Nicky Acton, of Christopher Evans Goldsmiths on London Road, Poynton, has been awarded the highest possible industry accolade for her outstanding performance in her studies for the Professional Jewellers Diploma.
The NAG Professional Jewellers’ Diploma has long been seen as the industry gold standard. First presented in 1946, the prestigious Greenhough Trophy has, for over sixty-five years, been awarded to the student who received the highest overall marks in the programme and this year the Greenhough Trophy was presented to Nicky, at a glittering award ceremony in London.
Nicky tells us: ‘I knew I had worked hard but I really loved doing JET2 because the subject matter was so interesting, it gave me something to get my teeth into. I didn’t start my studies with any idea of winning an award, I started because at Christopher Evans offering the very best service we can is part of what we do, and this Diploma would help us deliver that even more so.’
The course required that Nicky submit seven very demanding assignments and a dissertation, all requiring significant study, across subjects ranging from the obvious, such as gemstones, diamonds and precious metals to the history of jewellery, pawnbroking, Law and valuations.
“The confidence I gained from doing both JET courses has meant that I have can offer even better customer service,” says Nicky. “Being awarded the Greenough Trophy was such a proud moment for me but what made it all the more special was how pleased and proud Chris was of my achievement. It was through his encouragement that I decided to do the course in the first place and now I am going to embark on the Certificate of Appraisal Theory with future plans do become a registered valuer.”
The trophy is going to take pride of place in the shop window for a couple of weeks and then it will be moving inside to one of the display cases so that customers can enjoy Nicky’s success too.
