CONTRIBU TORS
ISABELLA LIU
Isabella was born
in China and came
to the UK to study
at Birmingham City
University’s School of
Jewellery. Since 2014
she has had her own
design studio called
Isabella Liu Jewellery.
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
DAVID RHODE
David has over 15 years
of experience in the
trade as one of the
co-founders of Ingle &
Rhode
Create a firework display in your window this November with
jewellery from the Luke Stockley Fine Jewellery Collection.
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T . + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 74 9 5 8 0 5 5
E. [email protected]
W. lukestockley.com
I
t is always significant when a major brand takes a step
in the right direction. Not solely because of the good
that comes from that firm’s activities, but because it
represents a loud signal to the rest of the industry
about where attitudes are headed. I am talking about
Tiffany & Co, which announced this month it will begin
sharing the provenance of its newly sourced, individually
registered diamonds with consumers.
Dubbed the ‘Diamond Source Initiative’, Tiffany scheme
traces each diamond (0.18 carats and larger) by way of a
laser-etched ‘T&Co’ serial number - invisible to the naked eye
- and provides consumers geographic sourcing information
specific to their diamond. Tiffany said when announcing the
programme that knowing provenance is “critical to ensuring
its diamonds are among the most responsibly sourced in
the world”. Further plans include “sharing the diamond’s
craftsmanship journey”, which they claim is an industry first.
Smaller producers, importers, and wholesalers will
need to take note. When a behemoth of consumer luxury
begins to make provably accurate claims provenance, and
to weave it into the fabric of their marketing, it turns the
screw just a little more on those who are not ready to
make parallel claims about their own offering (honestly so,
anyway). We are looking down the barrel of a major shift in
consumer expectation – it has already begun of course, but
announcements like Tiffany’s mean total transparency is now
an inevitability, and those who cannot exercise it properly in
the coming decades will lose the race.
I hope you enjoy this month’s issue.
Please call us to make an appointment
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EDITOR’S LET TER
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.
MICHAEL NORTHCOTT
Editor, Jewellery Focus
[email protected]
MAY 2019 | WWW.JEWELLERYFOCUS.CO.UK
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