Jewellery Focus JFOC July 2017 digital | Page 12

MONTH IN REVIEW www . jewelleryfocus . co . uk 1 2 3 4 5 6

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

De Beers to consider investing in start-ups

De Beers Group announced the launch of De Beers Ventures , which has been set up to actively consider the acquisition of minority stakes in startups and growth companies .

The new initiative will consider small investments in areas that may include downstream distribution , consumer brands , marketing platforms , security , cutting and polishing , and imaging technologies .

The objectives of the investments will be to “ generate returns that are both strategic and financial .”

Tom Montgomery , senior vice president of strategic initiatives , De Beers Group , said : “ Not all good ideas can be generated or executed by a large corporation .

“ We believe that harnessing the energy of entrepreneurs to pursue strategic opportunities that benefit De Beers and the diamond industry can be a cost-effective , risk-reduced way to pursue innovation .”

Each piece in this collection really does come from the heart , in fact I incorporate hearts in every piece I do , a little signature that it ’ s a CarterGore piece

Gary Carter , CarterGore

HALLMARKING

Gold hallmarking continues to drop as silver remains strong

The number of gold articles hallmarked in the month of May reported a 14.1 % drop when compared to last year ’ s figures .

Figures from the Birmingham Assay Office suggest that silver showed a growing strength with a 24.1 % increase in hallmarked articles when compared to the same period last year .

Platinum showed a downtick of 0.9 % while palladium suffered more than gold with a 14.9 % decrease .

Despite a drop across all other metals , the strength of silver hallmarked articles drove the overall number of hallmarked metals up to a year-on-year increase of 2.6 %.

TECHNOLOGY

Timex and SilMach set to shake up watch industry with new technology

Watch designer Timex has partnered with SilMach , French pioneer in micro-electro-mechanical-systems ( MEMS ) to create the first MEMS powered watch .

The timepieces will utilise MEMS watch motors ( boxes ) and will be the first brand to use the patented MEMS nanotechnology . The new PowerMEMS Movement will replace older magnetic technology which currently exists in quartz analogue watches .

Timex and SilMach unveiled the partnership at the Le Bourget air show in Paris on 22 June . The first collection of the new venture is set to be released in 2019 .

PowerMEMS motors are expected to replace the Lavat magnets currently

in analogue watches by reversing the traditional usage of passive MEMS to translate an electrical signal into micro mechanical motion .

The companies hope that new technology will “ create endless possibilities in design and function .” The watches powered by MEMS are expected to have longer battery life and fewer components , meaning less complexity , lower costs and “ superior quality .” The expectation is that this will lead to more flexibility and creativity in watch design .

Silmach and Timex will co-design and co-own the PowerMEMS motor boxes .

Tobias Reiss-Schmidt , TIMEX group president and CEO , said : “ Thanks to our partnership with SilMach , Timex has succeeded in developing yet again a first in the watch industry . Together with SilMach we are disrupting the industry and setting the stage for nanotechnology .

“ With this development , we are taking revolutionary steps that will dramatically enhance design and function in watchmaking in ways that were previously not thought possible .”

22 July

Parallax Art Fair

28 July

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jewellery Quarter Festival 2017

3 September

IJL 2017 Olympia London

12 JEWELLERY FOCUS

July 2017 | jewelleryfocus . co . uk