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‘Above all, Rising Stars is a celebration of skills, technique, creativity, highly imaginative thought processes and countless other talents that combine to produce the stunning and unusual work of these outstanding artists’. The curator of Rising Stars, Janice Blackburn.
The recent ‘Rising Stars’ exhibition, featured in last month’s J-dex, at Goldsmiths’ Hall caused consternation amongst the established silversmithing fraternity. To discover why, I have asked Christopher English of The Silver Trust to explain why he found the exhibition of concern and I met with the silversmith Grant Macdonald the Prime Warden elect of the Goldsmiths’ Company to discuss the exhibition.
Grant Macdonald said: “I would describe the examples of silversmithing in the exhibition as ‘Marmite Silver’, so you either love it, or you hate it”
Christopher English, of the Silver Trust, wrote in response to my question to him by firstly quoted from the Principals of Decorative Design (1873).
“Silver objects like those formed of clay or glass should perfectly serve the end for which they have been formed....” Christopher Dresser
Christopher continued: “My first comment is not consternation but CONCERN where silversmithing is going and if this is the road ahead; will it sustain a livelihood for these young people? I do not want to dampen this initiative or to be harsh on these young people but I think the question needs to be asked and I hope that you will initiate a debate in your columns over the coming months.
The more there are exhibitions of contemporary silver the more likely it is that people will consider buying applied art from practicing artists in the same way as they now buy contemporary art from living artists.
The Silver Trust was established in order to create a collection of the finest examples of work from practicing British silversmiths that would be loaned to 10 Downing Street for the use of the Prime Minister of the day.
The idea for this collection was to create pieces that would be sufficient to service a full State Banquet of 65 guests and at other times be used in less formal settingfor the daily requirements of government entertaining. The collection has now been in regular use since 1993.
The most recent addition to the collection is ‘Principia’ a table fountain and centrepiece - it is a serendipitous flight of fancy, and I have no doubt it will cause question to my comments that follow - it is pure design. Its function is solely to intrigue and entertain, that is the purpose of a centrepiece.
‘Principia’ was designed by Angela Conner and made by Richard Fox and John Cutbush who works with Richard. The central gilded sphere is filled with water, which causes the outer elements to close and hide the gilded globe. Slowly, during the course of dinner the water drains into a large silver dish and the globe is gradually exposed.
This piece is not only a wonder of silversmithing but also of engineering and physics. The flow of the water, the weight of the outer elements and the size of the gilded centre element had to be carefully calculated to ensure that the piece opened over a two hour period which is the normal length of dinner at No 10. The balance is so acute that it worked perfectly before the outer elements were polished and after polishing the weights needed to be re-aligned. This piece combines all the elements of the superb skills and artistry of a fine silversmith.
The Trustees when commissioning a silversmith for the collection in no way sought to influence the ideas that the silversmith would bring to the table. Instructions were simple; an indication of the size, the piece to be made, the materials and metals to be used, but also, and this is the crucial element of the commission, silversmiths were asked to ensure that the piece be decorative, well made and practical. Well made and practical being vital factors – all these pieces are used on a regular basis for government entertaining at Downing Street and not put in display cabinets for the visitors to perhaps remark on. Importantly, all the items in the collection had to be easy to maintain. This collection has now been in constant use since 1993
I question whether the pieces on show in ‘Rising Stars’ qualify for the three criteria set by the Trustees – design, use and practicality. I cannot say they do. I admit that these are in the main young silversmiths who are starting on their careers and I hate to pour cold water on their work and the initiative in putting this show together.
From my point of view the questions raised by this exhibition are:
• Would these pieces sell to the retail outlets?
• Do the exhibitors know the market they are entering and have they researched their competitors?
• Are these ‘Young Turks’ who will start to jostle for a position alongside the leading silversmiths?
• Are they able to make practical items e.g. a jug that pours properly?
• Can the pieces be easily maintained?
If this exhibition shows the way forward for silver then we must ask the question –will their work give them a livelihood? It would seem that the appeal of the items on display is for a limited market - the interior decorator, galleries and museums and perhaps some private collectors. These markets have a finite life for an individual silversmith.
I know I have raised more questions than I have answered but we do need to question very seriously the future of silversmithing in the UK. One only has to look at Alessi to see where we are missing out – the UK has some of the finest silversmiths in the world and yet we cannot sustain anything similar. Does the fault lie with the colleges and what the students are being taught and should we be looking to Europe to see how they are training their silversmiths?” asks Christopher English.
Grant Macdonald and I re-visited the exhibition together, the day after the opening evening, to look closely at the silversmithing work. The night before he had expressed doubts about the functionality of some of the work. We then discussed that many of these pieces of silversmithing were never designed to be used and that they were either conceptual pieces or artworks. However there did not seem to be a clear distinction between the artworks and the practical pieces. Sadly a number of pieces were not functional such as candelabra fixed to the wall without sconces to catch the wax and even the candles were held in by blu-tac. Vases which, we considered would not stand up for very long, if ever used. One set of silversmithing pieces, for breakfast use, was made of such thin silver (.3mm) that the claim of the artist to practical and everyday use was severely in doubt.
But ultimately I think that I can brush aside these criticisms. These artists are ‘Risings Stars’. I am happy to see these pieces as works in progress, many of the artists had only recently left college. I also believe that both they and the industry has yet to find a voice for modern silversmithing. The public has turned its back on mass-produced silverware and I think the ‘bowls and trophies’ market for silversmithing is a niche market and a cul-de-sac.
These young people are searching for the new silversmithing of the 21st century. They are partly achieving this by emphasising design, lifestyle choices and art over basic practicality at this stage. They know that silverware is respected, and precious to the buyer. I hope that can take on board the needs of collectors who want a piece of beautiful work that they can use on special occasions. So maybe all these new ideas are not so diverse from the old concepts of silverware being precious and special and we can bring together the new set of artists and the venerable collectors such as Christopher English who so valuably support modern silversmithing through a constructive discussion of what is needed. Back to top
TRADE TALK
G.F.WILLIAMS
Passionate about Gems
The holiday season is upon us
The UK now imports more finished jewellery than it manufactures, this has been a trend for many years. Many of our clients travel regularly for business to other markets. We welcome this, it helps their understanding of the service we provide and the difficulties we often face.
Knowledge gained of markets visited is an invaluable tool in judging purchases. Every overseas trip has an individual feel and many of you will encounter different tales of ‘adventure’ gained from the experience. My father, extensively travelled, and with more full passports than I will ever manage, tells some magnificent stories of his travels.
One favourite of mine is of a trip to Columbia buying Emerald, staying at an indifferent hotel with service, to match. He went by taxi to an appointment and upon finishing tried to raise a taxi – to no avail. His contact made a telephone call and shortly a large dark car appeared to return him to the hotel.
The previously indolent doorman leapt from his seat and nearly had the car door off its hinges in his haste to open it. The desk manager was unassailable in his newfound willingness to assist with any needs and dining was a comedy of waiters falling over each other to serve.
After 3 days of this farce, he enquired of the expatriate hotel manager why the sudden change of service level?
The reason it turned out, was that the car he had been delivered to the hotel in belonged to the head of the dreaded secret police. Subsequently it turned out he was the brother of my father’s afternoon appointment.
Safe journey......
Further expansion as Stubbs&Co. joins Emagold
Stubbs &Co., a major supplier of fine jewellery to over 2,000 independent jewellers and department stores in the UK, Europe and Australia, is the latest recruit to Emagold – the quality jewellery manufacturers’ association, bringing its membership to fifteen companies.
Emagold was founded in 1992 with support from the World Gold Council and has long been dedicated to the promotion of quality, British designed jewellery. Its membership includes some of the UK’s most long-established and largest jewellery producers.
David Shem-Tov, managing director of Stubbs&Co. - a family business based in London’s Hatton Garden - is delighted to have been accepted into the group. “British jewellery businesses are under increasing competition from overseas but it is my belief that we at Stubbs&Co. and our fellow Emagold members have a great deal to offer the UK’s trade, not simply in the great diversity of fine jewellery we supply, but also in terms of our superior levels of service, intimate market knowledge and flexibility of response. Working as a group we can ensure that this message is more fully understood,” he says.
Members of Emagold show together on a landmark pavilion at International Jewellery London and at Spring Fair Birmingham and Stubbs&Co. will be joining the group for the first time at IJL in September, 2007. “This will be our first exhibition for 15 years and we are excited about showing under the Emagold umbrella,” says Shem-Tov.
Renowned for its innovative approach to marketing, Stubbs&Co. will take the opportunity at IJL to showcase how the Refining your brand TM philosophy, combined with its fine jewellery collections of wedding rings, enduring consumer favourites and chic, cutting-edge designs can make a real difference to its customers’ bottom line.
Welcoming Stubbs&Co. to Emagold, the group’s President, John Coupland of Saunders Shepherd Group, said: “We have no doubt that having Stubbs&Co. on board will further strengthen an already strong group. Stubbs is well known in the industry and has an enviable reputation for the integrity and diversity of its product. Its presence on the Pavilion at IJL will provide an additional draw to retailers looking for British suppliers of the highest calibre.”
For further information:
John Coupland, President
0121 236 1729
Mary Brittain (PR) 01905 621064
Stephen Webster gets strategic investment from US billionaire.
Stephen Webster Limited has announced that The Yucaipa Companies, LLC has made an investment in the British luxury jeweller and agreed to support its expansion plans. With the strategic, operational and financial support of The Yucaipa Companies, Stephen Webster is now in a position to pursue its international growth strategy, including the opening of new locations and the launch of new product lines.
Under the creative direction of Stephen Webster, a five-time winner of the British Luxury Jeweller of the Year award, Stephen Webster Limited has experienced rapid growth over the past several years, with sales doubling in 2006.
Currently, Stephen Webster has more than 60 points of sale worldwide, including wholesale and franchise accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Dubai, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. With the support of The Yucaipa Companies, Stephen Webster plans to invest in extensive retail expansion, distribution and marketing, with new lines and products. “The last few years have seen the Stephen Webster name grow into a global niche luxury brand, including an impressive wholesale business with Neiman Marcus in the United States, traditionally a very difficult achievement for a small European business. The new investment and expertise of Yucaipa will allow us to expand to our full potential and realise our vision for the future,” commented Stephen Webster.
“Stephen Webster has grown into the success it is today through its unwavering commitment to craftsmanship and Stephen’s 30 years of experience in serving the luxury consumer with innovative designs. With the appropriate financial support, the growth prospects for Stephen Webster within the luxury jewellery market are extremely compelling. We are very excited about the partnership,” said Ron Burkle, Managing Partner of The Yucaipa Companies.Yucaipa made its name with grocery stores. The investment company forged its reputation as the ultimate grocery shopper, executing a series of grocery chain mergers and acquisitions involving such companies as Fred Meyer, Ralphs, and Jurgensen’s that put the company on the US supermarket map. The Yucaipa Companies currently owns stakes in Wild Oats, Pathmark, and SUPERVALU. The company’s chairman, billionaire and former grocery store bag boy Ron Burkle, is a prominent Democratic party activist and fundraiser; former president Bill Clinton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson serve as advisors to the company.
Gem-A Diamond Scholarships under way
Two young jewellery designers can satisfy their desire to tackle diamonds in a serious way now they have achieved Gem-A’s Practical Diamond Scholarship. They received the news at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London during the 2007 Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship and Design Awards. In this 100th year of the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council, Gem-A continues its support for the important and exciting link between the understanding of gem materials and the practicalities of jewellery design.
Winners Stacey Whale and Hau Kan Hui both stressed their concern that they must know far more about the gems they are using in order to improve design potential. `I want to and need to know, for ethical, professional and design reasons, all there is to know about stones’, says Stacey, `As a jeweller it is essential that I understand what I am selling to my customers, what stones are on the market...’ she adds, `My jewellery making and design course was a practical view of the arts and crafts combined, yet I missed out on learning gemmology’. Now a fast-rising self-employed designer-maker, Stacey aspires to use a variety of unusual stones in her excitingly creative and dynamic settings.
Hau Kan Hui, at the University College for the Creative Arts in Rochester, explains, `The Scholarship will allow me to improve on both design and practical aspects that enable me to express designs in both 2-D and 3-D to their best outcomes... a good opportunity for a challenge! It will help me a lot in both study and employment in the future’.
BLING COMES TO HEARING AIDS
Bling is not just for young rappers - now it’s for silver surfers too. The most expensive hearing aid in the world has been lovingly crafted by Widex of Denmark as a prototype for a range of unique products for discerning clients.
Cast in solid 24-carat gold and encrusted with 220 diamonds this digital hearing aid and its accompanying remote will retail for over £25,000.
The hearing aid, that claims to be the ‘bling-i-est’ in the world, uses the latest Widex technology - the behind the ear ‘M’ model. It comes with a handy remote that allows wearers to tweak the aid’s settings to maximise its performance in various situations.
Creating this aid required the services of Barry Moule a highly specialised London-based jeweller with a unique set of skills. “Though I have produced exotic items such as jewel encrusted mobile phones in the past this is the most unusual project in my career,” commented Moule.
For further information on Widex products telephone:
0800 0930947 or visit
www.widex co.uk.
Amanda Holden Dazzles in Lady Heart
There was one star that really shone on Britain’s Got Talent, and that was Amanda Holden’s dazzling diamond necklace and earrings by Lady Heart Collection.
Amanda chose to wear Lady Heart on both Thursday’s live semi final and the Grand Finale where she looked stunning in a necklace and earring set from this highly sought after collection.
The Lady Heart diamond features a three diamond design – two Lady Cut® diamonds hug a princess cut diamond forming a heart that appears brighter and larger than a traditional heart-shaped diamond of equal size and carat weight.
The combination of three diamonds allows the creation of an almost limitless number of identical hearts in a collection of jewellery, including striking necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches, and earrings retailing from £1000 up to £100,000. Lady Heart can also offer an exclusive design service for any customers wanting to create one-off pieces.
So although it was Paul Potts that won the competition Amanda certainly has found another star with Lady Heart.
For further information regarding the Lady Heart Collection,
Please contact the Sales Office on: Free Phone 0808 178 2779
Theo Fennell has awarded prizes for the third year running to graduating students from the goldsmith, silversmithing, metalwork & jewellery course at the Royal College of Art, London.
The awards are for Best Work in Jewellery; Best Work in Silver And Overall Excellence.
As well as a cash prize the winners will also receive a hand made Silver Lemel Tin (pictured below); a traditional tool for sifting gold dust from the detritus a jeweller collects on his work bench when making a piece.
Previous years winners have gone onto great success and Theo will again be showcasing this year’s winning designs in his flagship store later this year.
Theo Fennell gold award went to Mette Klarskov Larsen
Liz and Michelle Keep Abreast Of Events...
Liz Brogan and Michelle Tart, employees at The Birmingham Assay Office have taken part in the Playtex Moonwalk 2007. This unique power walking marathon (26.2 miles) took place at night and the girls (pictured below) wore their decorated bras and walking to raise awareness and money for breast cancer.
The staff of The Birmingham Assay Office have also donated bras and sellotaped money into the cups. They have also collected loose change from staff, customers and friends of The Birmingham Assay Office. By the way all the donated bras have been handed over to a local charity shop..
Any more donations to this worthwhile cause will be gratefully received.
FELLOWS OFFERS A GEM OF AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TWO JEWELLERY STUDENTS
Fellows & Sons is sponsoring two high flying jewellery students to attend a prestigious industry event.
The Birmingham based auctioneers and valuers is funding the two students who achieve the highest marks in the National Association of Goldsmiths’ (NAG) ‘JET II’ examinations* to take part in the Valuers and Jewellers Conference.
The NAG’s annual conference is held at Loughborough University and this year’s event is running from 22-24 September 2007. Drawing crowds from across the UK and abroad, visitors can participate in a series of workshops and lectures led by experts in the jewellery trade.
Stephen Whittaker, managing partner at Fellows, said: “We are always keen to support new talent in the industry and am sure the students will find the event extremely interesting and beneficial.
“They will have the opportunity to learn new skills, network with established and experienced professionals and meet like minded people who will share their passion for quality jewellery.”
John Henn, a NAG board member and director of TA Henn and Son Ltd Jewellers in Wolverhampton, said: “This year’s event is set to be bigger and better than ever before, with a wide range of workshops and presentations - from gem testing to antique clocks, hallmarking to silver and jewellery. We are delighted with Fellows’ generosity, it will be a great reward for the students’ hard work.”
The National Association of Goldsmiths was established in 1894 to serve and support the Jewellery Industry of Great Britain and Ireland. The association’s renowned educational programmes provide courses for trainees through to proprietors and senior staff in the retail jewellery industry.
Fellows & Sons gives buyers the opportunity to view sales catalogues through its website. One of the first independent auctioneers in the country to introduce ‘live’ bidding via the Internet, it is also the only auction house in Birmingham offering this service.
For further information contact Stephen Whittaker at Fellows & Sons. Tel: 0121 212 2131. For more editorial information, contact Sarah Burton or Rebecca Mee at Seal Communications. Tel: 0121 200 0780.
AUGUSTA REFINING COMPANY OPENS NEW TRADE COUNTER IN BIRMINGHAM
One of Hockley’s leading refiners has opened a new trade counter to showcase its extensive range of products.
August Refining Co Ltd, based at 36 Augusta Street, in the heart of Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter, will have on display over 400 items of jewellery findings, which include scrolls, pins, jump rings, catches and finished items.
The new trade counter will give existing and new customers the opportunity to see what Augusta produce and a chance to discuss their own designs and requirements.
At the heart of the long-established company is the precious metal refining service, which has been operating in the area since 1983, building up an excellent reputation within the trade.
Augusta uses innovative techniques, which includes recover gemstones during the refining process. The fine metal recovered can either be returned, credited to metal account or purchased outright on behalf of the customer.
This enables Augusta to manufacture casting grains, sheet & strip wire and a full range of carated metals.
The Company’s highly skilled engineering section also manufacture for other industries, including electronic components, badge items and accessories for shooting sports. The company’s in-house toolmaking, Cad-Cam, CNC milling and turning facilities allow the development of new designs for their own use and for customer use.
Augusta already export large quantities of jewellery findings in special alloys as far a field as Thailand, Hong Kong and also Europe. The Company’s policy of quality and competitive pricing will enable them to make bigger in-roads into the export markets.
For further information contact details are as follows –
London: Price Tag on Hirst Diamond Skull at £50 million
A diamond encrusted skull created by artist Damien Hirst went on sale for $100 million at London’s West End White Cube gallery in June 2007, making it the most expensive artwork on sale by a living person.
Bentley & Skinner jewellers worked with the 41-year-old artist to create the piece using 8,600 diamonds --one of which weighed 55-carats-- and named it ‘For the Love of God.’ The skull is said to be similar in design to jewelled skulls from the ancient Mayan civilization in Mexico.
Birmingham’s Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre celebrates ten years of new design & technology.
Innovative products, cutting edge technology, renowned international designers and trend predictors came together on 4th & 5th July at the University of Central England
in Birmingham’s School of Jewellery, to celebrate the10th anniversary of the region’s Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre (JIIC).
The two day event featured a programme of events including a private view, seminars and exhibitions.
Gay Penfold, manager of the JIIC said: “We wanted our 10th anniversary celebrations to highlight the new products and commercial achievements of the companies that we have helped over the years. We also wanted to provide a forum for the most recent developments and innovations in technology so that businesses in the jewellery and other high value added sectors could have access to leading practitioners and suppliers”.
Companies that have benefited from the skills and technology provided by the JIIC and its specialist staff over the last 10 years, range from award-winning jewellery designer, Aimee Winstone, one of eight designers to win the Platinum Design Innovation Award in 2006, to Acme Whistles Ltd, who have been designing and manufacturing whistles in Birmingham, UK, for over 130 years.
Initial market research conducted by Acme Whistles showed market opportunities for the production of a high value added jewelled whistle. The JIIC were asked to undertake additional market research, develop a range of high value added whistle designs, and offer advice and guidance on manufacturing processes. The brief included design, CAD/CAM, production and process advice, and the introduction of West Midlands manufacturers and suppliers.
The result was the first silver, diamond encrusted whistle to be manufactured and has helped the company break into new markets. The company has subsequently increased sales, gained new clients and developed a new bespoke market.
Simon Topman, Managing Director of Acme Whistles said: “ This is our first venture into jewellery, we have had to learn a lot and the JIIC have been there to guide us every step of the way.”
The JIIC, part of the School of Jewellery within UCE Birmingham, is possibly unique in providing market research, trend analysis, technological assessment and transfer closely geared to the needs of the jewellery industry.
ANCHORCERT LAUNCHES ITS OWN TANZANITE GRADING SYSTEM
The popularity of Tanzanite is growing steadily. AnchorCert customers have been asking for a simple but authoritative grading standard to help the consumer understand the variation in quality and price of this rare and precious stone.
The vivid colour and excellent clarity of top quality Tanzanite is particularly evident in larger stones and it is not unusual to see a Tanzanite of several carats, often in a stunning setting, enhanced by diamonds. Tanzanite set jewellery is therefore likely to be expensive and, understandably, the consumer wants to know what they are buying and be sure it is the real thing.
Now, after months of research and investigation of other grading systems, AnchorCert Senior Gemmologist Anu Manchanda has developed a simple and straightforward grading system for Tanzanite. AnchorCert is the only Laboratory in the UK to have it’s own grading system for this precious Gemstone.
Under the system, stones are split into one of four colour classifications depending on the intensity of colour and regardless of whether they are violet or blue. The commonly used ‘A’ system has been applied with AnchorCert grades ranging from ‘A’ for Pale to ‘AAAA’ for Vivid.
