It is 14 years since Gerald Ratner made his infamous speech to the Institute of Directors in which he described his company's best-selling £4.95 sherry decanter as "total crap" and compared some earrings unfavourably to a prawn sandwich.

The resulting collapse in sales by Ratners, his company, was a boon for independent jewellery retailers. They might have been a tad staid, but at least they never talked down the product.