We are currently 44 days away from Christmas and as you know this is the time of year when we all go out buying presents for our loved ones. Retailers who wish to differentiate their product for relatively little expense can choose the mini max report which comes with a contemporary outer wallet and glossy mini brochure, as well as the all important independent grading assessment report, detailing the quality of the diamond.

Congratulations to Lisa West of TW Gaze LLP, who is the winner of this week's competition! The answers to the questions were as follows; 1) 3 of the sponsors at the Gem-A conference this weekend Apsara Gems Gem World AnchorCert Gem Lab 2) Where did the Gem-A conference take place? London Business Design Centre 3) What does FGA stand for? Fellowship of the Gemmological Association Many Thanks to Cooksongold for supplying us with the prizes. If you took part…

EU rules about which chemicals can be used in toy jewellery or kids’ pieces cannot be ignored. We asked the Analytical Laboratory's Michelle Cartwright to talk us through the issues. Restrictions relating to nickel were followed by the control of cadmium in December 2011. While this legislation is chiefly intended to protect those in the manufacturing part of the supply chain where fumes from molten cadmium can cause severe health hazards, it has imposed a significant cost on the fashion…