J-dex Magazine On-Line J-dex magazine reaches over 5,000 dedicated jewellery associated companies as a printed magazine. Our on-line magazine is currently read monthly on-line by over 1500 subscribers. This will increase to a distribution of 10,000 by the end of 2006. The J-dex trade directory is fast becoming the UK's most comprehensive source of services and suppliers to the jewellery industry. 
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PRECIOUS STATEMENTS THE ARTIST-JEWELLER JOHN DONALD
JOINT EXHIBITION WITH SILVERSMITH MALCOLM APPLEBY
At Goldsmiths' Hall Friday May 19 to Saturday July 1, 2006 Admission Free THE DISTINCTIVE and stylish jewels of one of Britain's leading artist-jewellers, John Donald, are the subject of the summer exhibition Precious Statements at Goldsmiths' Hall in London from Friday May 19 to Saturday July 1, 2006. 
John Donald is credited as being one of the key figures who revolutionised British jewellery from the 1960s and whose work has had a major influence on the subsequent direction of artist-jewellery in this country ever since. For more than four decades his meticulously hand-crafted jewels have been worn, admired and coveted by royalty, aristocracy, cognoscenti and fashionistas alike, both in Britain and abroad. Although he was born into a family of professional golfers and played for England at the age of 17, John Donald forsook the golf course and studied graphic design at Farnham School of Art, before moving onto the Royal College of Art where he specialised in jewellery and metalwork. When he graduated in 1956 John Donald worked for a short period as a freelance consultant designer in industry. He then opened a small workshop in a mews in Bayswater and began to concentrate more exclusively on his jewellery designs. The resulting designs and jewels took Britain by storm. Compared with the rather repetitive traditional jewels of the post-war years here were creations which were totally different, very exciting and quite unlike anything that had gone before. John Donald's bold, innovative jewels with their organic, fluid feel, many of abstract design and incorporating colourful crystals and unusually cut stones, both precious and semi-precious, heralded a new sense of freedom of expression - perfect for a vibrant new age. Modern jewellery had been born. In 1961 John Donald won a prize in a national exhibition sponsored by De Beers to “stimulate advanced British jewellery design” “both experimental and beautiful.....as uninhibited as modern sculpture or fashion; individual, imaginative and smart”. The award, which he also subsequently won on several other occasions, gave him further recognition and exposure and fortuitously coincided with the opening of his shop on London's Cheapside, a street which in the 12th and 13th centuries was the traditional home to London's goldsmiths. Until its recent closure in 2004, the Cheapside workshop remained at the core of John Donald's business. Despite the overt modernity of his jewels, John Donald likes to think of himself as a traditional jeweller working in the modern idiom. Baroque and Victorian jewellery have always been a source of inspiration to him and as a student he spent hours studying the jewellery collections in the Victoria & Albert Museum. His passion for minerals and rare uncut stones also developed about the same time. Chancing upon a rather unusual 1920s ring set with coal triggered a life-long fascination with crystals and semi-precious which has remained with him throughout his career. It is the clever and innovative use of such stones, which makes John Donald's jewellery instantly recognisable. Without losing the intrinsic natural beauty of these minerals, he incorporates them into a framework of gold, which is textured to echo the striations found in their original forms – this distinct surface texturing is another flourish to John Donald's artistic signature.
Constant experimentation led to exciting new discoveries. For example by dropping molten gold into water John Donald created a myriad of different shapes which in turn led to the development of his innovative “crown” design wherein diamonds or other stones – in numerous variations of colour and size - are all set on very fine wires, all at different levels within the textured gold work of the crown. Due to its popularity the crown design was repeated in different guises over the years – as a dramatic clasp on a necklace, a brooch, ring or earrings. Many examples of his “crown” design jewels are included in the exhibition. 
