NEW FROM THE JEWELLERY SHOW AT THE NEC BIRMINGHAM   Awards Day for The Birmingham Assay Office Sunday 3^rd February is a double award day for The Birmingham Assay Office at The Jewellery Show. Immediately after the show closes at 6 o’ clock, Chief Executive of The Birmingham Assay Office, Michael Allchin, with be presenting the Giftware Association’s Gift of the Year Award. For the very first time The Laboratory at the Birmingham Assay Office has sponsored the Fashion Jewellery and Accessories Award category for the Giftware Association, which will be presented to the winner by Sales and Marketing Director, Marion Wilson. Earlier in the day, in another first, Michael himself will receive an award from Louise Johnson of Cyclists Fighting Cancer.  With the help of his many friends and colleagues in the jewellery industry, Michael’s heroic 50 mile cycling sportive through the very cold, wet and windy Cotswolds in September raised a fantastic £16,000. This was enough to make a significant improvement to the lives of 57 children with cancer, and their families. The money funded 45 bikes, 6 trikes, 5 KMX Karts and one tandem and made Michael the most successful individual fundraiser for Cyclists Fighting Cancer in 2012. Louise Johnson will present Michael with his Fundraiser of the Year Award at 11.45am on Sunday in the Catwalk Cafe. This coincides with the end of Michael’s seminar, the first of The Jewellery Show 2013. His annual review of the Jewellery and Watch market is called appropriately “Optimism and Opportunity”. Michael says of the award “This award acknowledges what is best about our industry. The support, encouragement and overwhelming generosity has been tremendous and the outcome makes it all worthwhile, although I still never want to be so cold, wet and exhausted again. Thank you to all those who contributed.  Between us we have enriched the lives of nearly 60 very sick children and given their families a new positive focus at a very difficult time.”

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