Recent Developments

New silver brand 950 Milano debuts at Jewellery & Watch this week. We caught up with John Claffey, managing director at distributors Gablestone Partners, to find out more.

Why did you make the decision to launch the new silver range 950 Milano?

Gablestone Partners has been working with retail partners in the UK and internationally for more than 30 years and we pride ourselves on providing great brand solutions to our retailers, and great jewellery and watch collections to their customers. We have experienced phenomenal success with Bronzallure Milano – with its core brand values of Italian design and craftsmanship, the provenance of ‘Made in Italy’. Additionally, the use of certified natural gemstones along with our patented base that tonally matches the 18ct rose gold plating has really resonated with British consumers.

We believe that the Bronzallure Milano proposition is one of the strongest out there for retailers who are looking for rose gold jewellery collections. Through dedicated customer service and strong brand support we have earned the trust of our retailer partners. Their confidence in us as a company led them to ask us if we had additional offerings beyond our rose gold collections. They wanted a brand with the same brand values as Bronzallure Milano but in white metal, so we began this creative journey that has taken 18 months of development to complete. 950 Milano is the fruition of that work.

Why did you feel now, at Jewellery & Watch, was the right time to launch the collection?

This is the next generation of white jewellery, made in Italy, using the design skills of our atelier based in Milan. We have created a collection that showcases the properties of 950 silver to full effect; its superior purity is exemplified in its brilliant white radiance. Plated in platinum, it creates a stunning backdrop to the certified natural gemstones and cubic zirconia stones.

How does the range fit into the brand’s existing products and design style?

This is a new departure for Gablestone Partners; we have never had a platinum-plated silver offering. However 950 Milano embodies the key brand values we know resonate with our retailers and their customers. Provenance has become such an important factor in today’s market. Not only is each piece in the 950 Milano collection designed and manufactured in Italy, each natural gemstone is hand-selected and faceted in-house. Every detail has been carefully chosen to showcase Italian craftsmanship and the stunning 950 silver and platinum. 950 Milano extends our offering beyond rose gold. It is something we know our retail partners want and we are really excited to share these designs with them.

What was the inspiration behind the new range?

950 Milano has been crafted in 950 silver, chosen for its purity and radiance, embellished with cubic zirconia and hand-set natural gemstones and plated in platinum, offering outstanding style and durability. The collections have been named after famous quarters of the city that has inspired the collection – Milan – and the designs capture the unique aesthetics of each quarter, emphasising the distinctive Italian influence. It is an alluring collection has been designed to enchant and captivate.

Who are you targeting with the new collection?

The development of the 950 Milano collection is something that our retail partners have been asking us for. We believed we could bring something new and innovative to this space and so we began the development of the collection using 950 silver and platinum plating. Our existing stockists are really excited that the collection is now ready for launch. We have been in the lucky position to offer sneak previews to some of our key partners and the reaction has been incredible. We are confident that there are many new customers who will welcome this new standard to the market and we look forward to meeting them at Jewellery & Watch this week.