Australia stars on tour

The Stefano Canturi jewellery pieces that starred in Baz Luhrmann's epic 'Australia' are now on tour.
The Stefano Canturi jewellery pieces that starred in Baz Luhrmann’s epic Australia are now on tour.
Forty-two-year-old Canturi said the 11 jewellery pieces created for Nicole Kidman’s character, Lady Sarah Ashley, were designed to “reflect the high jewels worn by women in the 1930s”.
“Inspired by nature, the jewels engage elements of geometric abstraction with the sophistication of glittering diamonds and sultry Australian black sapphires,” he said.
“The idea was to achieve the ‘starburst’ of art deco movement whilst adding an abstract element”.
The collection is made up of four brooches, four pairs of drop earrings, a black sapphire and diamond cuff, an engagement ring and a wedding ring.
According to Canturi, many of the Australia jewels have strong elements of existing Canturi Collections. For example the engagement ring and the woven brooch have qualities found in the Metropolis Collection which was inspired by art deco architecture and sculpture.
The Australia jewels have recently been on display in Canturi’s Brisbane and Sydney stores and are now on display in Canturi’s Melbourne store.
 
In 2001 Canturi designed and created the 1308 diamond ‘Satine’ necklace for Nicole Kidman’s character in Moulin Rouge. The necklace is featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the most valuable piece of jewellery ever created for a modern motion picture.

Paz calls for single diamond marketing body

Avi Paz, the president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, has called on the key players in the global diamond and jewellery industry to…
Avi Paz, the president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, has called on the key players in the global diamond and jewellery industry to launch a single body dedicated to promoting and marketing diamonds to consumers around the world.

 

Speaking at the Antwerp Diamond Symposium, Paz said that rough diamond producers, diamond manufacturers and dealers, jewellery manufacturers and retailers should join hands and establish a joint organisation to promote and market diamond jewellery, emphasizing the value retention of diamonds and as such their significance as an investment.

 
“Our message to the consumer must say that the diamond is not only a highly desirable precious stone that expresses love and purity, but that is also a good financial investment!”
 
He said that this new all-industry forum would need to allocate a budget and coordinate an intensive public relations campaign in the various consumer markets to promote diamonds and diamond jewellery.

 

“But before we turn to the consumer, we first and foremost need to reinforce confidence in ourselves, because ultimately, diamantaires all over the world are at the forefront of the diamond industry and trade,” he said.

 

“I urge all to use our internal communication tools to carry a message of optimism, belief and determination to our colleagues world-wide and to impress upon them that each and every one of us plays a vital role in building and maintaining consumer confidence in our product and our industry. It is what we do and what we say that can make the entire difference.”

 

TW Steel welcomes A1GP deal

TW Steel, the official watch and timing partner’ of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, has welcomed the news that the racing event will be held…
TW Steel, the official watch and timing partner’ of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, has welcomed the news that the racing event will be held at Surfers Paradise for the next five years – starting this October.
TW Steel managing director Jordy Cobelens said the Surfers Paradise event will provide “an exceptional promotional platform” for the company’s oversized watches, particularly its newly launched A1GP model.
Based on the company’s successful TECH collection introduced last year, the A1GP features a chronograph movement that can measure time accurately to 1/20th of a second as well as a rubber strap in white or black with racing tread. Waterproof to 100 metres, the watch comes in three designs (two steel and one iAA grade rose gold plating).
The A1GP series was launched in 2005 and currently includes teams from 23 countries. This year’s event in Surfers Paradise will be held on October 24-25.

In addition to the A1GP partnership, TW Steel is also hosting a global search to find Miss TW Steel 2008-09, with each country on the 2008-09 A1GP schedule hosting a round of ‘Miss TW Steel’ before the grand finale at Brands Hatch in England in May.

