Gem Of An Evening

Last week my old friend Guy Clutterbuck, gemologist extraordinaire, brought a wonderful array of sapphires and aquamarines all the way from his mines in Sri Lanka and Zambia to our Westbourne Grove store. Then together we held a very special evening and a ‘pop up’ exhibition of a plethora of these most gorgeous gemstones.

Guy previewed a short film he'd made about the mines which gave the viewer a little insight as to how some of these precious gems are prized from the earth. There was a Q and A session and Guy explained how we can buy the most precious and beautiful treasures of the earth whilst benefiting the local people. In a nut shell Guy told us that he pays a special premium for the stones allowing the miners to become more efficient and therefore increase productivity whilst also enabling a safer than usual environment for the workers.

All this was accompanied by champagne, mince pies and smoked salmon blinis. We tied in our 'gem of an evening' with the local Westbourne Grove Christmas shopping evening (all the shops on our street were open late and offered discounts and drinks). This year it was in association with the Rugby Portobello Trust too so it was all for a good cause and great fun it was too.

Thank you to those who came by and very special thanks to Guy Clutterbuck.