You probably don’t know it but this week (June 8th-11th) is London Jewellery Week, an annual event that celebrates and promotes jewellery in London.

London Jewellery Week is sponsored by Coutts, the posh private bank which, incidentally, was founded in 1692 by John Campbell, a goldsmith-banker who supplied banking services to his clients along with gold plate and jewellery.  LJW (as it’s not popularly known) is also supported by the City Fringe Partnership and the London Development Agency.

So what’s going on this week in rainy London?  Well, apparently there was a ‘star-studded’ party last night at Altitude 360, perched atop the Millbank Tower in Westminster (Health Warning re their website: it contains lots of flashing images and lurid dayglo colours).  Altitude 360 is a great spot for viewing the London Eye, which is said to be lit up specially to sparkle like a dazzling diamond this week.

Back to the jewellery… other events this week include an exhibition called Treasure which showcases the very best young creative talent in The Flower Cellars, Covent Garden.  The Treasure Exhibition is open this weekend, Friday 12th to Sunday 14th June, and you can find out more here.

A mile or so east of Covent Garden, the traditional jewellery quarter of London, Hatton Garden, will be holding the first ever Hatton Garden Festival on Saturday.  Attractions will include hand-crafting in the street, a fine food market, walks and talks, musicians, and a treasure hunt style game which offers a chance to win a £1000 piece of bespoke jewellery.

Back in the West End there’s more jewellery in display in the new Jewellery Room at Liberty from June 8th-14th.  Ten young jewellery designer are showcasing their creations in the Jewellery Room in an exhibition called Rising Gems.

Some big name jewellery designers are also involved in London Jewellery Week.  Big name jewellery designers?  Isn’t that a contradiction?  If you ask average high street shoppers to name a jewellery designer then would you be met by anything other than blank stares?  You might get a few uncertain nominations for the likes of Ernest Jones and H Samuel, or even ‘Tiffany’, I suppose.

OK so maybe the jewellery world doesn’t have the household names who make a big splash like fashion designers do at London Fashion Week, but there are some who have built up a solid reputation in the wider world, often through PR exposure thanks to celebrity endoresement.  Try these: Shaun Leane, Stephen Webster, Theo Fennell (who only has a tenous link with Theo Fennell PLC these days), and David Marshall who currently rejoices in the title ‘Luxury Jeweller of the Year’.

Let’s hope that the various shows and events this week help to turn some of the up & coming new creative jewellery designers into the big names of the future.