Genuine article: There are not many jobs where you are virtually obliged to wear good quality jewellery, but having found one, it should still not prove too much of a burden on Anna Dunford, managing partner of Birmingham firm The Wilkes Partnership.

She has been appointed one of 36 guardians of Birmingham Assay Office, the largest in the country, which hallmarks more than ten million articles, such as precious jewellery, each year.

When asked whether it meant she would not be able to wear any fake jewellery in the future, a spokesman for the firm spluttered: 'She wears bloody expensive jewellery.' At this photo shoot, Ms Dunford was apparently keen to display the hallmark on a particularly large and impressive bangle weighing down her arm.

It turns out that while on holiday during the summer, she lost a diamond bracelet.

When she went to get a replacement, her husband advised: 'Buy something big enough that when it hits the ground, you can hear it.' Good to know that Ms Dunford is helping to keep her own assay office busy.