Clarity grades are in line with GIA Coloured Stone grading, ranging from IF (Internally Flawless) to I3 (Included). Marion Wilson, Marketing Director at The Birmingham Assay Office, said:“We wanted a classification system which would be easy to understand. It’s no good offering jewellers a service which adds value if it’s too complicated to explain.
“People are familiar with the terminology used by GIA and it made sense to classify Tanzanite using the same terms. The AnchorCert team has done extensive work to determine exactly where the boundaries should fall. “For colour, it is the intensity which determines the rarity and value of the stone and this will be assessed against an AnchorCert set of Master Stones. The actual colour is obvious even to the inexperienced eye.”
The new service is supported by an A4 Characteristics ShowCard, which the Jeweller can display to explain the Tanzanite grading system to customers. Both loose and mounted Tanzanite stones can be graded and reports are provided on the popular credit card sized ‘Mini Report’. A mini leaflet helping to explain the AnchorCert Grading system will also accompany every item graded. AnchorCert has already signed up several well-known jewellers that deal in Tanzanite and anticipates a high demand for its Tanzanite Grading Service.
Greg Valerio of Cred Jewellery has responded to the J-dex May editorial where I questioned the problem of being an ethical trader in gold.
Greg says, “I am writing to answer a few of the issues that you raised in your article, ‘Ethics and selling Gold Jewellery’.”
Firstly, let me start by thanking J-Dex magazine for highlighting such an important issue and being a platform for raising the issues. Business cannot be devoid of ethical debate and the Gold Jewellery business has some very important social, environmental, livelihood and economic issues that it must face up to if it is going to maintain consumer confidence in its product.
Also, I need to clear up for your readers some of the misinformation at the beginning of your article about who we are and what we do. When I agreed to give an interview to J-Dex I was doing so as the Founding Director of Cred Jewellery, not as a part of our Foundation. Our Foundation, whilst involved in some excellent work in health, education, HIV/AIDS and rehabilitation issues in India and Ethiopia, does not buy or sell gold. This is a very important distinction because I am a firm believer in the value and contribution that social business has to bring to our world and that business is central to the future of our society as a whole. Therefore all my comments below are not given as a campaigner, but as a passionate businessman and social entrepreneur.
Fair Trade Gold
There is now such a thing as fair trade gold, with shops in Ireland and the UK selling certified gold jewellery Fair Trade is a process that is now establishing in the consumer market in the UK and Ireland and thankfully is now a small but important part of the jewellery market.
The principles of fair trade are very simple:
1. It is focussed on the small-scale producer who has historically been marginalised from the supply chain.
2. It involves the payment of a social premium that is used by the producing community for their own social and environmental development.
3. It has a set of minimum standards across a range of issues (social, environmental, labour, gender, trading, economic etc) that the producer and key actors in the supply chain must comply with.
4. It insists on 100% transparency from mine to retail and a third party, who has no vested interest in either the producer or the retailer, independently monitors the whole process.
This is why, when a consumer buys a certified fair trade product, they can buy with total confidence that it has directly benefited the community that produced or mined it.
In the case of gold this is exactly what is happening, building on the Oro Verde Initiative, a pilot experience that enhances social inclusion of small-scale producers and promotes community development and environmental protection of the Choco Rainforest of Colombia. The Association for Responsible Mining (ARM) was created out of this experience. ARM is an independent, global effort created as an international and multi-institutional organisation to bring credibility, transparency and legitimacy to the development of responsible artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).
To do this, ARM convened a technical committee in 2006 to develop fair trade standards for gold and associated metals. The committee is comprised of numerous stakeholders, each with extensive experience in the various aspects of ASM and fair trade, including certification, organisational strengthening, occupational health and safety, environmental management, gender issues, child labour issues, ecological restoration practices, good governance, sustainable livelihoods and market issues. The Fair Trade Gold Standards as articulated by ARM are very clear (www.communitymining.org); the system is very robust, the science is excellent and the miners extremely dedicated to their process and to their product. I am very proud to be associated with such an excellent group of responsible small-scale miners. They inspire me and they demonstrate that ASM can be done to the highest possible social and environmental standards and bring tangible benefits, so that the entire community reaps the rewards of the work.
This experience is currently being replicated in Peru and Bolivia with scoping studies taking place in Tanzania, Ghana and Mozambique during this year. Yes, at the moment it is small beer but that small grain fermented in the right way can create a mighty fine beer that everyone wants to drink.
Large vs. Small
There is, of course, a very real problem across the world, with thousands of small-scale miners in dispute with large-scale mining companies. These disputes focus around mineral rights, access to land, mining on indigenous tribal lands and illegal mining by large-scale and small scale miners on each others’ concessions. Some people would like to see all the small-scale miners go away or, to quote comments I have heard, ‘be shot’. This is a profoundly disturbing perspective and adds nothing to a credible solution that is equitable and just for all parties concerned. ASM is the biggest employer in the mining sector, with over 100 million miners (legal or illegal) deriving an income from the activity from different minerals around the world. This makes it the second biggest employer in the world after agriculture. Their poverty and marginalisation from basic human rights and profitable economic development is the biggest reason why ASM is so prolific.
Chris Corti is right to say that, in some cases, this activity can be very damaging to the health, well being, the environment and the livelihoods of local communities, which is precisely why we need to address the majority issue and work with the miners to assist them to improve their livelihoods and long-term prospects. A constructive and public dialogue needs to take place around the environmental impact of mining, both large and small, and an examination of the amounts of cyanide used to leach the tonnage of rock that is moved needs to be published and reflected upon within the public domain.
There is of course another way of saying ‘tonnage of rock’, which I believe is the more honest way of communicating what is happening in certain quarters. Let us say, instead, beautiful mountain, indigenous home-lands, pristine glacier, expansive savannah, national park, virgin rain forest... Language is a powerful tool that can be used to conceal the truth or create a platform for dialogue and change. For me, the truth needs to be told as I believe the customer has the right to know and should have the right to purchase a product that does not compromise their ethics or values. The great economist Adam Smith was right to assert that economics and the pursuit of profit must always be subordinate and never divorced from ethical considerations.
Yet, I am very encouraged. Some of the large-scale miners recognise there is a moral mountain to climb to preserve their future, and a healthy discussion is currently being had within The Council for Responsible Jewellery Practice (CRJP) on this very issue. ARM similarly has a process for engaging ASM miners on the social and environmental issues they face and, like the large-scale miners, recognise it is a big mountain to climb. The appetite from small-scale miners demonstrates that, given the opportunity and when treated like human beings and not patronised as peasants, they can take responsibility for their own lives and environments and make a serious contribution to the future of the gold and diamond industry.
Two clear processes have now fortunately emerged in recent years: one for the large and one for the small, both committed to change for the future and, let us pray, open to a dialogue of equals on how we can resolve the problems we all face.
Retailers and Consumers.
Finally this whole issue is consumer-driven. We must not control the market or seek to suppress competition. Fair trade gold is a reality. The consumer has the right to purchase fair trade gold and society has the right to know both where their product comes from and the impact that it is having, right down through the supply chain.