Other experiments led to new textures and forms – gold flakes would be melted down and reassembled to echo abstract tear-drops or surfaces covered with granulation of gold filings. Consequently John Donald's jewellery has a descriptive terminology all of its own – such as nuggeted, nugget edged, nugget tubes, bead and cup, wavy rods, melted tubes and so on. All these different forms and techniques will be evident from the jewels on show. The brooch, above all other items of jewellery, has always been one of John Donald's favourites – mainly he said: “because it provides me with the simplest way of solving an artistic problem. It is also a free art form rather like a painting or a piece of sculpture”. Indeed his brooches leant themselves perfectly to the fashion of the late 1960s and 1970s and looked stunning on the structured A-line dresses by designers such as André Courreges and Pierre Cardin. Throughout his career John Donald has held strong views on jewellery. Foremost he believes that real beauty or preciousness can only be achieved when design and craftsmanship have been successfully combined and secondly that however exquisite the jewel it only comes to life when worn.
Although he has always maintained a successful range of commercial jewellery 90% of all John Donald's designs are done to commission.
John Donald's ingenious use of gold and silver, successfully combined with diamonds, pearls and other precious stones gained him international recognition. Among his many distinguished clients HRH Princess Margaret was an admirer of John Donald's jewellery and was often to be seen wearing his pieces on both official and private occasions. His jewellery is also to be found in the collections of many other eminent private collectors around the country, several of whom have kindly loaned pieces for the exhibition. Ceremonial regalia provided an additional outlet for John Donald's talents and over the years he has made many fine examples for numerous important individuals and institutions in the City of London and around the country. Designing regalia he regards as a totally different discipline and he has always enjoyed the challenge of incorporating a sense of artistry and flair within the obvious constraints of for example a badge of office. At the peak of his career John Donald employed 18 staff in his workshop and at various stages had a retail presence on Bond Street, as well as in Geneva. He was constantly travelling around the world visiting clients in Europe, North and South America, Japan and Saudi Arabia and his jewellery was also regularly used in fashion shoots for the likes of Vogue and other leading women's magazines. After some 40 years as one of Europe's leading jewellery designers, John Donald decided to close his London workshop and move to the country. Although he has now technically retired a country workshop means that he can continue to work on designs and commissions as and when he likes.
The exhibition at Goldsmiths' Hall presents a sparkling retrospective of a distinguished career and includes a dazzling spectrum of the many facets of John Donald's jewellery and regalia produced over more than four decades. 
PRECIOUS STATEMENTS SILVERSMITH
MALCOLM APPLEBY THE ORIGINAL creations of one of Britain's most talented silversmiths and artist engravers, Malcolm Appleby, will dazzle visitors to Goldsmiths' Hall in the summer of 2006. The exhibition, Precious Statements, will take place from Friday May 19 to Saturday July 1, 2006, and will feature many aspects of Malcolm's outstanding creative output, presenting a varied and richly diverse range of objects. These include large, high profile commissions for public institutions, such as dramatic centrepieces, in addition to all manner of silver for the dining table, medals and other purely decorative pieces. Sporting guns bearing Malcolm's inimitable engraving and his more modest but ever popular beakers, bowls, kilt and belt-buckles and buttons are also featured.
Aside from the technical brilliance and innovation of his silversmithing skills, Malcolm is feted internationally for his outstanding ability as an artist engraver and many of his works are embellished with his distinctly original, brilliant and often humorous decoration. All of his engraving is done by hand using sharply pointed steel tools. Malcolm first discovered engraving at art school. Between 1961 and 1966 he studied at Beckenham School of Art, Ravensbourne College of Art & Design, Central School of Arts & Crafts, as well as at Sir John Cass, in addition he became an apprentice gun engraver with London based gunmaker, John Wilkes. This was followed by two years at the Royal College of Art (1966-68) where he first began researching gold firing onto steel and iron. One of the early important commissions that Malcolm worked on was the making of the coronet used at the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969 which he did in collaboration with the silversmith, Louis Osman. The orb on the top of the coronet (the size of a ping pong ball) was engraved by Malcolm with a finely detailed interpretation of the Prince of Wales's insignia. Combining surface detail and form is an acknowledged preoccupation of Malcolm's which he achieves not only by using skills such as engraving, carving and chasing but also by mixing metals, texturing and hammering. For more than 30 years he has been developing different techniques of combining metals, such as firing varying colours of gold onto steel or iron, or adding gold or platinum inlays into non-precious metals.
A number of pieces in the exhibition will demonstrate the variety of techniques Malcolm has developed throughout his career. 
