Jewellery Focus JFOC August 2017 | Page 3

EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS Innovation Station CONTRIBUTORS CHLOE KIND Chloe spoke to us on behalf of the jewellery designer Annie Haak, who gets most of the inspiration for her pieces from the island of Bali where she is based for most of the year JOANNA HARDY Joanna is a senior jewellery specialist with over 30 years’ experience working with jewellery with past roles spanning across the whole industry and globe JANET FITCH Janet is a veteran JF columnist, and has written for both magazines and newspapers including the Sun and the Daily Mail, later owning her own jewellery shops LEONARD ZELL Leonard has been training fine jewellers for 25 years. His monthly column gives some top tips on sales training and improving your bottom line ON THE COVER FEATURE August 2017 | www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk £5.95 | ISSN 2046-7265 It’s no secret that consumer technology pervades almost everything we do nowadays, but a perhaps under-reported but clearly associated phenomenon is the impact it is having on design and creativity. This month alone, I have a seen a slew of brands designing and manufacturing jewellery pieces which take their inspiration from computing and precision engineering. For instance, we have Bailey of Sheffield, which has teamed up with aerospace and motorsport coatings specialist Wallwork Cambridge to customise its stainless steel necklaces and bracelets. The newest addition to the range is a set of beads, described as “finely machined cylinders in different geometries”. The bracelet itself uses a physical vapour deposition (PVD) process, and the items to be coated are rotated on a carousel within a vacuum chamber where a donor material in a crucible is bombarded with a high-energy electron beam. This vaporises the donor material which is drawn to and condenses on the surface of the item to be coated under the influence of a negative electrical charge. Sound techie to you? It does to me. Next there’s men’s jewellery designer, Vanacci, which has brought out a line of fragrance-infused jewellery inspired by the lunar calendar. The Nightfall range has been designed to feature phases of the moon and it incorporates a patented ‘Lockstone’ material, which allows the wearer to spray a scent on the product and have it diffuse throughout the day. When sprayed on the jewellery, the longevity of the fragrance is said to be increased by seven times compared to wearing it on the skin. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that in a generation of iPhone- wielding, Snapchat-sharing, Starbucks-freelancing people, designers see a market for jewellery created in weird and wonderful ways. Ranges such as these reflect the zeitgeist in a manner that speaks directly to how far humankind has come in the invention and innovation stakes. Some may see it as gimmickry and a cynical marketing ploy – after all, who needs a bracelet that can withstand extreme temperatures or air-resistance? But really, all jewellery is pure frivolity and pleasure. No-one actually needs a pendant or a diamond ring, so why not extend that philosophy to some design quirks that chime with the times we live in? I hope you enjoy the issue. JAILHOUSE JEWELLERY BCU jewellery lecturer Andrew Howard on encountering an imprisoned jeweller on America’s death row LUXURY WEARABLES Wearable tech has given itself a luxe makeover - is there demand? JEWELS WITH A SCENT Vanacci explains the science and process behind its newest release PEARLS OF THE OCEAN The history and formation of the extraordinary South Sea Pearls 15 Joanna Hardy - Page 28 SOCIAL MEDIA How do you use it to drive sales? August 2017 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk 48 28 SALES SKILLS VIRTUAL LEARNING How to find the best jewellery sales assistants The first online jewellery school launches MICHAEL NORTHCOTT Editor, Jewellery Focus JEWELLERY FOCUS 3