Shortlisted for the Independent Retailer of the Year at the UK Jewellery Awards 2013, Green + Benz are currently one of the top 7 Independent Retailers in the UK, and will be attending the ceremony dubbed ‘the Oscars of the jeweller industry’ on July 4th at the stunning Natural History Museum in London. At the heart of Green + Benz is Managing Director Helen Dimmick who with over 14 years working with gems has a passion that is both infectious and inspiring.
Manchester’s Finest managed to catch up with Helen at her Manchester store in The Corn Exchange to find out the secret behind Green + Benz success and what she thinks we should have in our jewellery box!
Tell us a bit about Green + Benz and the kind of designers you stock.
At Green + Benz we like to showcase new designers such as Fei Liu, Sarah Ho and Alexis Dove to name just a few. I love innovative collections and am all about supporting the fabulous British talent by giving them a platform through Green + Benz.
I hear there’s plans for a new addition to Green + Benz…
I’m rolling out champagne bars in all the stores. I’ve just opened the one in our Chesterfield store, which was a great success. Basically they are an extension of the private viewing lounges but the great thing is they allow the customer to just come and take the time to look in more detail at some of the collections and find the right piece they want. It may be called a champagne bar but we do have something for everyone- beers of the world, bucks fizz, herbal teas whatever makes you feel comfortable. Buying jewellery should be always be a special occasion – a celebration and we want you to have a fantastic experience of buying jewellery from us.
Congratulations on being shortlisted for the Independent Retailer of the Year. Can you reveal what you will be wearing for the UK Jewellery Awards?
I am so excited about my outfit for the awards as the lovely girls at Lace Bridal in Hale are loaning me an Anoushka G dress, which will make as much a statement as the jewellery. It’s an empire line lace creation which is very vintage style and reminiscent of ‘The Great Gatsby’ era. The dress sparkles from head to toe and to compliment I’m going for diamond and pearl jewellery, which is a lovely combination.
If you could own any piece of jewellery what would it be?
This is going to sound really unusual but there’s something I find so amazing about the blue Hope diamond. It’s been around for centuries and is very rare in its blue colour, which is produced by boron. It is a beautiful cushion shape and has been set and owned by many people. There’s said to be a curse on the Hope Diamond but in truth there’s not – I do love the fact that diamonds inspire myths and legends and I’d like to be a part of that. Blue is my favourite colour and the diamond is so huge, two great combinations so I just think it would be fantastic to own.
Helen Dimmick gives Manchester’s Finest her tips on jewellery trends for the Summer and what should be your key jewellery pieces…
www.greenandbenz.com
Green + Benz
Manchester
Tel: 0161 835 1835
