Coutts London Jewellery Week Awards winners

Coutts London Jewellery Week has announced the winners of its inaugural Coutts New Jewellers Awards. Sixteen up-andcoming jewellers have been awarded the opportunity to draw
on Coutts’ unparalleled wealth of expertise working with SMEs and entrepreneurs via the Coutts Business Development Forum. Created to support and nurture new talent in jewellery design and craft, the Coutts New Jewellers Award-winners will receive advice on how to remain resilient during these testing economic times with a series of inspiring talks by industry and financial experts.

© Catherine Marche, Blum RingsAll sixteen winners have unveiled exciting plans for the Week, ranging from first-time exhibitions to collaborative shows and even jewellery recycling classes. These include Secret Garden - an exhibition organised by The Garden Studios of London celebrating Elizabeth Powell’s first collection of sumptuous colours and delicate beauty – and sparkling showcases by Ana De Costa and Zoe Catherine Kendall at independent designer store Kabiri.

Elsewhere, Missoma and SHO Fine Jewellery will be forming an exciting collaboration with fellow designers to launch Rising Gems – an exhibition held at a chic cocktail evening in central London - representing the new faces of the London jewellery industry and casting a spotlight on what’s fresh, fashionable and directional.
Coutts London Jewellery Week’s annual Treasure showcase gives some of this year’s Coutts New Jewellers a chance to sell direct to the consumer. Nina Koutibashvili and Ring Leader Urban Jewellery will be exhibiting new collections of inspirational, unique pieces at an event that is a platform for visionary design and new talent.

A number of Coutts New Jewellers will also be hosting individual exhibitions of their collections, including Alexandra Simpson’s Wow! Jewels for London, who will be exhibiting with 7 other designer jewellers including Yours Truly Catherine Marche.

CJS Inspired Design’s “Inspiration”, Ruth Tomlinson’s “Love Ring” collection at
Cockpit Arts, Holborn and Bex Rox’s limited edition African showcase at Brown’s. And Francesca Sibylla Augusta will be hosting Golden Age - a fun and flamboyant jewellery exposé which is one
of a number of events planned for the Burlington Arcade.

Showcases aside, Leblas is inviting guest speakers from Vukani-Ubuntu, the largest
mineral-beneficiation organisation in the Jewellery sector in South Africa, while
precious gemstone and diamond setters Roque will be offering guests the
opportunity to ‘try on’ their collection using Holition’s revolutionary 3D virtual
mirror.

Representing the Coutts New Jewellers at the recent media launch for Coutts
London Jewellery Week were Jessica de Lotz and Rachel Galley. Very different in
style, both jewellers have exciting plans for the Week. Recent Central St Martin’s graduate Jessica is offering a week-long schedule of events, ranging from daily demonstrations to “make do and mend” workshops. Meanwhile Rachel’s jewellery will be available for preview at Cockpit Arts Open Studios and will include a new men’s collection and a high end gem-set cocktail collection of bespoke items.

Sarah Deaves, Chief Executive, Coutts & Co commented: “This year, our involvement in Coutts London Jewellery Week is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to supporting the world of entrepreneurs and contemporary art and design. Today, we can count one third of our client base as successful business owners and we recognise the importance of supporting entrepreneurs of the future, through the early stages of their career. We're excited to be nurturing these 20 promising new jewellers, through the creation of the Coutts Business Development Forum, and we hope that the course will provide the delegates with a great insight into building a successful and resilient business through its time of most need."
Cllr Guy Nicholson, Board Chair of organisers the City Fringe Partnership, added: "This is a great opportunity for up and coming designers to be part of Coutts London Jewellery Week and have their ideas supported by a major financial institution. The Coutts New Jewellers Awards is a timely investment into the Jewellery industry in the capital and into the future of London's small business sector."
More information about the Coutts New Jewellers can be found on the Coutts London Jewellery Week website:
[w] http://www.londonjewelleryweek.co.uk/