Missed the thrill of baggage claim? The exotic lure of check-in queues and customs control? Aching to feel that long-haul air-conditioning in your hair, the…
Missed the thrill of baggage claim? The exotic lure of check-in queues and customs control? Aching to feel that long-haul air-conditioning in your hair, the crisp tingle of micro-packets of peanuts in your fingers?
Want to get out into the world again, see what everyone’s been up to? Aussies, Kiwi, they’ve let us out, we can travel again! And an international jewellery show or two makes a fine excuse to dust off the passport and pack a bag.
Let’s go! Here is a list of up-coming international fairs and trade shows – a list that looks more and more stable as things return to what is definitely not normal but probably as close as we’re going to get. (Not complaining!)
For 70 years, Breitling’s original pilot’s watch has been beloved by aviators and tastemakers in equal measure. Worn by an astronaut in space and the biggest stars on Earth, it is Breitling’s most iconic timepiece.
The brand has unveiled a redesigned collection of the Navitimer that is all about bold colour. “We don’t throw the term ‘icon’ around lightly,” says Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling. “The Navitimer is one of the most recognisable watches ever made. It’s on collectors’ lists of the greatest watches of all time. What began as a tool for pilots has gone on to mean something profound to every single person who has had this timepiece along on their personal journey.” Not even its inventor could have predicted the phenomenon the Navitimer would become.
In 1952, Willy Breitling developed a wrist-worn chronograph with a circular slide rule that would allow pilots to perform all necessary flight calculations. Two years later, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the largest aviators’ club in the world, announced the design as its official timepiece. The association’s winged logo was emblazoned at 12 o’clock, and the “navigation timer”—or Navitimer—was born. To create the new Navitimer, Breitling preserved the most recognisable aspects of the icon’s design code.
From a distance, this is unmistakably a Navitimer, with its circular slide rule, baton indexes, trio of chronograph counters, and notched bezel for easy grip. Up close, however, its modern refinements come through loud and clear. A flattened slide rule and a domed crystal create the illusion of a more compact profile.
Alternating polished and brushed finishes give the metal elements a lustrous yet understated quality. A slimmer silhouette on the oscillating weight enhances the open-caseback view of the COSC-certified Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01. This movement is backed by a five-year warranty, provides approximately 70 hours of power reserve, and allows the wearer to change the date—now visible through a discreet window in the subdial at 6 o’clock—at any time.
The watch comes in a range of sizes (46, 43, or 41 mm), two case materials (stainless steel or 18-karat red gold), and a choice of straps (semi-shiny alligator or seven-row metal bracelet). Modern colours in shades of blue, green, and copper define its updated dial options. And if there is one feature sure to spark nostalgia, it’s the return of the AOPA wings to their original position at 12 o’clock.
Swiss watchmaker, whose initials — TAG — stand for Techniques d’Avant Garde, has lived up to the promise embodied in those initials. The company sees the incorporation of lab-grown diamonds into its brand as a major milestone in the over-160- year company history and the watch industry at large. Entering the lab-grown diamond sector is a defining step for a watch company and Tag Heuer has chosen to focus on the avant-garde aesthetics as well as redefining technological and creative limits. By adding the precision aspect of lab-grown diamonds into its product universe, Tag Heuer is provided with a creative freedom that rarely comes with mined diamonds. New diamond shapes are possible and the stones can be used in unique and innovative ways.
TAG Heuer Lab Grown Diamond Watch
“Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technology, which we refer to as ‘Diamant d’Avant-Garde’ at TAG Heuer, enables us to explore the versatility of carbon in the form of lab-grown diamonds – to create a stunning timepiece where diamonds are used in very unique shapes and textures. Lab-grown diamonds allow us to innovate and experiment with this exceptional material, and this opens up a new realm of possibilities for designers, watchmakers and engineers”, said Edouard Mignon, chief innovation officer at Tag Heuer. The TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma, powered by the H02 Tourbillon Nanograph movement, has CVD lab-grown diamonds set in the case, and features embellished indexes. A polycrystalline diamond dial is one incredible component of this new watch. It looks like many tiny diamonds on the dial, but the face is actually one single plate of 3.9 carat diamond.
This is CVD technology. Diamond does not exist in nature in this format says the company. More diamonds embellish the case, all in custom shapes that would have been prohibitively expensive to fashion (and source) from natural stones. The crown, at 3 o’clock, is created entirely in a 2.5 carat lab-grown diamond. The 11 indexes in white gold are set with a diamond each and sport a double index at 12 o’clock. The lab-grown diamonds used are manufactured by a network of partners specialising in lab-grown diamond design, including Capsoul, a start-up based in Israel. The innovations go well beyond the surface and into the Nanograph movement which is equipped with a carbon hairspring also using CVD technology. The watch took two years to design and produce and will retail for 350,000 Swiss francs (AUD $505,000). It is the most expensive Tag Heuer timepiece yet produced and the brand says it expects to produce three or four Plasma watches this year.
Pandora has released a limited edition lightbulb dangle charm, a continuation of its Charms for Change initiative in support of UNICEF. The glow-in-the-dark charm has been designed to represent a brighter future and to celebrate the potential of every young person worldwide, with 15€ from each charm sold donated to UNICEF. The Pandora for UNICEF charm is made with blue glow-in-the-dark glass, reflecting light all day and night, and symbolising that every child can let their potential shine. “We all have a role to play in empowering the young minds of the next generation,” said Marissa Saretsky, director of corporate sustainability. “Proceeds from this charm will help UNICEF provide young people and children all around the world with opportunities to learn and shine bright.”
limited edition lightbulb dangle charm
Pandora is supporting UNICEF’s work across the world and through the Charms for Change and other initiatives, Pandora and its fans have so far donated $6.2 million for UNICEF and their work, which has contributed to UNICEF reaching 17 million girls and boys to date. With support from Pandora, UNICEF has, for example, trained tutors and educators in Guatemala in communication strategies and using technology to overcome educational barriers further brought on by confinement during the pandemic. In China, Pandora’s funding went to support UNICEF’s project to train school PE teachers, who then helped over 336,000 students in 500 rural schools to better enjoy and develop through sports.
Another 120,000 students and 6,000 teachers have benefitted from UNICEF’s Social and Emotional Learning resources and support in China. And in Nepal, Pandora is supporting UNICEF’s initiatives to help vulnerable children and adolescents develop skills and create change not only in their own lives, but also in their communities. Approximately AUD $21 from every purchase of the lightbulb dangle charm is donated to UNICEF’s programmes around the world, allowing Pandora fans to show their support for UNICEF and its core work in ensuring every child not only survives, but also thrives. The Charms for Change glow-in-the-dark Lightbulb Double Dangle Charm is available worldwide, online and in selected stores, from April 7th – July 7th 2022.
The Victorian town of Beechworth recently held its famous “Golden Horseshoe” Parade, celebrating one of the most colourful election campaigns in Australian history. In 1855,…
The Victorian town of Beechworth recently held its famous “Golden Horseshoe” Parade, celebrating one of the most colourful election campaigns in Australian history. In 1855, two rival gold mining factions (the Monkeys and the Punchers) were competing for their own elected candidate.
The Monkeys rode into town from their Woolshed diggings, loudly supporting their candidate Daniel Cameron who was unusually visible to all voters – his horse had been shod with two golden shoes. The gold had been supplied by “Big” Johnson, owner of the Woolshed’s richest claim. The campaigning strategy worked and Cameron quickly won the election based on a show of hands among the miners.
“Big” Johnson celebrated the win with a 300 pound champagne shout, although he did discover that gold is not the best material for horse shoes – after a one mile ride, the weight of the horse shoes had dropped by one ounce. A replica of the Golden Horseshoes is on display in the town. Each shoe weighs 580 grams and the pair are valued at $60,000.
A rare 8.82-carat Fancy intense purple-pink, pear modified brilliant-cut diamond, set in a platinum ring with two 0.61-carat stones, sold for USD $6,780,000 at Christie’s…
A rare 8.82-carat Fancy intense purple-pink, pear modified brilliant-cut diamond, set in a platinum ring with two 0.61-carat stones, sold for USD $6,780,000 at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York in mid-April. The gem, known as the Fuchsia Rose diamond, sold well above the pre-sale estimate of $4 million to $6 million. Another highlight was a 2.44 carat Fancy intense pink diamond ring, which sold for $1,620,000; and a Fancy vivid yellow diamond ring of 15.31 carats, which sold for $1,320,000.
1/2 Pink Diamonds
Swarovski signs five year contract with Climeworks
Building on its sustainability strategy, Swarovski has signed a five year agreement with Climeworks, a leader in carbon dioxide removal via direct air capture. Swarovski joined the Science Based Targets initiative in 2021, announcing its commitment to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct and indirect emissions from owned operations) by 47 percent by 2030. In addition, Swarovski wants to get started on carbon removal as well, acknowledging the importance of removing residual and historic CO₂ emissions from the atmosphere on top of emissions reductions. In order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century, and net-negative emissions after that. Climeworks is a Swiss-based company currently leading the world in carbon capture and storage.
What does the future of Australia’s jewellers and gemmologists look like? Jewellery is an industry with an alarming disproportionate representation in comparison to other major…
What does the future of Australia’s jewellers and gemmologists look like? Jewellery is an industry with an alarming disproportionate representation in comparison to other major trades, yet jewellery will always remain a highly sought-after item in the retail scene. Here we spoke to four experts in jewellery and gemmology to find out the current state and outlook for our current apprentices and future jewellers/gemmologists.
So much work, so few tradespeople
JTS
While there will always be fiancés needing engagement rings, mothers needing doting with something shiny and sentimental on Mother’s Day, or pawnbrokers and investors needing stones graded and valued, it seems the number of tradespeople required to perform the specialised craft of jewellery manufacture and precious stone grading will always be inadequate to meet the demand. At least that’s the consensus among our contributors. Founder and Master Jeweller at Jewellery Training Solutions Peter Keep (who also regularly produces editorial content for the magazine) said there is certainly a shortage of qualified competent jewellers. “Industry dictates the number of apprentices needed and most bench jewellers will tell you that currently they are snowed under with bench work,” he said. “Although there’s no shortage of potential apprentices, there is a shortage of suitable positions for apprentices.” He said that the demand is there, and apprentice numbers have steadily been on the rise over the past three years, but employers are still reluctant to take on apprentices because they have a combination of no time available to train, not enough support, and/or no confidence in the training provider.
“My Jewellery Training Solutions online training service offers another pathway to train to be a jeweller.” As for the gemmologists, federal president of the Gemmological Association of Australia Katrina Marchioni, expressed the skills shortage is just as dire in gemmology as it is in jewellery manufacture. “Retail jewellers would benefit greatly from having a gemmologist in every store, for testing clients’ gemstones as well as stock items to check for lab-made or treated gems; it’s a small investment to make that can potentially save a business thousands of dollars down the track,” she said. Katrina also said that “as an industry the trust of the consumer is so important and having a qualified gemmologist on staff does go a long way to building that trust and confidence between our industry and the consumer”. She also noted that “with the GAA gemmology diploma and the post-nominal FGAA (Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Australia) being well recognised for its high academic standard worldwide, we are a wonderful, local resource for those looking to become an industry professional”.
From the industry network perspective, managing director of Jewellery Industry Network Laura Moore concurred that there are certainly not enough jewellery students or apprentices in the market or approaching the market at the moment, nor have there been for some time. “The jewellery industry has seen a skills shortage for many years, especially in certain disciplines of skill sets, but with the strong growth of handmade jewellery during the COVID period, this has been exacerbated,” she said.
The state of industry vocational education
As for future jewellery and gemmology talent coming in, feedback was mixed regarding student commencement and attrition rates at TAFE and other government accredited vocational education institutions. Katrina said that the numbers of gemmology students at the GAA haven’t changed much over the past years however, numbers did drop with COVID. Practical classes are very difficult to do on line successfully, she added. She said there is a small dropout rate, but students are told how much time they need to put aside each week and informed that this time is a commitment. “It is an extensive course and recognised as one of the world’s leading gemmological courses,” she said. Laura said the state of the industry courses which are state/federal government-run seem to fluctuate, especially in certain states. “When student intake is low, it becomes unfeasible for some states to run jewellery manufacturing courses,” she said.
JIN Artist Samantha Kelly
Peter was a jewellery lecturer at the Central Institute of Technology in WA from 2007 to 2019, and he described how apprentice numbers fell from 42 apprentices when he started, to just 6 when he concluded. Plus he saw a similar precipitous drop in year-over year apprentice numbers was also occurring in the regions, and in many other trades. “It may just be timing, but I think that the COVID crisis had a part to play in re-energising the bespoke side of the industry, and combined with the state and federal governments’ new initiatives that help to alleviate the financial pressure of employing an apprentice, the numbers in WA have risen to around 20,” he said. “When it comes to apprentice attrition, there is general understanding that an apprentice will cost you money in year one, break even in year two and begin to return the investment by year three. “In my time I found that between five percent to ten percent didn’t get to year two.”
