Marmalade Fine Jewellery and TheGemLabW4 are a bespoke fine diamond jeweller based in Chiswick. We spoke to Simon Johnson from Marmalade Fine Jewellery to find out a little more about them and their Junior Gemmology Club.

Tell us about what your business specialises in?

We are a bespoke fine diamond jeweller we specialise in all things jewellery, very much a knowledge based business with 3 FGA’s, 1 DGA, an FIRV, MIRV MIRV (in training) plus too many other qualifications to mention, repairs, bespoke, remodels and valuations form a  huge part of our offering and we have a dedicated Lab space in the basement for the valuations side of the business which involves a necessary amount of gem analysis and testing.

 How did your first Junior Gemmology Club go?

 We were so pleased with the response from our clients and the attendees on the day loved it. Everyone was buzzing, the parents, the children, my team all loved it.

The first day we had 8 young people from 5-7 and on the second they were a bit older from 7-9. My colleague Janina Brown, wrote, designed, presented, and taught the whole thing from start to finish and did an amazing job. I even had a client stop me in the street to say his kids had an amazing time and came home completely exhilarated.

Are you look forward to continuing this and growing the club?

100% we have made a real point of expanding our community connections over the past 18 months and it has made a real difference to our feeling of team, self-worth, and connection to our community. Creating those moments that are more impactful and long lasting than just going to work and selling jewellery really benefits everyone they touch.

Our purpose of creating those magic moments between our colleagues, clients and community are embodied in the JGC. I am so proud to be part of a team that creates, designs, implements and supports these novel ideas that have a massive personal and social impact.

 Would you recommend starting these sorts of activities to other CMJ retailers?

Yes, of course, but only if you believe it. We didn’t do it to create any sort of commercial angle. We didn’t charge for the event; we didn’t try and sell anything we just wanted to offer a moment back to those in the community that have supported us for over 20 years. I think there is a danger of these events being hijacked for commercial gain and that could be perceived in the wrong light.  If you believe it and want to give something back to your community then 100% do it!

What do you enjoy most about being part of the CMJ?

The CMJ also does a good job in trying to create and maintain a sense of business community, having the opportunity to meet and interact with others in the industry offers a lovely opportunity to further personal relationships. Given that there are now so few opportunities like that since Covid I think it is beneficial to us and the membership as a whole.

Marmalade Fine Jewellery