The missing link: London Jewellery Week

Consumer event London Jewellery Week (LJW) partnered with The Jewellery Show this year to launch its first ever trade day, which took place on June 9.

The trade day hosted more than 100 contemporary jewellers and featured a series of informative talks by premiere trade event The Jewellery Show’s sister brands, global trend forecasting service WGSN and Retail Jeweller.

Exhibiting jewellery designers and visiting retailers welcomed the introduction of the trade day, called Treasure in Association with The Jewellery Show Salon, saying that it had been the “missing link” in previous years at the annual event.

Designers were eager to meet potential stockists during the event, which was held at Victoria House in London. “This is the best LJW show I’ve ever been to,” said exhibitor Cindy Dennis Mangan. “I always used to say there needed to be a trade day. It was such a missing link last year and I think it has completed the chain,” she said.

Retailers Jos and Alison Skeates attended LJW for the first time this year, despite the fact their EC One stores are based in London. “We’d never come before because it was a consumer event, so I think it’s fantastic that they have launched a trade day. We have met some great designers, and I think they have really taken the opportunity to meet retailers,” said Jos Skeates.

Richard Slack, owner of four-store jewellery chain Clive Ranger in Wales and the West, said the trade day represented a new buying opportunity. “I came to LJW specifically for the trade day this year.

It’s a good time of year because we start to plan our buying now, and shows like International Jewellery London come quite late in the year, when you might have spent most of your budget for the Christmas period already,” he said.

National Association of Goldsmiths chief executive Michael Hoare also heaped praise on the event. “The trade day has been excellent and surpassed my expectations. It’s showcased the cream of British talent and I’ve picked up lots of new ideas. It’s great that LJW is moving in this direction,” he said.

The Jewellery Show director Julie Driscoll said that she was delighted to join forces with LJW to launch the trade day and thanked participating trade organisations and WGSN and Retail Jeweller for their support. “Hundreds of the UK’s most influential jewellery buyers met with the UK’s most talented jewellery designers, supported by inspirational speakers. All agreed it was a resounding success. I would like to thank the trade for supporting LJW and for helping to create this brilliant day. Here’s to next year.”

While LJW has long been a highlight and an integral part of the jewellery industry’s calendar, the designers and retailers that Retail Jeweller spoke to all supported the introduction of the trade day, each describing it as a step in the right direction.

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