McGrath takes over timepieces

After five years working together, Dr Bruce McGrath has taken on the full ownership of Timepieces Australia, the local distributor of Howard Miller, Kieninger, Harrowdene…
After five years working together, Dr Bruce McGrath has taken on the full ownership of Timepieces Australia, the local distributor of Howard Miller, Kieninger, Harrowdene and Ridgeway clocks, from his business partner John Cookson.
Cookson, who is leaving the company to pursue his marketing career, said he was delighted to hand over the full operation of the company to McGrath.
“I know the company will continue to develop and grow to meet the needs of our clients in the time ahead,” he said.
McGrath said he had enjoyed a terrific working relationship with Cookson while “developing the prestige clock opportunity in Australia” and the company was now well positioned to expand its services.
‘The Howard Miller group are continually releasing innovative products, in their existing and new categories, which have grown spectacularly in the US and in other world markets,” he said.
“We look forward to tapping that resource for the Australian market enthusiastically”, said McGrath.”
Meanwhile Cookson, who brought an international background of branded business development, sales, marketing and merchandising skills to Timepieces Australia, said he was looking forward to “devoting more time to the impact that web 2 and web 3 will have on business activities”.
‘While the future is always exciting I am truly saddened that I will have less contact with many of the fine people I have met in the clock, watch and jewellery industry,” he said.
Cookson said he would particularly miss “key customers who share a focus and passion for excellence in traditional crafts and prestige brands” and the Watch and Clock Association of Australia “for their outstanding skills and craftmanship when working on mechanical watches and clocks”.

Gillet wins IT award

Jewellery software entrepreneur Raeleen Gillett has been awarded one of Queensland's most prestigious information technology awards.
Jewellery software entrepreneur Raeleen Gillett has been awarded one of Queensland’s most prestigious information technology awards.
Raeleen, the creator of the SWIM (Savings With Improved Management) software system for jewellers, was named the 2008 winner of the Queensland  Pearcey Foundation Award in Brisbane.
Now CEO of global software company Octahedron, Gillett was just a university student, studying computers and law, when she first developed a management program for her parents’ retail jewellery store, Gilletts Jewellers in Brisbane, in 1997.
When her success in the family business was followed by much interest from other jewellers, Raeleen founded Octahedron in 2000 and launched SWIM software onto the Australian market the following year.
The product was translated into three languages in 2003 and then redeveloped into a web-based plug-and-play platform in 2005.
In 2007 the Rapaport Group bought a 50 percent shareholding in Octahedron and this year the company opened  its first US office and now continues to forge growth across a growing number of other international markets including the UK, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Ely wins overseas scholarship

Matthew Ely, a jeweller at York Jewellers in Sydney, has won a scholarship to work and train in London for 12 months.
Matthew Ely, a jeweller at Sydney’s York Jewellers, has won a scholarship to work and train in London for 12 months.
 
Matthew was one of six young vocationally trained Australians awarded a scholarship by the Australian Overseas Foundation in 2008.
 
The AOF scholarship is designed to give young Australians the opportunity to “partake in overseas travel; meet people in a foreign country and learn about their customs and lifestyle; and extend their technical expertise via appropriate on the job work experience”.
 
Matthew said he is looking forward to expanding his skills and knowledge during his year in London.
 
“I am planning to do a lot of courses while I am there including some on  engraving and diamond grading,” he said.
 
Matthew is planning to fly to London in April.
 
The Australian Overseas Foundation scholarship is not Matthew’s first jewellery award. Matthew won the NSW regional finals of Worldskills Australia in 2006 and then went on to come third in the national competition.
 
In 2007 he won the Showcase Jewellers Award for creative design and was runner-up in the practical design award.

 

Young mum wins Qld apprenticeship award

A 24-year-old new mother has been named the Jewellery Association of Australia's Queensland jewellery apprentice of the year.

A 24-year-old new mother has been named the Jewellery Association of Australia’s Queensland jewellery apprentice of the year.

Angela Sharples, who gave birth to her first child last January, won the competition with her portfolio of work and a pearl and gold jewellery set of necklace, ring and earrings.

Speaking at the awards night at Southbank TAFE, Sharples said her portfolio and jewellery set were both inspired by her childhood dream of finding treasure on the beach.

Judge Densil Price said the “balance and attention to detail in each piece was outstanding” and that the “design concept successfully flowed through the whole set”.

Sharples is the third Stephen Dibb Jewellery employee to win the apprenticeship award.

Her $2000 prize package is made up of jewellery tools, a reference book, diamonds and precious metals.

Burke and Wills watch sells for $122,000

The pocket watch of Australian explorer William Wills has been sold to the National Museum of Australia for $122,000 at a Sydney auction.

