NAJ News

“Once again, Congress inspired and lit that fire within to push myself a little more to be a better business and better boss.”

Harriet France

On 13th September, the NAJ closed the doors on its ground-breaking inaugural Summit after a positive whirlwind three days. If you weren’t able to attend, here’s what you missed.

Review: The NAJ Summit 2021

The event trialled a new format for the Association – our annual networking opportunities and conferences streamlined into a single occasion to provide greater cross industry collaboration and conversation. Building on its inaugural success, the 2022 NAJ Summit will again feature the Valuers’ Conference and Retail Jewellers’ Congress as well as the Members’ Gala Dinner and Supplier Showcase – the latter to be in a revised format.

“Topics were very relevant to us and up to date. The speakers and workshops I attended were extremely helpful.”

elements of this year’s Summit before putting plans together for 2022. Next June, we’ll minimise overlaps between each event and tweak other elements relating to movement around the venue. Overall comments have been extremely positive with just the odd niggle that we’ve listened and made appropriate adjustments to. I’d like to thank Chris Sellors, who has worked hard behind the scenes to launch the first Summit.”

Gary also thanked Continental UK, headline sponsor, for its support, as well as all the speakers, showcase suppliers and attendees for their participation and passion… which was evident throughout.

Heather Callaway FIRV, NAJ vice chair, added: “The Summit was a wonderful opportunity for our IRVs to mix professionally and socially with so many

The Summit will return to the De Vere Staverton Estate, Northamptonshire, from Friday 10th to Monday 13th June 2022.

Comprising talks, workshops and masterclasses from inspirational leaders and jewellery experts, the 2022 Summit will span four days, with the Valuers’ Conference taking place from late Friday afternoon until late Sunday afternoon, avoiding an overlap with Monday’s Retail Jewellers’ Congress. Furthermore, the now one-day Supplier Showcase (Sunday) will benefit from protected time in the programme so more visitors can attend this important part of the event ahead of the Members’ Gala Dinner that same evening.

Joanna Hardy David Callaghan “We had a great weekend – primarily to attend the JBN – but with the opportunity to attend the Valuers’ Conference too, it made us realise the opportunities to further our knowledge and education. We’d love to bring more of our team next time.”

Sophie Guess, L Guess

other members of the trade, presenting a chance to create new contacts. This event can only add to the opportunities for the institute to prosper in the longer term.”

Many attendees to the Retail Jewellers Congress highlighted Boodles chairman Nicholas Wainwright as a particular attraction, as well as Amanda Simon, head of engagement and people support at Beaverbrooks. Of course, many said the opportunity to network with like-minded retailers was priceless.

Valuers’ Conference presentations by John Benjamin, Joanna Hardy, Maria Maclennan, Craig O’Donnell and David Callaghan also received rave reviews. A valuable part of the conference includes the workshops, with sessions on laboratorygrown diamonds proving popular, particularly a workshop run by Julia Griffith from the Gem Academy. It was also a chance to announce that Barbara Leal FIRV is this year’s winner of the prestigious David Wilkins Award.

The Members’ Gala Dinner was also a resounding success, providing a great networking (and dance floor) opportunity for many.

NAJ President David Doyle said: “The Summit was successful as a result of the NAJ doing exactly what it was designed to do: represent all key areas of the jewellery trade and bring them together under one roof to create a dynamic and vibrant environment, so people can interact, learn and engage. It works productively on so many levels. We are really looking forward to continuing to develop this landmark event each June, moving forward.” Speaking to people at the Supplier Showcase, it’s clear the appetite for physical events has returned.

“An excellent programme bringing the various branches of the industry together.”

Maria Maclennan John Benjamin

Supplier Showcase

Laurence Blunt, Continental UK (headline

sponsor): “The NAJ Summit was a fantastic networking opportunity, especially after the industry’s prolonged period of stagnation. The event was a perfect opportunity to remind the industry what Continental UK does best, with our vast array of product in 9ct, 18ct and platinum. With a mix of diamonds and gemstones, it’s hard to say what stood out as a favourite with the retailers at the show, but August sales figures place our Art Deco collection as the one to beat.”

