Jeremy France Jewellers have been supporting The Murray Parish Trust for a number of years and we are delighted to announce that their latest donation to the charity has brought their fundraising amount to a grand total of £20,680.26!
Harriet France, (Director and Mangager of the independent, family run jewellery store in Winchester) has written about their ongoing support of TMPT going into their 30th year of business for our very first guest blog on the site.
At Jeremy France Jewellers, we are celebrating our 30th year in Winchester. We have lots of fun in-store events and installations planned throughout the year, but we are also looking back this year on how we have supported great local causes and the wider community in this time.
We started working with the Murray Parish Trust back in 2016 both in store and at their events. We’ve had some fantastic nights and fundraising efforts for them including half the team walking up Snowdon to help raise money for the charity in October 2017. Waving a Murray Parish Banner when we reached the top; we all felt very deserving of a quick rest before the descent again!
Team JFJ at The Odd Ball 2016 with Sarah Parish & James Murray
In 2016 we offered a 0.50ct diamond to one lucky raffle winner at their Odd Ball. This lucky winner met with our design team in store and had their diamond brought to life into a stunning piece of jewellery. The hype around who would win the diamond was high on the night and it was a pleasure to see one very excited winner come to store and work with the designers to make the perfect piece.
For the 2018 Odd Ball we decided to bring all the staff along, not to tote more diamond raffle tickets, but to enjoy a great night together for our staff Christmas party. Everyone had a fantastic time and yet again, the entertainment did not disappoint!
Jeremy France himself pictured at The Odd Ball 2018 complete with a giant cardboard image of … himself!
Harriet France with Sarah Parish and the famed Alice Through the Looking Glass Pendant pictured at the family run jewellery store in Winchester Hampshire.
That night we auctioned off an Alice in Wonderland themed pendant to match the theme of the night. The Pendant was about a year in the making, with Sarah being involved in the design process.
Created by our designers using a mix of modern CAD design and traditional hand making skills, we created a necklace with a rotating centre disc depicting Alice going both in and then out of the world beyond.
The piece was set with large red rubies and black diamonds to match the colours of the playing cards in Wonderland. It really was a testament to the skilled team we have in store.
Not only have we been there for Sarah and Jim with prizes and gifts, we have also supported them day to day in store. At Jeremy France Jewellers we have always offered a ‘charity clean and check’ on any customers jewellery. We do the cleaning on site, that day (usually within 15 minutes to an hour) and make sure that the customers’ jewellery is safe and sparkling. In return for this ‘wow’ moment, we ask them to donate to our chosen charities.
We are overwhelmed by the amazing generosity of our customers who more often than not, will donate a note rather than coins for this service. Those customers have steadily and generously helped us to raise more than £20,000 for the Murray Parish Trust in just three years! We are so delighted that we could help raise this substantial amount for such an important local cause.
Through supporting us in charity cleans, entering in store charity competitions and supporting our prizes at the Odd Ball; we wish to thank everyone who has helped us to support The Murray Parish Trust.
If you are interested in hearing about our 30th anniversary events in store then please follow us on Facebook or Instagram to find out the latest events, news and offers. Alternatively, please feel free to visit our store for a charity clean and check for your favourite jewellery (even if it’s not from us!) and enjoy our diamond displays and silver boutique on the first floor.
– Harriet France
