CONTRIBU TORS
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
REBECCA SHARE
Rebecca is a
gemmologist and
jewellery manager
for the Fine Jewellery
Company based in
Birmingham, a city
renowned for its historic
jewellery quarter
DAUVIT ALEXANDER
Dauvit is a designer and
lecturer at Birmingham
City University’s
School of Jewellery,
teaching jewellery and
silversmithing to the
next wave of designers
CHARLOTTE ROSS
Charlotte is one of the
leading contributors of
content and all things
SEO related at digital
specialists Dojono
EDITOR’S LET TER
AN APPETITE REMAINS
Against a backdrop of political crisis in the UK, it is important to take
note when industry-specific positives show themselves, and prove the
machinations in Westminster need not take up all of our attention.
And this month in the jewellery world, there were indeed some
positives. First up, Watches of Switzerland said it is seeking a market
capitalisation of up to £660m in its upcoming London public listing.
The retailer wants to raise £200m at least part of which will be used
to pay down some debt. That a watch retailer could justify such a
substantial capitalisation means investors think it is going to sell a lot
more watches in the coming years. For a barometer of that market going
forward, the share price will be worth keeping an eye on post-flotation.
Next up, the Richemont Group, which owns Cartier, IWC and
Jaeger-LeCoultre, has reported a 27% increase in group sales to
€13,989m (£12,261m) for the year ending 31 March 2019. The group
enjoyed its best growth in Asia Pacific and the Americas, where it was
in double-digits, but there was also growth in all other business areas
and most regions.
Finally, and a little closer to the jeweller’s daily reality, compared
with the same period last year, the number of gold and silver pieces
hallmarked in April 2019 increased by 6.6% and 3.3% respectively,
while platinum grew by 11.7%, according to figures compiled by the
Birmingham Assay Office. Overall hallmarking in April increased by
4.5% from 665,344 to 695,598 pieces. In the era of iPads, volatile gold,
cash-conscious consumers and high street challenges, this must surely
be celebrated.
As we enter the summer months and the punters head out onto the
streets in good weather, I wish all our readers trading success.
MICHAEL NORTHCOTT
Editor, Jewellery Focus
[email protected]
JUNE 2019 | WWW.JEWELLERYFOCUS.CO.UK
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