Fine Jewellery will invite shoppers and jewellery lovers to explore its Swiss jewellery craftsmanship and diamond expertise, where customers can design their own unique piece and project messages onto the wall space for their loved ones. The pop-up will be followed by a permanent boutique in the Selfridges Wonder Room, due to open in Spring 2018. Alongside selected items of jewellery to be displayed, Bucherer Fine Jewellery will also provide an insight into the art of hand-producing exquisite pieces, as practised by the House of Bucherer in its own workshops since its founding in 1888. The boutique will also feature a demonstration of the Swiss jewellers’ specialist expertise in diamonds, and in a private lounge, customers will have the chance to design individual pieces of jewellery themselves. The pop-up boutique will house the new Bucherer Fine Jewellery ‘Peekaboo’ collection. In a statement, Bucherer said: “[For us] jewellery is far more than a decorative accessory viewed instead as expressions of the wearer’s own personality, creating statement pieces to accompany their owners through a lifetime. “The creations are modern yet timeless and convey a joie de vivre through collections such as Daily Treasures, Lacrima, Classics and High Jewellery.” The pastel coloured stones include precious morganite, yellow beryl and aquamarine set in an unusual design. For this collection Bucherer Fine Jewellery has developed the ‘Peekaboo Starcut’, which is said to enhance the brilliance and saturation of the stones. 8 JEWELLERY FOCUS 1 2 TEMPORARY STORE V by Laura Vann launches first temporary store in London V by Laura Vann has launched its first temporary store in Shoreditch to promote its brand. The store will be used as a both a premises from which to sell and as a showroom for press and buyers during London Fashion Week, and is the result of regular exposure at London Fashion Week, celebrity and editorial coverage and a dedicated customer base. Designer Laura Vann said: “We forever chase our tails during fashion week and although going it alone will be hard work, I know we will feel much more relaxed and in control this season.” She added: “We love working with our stockists and they are invaluable to our business. Having this temporary store will give us the opportunity to build brand awareness and get direct feedback from our customers which is something we don’t get to experience very often. Using this feedback we can evolve and improve the brand for the benefit of not just our consumers, but our valued stockists too.” The Birmingham-based brand is also working with set designers Isabel + Helen to create an Art Deco interior wonderland within the shipping container store. Vann said: “We’re so excited to be working with Isabel + Helen on another project for V. Our signature Art Deco style is key to our aesthetic and we can’t wait to see how they project it within the store.” The V store will run from January until April 2018. 3 4 5 6 7 8 Russian laws stipulate that special size rough diamonds over 10.8 carats can be sold only at auctions Yevgeny Agureev, director of the united selling organization of Alrosa ETHICS EU new Kimberley Process chair for 2018 The European Union (EU) has taken over the chairmanship of the Kimberley Process for 2018, under the leadership of Italian politician Federica Mogherini. The EU will head the international initiative to stem the trade in conflict diamonds during 2018. Kimberley is a process started in 2003 following the United Nations General Assembly’s Resolution 55/56. It is aimed at removing conflict diamonds from the global supply chain, which means that participants have to go through a certification scheme that ensures that their diamond purchases are not financing violence by rebel movements aiming at undermining legitimate governments. Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said: “For the European Union, the Kimberley Process is part of our work for sustainable development. “It is part of our work for sustainable peace — to prevent new conflicts and cut the revenues of criminal and terrorist groups. It is part of our work for human rights, to make sure that diamonds produce wealth, not modern slavery. “The main strength of the Kimberley process has always been that it looks beyond governments, to civil society and to private sector. This is our main asset as we chart the way ahead. We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders in this coming year.” February 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk