Can British manufacturing compete with overseas?

British manufacturing is the proud heritage of many brands but with advent of cheaper overseas options, how are British brands competing while remaining true to their roots? Kathryn Bishop finds out the industry's views.

If you stroll through Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter or along Hatton Garden and its environs, one is hard pressed not to notice the buzzing jewellery trade going on around these streets.

Being part of the British jewellery industry – and, more precisely, being a British manufacturer – conjures up the image of a company that holds fine craftsmanship, attention to detail and originality close to its heart. It also harks back to an era when manufacture was small and refined, long before the advent of mass production.

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Fancy colour diamonds in today’s market

Eden Rachminov, one of the founders of the Fancy Color Research Foundation, explores how the rising popularity of fancy colour diamonds is affecting the jewellery industry, and what the increasing prices will mean going forward.

There is a growing trend in jewellery design: the post-recession global economy coupled with a dramatically increased appetite for luxurious stones in the developing markets of Asia, have created a greater demand for fancy colour diamonds in jewellery. These exceptionally rare stones present the discerning jeweller with a chance to create items of astonishing beauty and unprecedented value.

The diamonds are found randomly and unpredictably in diamond mines throughout the world and the combination of their dwindling supply and their startling beauty has made them highly sought after, pursued by sophisticated jewellery buyers and gem collectors alike. Items of jewellery made with these rare stones are unquestionably some of the most beautiful and expensive items in the world. At a Christie’s Hong Kong auction in November 2014, a 2.09 carat, heart-shaped, fancy red, SI2 diamond ring by Moussaieff sold for $2,440,000 per carat – an apt example of the unprecedented value that is attached to the jewellery of these gems.

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