Jewellery Focus October 2018 | Page 6

MONTH IN REVIEW www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk START: THE MONTH’S NEWS BEGAN HERE JEWELLERY COLLECTIONS V by Laura Vann to be stocked at Harvey Nichols with new collection V by Laura Vann is to debut its new collection by featuring it in selected Harvey Nichols stores. The new collection named the ‘Treasures Collection’ is a catalogue of oceanic jewellery inspired by Vancouver’s Art-Deco Marine building. The brand is teaming up with stockist Harvey Nichols to debut Treasures at its Manchester store on 31 August. Following this, the collection will tour across stocked Harvey Nichols stores to mark the launch of their AW18 collection. Designer Laura Vann commenting on the collection, said: “The common thread between all V hero pieces is a distinctive Art Deco aesthetic applied to a contemporary trend. This season’s undeniable trend is seashells and the Marine building in Vancouver was the perfect inspiration to draw from. I wanted to add fluidity and curvature to my designs without tactlessly trading in Deco for Nouveau. “I knew there was a middle ground and the Marine building allowed me to explore this the way we had visualised. The Art Deco building features playful architectural details of sea flora and fauna which I was able to translate into jewellery studded with ocean-green gemstones and lustrous mother of pearls encased in shimmering gold shells.” The price of gold fell by £15 to £911/oz in September 6 JEWELLERY FOCUS 1 2 EVENTS New responsible jewellery event to launch in Edinburgh in November Jewellery retailers, designers and suppliers are being invited to attend Goldflair, an evening event in celebration of responsible jewellery taking place on 23 November 2018. The event is being organised by Ian Nicholson, jeweller, silversmith and managing director of Edinburgh’s Precious Metals Workshop, and is being sponsored by Scottish luxury jewellery house Hamilton & Inches. The evening aims to raise money for fairtrade, fairmined and the Dragonfly Initiative’s artisanal mining programmes to help improve the working conditions of artisanal mining communities. Nicholson said: “I have seen first- hand the conditions that our gold is sourced in developing countries and there is extreme poverty with no other options but to dig in the dirt for as little as £1 a day’s wage. However, I am optimistic with organisations such as Fairtrade, Fairmined and the Dragonfly Initiative helping from the first step in artisanal mining.” He added: “There is growing strength in the responsible jewellery movement and the UK is leading the way with our ethical symposiums, events like Goldflair and the fabulous traceable Scottish Gold. It is now that businesses need to come together under a united responsible banner and do what we can to minimise the exploitation issues that exist in our supply chains.” 3 4 5 6 7 8 Goldflair won’t change this overnight, but it will help to continue to address these issues , keep the conversation alive, bring a positive change and give back to those who need it most Ian Nicholson, managing director, Edinburgh’s Precious Metals Workshop JEWELLERY STORES Serendipity Diamonds launches new high street jewellery showroom Onliner diamond jeweller Serendipity Diamonds has opened a new high street showroom in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. The retailer, which was established in 2007, said its new showroom takes a “fresh approach to jewellery”, which merges its online experience with a “contemporary boutique environment”. The group added that the Isle of Wight has proven itself to be a “fantastic location for couples getting engaged”, and it means local couples will “no longer need to travel to Hatton Garden“ to buy a diamond engagement ring or wedding ring. Mark Johnson, managing director and co-founder of Serendipity Diamonds.“We’re very excited to make Serendipity Diamonds far more accessible to the public. “We now work directly alongside our visiting clients in the showroom itself. This means we are always on hand to give expert help, with access to jewellery, backed by our informative website.” October 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk