MONTH IN REVIEW
GO ONLINE
www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk
It has been a pleasure and a
rare privilege to have served
this unique organisation
as executive director. We
have undertaken the review
of our standards and laid the
ground for the inclusion of
coloured gems and silver.
Andrew Bone, RJC
AWARDS
Jacobs the
Jewellers wins
‘Retailer of the
Year’ 2018
Family-owned independent retailer
Jacobs the Jewellers was awarded
‘Retailer of the Year’ at the Reading
Retail Awards on 22 September.
The accolade was presented to the
Jacobs team, led by co-owners Ian,
Adrienne and Adam Jacobs, by the
previous year’s winner Ikea.
According to the group the award is
the most prestigious of the event and is
selected from all businesses in the area
by a panel of retail professionals, with
over 3000 entries this year.
Judges praised Jacobs the Jewellers
for its long-standing demonstration
of “exceptional service, regional client
attraction and unique high-quality
range of jewellery, watches and gifts”.
Jacobs said: “We’re just thrilled to
bits – the award came as a complete
surprise. We’d like to give a huge
thanks to our brilliant team who have
played a big part in this achievement.
At the heart of the business are our
customers and the Reading community
– they’ve allowed us to serve them over
the years and keep coming back.”
November 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
JEWELLERY SUPPLIERS
Gemfields
launches ‘Every
Piece Unique’
global campaign
Gemfields, the supplier of responsibly
sourced coloured gemstones,
has launched a global advertising
campaign with Gutenberg Global
and adam&eveDDB, in order to raise
awareness of responsible sourcing in
the coloured gemstone industry.
The mining company believes that
coloured gemstones should be mined
and marketed by championing three
key values – ‘transparency, integrity and
legitimacy’ – and seeks to challenge
itself and the sector by setting new
benchmarks for responsible sourcing.
Gemfields said the campaign
was designed to bring these core
values and its associated initiatives
to life, highlighting the breadth of
consideration involved in responsibly
supplying coloured gemstones to
global markets.
Emily Dungey, group marketing and
communications director, said: “We
wanted to bring to life the many stories
behind responsibly sourcing precious
gemstones in Africa, as there is far
more to our business than industry-
leading mining and geology.
“The characters in the campaign
allow us to build awareness of the
many life-changing community
projects we carry out, our pioneering
quest for greater transparency across
the industry and the support we
provide for vital conservation works
protecting Africa’s biodiversity.”
She added: “The campaign is a
snapshot of who we are: it’s fun,
unexpected and non-conformist, but
also gives an insight into some of the
ways in which Gemfields strives to
leave a positive and lasting impact.”
1
2
3
4
5
6
STORE OPENINGS
Diamond jeweller
Vashi launches
in two Selfridges
stores in
Manchester
Diamond jeweller Vashi has opened
two stores in Selfridges in Manchester,
the business’s first expansion outside
of London.
Vashi now occupies 1,000 sq ft of
space on the ground floor of Selfridges
Trafford Centre, sitting within the luxury
and contemporary accessories space,
and also occupies a 500 sq ft space on
the ground floor of Selfridges Exchange
Square. The openings follow Vashi’s
expansion into a 1,200 sq ft space in
Selfridges London in August this year.
In store, Vashi ‘Alchemists’ are
positioned centrally at the diamond
bars to help “guide” customers as they
explore design ideas, hand-pick loose
diamonds and “immerse themselves in
the jewellery creating experience”.
To coincide with the store openings
Vashi has launched a new diamond
choker necklace, exclusive to Selfridges.
This piece features an interconnecting
‘V’ design, which sits around the neck
in 18 carat white gold. It is also available
in 18 carat yellow gold and platinum,
or a combination of both, and is also
adorned with over 300 round diamonds.
Vashi Dominguez, founder and
CEO, said: “We’re hugely excited to be
bringing our innovative approach to
diamond jewellery to Manchester with
the opening of these two stores. This
thriving and exciting city is the perfect
place in which to expand our business,
as we aim to introduce more people to
our unique and creative concept.“
JEWELLERY FOCUS
7