The pocket watch of Australian explorer William Wills has been sold to the National Museum of Australia for $122,000 at a Sydney auction.

Setting a new Australian auction record for a pocket watch, the inscribed timepiece was carried by Wills as a navigational tool on his ill-fated expedition with Robert Burke in 1860 and was referred to regularly by its serial number in his journal.

After Wills died at Coopers Creek in 1861, fellow explorer and the only survivor of the expedition, John King, presented the watch, along with a letter, to Wills’ father.

Isabelle Quinn, head of jewellery at the Sydney office of auctioneers Bohnams & Goodman, said the relic came to light when the vendor, the widow of a watch collector, brought it in to the auctioneers as part of a routine valuation.

“When it was first opened for examination by a specialist watchmaker grains of desert sand could be seen in the movement,” she said.

Quinn said it had been one of the highlights of her career to be entrusted with the sale of this most significant piece.

“I am thrilled that such an important piece of Australian history will go to the National Museum of Australia and is now available to the Nation.”

Manufactured by James Murray (London and Melbourne), the 18 carat gold open face pocket watch with gold chain is hallmarked ‘London 1859’.

Key features include a white enamel dial with black Roman hour numerals, blued steel spade hands and subsidiary seconds dial with blued steel seconds hand, a gilt three-quarter plate keywind movement with fusee lever escapement and a compensation bi-metallic balance with gold timing screws.

The back of the case is engraved Wm. John Wills Explorer Melbourne 1860 R.O.H.B. Wills.

Prior to the auction, the pocket watch was expected to sell for between $60,000 and $80,000.

Zodiac takes on soccer star

Zodiac Australia has appointed Socceroo star Tim Cahill as its brand ambassador in Australia.

Zodiac Australia has appointed Socceroo star Tim Cahill as its brand ambassador in Australia.

Under the deal Cahill, who is currently signed to UK football team Everton, will travel to Switzerland to help design a limited edition collection of Zodiac watches due for release this year.

Announcing the new partnership, Fossil Group Australia managing director Annemiek Ballesty said she was delighted to have Cahill represent Zodiac.

“The Zodiac brand is both sporty and fashionable and I think Tim portrays both at the highest level,” she said.

Similarly Cahill said he was excited “to be associated with such a prestigious sporting brand” and was looking forward to “having input in the design of my very own range of watches”.

“Zodiac not only reflects my love of sport but also my sense of fashion and style,” he said.

NSW jeweller joins Skillaroos

Eighteen-year-old NSW jewellery apprentice Joshua Fimognari will travel to Calgary Canada this September to compete against 18 other young jewellers from around the globe in…

Eighteen-year-old NSW jewellery apprentice Joshua Fimognari will travel to Calgary Canada this September to compete against 18 other young jewellers from around the globe in the 40th International WorldSkills Competition.

Fimognari, an apprentice at Carina Jewellers, is one of 29 young skilled Australians who won a place on Team Australia (also know as the Skillaroos) to compete in the biennial event.

WorldSkills Australia competitions are open to all Australians under 23 years of age with trades and skills in any of 50 categories including beauty therapy, cabinetmaking, cooking, floristry, plumbing, web design and jewellery.

Fimognari said entering the WorldSkills competition had been “an absolutely amazing experience”.

“Seeing so many other young people so committed to their chosen trade was great,” he said. “My hand skills have improved greatly and my confidence on the bench is definitely increasing.”

Fimognari first became interested in a career as a jeweller when a friend showed him a pair of earrings she beaded.

“Being interested in art and design, I started beading different bits and pieces for family and friends,” he said. “One of my pieces was shown to a jeweller in Beecroft who later contacted me and offered me work experience. I soon realised that jewellery design and manufacturing was for me.”

Currently training for the September competition, Fimognari said that in the future he hoped to study in Italy for a couple of years and then return to Australia to open his own jewellery studio “making one of kind, exclusive pieces”.

WorldSkills Australia CEO Mark Callaghan said all the 29 Skillaroos were perfect skills ambassadors who can be held up as genuine role models for all Australians.

We look forward to watching their progress as they continue to display the dedication, drive and passion that has allowed them to reach this point,” he said.

“As a nation we need to continue to strive for skills excellence,” he said.

“It is skills excellence that will ultimately improve individual and organisational success as well as improving performance and productivity.”

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