Jewellery Retailers Can Access Images of Their Stock Without Upfront Worries of Photography Costs

Jewellery photography specialists Summerleigh Photography are offering retailer jewellers a platform to access professional photography of their products without the worry of any upfront costs.

Lucy Davies of Summerleigh Photography

The offer, which includes a credit facility of more than three months, has been introduced by Summerleigh Photography founder Lucy Davies in a move to help retailers manoeuvre their businesses for when lockdown is over; a move that she says is critical to then being able to drive immediate sales.


Retailers will be able to get ten high-quality product images of their stock taken at a reduced cost of £15 per image without having to pay until September 1.

Diamond Ring – crisp, clean and accurate photography helps increase sales

High-quality pack photography has been proven to increase jewellery sales by 88% and is crucial to selling products online where growing numbers of the public are making their purchases in the digital retail age. Many retailers however are often at a disadvantage as there is no professional imagery available of their non-branded jewellery.

Sales of these items are just as important to a businesses’ profits says Lucy, who has worked in the jewellery industry for more than 15-years, which is why high-quality imagery of these products is so important to securing sales.

Diamond Pendant – shot at angles like this, jewellery is brought to life

The professional jewellery photographer said: “The jewellery industry is a vital part of the UK’s retail economy, which is why I wanted to do something to support it – particularly independent traders – during this difficult time.

“We all know the importance of cash flow and the pandemic lockdown means that many retailers will rightfully be worried about how they can actually spend money getting their businesses in the strongest position possible for when lockdown ends when incomes have been reduced.

“The support package that I have introduced means that retailers will be able to get ten high-quality product images of their stock taken at a reduced cost of £15 per image without having to pay until September 1. The only immediate charge would be the cost of delivering and returning the stock used in the photography.”

Diamond and Pearl Earrings – portraying pearl’s lustre and colour – cleanly – is key to online conversions

Lucy is recognised as one of the industry’s most skilled pearl jewellery photographers having previously worked at UK pearl wholesalers Raw Pearls where she led the business’ photography and marketing activity. She has clients across the UK and specialises specifically in packshot photography – a style of imagery used by major retailers to stimulate sales in which the product is displayed on a white background.

She launched the business to give independent retailers an affordable way of accessing this form of high-quality photography used by bigger jewellery brands.

For more information email lucy@summerleighphotography.co.uk. To examples of her work, visit www.summerleighphotography.co.uk.

Interview with 2019 KickStart Winner Lukas Grewenig of Lukascaspar Jewellery

Lukascaspar Jewellery is a London based fine jewellery brand that merges innovative technologies with traditional craftsmanship to create ‘moments of surprise’. A third generation jeweller, Lukas Grewenig grew up surrounded by the craft. Innovation, though, played a big role in his first collection ‘Victoria’ which featured specifically designed stone cuts to create magical and surprising moments.

We caught up with Lukas Grewenig, one of our 2019 KickStarters, to discuss what the past 12 months have been like, the impact of our KickStart initiative and his proudest moment to date.

What have the last 12 months been like and what have been your most successful pieces/collections?

Obviously the last couple of months were a big disruption for us all. But even before the corona crisis the year has been very dynamic for me. I used my participation in KickStart to focus more on the B2B side of the jewellery world. I worked on establishing relations with potential stockists to have my pieces represented in stores and to continue extending my range of pieces. In retrospect I would say my most successful pieces are my “Victoria” gemstone necklaces. Especially the clasps in those pieces got a lot of positive attention and I started to offer them as a finding for other makers to use as a result.

As a business, what is your main ambition now and your next objective?

At the moment I am trying best to react to the changes that are going through our industry. The situation is definitely very challenging but I am trying to find ways to keep working towards the goals that I have set for my business in the beginning of the year. My focus for the next months will remain to expand my reach and gain more representation by retailers and galleries. This will probably include finding new ways to get in contact and to showcase my collections.

What was your overall impression of KickStart and how did it help your business in its early stages?

KickStart was a very positive experience for me. We had a great group of new makers and the event had a good dynamic to it. We got some helpful training to prepare us for the show and everything was very well organised. I’ve made some varied and interesting contacts during the show and had a lot to follow up on afterwards. It helped to get noticed and seen by a lot of people in the industry, but there is still a lot to do afterwards.

How can future KickStarters capitalise on their IJL Journey and the IJL experience? What would be your advice?

I think the crucial thing is to be prepared and to have specific goals. Start preparing early enough. Don’t leave too much work for the last day before the set up.

What was one of your biggest challenges in launching your jewellery brand and how did you overcome it?

One of the biggest challenges for me is to be organised and plan ahead. I’m not sure if I will ever overcome this completely but it helps me to formulate my goals to keep motivated. I think it is very important to create an environment that makes it easy for you to stay motivated (and organised).

Finally, what is the proudest moment in your jewellery career so far?

This is hard to say. The proudest moment was probably when I saw the whole collection coming together, winning a silver award by the Goldsmith’s Craft and Design Council and being selected for Goldsmiths Fair in the first year of starting my business.

