What was making news 10 years ago?

Brisbane fair defies the odds

The story: Exhibitors and organisers at the JAA Brisbane Jewellery Fair have a lot to smile about, with the trade show deemed a surprise success.

Held at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre from 15-16 March, the show attracted approximately 2,000 buyers and 100 exhibitors, with many reporting solid sales and new clients.

Gary Fitz-Roy, CEO of Expertise Events, said, “We’ve already received a number of complimentary emails from exhibitors.” 

Pandora continues expansion

The story: Danish jeweller Pandora has continued its expansion into the Australian market, officially opening two new flagship stores in Melbourne’s GPO shopping mall and Domestic Terminal 2 at Sydney airport.

Pandora aims to open a flagship store, owned and run by Pandora, in the key city of every state. So far, it has stores in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

“They are in shopping destinations where you’d expect to find the top international fashion brands,” said marketing manager Jeff Burnes, adding that retailers will soon be invited to franchise Pandora concept stores. “At this stage we are planning 25 concept stores for 2009,” he said. 

Consumer spending stays steady

The story: Australian consumer spending is still rating well in the face of the Global Financial Crisis.

Retail sales experienced an increase of 1.8 per cent for the December quarter – a result treasurer Wayne Swan described as “solid” compared to the US market, where sales fell by 7 per cent during the same period. 

Jewellery got its share of the spend-pie, with Nationwide Members achieving record sales during Christmas 2008. 

According to an AAP report, Access Economics estimated that the first package of $8.7 billion of handouts from the Rudd Government’s stimulus package delivered between $700 and $900 million in additional retail spending in December.”

 

Diamond lab fails to make the grade The story: The incorrect grading of a coated stone as a natural pink diamond has sparked concern within the industry. The Australian Diamond Grading Laboratory (ADGL) graded the stone a natural pink and valued it at $80,000; it was later submitted to the Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia as a “dirty grey/brown stone”. “Mike Muller, managing director ADGL, used a DiamondSure device to examine the gem and has now issued a stark warning to other labs: “Stop certifying coloured diamonds,” he said, adding, “Current equipment may not be enough to confidently determine a natural from a treated coloured diamond.””