There may be real current obstacles in the supply chain that suppresses transparency, but only consumer demand will be the toilet plunger that clears the blockage. Again, Chris Corti is correct to identify that refiners and transformers play a vital role in this as well as the banks. I would hate to think that, as he suggests, gold from paramilitary operations in different parts of the world is ending up being brought by large operators, turned into bullion and sold on the stock market and to jewellery fabricators, thus making an illegal activity respectable. This is why the consumer and the industry should demand 100% transparency in the gold supply chain. The process that Mr. Corti alludes to in the previous article should be a top priority for his employer, The World Gold Council, to help co-ordinate and deliver. No self-respecting member of our industry could argue against that. After all, a pound of truth is worth a million pounds of PR.
In the interest of transparency and accountability, I want to go on record with exactly what I want to see happen. I want to make it culturally unacceptable to buy a piece of jewellery that is not in some way independently certified as socially and environmentally responsible. In order to achieve this we need the industry to work together, large and small, to reorder the status quo. We need an educated and informed consumer to create the demand for the product and this is where NGO’s, campaigners and civil society have a part to play in raising the awareness and educating the consumer. And, finally, we must all be open to change. I know that our fair trade process is in its infancy and not foolproof. There will be mistakes and no one in the fair trade gold movement is making claims of perfection. But, this is a journey and I believe it is the right direction for us all to travel in.
Let me conclude on a personal note. I am often accused of being passionate and emotional in my presentations and I must confess this is true: I love our industry, our product, our partners and our fair trade process. To deny emotion and passion is to deny the very fabric that creates the demand for jewellery in the first place. I do not want to become a dry, dispassionate and barren robot, reducing our beautiful mountains, rolling savannahs and fragile rainforest eco-systems down to ‘tonnage of rock moved to grams of gold recovered’. To do this reduces our humanity to nothing more than economic data and we merely become profit-serving androids devoid of soul and spirit. Our industry can be at the fore front of bringing beauty to people’s lives, promoting our shared humanity, establishing peace and delivering equal and profitable distribution of prosperity to everyone from miner to consumer. I trust that the majority of our industry agrees.
Greg Valerio. Cred Jewellery.
CAFOD Misquote
In the article ‘Ethics and selling gold jewellery’, published in the May edition, Clare Palmer campaigner for the Catholic aid agency CAFOD was misquoted.
CAFOD is not calling for a boycott of gold jewellery. We do think more decisive action is needed now so that consumers can have confidence in the jewellery that they buy. CAFOD’s Unearth Justice campaign asks the gold industry to take significant steps to ensure that gold is not mined in a way which destroys the environment and divides communities. CAFOD is working closely with UK jewellers to raise awareness of the social and environmental problems associated with gold mining in developing countries. It is encouraging retailers to sign up to the No Dirty Gold Campaign’s Golden Rules and work towards credible standards with independent third party verification of their suppliers.
If the industry is willing to set high standards, this will help jewellers to meet the increasing demand from consumers for gold that has not harmed communities or the environment.
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Jack Nichols, who died aged 85 following a prolonged battle with cancer, in hospital on the morning of May 11th.
From his Yorkshire origins, Jack had been involved in the Jewellery Trade for over sixty years, most of that time spent successfully as a Manufacturer’s Agent, selling silver, jewellery and watches throughout the North, Midlands and West Country. Here Jack’s natural wit – cutting at times – wisdom and genuine love of people moulded his true skills as an excellent yet natural salesman.
In 1985 Jack’s life – both personally and through business – took another turn and whilst attending the Basle Jewellery Fair and working on the stand of the Swiss watch house Louis Erard, he met his future wife Maggie Gwilt, the Managing Director of Sutton Tools. She was visiting the fair to purchase equipment for her tool business which had supplied goods to the
Jewellery and Silversmithing industries since 1884.
Jack had to leave his beloved Yorkshire and ‘emigrate’ to the Midlands, where Maggie had her business. He continued to work alongside her, helping to move the Company forward into a new era and developing the foundation for the team of talented salesmen who so
admirably represent Sutton Tools today.
Jack was always an inspiration to those who had the privilege to meet or work alongside him, and he will be greatly missed, particularly by Maggie, and his two daughters and son.
Birmingham Metal bashers at JCK Las Vegas
Davran Jewellery, a small company in Hockley took the rather bold step of exhibiting at JCK in Las Vegas in June this year in the British Pavilion. It was not; despite rumours in the factory; an all expenses paid “Jolly” for the MD, his wife and myself!
The cunning plan was that with the trade being rather quiet, we could make the time to go over and try to get sales representation over there. The JCK show was wall-to-wall diamonds, largely from the Far East, with a few US manufacturers. The large number of what seemed to be traditional wholesale companies surprised me. It would appear chatting to a few of them that they have evolved from manufacturers to factors and now largely just buy it and sell it.
Las Vegas is a remarkable place, I enjoyed it much more than I expected, and although rather a firm non-gambler, I did go “mad” on my last evening and cashed £30 into dollars, which after a large whisky left me $50. Andrew (our MD) and I had a go at the roulette wheel first, and when it began to look as though we were loosing more than winning, we switched to the Black Jack table.
My general ignorance about the etiquette of gambling and Black Jack in particular was soon evident. There were four other players at the table when I first sat down but the continual interruptions correcting my etiquette meant that everyone else left the table in short order!
My only excuse and a poor one at that was the amount of alcohol I had imbibed (they give you free drinks if you are playing) but with just me sitting there with Andrew in support, the game ended.
To our surprise we had $170 at that point, and as it was well after 12.30am I took my stake money back, split the dosh and called it a day!
We got back from Vegas a couple of weeks ago now, Davran has secured the services of a marketing company in the US, they have eight salesmen who cover the country, and the British company they have represented for nine years has given them an excellent reference.
Why jewellery is an art all of its own By Claire Adler
Is jewellery art’s poor relation? Could there be anything to learn from the man who turned his dead relative’s ashes into a diamond? And why is making a great piece of jewellery the least of a goldsmithing student’s worries? All these questions and more were answered when Gordon Hamme and Claire Adler met the Royal College of Art’s multiple award-winning professor of goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork and jewellery, Hans Stofer.
Britain’s creative graduates are in need of stronger entrepreneurship education, says a recent report. According to research published by NESTA (the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts), the contribution of the creative industries to the UK economy is dropping in real terms. In the meantime, 45% of art, media and design students expect to start a business, or work as freelancers in their industries.
So how does the Royal College of Art’s top jeweller empower students to reach their creative potential while also preparing them for the world of commerce?
Ever since way back in 1863, the Royal College of Art’s goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork and jewellery department has been training students for professional practice as leaders in their chosen field. The Royal College of Art is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, specialising in teaching and research.
Hans Stofer was appointed the head of department last summer. His love of metal was forged in the heavy metal industry in Baden, Switzerland, where his father worked as a turbine engineer. When he left school, Stofer at first followed his father into precision engineering. “In my family you didn’t do art, because it was useless,” he has been quoted as saying. But later, after some time abroad, he applied to the Zurich School of Art for an MA in jewellery and design at the Zurich School of Art and Design.
Having lived in London since 1987, Stofer joined the RCA from the University of the Arts, London (Camberwell College of Arts) where he was subject leader in silversmithing and metalwork and 3D Design. He also works as the external examiner for jewellery, applied arts at Middlesex University and is associate lecturer for the MA in Applied Arts in Amsterdam.