Offering an alternative from traditional courses, Peter’s JTS educational platform offers world-renowned training and learning where a budding jeweller can achieve their qualifications, the professional jeweller can hone their skills and the hobbyist can become competent. “At present I have over 500 students worldwide who are working through the training program.” Trevor Brown is Bespoke Product Liaison from Curtis Australia, and he said that the traditional apprenticeship route in which apprentice jewellers are employed and released for trade school blocks is a valuable one, but there probably needs to be more consultation about modules and their content. “Also possibly greater feedback from course tutors on how the apprentice is progressing, and on what aspects of training need to be focused on while in the workplace,” he said.
Current support on offer for apprentices and their employers
Whilst jewellery and gemmology are often neglected in terms of government assistance compared to their other trade counterparts, Peter said that thanks to very generous state and federal government incentives, there’s never been a better time to employ an apprentice.
“At time of writing, WA business owners that employ an apprentice can have half of their first-year apprentice salary paid for under the BAC (Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements) scheme,” he said. “There are also other cash incentives offered by the federal Government.” He said that industry support is more difficult as it is a small industry with limited resources compared to trades such as automotive and building which are supported by huge corporations that have a vested interest. “Our industry doesn’t have huge corporations with buckets of money… but maybe there’s scope for some kind of collective support.” Director of Curtis Australia, Heather Curtis agreed that the BAC and CAC (Completing Apprenticeships Commencements) subsidies from the federal government have helped, although they come with a lot of paperwork. From Laura’s perspective, there have been some incentives for businesses to take on apprentices, but not enough to bridge the gap between the investment needed for the employer and the student. “What is required, is for the industry to have solid statistics and to show its national contribution to the economy,” she said.
“The government could do a lot to ensure that Australia’s manufacturing sector is strong, but the concern is that for all industries that manufacture products here, the level of support needed hasn’t been seen.” Katrina said that the GAA has scholarships and prizes on offer for the best and most promising gemmology students in a variety of categories. The GAA is a non-profit organsiation and recognised as a charity and thus GST is not charged on the courses.
Encouraging new apprentices and keeping them in the trade
Katrina said that to encourage more prospective students to take up gemmology, word of mouth is the GAA’s best advertisement. “Also, just promote the people in the industry to be the best we can be and enjoy the wealth of knowledge, inspiration and enjoyment higher education can offer… knowledge is a powerful thing,” she said. As Peter noted earlier, he doesn’t believe there’s a shortage of potential apprentices, but there is difficulty for these potential apprentices to find a job. “In an ideal world, there would be a dedicated, fully-funded national jewellery training program where students can enrol into a pre-apprentice course where they can try the trade and assess if that’s a career path that they really want and to see if they have the potential to become a jeweller,” he said. He said this model would mean the first year of training would be completed, and employers could then cherry-pick from the best. During his time at TAFE, this was something he pushed for, and with industry support, managed to get a fully funded pre-apprenticeship course up and running which proved quite successful. “However, it was cancelled due to its status as low priority, and so the funding was cut.” Peter also served on the JAA board for several years during which time he lobbied the government to have the trade included on the skills needs list. “Being included on the skills needs list may have helped to keep the pre-apprentice course going.”
The future for jewellery and gemmology education and training
When probed on the outlook for jewellery education and training, Peter believed the signs were looking very positive for the industry, as he’s seen a recent surge in the creative side of the industry, access to industry-relevant training for dedicated students to take their craft as far as they want to, and a retail front no longer being necessary for selling jewellery. “With the power of social media and online resources, a lot of students have turned their hobby into a thriving business and operate successful virtual shops selling bespoke jewellery,” he said. “So yes, I am very positive about the future, especially for unique handmade jewellery.” Laura believes that with some proper planning, hard work and commitment, the future is very bright. “There is a strong future for the manufacturing sector here especially as digital enables Australian jewellers to sell overseas,” she said. “However, in order for us to maintain this success and the quality required for Australian made pieces, then the industry must act quickly to build on the next generations of jewellers.”
