L-R Steve Bennett, Michael Allchin & Vanessa Burkitt[/caption] Working in conjunction with local charity ACE Africa, Steve has initiated projects to provide suitable accommodation for a school, fill a library with books, create work for local women making bracelets and provide simple “eco stoves” to cook on, reducing smoke damage to young lungs and also limiting the amount of wood needed. Vanessa Burkitt spoke movingly of the work of the Catherine Jones Foundation in India wher…

  The top end of the market has held up well and diamonds and platinum were well represented. Designers continue to be creative with Platinum, encouraged by the Platinum Guild, and Palladium is also beginning to come through as an alternative precious metal. The Show also demonstrated that retail jewellers are behaving differently. The two big buying groups Houlden and The Company of Master Jewellers have become keen supporters of the Show. They encourage their members to visit a…