Jeweller - July 2022

10 Years Ago
Time Machine: July 2012
A snapshot of the industry events making headlines this time 10 years ago in Jeweller.
Historic Headlines
4 Backlash to Paspaley silencing critics
4 Michael Hill continues to struggle in Australia
4 Swatch Group on target for $8b in sales
4 Chemgold introduces Australian first technology
4 Tiffany & Co to open Bondi store
STILL RELEVANT 10 YEARS ON
BARRY URQUHART
“If one is not able to accurately forecast
mass-media headlines seven, 14 or 30
days ahead, then no attempt should be
made to project consumer sentiments or
to believe that concise sales and profit
totals can be documented and
banked in advance.”
READ ALL HEADLINES IN FULL ON
JEWELLERMAGAZINE.COM
Aussie jeweller puts ring on
leading lady
Sydney-based jewellery designer Amy Robson
experienced a publicity dream last week when
actress Kristen Stewart was photographed
wearing one of her rings.
When actress Kristen Stewart was in Sydney
recently for the red carpet premiere of her new
film Snow White and the Huntsman, Amy Robson,
director of Amy Robson Jewellery & Objects,
mustered some courage and approached her.
Robson presented Stewart with a modified version
of one of her ‘Rock Rings’, specifically created to
suit Stewart’s style.
“I looked at a lot of images and the style and type
of jewellery she wears,” Robson told Jeweller.
“It wasn’t bright and blingy because she doesn’t
come across as someone who would like that.
I gave it a variation to suit her style, which is a
bit edgy. I oxidised the ring, and made the rocks
slightly different shapes, with some darker areas
to accentuate the texture on the ring.”
Jewellery supplies targeted in
robbery spate
After a recent spate of robberies on jewellery
stores, several jewellery suppliers have been
targeted, with a raft of similar thefts reported
in Sydney suburbs.
New South Wales Police are searching for three
people accused of robbing two jewellery salesmen
in a carpark in Campbelltown last week.
On Thursday morning, three people wearing
balaclavas broke into a supplier’s car with
an unknown object and assaulted one of the
salesmen, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
The thieves stole two bags from the back seat,
which included gold jewellery.
July 2012
ON THE COVER Pastiche
Editor’s Desk
4Chicken or the egg: “I’m not sure
if it can be proved who first started
operating outside of the traditional
channel, wholesalers, or retailers, but
I do know that the world is changing.
What used to happen doesn’t anymore
and what was ‘right’ yesterday may not
be any longer.
“Buyers and sellers will not always
agree; they each arrive at a point from
different directions and they both do so
in an ever-complex world.
“Focusing on what came first, the
chicken or the egg, won’t achieve
anything nor will anything denying
someone else the right to manage their
business the way they see fit.”
Soapbox
4Time is running out : “Like the
Tasmanian Tiger, watchmakers carry
the perception of being typically shy
and reclusive. Largely independent,
watchmakers have had to contend
with the same range of pressures that
have plagued independent jewellers in
recent decades, but the most recent
challenge is one that threatens to stop
the trade in its tracks.”
– Nicholas Hacko, master watchmaker
and watch dealer.
Australian first for
Melbourne’s Holloway
Diamonds
Melbourne’s Holloway Diamonds has
become the first Australian business
to become a certified member of the
Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).
The last few weeks have been frenzied for
Garry Holloway, founder and owner Holloway
Diamonds, as he strove to get his retail
business fit for the audit that is required
for full RJC membership.
After the intensive two-day examination,
which analysed the business across a
range of criteria, including safe working
environment and business ethics, Holloway
became the first fully RJC certified
independent jewellery retailer in Australia.
De Beers’ profits slashed
in first half of year
Diamond mining and jewellery company
De Beers has announced a 50 per cent drop
in profits in the first half of 2012.
De Beers has blamed challenging market
conditions for the US$600 million fall in
sales.
The company announced pre-tax profit
of US$502 million in its half-year report
compared to the $1.01 billion profits earned
in the first half of 2011.
Problems with liquidity and excess stock
in India were raised as contributors to the
profit loss.
24 | July 2022