His own work has been exhibited at London venues including the Victoria & Albert Museum and at galleries in Finland, Munich, Lisbon and Glasgow. The Crafts Council, and Zurich’s Landesmuseum have also snapped pieces up amongst others and Stofer has received prizes including the Zurich Applied Arts Award (1987), the Swiss Applied Arts Prize (1987/1989/1994) and the Herbert Hoffman Prize for Jewellery (1995). Last year Stofer was shortlisted for the (£30,000) Jerwood Prize for Metal. Stofer is also the author of Wire Jewellery and Design Wilderness.
Now nearing the close of his first academic year as head of department, Stofer is 50 this year and could easily pass for a student at the College, walking through the building and sitting at a table in the student café in jeans and a short sleeved t-shirt.
Professor Stofer is probably the most unassuming man I have ever interviewed. He speaks quietly in a soft Swiss accent, but his passion for his subject is clear.
“I don’t think jewellery will ever be fine art and jewellers don’t need to call themselves artists,” says Stofer, emphasizing jewellery’s very own proud tradition. “Jewellery was probably the first ever craft,” says Stofer, who is fascinated by the links between alchemy and jewellery, in the form of jewellers who were healers and chemists. Gold was used to treat rheumatism and silver was commonly used in healing. Painters used precious stones to make pigments and Holbein was a jeweller by training. “You can walk away from an object, but you walk away with a piece of jewellery,” he adds.
Developing a thorough knowledge of materials is the key to encouraging students to challenge the boundaries of art, says Stofer. “We place emphasis on the make-up of a stone and what can be done with it. For example, there was a recent advertisement about a man who used his the ashes of his late uncle to form a diamond. This says far more about the inherent value of a diamond than anything else. That has a lot to do with what we’re doing here.”
But what of entrepreneurial skills? Jewellers have to communicate what they are doing as well as producing first class jewellery. Students are taught early on how to write an artistic statement about the thinking behind their work and how to build a plan of action, says Stofer.
In this sense, the business element is very much at the core of the teaching at the RCA. “Business starts with being able to talk to people,” says Stofer. “That’s the element of commercialism, or as we call it, critical professional practice, that we really encourage. We are well aware that having a great piece is the least of the jeweller’s worries. Customers who go to a shop want to be advised. We also teach formulas for costing.”
With conceptual jewellery in particular, jewellers have a responsibility to create access, explain their work and invite a dialogue about it. Contemporary culture is highly communicative. Every piece of music has a video clip nowadays. If you can’t say it with words, there are plenty of other media for jewellers to choose from to contextualise what they are doing,” he says.
Stofer would now like to see a move by high street shops to break down the barriers between the graduates and the lower level of the jewellery marketplace. The Royal College of Art already has successful industry links in place, through its Partnership Project, collaborating with Theo Fennell, Monsoon and jewellery companies in Taiwan. He also believes there is a lack of grants.
But overall, Stofer is upbeat about the British jewellery industry. “There is something in the air - we’ve seen a change in the last two years,” he says, citing Collect at the V&A which has raised awareness of home-grown talent. He is also enthusiastic about the London-based applied arts galleries, Contemporary Applied Art and Barrett Marsden.
“I love Britain, it’s a treasure of inventors and there’s an anything is possible attitude,” he says. Back to top
Rashbel in Hatton Garden
By Gordon Hamme
Gordon Hamme visited the Rashbel shop in London’s Hatton Wall, to speak to the owner Sagit Levy-Gavish.
Rashbel originated as a refiner of precious metals and seller of bullion products. It later developed a findings range covering bolt rings, catches, beads, fancy clasps, ethnic styled beads and specialised designs of charms.
“At Rashbel, we pride ourselves on our ability to provide each customer with a personal advisor. As most of our sales people are experienced in the art of jewellery making and designing, they are happy to provide the jeweller with any technical information they may require,” says Sagit
The shop in London carries Italian and German chain as well as very high quality German findings aimed at the top-end designer fine jewellery market, many of which are designed especially for Rashbel.
Sagit designs findings for the UK market and has her designs made up to her specification. The company carries a large range of patterned wire and strip as well as stampings and bezel caps which would not be found ordinarily in the UK.
Rashbel carries a large selection of precious and semi-precious stones and beads in stock which covers emeralds, rubies, opals, rose quartz, citrines and haematite and also a large range of CZs in yellow, pink, blue and white.
The gemstone range is always changing and improving, says Sagit. Most recently blue colour opal and some fine turquoise and lapis-lazuli came into stock and have sold well.
Another product which designers are using more and more is Precious Metal Clay (PMC). Rashbel promotes PMC courses, the kiln firing of the objects and final finishing. Sagit commented, “People are being very experimental and it’s a really fun product.”
“The Rashbel website is constantly being updated with new lines and products on a daily basis, which helps jewellers to be up to date with our products.In the last year we have introduced over 35 new tool lines to our, already extensive, range, and offer expert help and advice to insure that customers have the right tool or machine when required. We have access to a huge range of hand tools and machinery from all over the world.”
“Our findings and chains range is one of the largest and unique in the UK.We are adding new designs and ranges on regular bases.In the last six months we extended our range of gold filled findings and chains and introduced a new titanium range of chains, especially appealing to our men range of jewellery.”
From a flying start at the IJL fair in 2005, where Sarah Morfoot signed up 15 retailers, Fable Trading now has over 100 retail outlets and is aiming for 250 across the UK.
I met with Sarah Morfoot and Michelle Lang at their small office in Bristol and was immediately assured that they would be moving, very soon, into much larger premises to accommodate their rapidly expanding business.
In 2005 Sarah was looking to start a company and spotted a very beautiful bracelet worn by an exchange student from Denmark. She followed through with an internet search of the trollbeads website, followed up by calls and a visit to Denmark to negotiate UK distributorship. The deal was signed with the Nielsen family mainly on the basis of everyone getting on so well together.
Sarah’s background is one of an arts degree and retailing, marketing and PR with Sanderson, the interior design company, in London. By 2005 with children growing up and a settled home in Bristol it was time to find a business that would fit in around her lifestyle and family needs, and those of the lovely dog, Bonnie, who greeted me like a long lost friend, as I’m sure she does every friend and foe alike.
To say I was impressed by the expansion of the company is something of an understatement. Sarah has created consumer demand by placing the best possible advertising in the glossiest magazines such as Vogue, Tatler, Easy Living, GQ, Brides and Glamour. The potential customer is guided by the website to their nearest retailer of which there is only ever one in any town. Sarah commits to an acceptable level of 5% of turnover to consumer advertising – it’s small wonder that her retailers love her. A retailer can start with a £1300 kit of 300 beads, a display, point of sale leaflets and branded packaging.
But over and above all the support the retailers get it is the enthusiasm and emotional attachment to the product which bowls you over from Sarah and Michelle. Sarah explained: “trollbeads is The Original concept that was developed over 30 years ago by Goldsmith Svend Nielsen in Denmark. Each bead has its own little history, taking its inspiration from mythology, astrology, fairy tales, fauna, flora, cultural diversity, and last but certainly not least, in the familiar things of everyday living.”
What is most distinctive about trollbeads, apart from the original design, is the use and combination of fascinating materials. The beads are made from the highest quality raw materials including sterling silver, 18 carat gold, coloured glass, natural pearls and precious stones.
The original models are typically created in hard modelling wax – cast and finished in metal. Some models are then set with stones. Other models are created directly in molten, red-hot glass.