Want to know more? Head to Lukas’s website and get to know Lukascaspar.

How the Lockdown Has Transformed Jewellery Trade in Italy, India and Thailand

The lockdown has created vast new challenges for jewellery trade around the world – including in Italy, India and Thailand, three of the world’s leading suppliers. David Brough attended the trade shows held in those three countries in the final weeks before lockdown and has been tracking the impact on trade there ever since.

Italy

The jewellery trade fairs in Italy in early 2020 took place before a widespread realisation that coronavirus was set to spread around the planet.

At one show a seminar about the “Future of Diamonds” heard that it was high time to embrace “imperfection in diamonds”, such as “salt and pepper” diamonds, inclusions, and blue fluorescence, to create new demand in an already tough market.

Panellists urged improved traceability of diamonds from mine to finger, partially in response to enquiries from Millennials wanting to know where the stones came from.

Another panel, organised by CIBJO-World Jewellery Confederation, emphasised the importance of responsible sourcing in creating contemporary jewels, and in meeting the strong ethical concerns of Millennial consumers.

The layout of another jewellery show in northern Italy underscored a growing trend for fashion retailers to sell jewellery and accessories in-store, as seen, for example, at H&M and Topshop.

Many items of jewellery at the fair were inspired by the ocean. There was a strong showing of red Mediterranean coral and pearl jewellery with the summer holiday shopping season in mind.

As the weeks passed and cases of the novel coronavirus rose in Italy, the jewellery trade quickly shifted into the digital space.

During the lockdown, one leading Italian trade show staged its first webinar in April, and promoted additional webinars from May until July to deliver a message about design trends and how the industry will adapt to a “new normal” post Covid-19.

A realisation took hold that social distancing would make it impossible to stage trade fairs in the Spring and early Summer, and so marketing swiftly changed gear via a mixture of webinars and Instagram Lives.

Trends forecaster Paola De Luca spoke of the need to promote “emotional technology” in social media marketing with jewellery stores shuttered in Italy and in many other countries.

Paola believes that trade shows will need to expand their digital offerings in future, alongside a brick-and-mortar format that must comply with guidelines to reduce risks of spread of the virus.

Trade show seminars can be supported by webinars to get messages across to the industry.

At the time of writing, the next editions of the main Italian jewellery trade fairs were still on track to take place in September 2020.

India

The Mumbai trade show took place as usual in mid-February, weeks before India imposed a lockdown of its 1.3 billion people.

Subsequently, as diamond and jewellery manufacturing shut down, India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) held a series of webinars discussing what steps businesses should take to survive the lockdown and beyond.

The webinars also discussed the possibility of holding virtual “buyer-seller meetings”, or online business matching, if physical gatherings prove to be impossible to organise.

Even if social distancing can be organised at trade shows, a major challenge is international travel, with the possibility of quarantines upon arrival in another country, and some exhibitors and buyers unwilling to travel due to worries over Covid-19.

Thailand

The Bangkok trade fair took place in late February under strict measures to reduce risks of spread of the novel coronavirus and was the last major jewellery show to take place before lockdowns kicked in across much of the world.

All staff at the Bangkok show wore masks, and hand gel was widely available at entry points and booths throughout the event. A doctor was on standby.

In the weeks after the fair, Thailand went into lockdown and saw its jewellery trade shift into a digital-only landscape as physical business halted.

Thailand’s state-backed Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), organiser of the Bangkok fair, is now contemplating hosting webinars to promote messages about Thai craftsmanship and the expertise of Thai gem and jewellery manufacturing.

The Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), a leading Thai gemstone laboratory and school, reopened in early May after a closure lasting over a month.

AIGS hosted a series of educational webinars presented by respected gemmologists during the Thai lockdown. 

IJL Extend Deadline for Revitalised KickStart 2020 Initiative in Response to Industry Feedback

The deadline for online applications for the eleventh annual IJL KickStart mentorship competition has been extended to 1 June 2020. 

Andy Ventris, IJL Show Director, explained: “Extending the deadline is to ensure that we are giving all designers who wish to be considered the opportunity to submit entries. We appreciate the extremely difficult situation that we are all experiencing with Covid-19 and as such want to support the industry where we can. We have already received some extremely promising entries and look forward to the exciting judging process in June.”

The KickStart programme is a very special launch pad for talented, ambitious jewellery designers and is open to all emerging UK based jewellery designers, who have been trading for more than 12 months. The winning ten designers benefit from extended industry mentoring, including support from the Goldsmiths’ Centre, branding and marketing advice, invaluable introductions, industry-wide publicity, the opportunity to showcase their collections on the KickStart stand at IJL 2020. 

In addition, the chosen designers will receive a dedicated bursary from The Benevolent Society to assist with London accommodation and transport costs, in return for submitting a post-show report on how the scheme has enriched their careers. They will also be able to join The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ), if not already a designer craft member, with the joining fee waived.

Applications are now open online at www.jewellerylondon.com  and close on 1 June 2020. IJL 2020 takes place at Alexandra Palace, 13-15 September.