Malcolm's constant experimentation adds an element of excitement and innovation to his work – he is forever pushing the boundaries of silversmithing to new limits. Each of his silver creations is highly individual and his own colourful personality and sense of humour, as well as his many interests and influences – such as the dramatic scenery around his Perthshire home – are invariably reflected in his work. Malcolm has lived in Scotland since 1969 and currently lives in Grandtully, Perthshire in a house, with a workshop attached, which he designed himself. Numerous important commissions to date include the designing and making of a centrepiece for the opening of the Scottish parliament for the First Minister's residence – a bold, striking piece, which captures the drama of the Scottish countryside – a standing cup and cover commissioned by the National Museums of Scotland, a magnificent seal for the Board of Trustees of the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Raven Gun for the Royal Armouries, and various silver pieces commissioned by the Silver Trust for the dining room at No 10 Downing Street. In addition Malcolm's work can be found in the British Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Birmingham City Art Gallery, the Collection of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, as well as many institutions abroad. A number of these have been loaned for the exhibition. The exhibition at Goldsmiths' Hall will help celebrate the outstanding achievements and creativity of one of Britain's leading artist silversmiths and engravers.
VENUE:
Goldsmiths' Hall, Foster Lane, London EC2V 6BN, Tel: 020 7606 7010 www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk 
G.F.WILLIAMS
Passionate about Gems 
Why does my customer want Emerald and how
do I source it? Emerald is the May birthstone and one gem with much folklore. It can be sold with confidence, but beware of some of its issues. Emeralds occur all over the world, the UK market favours Brazilian Emeralds for use in calibrated mounts more information on buying in this market will follow in a later issue. Colombia is considered to be the source of the finest Emeralds and is a recorded origin from around 1000 AD. In the 1500s colonial Spanish sold Colombian emeralds to Europe's royalty, India's Maharajahs, Turkey's sultans and Persia's shahs. The single stone market for fine bigger pieces is a complex one in Emerald. Fine Emeralds command very high prices and have to be bought with considerable knowledge and skill. For many years we have stocked Colombian Emerald in our single stone stock range. Out of all the single stones we buy, our buyers find that Emeralds require the most care. 
Clean Emeralds are extremely rare, almost impossible to find. So when looking at the stone, it is always important to consider whether any inclusions detract from the overall appearance. Too critical and you will never achieve a purchase, too accepting of an inclusion and you may find problems further down the selling chain. It's a very fine balance. Almost all Emeralds are cut for yield. Specific to Colombian Emerald, is the need to retain the colour, this can make big stones unsuitable for recutting or trimming. Frequently, in Bogotá, the stones are kept in large loose packets and can therefore be chipped or rubbed, many hours are spent sorting through huge lots to select a few suitable pieces, only to find that a price cannot be agreed and the hours have been wasted. Continued in May J-dex 
“Making a Stand in Chelsea” Designer Crafts @ Chelsea 2006 Interview with Peter Moss FSDC (Chairman) & Carol Naylor FSDC (Vice Chair) Heralded as a fresh and exciting event, Designer Crafts @ Chelsea 2006 promises to be a challenging event in many ways. Chelsea Old Town Hall in October, has been the spiritual home of fine craftsmanship for over 20 years and with the departure of the Crafts Council's event the Society of Designer Craftsmen seized the opportunity to curate a new event for fine crafts. Peter Moss, the Chairman of the Society of Designer Craftsmen, when asked about the drive behind the event, was very candid; “The Contemporary Craft scene is undergoing a significant upheaval, with major changes underway in both the Crafts Council and the Arts Council. It is not clear what the impact of this will be, however we believe that the craftspeople should not just sit back and wait to see what the outcome will be. Craftsmen need to take a leading role in the development of the crafts market and the Society of Designer Craftsmen saw the potential for increasing the opportunities for promoting professional crafts and to educate the public about the role of crafts in the today's world.” Designer Crafts @ Chelsea 2006, is one of the most significant steps that the Society has taken in recent years It is not only important in terms of opportunities for craftspeople but it is also a major undertaking for one the oldest crafts organisations in the world. The Society was founded in 1888 as the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society under the chairmanship of Walter Crane and with William Morris as one its leading members. A key member of the Societies' Exhibition Team, Carol Naylor (Vice Chairman of the SDC) is clear about the scale of the project and the future plans. “This event will test our ability as an organisation but with the strong support of our membership and the dedication of the exhibition team, we are confident that we can make this a success. We are not looking at this exhibition as a one-off event but becoming an annual exhibition that will grow and develop as we establish a reputation for quality and diversity.” For the 2006, the Society has invited the Designer Jewellers Group to involved in the event; this group represents some of the most creative jewellers in the UK, working in a broad range of styles and materials with stunning results. “The Society has invited the Designer Jewellers Group for this year's event to encourage co-operation between individual crafts organisations. We hope to be able to extend this opportunity to other groups in future years. The DJG is a professional and successful group with high standards and active members” commented Carol Naylor.
