As you were stuffing yourself with mulled wine and mince pies many of you were probably thinking about the coming year and what you could  do to achieve your business goals. Or so we like to think.  With the economic climate still looking uncertain at best, this makes that process even harder.
What’s worse, is that our inability to set out our priorities for the coming year (other than survive) creates anxiety as we go through the year. So that come the end of the year, we’re so frazzled and drained, that all we can do is eat more mince pies, drink more mulled wine and start all over.
I used to go through this cycle, year after year and as the financial crisis hit in 2008, would regularly find myself starring…

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Vision and Goal setting is a much tried and tested successful method for me. I have found that setting goals gives you a long term vision with short term motivation. It minimises distractions and focus’s the mind, in fact goal setting is one of the strongest keys to a successful business. Clarity and Vision ensure that your efforts are focused on achieving a clearly defined outcome.

Thank you for your support

As the year comes to an end, I would like to make a personal thank you to our customers and suppliers alike, who have helped us over the last year. This year has seen my business grow as my team and me strive to service you better. While this may not have always gone as smoothly as we’d like, we are constantly working on improving.
Thank you. May 2012 bring us all a little more peace, prosperity and success!
Welcome to the December issue of the Gem Bank Newsletter.
Trading at the start of November in Europe was a little slow, as we saw with the recent auction results in Geneva. Which is unusual as November is normally the peak trading month of the season. Nevertheless, as in past…

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As usual we have been very busy in the last few months. In September we took part in the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. The big shows play such an important role as an early indicator of diamond pricing trends; and as this is currently the world’s leading jewellery event, our participation means that we can assess the trade show and report back directly with you, keeping you abreast of all the latest industry news, jewellery fashion trends and gem pricing.

Luxury by definition is very hard to pin down, as luxury means different things to different people. In this industry however, luxury is the highest measure of quality.
So, how are you going to convince your customer that when they buy from you they are not just getting another piece of jewellery? That when they buy from you, what they get is a piece of luxury, that their purchase is a quality piece of jewellery that can last a lifetime.
Whether you are a modern, contemporary or traditional jeweller, the rules for proving that your jewellery is luxury are the same. Ask yourself, do you strive to meet every individual customers needs? Are you prepared to tailor the service to meet their requirements? Is every piece of jewellery you produce important to…

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Reviewing Your Goals – 6 months on…
Time flies when you are working hard on your own business! It’s hard to believe we are already at the half way mark in 2011. At this point in the year it is a good time to look back and take stock of what goals have been achieved over the last six months. We need to remind ourselves of the goals we set, and we need review them, to see what did and did not go well for us. So, have you achieved the things that you set out to do in 2011? And be honest, did you have a clear idea of what it was that you wanted to achieve in the first place?
What Kinds of Goals are you Setting?
Goal setting is a…

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In today’s tough economic times retailers and jewellery manufacturers are looking for an edge.  What is needed is innovation and an injection of something creative into the business.  However, tell many retailers to get creative, to freshen things up, and you will watch a look of dread creep over their faces.  Often we find ourselves wanting and looking for change, but that change eludes us.
One source of change can come from a section of the industry that is often viewed as ‘alternative’, an area many out of town jewellers struggle to fully understand.  The designer maker, I believe, holds a key to great innovation in any local jewellery market.
If retailers have taken on designer jewellers, they have often remained at the fringes of the display. By introducing the work of…

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Research shows that students working part-time in off-licences often know more about the beers and wine they are selling than retail staff working in the average jewellers know about the gems and other products they are selling.
It’s more than students just liking a drink!
You’ve got to wonder why this is so. You might suppose that the students working in off-licences already know a lot about the drinks they are selling because it’s well known that students can be very passionate about drinking. Joking aside, students working in off-licences are hardly going to be experienced sommeliers so there must be something else at play here.
They want to give their customers confidence.
The average consumer is still very intimidated when it comes to choosing a bottle of wine. If they cannot speak to…

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Did you find yourself selling from your existing jewellery collections or did you find yourself increasingly being asked for customised or bespoke jewellery pieces?
With a slight shift in luxury and consumer’s approach to buying it, is there an expectation by our customers for bespoke pieces?

Recently, the weather in Europe has been quite cold. For many, the cold weather is bad news; however, if you have a small business, the cold just may work to your advantage. If you are able to open your shop, log on to your website or otherwise come in to work, the benefits are yours for the taking.
Increase customer loyalty.
First, if you are able to get out and about in the bad weather, then chances are that many of your customers are also able to get out on the road as well. This means that you have the advantage of increasing customer loyalty by being available when your customers need you the most. In addition, you may also attract new customers who are not able to make it to their…

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