Stephanie Lee, Ntinga: “It was great to be at the first NAJ Summit. We found the event fairly successful, with buyers keen to see new products. In particular, they were definitely interested in teal tourmalines, tourmaline slices, step cut gemstones and fine gemstone stacking rings in an array of colours.” Tony Abram, Mishanto: “We launched two new ranges at the show: the spinel line and the 540 pentagon range. There was a lot of discussion about spinels, which we have taken time to source. We pick the most suitable stones in each category and have them repolished before setting. Interest is growing and it’s beginning to come back into jewellery. There’s a fabulous palette of colours, and they’re singly refractive, like diamond, with diamond-like brilliance, even colour distribution and hardness like corundum… perfect for today’s market.

“We attended the Supplier Showcase at the Summit as it’s the first time we’ve looked to link up with and supply retailers with our ranges under the Mishanto brand. We’ve developed a unique packaging, integral to the brand, which is receiving a lot of attention.”

Donald Edge, Code by Edge: “At the Summit, I met a small group of colleagues (now friends) who I would never have

known before, so that has been a real joy. People make a community, and those personal relationships are just so important in my view.

“We sneak-previewed our Unisex Milano collection, which we’ll be launching next spring. It’s designed as an alternative engagement and wedding ring for the less traditional, alongside wedding and gifting bangles that commemorate special dates, places and people. Sustainability is underlined by the use of recycled noble metals with a choice of laboratory grown diamonds or ethically traced diamonds. Each piece is handmade to order in Italy.”

Fei Liu: “The showcase was very promising and we received quite a lot of interest. Since then, these have become new accounts, including a large retail outlet and some independents. The Carpe Diem and Magnolia collections continue to be our strongest sellers. We had a very positive reception for Blossom and Links of Love; Links is our first lab-grown diamond collection, a modern reinvention of the traditional chain necklace. The interconnecting links are available in white rhodium plate, yellow or rose gold plate and can be plain precious metal or set with cz or lab-grown diamonds for an extra luxurious feel.

“Overall, we’re encouraged by the reaction and will continue to support retail partners wherever possible to end 2021 strongly.”

Judith Lockwood, Mesmeric Distribution

(TI SENTO - Milano): "Mesmeric has been an NAJ member for nearly eight years and I feel it’s important to support our trade industry association, so we decided to attend the Summit’s Supplier Showcase. We felt that we’d meet all kinds of industry colleagues that we may not get to meet in our everyday business lives. We went with a view to listen, learn and share and with an open mind. And we were not disappointed.

“My colleague Angela and I met many interesting people from across the industry who were keen to know about TI SENTO. We described our quality and designs, shared anecdotes from our retailers and about how we hallmark all pieces. It was also the chance to get to know fellow suppliers we hadn’t met before and catch up with friends. We were thrilled to be invited to the Valuers’ Dinner and the Gala Dinner.

“Did we write a lot of business? No. Had we expected to? We weren’t sure. But we covered our costs. However, in terms of organisation and set up of the Supplier Showcase, I think the NAJ team did a great job and seemed open to ideas for next year to improve buying opportunities. In conclusion, I’m glad we attended and would definitely like to be included again.”

Code by Edge

Fei Liu

Ti Sento Milano

Spinel rings by Mishanto

Ntinga

The Valuers’ Conference

The Summit’s learning opportunities fell under the umbrella of the Valuers’ Conference – across the three days, delegates eagerly attended over 30 seminars, masterclasses and hands-on workshops. As is always the case at the Conference, the main presentations were a real treat; what’s not to love about the dry wit and wisdom of John Benjamin FGA FIRV, of Antiques Roadshow, who chose as his subject ‘The Forgotten World of Georgian Gems and Jewels? Jewellery historian Jack Ogden also combined history with humour as he unpicked the legend of the Black Prince’s Ruby. Fine jewellery specialist and another Antiques Roadshow regular Joanna Hardy, ahead of the launch of her gorgeous tome, Sapphire, took us on a journey of the gemstone, from antiquity to the present day. (Read the review of her new book on page 63.) Meanwhile, possibly taking a few out of their comfort zone, forensic jeweller Dr Maria Maclennan offered a mesmerising insight into her work, explaining how personal possessions, like jewellery and watches, can play a potentially integral role in investigations of death, crime and disaster. Fascinating stuff.