Designer Crafts @ Chelsea 2006 will take place between Thursday 19th October and Sunday 22nd October at Chelsea Old Town Hall. The event will feature approximately 85 of the UK's finest designer makers in a wide range of disciplines including: Textiles, Jewellery, Ceramics, Glass, Furniture and Metalwork.
For further information please contact: Society of Designer Craftsmen, 24, Rivington Street, London EC2 3DU Tel: 020 7739 3663 e-mail: info@societyofdesignercraftsmen.org.uk Revolutionary new casting process Hean Studio has for several decades been at the leading edge of developing innovative and original solutions to age old casting problems. In area of platinum casting in particular, Hean Studio have established a reputation for consistent high quality product. Apple Nooten-Boom has throughout his life been the principle driver behind the design of custom built machinery, that remains unique to the company. But technology on its own is not always a solution, and sometimes dramatic and seemingly illogical processes and procedures, combined with new technologies have resulted in dramatic improvements. Apple's most recent research into a new style of casting tree structure highlighted a consistent problem with casting failures, and the cause was found to be gravity. The obvious solution would be to carry out the casting process in a weightless environment such as a geostationary casting facility orbiting the earth. However this is not only financially impossibly costly, there would be problems with all manner of things wanting to float about, including the molten platinum. The Russian H & S officer was totally against any experiments of this kind on their space station. Clearly what was required was a normal gravitational environment for the handling and melting part of the casting cycle, but Apple wanted to eliminate gravity during the actual spin cycle as the metal went into the flask. By researching on the intergalactic wide web, Apple chanced upon some interesting research material from iww.klingon.com, and iww.romulan.com, military research programmes. Armed with this research material, and some original ideas, Apple took his concept to the Cranfield Institute to bring the ideas together. Eventually the concept of the anti gravity plasma field started to yield some positive results. The initial trials were somewhat chaotic suffering from spurious emissions and random field size and direction. Ultimately they were able to manage the field into a reasonable size area, and apply it to the centrifugal casting machine. Currently the field still extends beyond the casting machine, so everything has to be securely bolted down. In addition for the safety of the staff, they too must be tethered to the floor and wear protective clothing during the anti gravity field activation cycle. The trials to date have proved totally positive, and casting failures caused by gravity have been totally eliminated. Apple will be presenting his research at the Sante Fe Symposium later this year, which is to be held in Nashville, and Elvis will be assisting with the presentations. This new service from Hean Studio will be available from midnight, March 31st 2006, whereby you can order perfect platinum castings, and take delivery even before you've realised you needed them. Apollonius Nooten-Boom II, CRAeC. FGA.DGA. FIPG. 
New Showrooms for Sutton Tools – A New Era for the Trade. Sutton Tools are moving! Faced with the challenge of moving from their premises opposite the famous Chamberlain clock, in the centre of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, Sutton Tools knew the importance of selecting the right location to befit the longest established jewellery tools supplier in the United Kingdom. The perfect base has been identified less than 200 metres from their old showroom. From the beginning of April Suttons will be trading from the site of the Cookson trade counter in Vittoria Street (opposite the School of Jewellery) in a new dedicated Sutton Showroom. As part of a new trading relationship with Cookson Precious metals, Sutton Tools will be offering not only their vast range of tools and equipment but also all of the products featured in the Cookson Big Catalogue. The current Cookson trade counter will be demolished leaving an open plan showroom where it will be possible to touch, feel and see the products. Maggie Nichols – Managing Director of Sutton Tools – commented..... “We are absolutely delighted to be able to announce the news of this amazing opportunity for customers of both companies and the trade as a whole.”