The concept of trollbeads charms was developed over the past 30 years. Today, 18 Danish and internationally renowned jewellery designers create the beads. There are more than 300 different models.
“Tell your own story – create your own jewellery,” is the brand tagline.
The many different symbols, flowers, animals, zodiac signs, colours and materials offer you endless variations and combinations, making the jewellery both unique and personal. You can start with just one bead or be bold and begin with a collection. The beads can be worn on a silver or gold chain – as a bracelet or necklace.
trollbeads have won international artistic recognition and have recently been exhibited at Sculpture Objects & Functional Art in Chicago and New York. trollbeads are produced by Lise Aagaard Copenhagen.
Sarah explained to me that she feels that the Nielsen family have wider aspirations than just making money from trollbeads. “In 2004 Lise was inspired by the Dalai Lama to set up a ‘Self Sustainable Business Project’ in Tibet with the cooperation of the Danish organisation Tibet Charity. Lise travelled to Dharamsala to teach Tibetan refugees to make glass beads – she offered to buy all they could produce.”
By the spring of 2006 they opened their own shop on the main street of Dharamsala from where they sell glass beads and other items of the own making. A workshop has been created from money earned in the studio and today 40 families are provided for by the income and their futures are now secure.
Sarah does emphasise the emotional attachment that customers get whilst building the jewellery bracelets and pendants, attaching a story, anniversary or event to every purchase. So much so that the Dutch distributor is publishing a book of the stories special customers have created around their trollbeads jewellery.
Sarah finds that most customers are women who research the product on-line and then want to see the quality of the beads in a shop. She explains, “Retailers love it because it brings customers into the shop to select, mix and match the beads to make up a completely personal piece of jewellery and then return for additional purchases to remember special events.
As with many people Sarah’s family has been touched by cancer and through her company she is raising money for Cancer Research UK. She is donating 20% from sales of the trollbeads Rose Ribbon and Turquoise Ribbon beads.
For me it was a lovely day out seeing great product with a lovely story.
Since Arnaud Bamberger became managing director of Cartier UK in 1992, turnover has more than doubled and sales continue to boom. Claire Adler catches up with Monsieur Cartier in Geneva and finds out he’s actually a hippie at heart.
As soon as we sit down on the plush red sofas in the giant booth that is the Cartier stand at the Geneva watch show, Arnaud Bamberger is strangely at pains to clarify to me how his surname is pronounced. It’s the French way, not the German way, of course. “After all, the French pronunciation is much more glamorous sounding,” I offer.
“Well,” he says, “many people get it confused with the German-Jewish Bamberger family who started Macy’s and who are now based in New Jersey.”
And all of a sudden, I double take and think I’ve inexplicably found myself playing Jewish geography with the managing director of Cartier.
But obviously I haven’t. In fact, Arnaud Bamberger was born into a branch of the Lumière family - who were the inventors of cinema – shortly after the end of the Second World War. Brought up in France, Bamberger studied philosophy and economics at university in Paris, then worked for Rothmans cigarettes as sales promotion director. In the mid-seventies whilst at Rothmans he was spotted by Cartier’s then president, Alain Dominique Perrin, and he soon joined Cartier in Paris.
In 1992, Bamberger arrived at Cartier’s historic Bond Street offices as managing director for the UK during the depths of recession. Today, Cartier’s turnover has more than doubled and Bamberger confirms demand for very expensive jewellery is on the up and up.
Bamberger now oversees all the watch brands of the Richemont Group, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre and Montblanc.
A regular fixture of highest society’s most ritzy social scene, Bamberger is unquestionably the public face of Cartier. He is probably best known for his high profile appearances with the Queen and the royal family every summer at the Cartier International Polo tournament.
Socialising is undoubtedly one of Bamberger’s specialties. He has been called the master of the soft sell. The Cartier dinner he hosts to celebrate the start of the Chelsea Flower Show is largely regarded as the official launch of the social season every English summer.
This is followed by the Queen’s Cup - a polo match at Windsor, and then there’s the Cartier Style et Luxe – a prestigious car design competition held at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The season is brought to a close by Cartier International Polo – a party for hundreds of Cartier glitterati customers and celebrities. Then, in an attempt to draw in younger customers, Cartier has now sponsored the Frieze Art Fair for three years in a row.
“We are now looking for younger customers,” says Bamberger. “I prefer the nouveaux riches to those that have no money at all. Those entrepreneurs, they are important for us.”
All in all, it seems that when Cartier customers buy jewellery, they also enter the whirlwind of a luxury social life.
These tactics to entice the super rich appear to be working well. “It’s been a year of record growth for the UK,” says an upbeat Bamberger. “We have consolidated our position in Europe,
which is a mature market. We have grown in the United States which was a bit weak. Asia has been fantastic and is growing very fast, though it is not as strong as Japan. Emerging markets like China, Russia and the Middle East are flying. India is not quite ready yet.”
Although the Richemont Group does not reveal figures for the individual brands within its stable, figures from the last financial year reveal Cartier enjoyed “double digit growth at constant rates in all regions with the exception of Japan, which saw modest growth,” while overall sales for the group for the financial year grew by 16%.
Sales in Europe represent 42% of total group sales. Cartier has 240 boutiques worldwide, with eight in the UK. This August Selfridges will open a new Room of Wonders where Cartier will be re-locating its store within a store on a larger scale than before, set amongst eye-watering quantities of other jewellery, watches, gifts, wine and flowers.
The high jewellery collections have been central to Cartier’s buoyant sales figures both in the US and the UK. “The economy is strong and it’s a good time for a lot of people right now. Our products, which range from £1500 to millions of pounds are still very desirable,” says Bamberger.
But in a world where the word luxury is being bandied around freely, Cartier’s principal challenge is to maintain its reputation for high quality, says Bamberger. A brand whose products span the gamut from accessible airport luxury retail way across to über luxury high jewellery surely has its work cut out.
In the past Cartier has advertised its jewellery on billboards on American motorways. Is this really the way to go for such a high end luxury brand, I ask. “We should not be seen advertising on motorways,” confesses Bamberger. “We should also not advertise jewellery on buses in London, for example. It’s a question of managing our visibility. With perfume which is essentially a mass market product, this is less the case but even with that we have limited distribution.”
In addition to watches and jewellery which make up 50% and 30% of Cartier’s sales respectively, Cartier also sells a whole range of accessories from pens, lighters, bags, scarves and sunglasses to desk accessories.
All luxury brands have a love hate relationship with counterfeiters and Cartier is no different. “The day we don’t have counterfeiters of our products, we are in trouble,” says Bamberger. “That said, it’s like a cancer and we have an army of lawyers fighting a mafia to overcome it. We owe it to our customers and we spend several million pounds on combating counterfeiting and destroying fakes annually.”
As he passionately talks the Cartier talk, I can’t help noticing the piercings in Bamberger’s ears (thought not adorned with earrings) and the fraying, crocheted bracelets round his wrist. “It’s the hippy in me,” he smiles.
Bond Street is full of them. Showstopping statement pieces get people looking and talking about jewellery, which has to be great news. Claire Adler examines head-turning accessories that make for sparkling conversation.
Knockout jewellery is a very different matter to bling for the sake of bling. It’s about exquisite design and first-class ideas. Serious statement pieces are not always easy to wear. They are more than a bit of fun, they communicate an inner confidence and a fearless quality. At least that’s what the wearer wants you to think.