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Anna Rogers, independent MIRV jewellery valuer at Almaz Valuations and GIA gemmologist, reviews her workshop experience.

I was delighted and excited when the In Real Life NAJ Summit 2021 was confirmed. The pandemic placed many of my fellow gemmologists and valuers in a difficult position. In our occupation, you simply cannot perform adequate jewellery and gemstones examinations remotely. It’s impossible to properly review jewellery pieces via webcam or photos, as you’re unable to test diamonds and gemstones to provide a professional valuation.

Thankfully for many industry professionals, our stay at home time wasn’t wasted. Many gemmological organisations and jewellery associations offered professional training webinars or courses remotely. Personally though, I absorb more information in the classroom when face-to-face with the lecturer. So, when I received the Summit programme, I had no doubts about my choice of workshops – I was eager to see gems, touch gems and learn more about gems!

My first practical workshop was Photomicrography with Michelle McCormick, from the Gemmology and Jewellery department of Birmingham City University. I love the fascinating internal gem world and often take pictures of interesting gemstone inclusions and features for my social media accounts. However, I always wanted to sharpen my microphotography skills and to learn how to take better images under the microscope with my camera phone.

Michelle was very welcoming, friendly and full of gem knowledge. The room was fully equipped with professional instruments from Gem-A, with each attendee having a designated workshop desk with a high magnification powerful microscope, diamond light, fibre optic light, loupe and tweezers. Michelle kindly arranged a viewing of 25 fascinating gemstones, including quartz, moss agate, hessonite garnet and moldavite.

She explained that to perfect the photoshoot images, Helicon Focus stacking software is useful, and she showed some fantastic 3D images from BCU’s collection. We had plenty of time to explore the mineral species, test light techniques (overhead light, diffused and darkfield illumination) plus, of course, take some breath-taking images with our phone cameras.

My favourite specimens were quartz from Pakistan showing liquid oil inclusion, fiery orange heart shape hessonite garnet exhibiting glass-fill treatment and a slice of very appetising watermelon tourmaline.

My next workshop was Jadeite Jade with Rosamond Clayton, a renowned jadeite jade specialist, who started her trade career in

Rosamond Clayton

Hong Kong in the 1970s. I was eager to learn more about her experience in China in valuing jadeite jade.

The first challenge was the identification of jadeite jade versus nephrite. For many practising gemmologists and valuers, this classification can be a bit of a headache, as the two materials sometimes closely resemble each other. The simple RI test can be difficult to perform due to surface characteristics or carvings. Likewise, pale material can show no distinctive spectrum. Rosamond gave us some useful tips to look out for when identifying jadeite jade using a simple 10x loupe.

The second challenge for valuers is finding comparable examples of jadeite jade and following the open market valuation to price it. The workshop revealed how to search for comparable pieces and quickly use internet research to reach an efficient professional valuation.

My final workshop was Assessing

Minerals and Crystals for Identification

and Value with Marcus McCallum and

Charlie Bexfield.

We say around a big desk covered – end-toend – with minerals of all colours, shapes and sizes. Charlie showed us minerals from his newly formed company collection, ADIT Fine Minerals', and explained what features practicing gemmologists should look for when valuing rough pieces. My favourite part was playing detective – identifying the crystals and inclusions. The adorable panda head lapis-lazuli crystal caught my attention as did the rare inky- blue cavansite crystal from Oregon and the vivid green Russian demantoid garnet, which are a real treat for gemmologists.

With gems and jewellery, you simply never stop learning. It’s an addiction I have no intention of curing! See you at the NAJ Summit 2022!

“The most beneficial day out of the office all year, offers value way beyond the cost of attending.”

Anna Rogers

@almazvaluations

Cavansite

Panda head lapis

Watermelon tourmaline