“Sutton Tools will continue to maintain a completely separate identity and company status from Cookson in all aspects of our business; but now customers will be able to purchase the complete range of products for jewellery manufacture from our
company, which has a 122 year reputation for providing the Jewellery Trade with the highest quality service available.”
Joshua Kindness, Sutton's Sales Manager, says.... “We look forward to welcoming all customers old and new into our new showroom at this exciting time!”
Sutton Tools and Cooksons Your First Choice for Jewellery Equipment and Supplies! 
Three new products for jewellers from AppraiserTech AppraiserTech, suppliers of software products and services to jewellery valuers, has launched 3 new software titles onto the UK market. Opal Smart Chart, Gemmology Tools and GemeSquare. GemeSquare is a colour communication package for coloured gemstones, enabling colour to be assessed on a computer monitor. “ This allows anyone to precisely ascertain and describe the colour of a gemstone, in such a way that a supplier or client who cannot see the stone knows exactly what colour is being referred to”, say's Adrian Smith FGA, owner of AppraiserTech “Any one of the near 17,000 colour samples in specific cutting styles can be included in a valuation or emailed to a supplier or customer. If the recipient is also a user of GemeSquare then only the colour number is required as their colleagues can reproduce the same image on their own screen”  
Putting a value on opals has always been a problem but Opal Smart Chart offers a simple solution. The user is taken through each of the thirteen opal grading characteristics in turn. The grade for each is judged by selecting images of opals that have been carefully chosen to demonstrate the characteristic being graded. “The program uses hundreds of detailed and enlargeable photographs”, comments Smith “The result is a price per carat based on market trade prices as researched by a consortium of Australian opal dealers”. Gemmology Tools is a package that contains 18 tools to assist gemmologists, valuers and jewellers around a database of some 1700 species, varieties and misnomers, this software can perform a variety of tasks, from identifying gemstones to calculating crown angles for diamonds, it can even includes photographs of the gems, inclusions and treatments. “This is the most complete gemstone database ever assembled”, stated the International Gem Society. “All three products are innovative and are a reply to a growing need for better communication and more accurate information for the professional jewellery valuer and jeweller alike”, says Smith. Gemmology Tools sells for £37.50, Opal Smart Chart for £85 and GemeSquare for £250 For further information contact: Adrian Smith on the telephone number below or 07980 852935 Links to products: - http://www.appraisertech.com/gemology_tools.htm http://www.appraisertech.com/Smart%20Chart.htm http://www.appraisertech.com/GemeSquare.htm 
Tourneau breaks own largest store record Guinness World Records has recognized the 17,000-square-foot Tourneau Time Dome at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas as the world's largest watch store. An arena-style store opened by Tourneau in February 2005, the Las Vegas outlet broke the record set by another Tourneau store. The Tourneau TimeMachine in New York, which had held the title since 1998, occupies 16,000 square feet over four floors. Tourneau operates 22 stores throughout the United States and the Caribbean, showcasing thousands of watches and offering on-site service and repair. The family-owned business began in 1900. 
John Coupland to head Emagold 
John Coupland, managing director of the gold jewellery and gold watch manufacturer, the Saunders & Shepherd Group, has been elected President of the UK wing of Emagold, the pan-European Association for manufacturers of quality gold jewellery.
Coupland takes over the role from Allyson Thomas of T.A. Durant who has stepped down after a statutory two-year term in the role. There are ten companies in Emagold UK, including some of Britain's largest and most high-profile jewellery producers. Members of the group exhibit together on a joint stand at Spring Fair Birmingham and at International Jewellery London where the Emagold Pavilion has become an important destination for buyers seeking quality and service. The group also undertakes joint promotional and marketing activities. “The Emagold group is a real focal point for the UK's gold jewellery manufacturers and provides very real benefits, not simply for our members in terms of the collaboration and support they receive, but also for our customers who know that they can rely on Emagold members to provide an exceptionally strong product range combined with traditional values of courtesy and service,” says John Coupland.
Coupland is keen to grow the Emagold group and says that he is actively seeking new members with a view to further expanding the Pavilion at trade events and to stepping up the Group's promotional programme. “The larger the group, the stronger we will become and the greater our ability to promote the best of British manufacturing,” he says. 
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