The fact of the matter is that there are some pieces of jewellery in this world which you slip on and you know are right. Even if you woke up in the morning feeling demure and despondent, they imbue you right away with a thrilling sense of confidence.
A fine example is the unforgettable Van Cleef & Arpels high jewellery Y-shaped necklace I tried on recently. With a 103 carat D flawless diamond pendant in the shape of a triangle with one curved side, suspended from rows of a black silk cord choker, itself linked by baguette shaped diamonds, and a price tag of a cool £5 million, somehow - and I don’t know how - but it wasn’t too much. It fitted perfectly and was simply magnificent. Sigh.
Moving on, if you’ve wandered around central London lately, you may have witnessed two kinds of showstopping jewellery. There are the striking jewellery pieces you can wear, and then there are what we could call examples of bejewelled, functional design.
The striking jewellery pieces can be found at the usual suspects. The elaborately detailed Dragonfly necklace at De Beers, with 24.15 carats of 451 round brilliant and pear cut diamonds set in white gold, can be carried away for £440,000. Of course, it might be less than 10% in value of the Van Cleef high jewellery necklace, but I think it’s safe to say that even at this price, you better really love it.
De Beers has also come up with a pretty and intriguing set of white gold jewellery, which spells the word ‘love’ in diamonds, in a decorative and nearly illegible script which adorns a tubular and tactile pendant (my personal favourite), a cuff and an unusual eternity band.
Drop dead gorgeous necklaces at Boucheron are dominated by natural themes. The Collier Fougere is intricately laden with jewels and flowers. It’s only too easy to forget this is a necklace. It is a piece worthy of treasuring and displaying as much as any precious ornament. Or take the Collier Cygne Bleu, the blue swan necklace, and let a blue sapphire swan wrap gracefully round your neck.
Chopard turns an exceptional string of pearls into a statement piece and a half, with its breathtaking six strand coloured pearl choker, linked with vertical diamond studded bands. Hailing from a rare species of oyster found in Chinese rivers, these are pearls of extraordinary natural colour – violet, orange, pink, white, silver and chocolate.
Tiffany’s offerings include the round diamond eight point star pendant, a snip at £26,300. For a splash of colour, there is also the Paloma Picasso Anniversary brooch, which marries cultured South Sea Pearl with pink tourmaline, yellow beryl, tanzanite, aquamarine and spessartite.
Over on Sloane Street, colour-rich rings are in abundance at Avakian, a store which earlier this year opened a boutique in the Regent Beverley Wiltshire in Beverley Hills, the hotel of Pretty Woman fame. Avakian has combined the red of rhodolite with green and pink tourmalines and blue and purple topaz, sapphire and amethyst in a collection of wildly coloured Rainbow rings.
Fashion-conscious diamond lovers might also consider checking out the Diamonds collection from the American-born fashionista jeweller duo, Erickson Beamon. They’ve designed for Ungaro, John Galliano, Roberto Cavalli, Dries van Noten, DKNY and Manish Aurora, to name but a sprinkling. It’s with this sensibility that in 2004, they brought forth their first diamond collection designed to be “worn with jeans”. I’m in love with the concept and their obvious commitment to a constantly edgy, yet feminine look.
As for the appearance of bejewelled design mentioned earlier, an explosion of luxury goods means that jewels are turning up in truly enchanting kinds of places. Boucheron has hooked up with Vertu, makers of the most expensive mobiles in the world which come with concierge service attached, to result in a limited edition of eight Signature Cobra phones. A twisting snake hugs the outline of the phone and is fashioned from 439 rubies, two emeralds (for the eyes, of course) and topped off with a pear-cut diamond and a round diamond – yours, for £189,000. Never before has waiting by the phone been this scintillating.
Then there’s the bespoke sporran from – where else – Hamilton and Inches. It has a silver and amethyst detail and costs £1295.
Who even knows what a sporran is? Something to do with Scottish bagpipe players, but I guarantee if you meet the completely charming (and patriotic) managing director, Jamie Fraser, he’ll sell it to you all the same. For the more conservative, there’s also a host of one-off jewellery pieces to be found there too, such as a geometrical amethyst and diamond bracelet for £7,850.
For those who take indulgence very seriously indeed, a trip to Harrods could yield diamond studded cutlery. Yes, French jeweller Christofle sells a fork and knife for £2,200 or a 48 piece service is on offer for £96,000.
And finally, for a bit of luxury for the senses, there’s Stoned, the first ever perfume from Solange Azagury-Partridge, the individualistic Notting Hill jeweller and former creative director of Boucheron. It’s a jewelled scent - imbued with microscopic granules of diamond dust, apparently. Azagury Partridge says this is the “most fun you can have without breaking the law”. Or your bank balance. Back to top
Alan Craxford - Review
Earth, Air, Fire, Water exhibition at the Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow.
The exhibition presented an entirely new body of larger scale silver vessels which developed many of the themes Craxford has explored over the past thirty years.
Craxford said of the exhibition: “In our urban contemporary world, it is all too easy to forget the fundamental elements of earth, air fire and water, which have such a crucial impact on our planet and our lives. By engaging with these pieces by spinning them gently on their stone bases we create a small act of remembrance. This honours the subject matter and enables contemplation of its meaning.
“I have been working in the area of contemporary jewellery for over 30 years.
Firstly is the choice of the best materials both precious and semi precious stones and metals. For example, coloured gold's, platinum and silver, white and coloured diamonds, tanzanite, iolite, tourmaline, spinel and sapphire.
The second is the highest quality of making and finish, with as much of the work as possible being completed in my own workshop.
Thirdly, the distinctive use of the technique of hand engraving and carving. This produces a brilliant interplay of light reflections, which move with and enliven the piece when worn. Hand engraving is rarely practised today, as it is time consuming to do, requires complete concentration, as well as taking many years to perfect the skill.
The last is what the work has to say, what it means and so why one has spent the majority of ones life doing it. This falls into two interconnected parts. The first is the personal alchemical creative process, I have watched this process develop over the years and seen it manifest in the work. This is evident in the progression of alchemical colours, black, iridescence, white and red.
The second is in the transpersonal, where the Sufi philosophy I have followed for as many years as I have been making jewellery, appears both in specific groups of pieces like the Mandala Brooches as well as more subtly in stories which often develop with the design of specific pieces. An example of this is a ring I was asked to make a few years ago to celebrate the purchase of a small vineyard in Tuscany. I happened to have a fine quality red cushion cut Garnet which happened by chance to be the exact colour of the Chianti produced on the property. I carved the shank of the ring with vine leaves and grapes.
However, the back of the ring is cut with a great spiralling sun, which is seen only from the inside of the hand. The story simply reminds the wearer of the ancient natural process of vinivication, the sun, the vine, the grapes which all go with the intervention of my client to create one of the best known wines of Italy.
I do a lot of commission work where clients look to me to give special meaning to an event or occasion, in this area I work with the client to source appropriate materials and suggest direction, all within a budget and time frame.
The rest of my work are artist pieces where I am free to create for its own sake often for an exhibition opportunity. It is my experience that all these aspects interconnect often in surprising ways, to produce work that constantly refreshes and develops, yet remains true to my personal style.”
The exhibition was sponsored by J.Blundell & Sons and London Metropolitan University.
J-dex magazine 
