In The Trade - An Interview with Michael Suter: Head of Pawnbroking & Retail Jewellery at Cash Converters UK Stores Ltd

Expertise at its best in the pawnbroking & second hand market.

With over 20 years experience at the UK's largest second hand retailer, Michael Suter has a deep rooted love of jewellery and luxury watches.

His dedication to the industry doesn't just stop there, as he also became a Warden of the Birmingham Assay Office in May this year, helping safeguard the integrity of precious metal hallmarking.

Michael is also an avid charity fundraiser. Read on to find about his latest adventure, which is fast approaching in early 2026.

Who, what, where & how long

I'm Michael Suter (PJ Dip, GIA AJP), Head Of Pawnbroking & Retail Jewellery for Cash Converters UK Stores Ltd. I am field based across the UK, looking after our 58 corporate stores in addition to helping advise the 134 Franchise stores up and down the country. I have worked for Cash Converters for nearly 20 years now; I have left a few times to focus on things important for my development, but I always came back due to loving the brand.

How you started, your route into the trade

I was headhunted to run a chain of two Cash Converter stores one day and thought, what the heck, let's give it a go and I've never looked back since! Before that, I was a Store Manager for Sainsburys for a number of years. Another fact you may not know about my past is the accolade of being team captain of the UK Youth Creative Butchery team; representing the UK and the pride of winning 2 years in a row. It is amazing how our careers twist and turn over the years!

Any qualifications?

Learning on the job is and remains invaluable, we never stop learning. However, having industry recognised and delivered qualifications are a huge support and is why I gained both the Professional Jewellers Diploma (PJ Dip) through the NAJ as well as being a proud GIA graduate.

What does your work entail?

Day to day I oversee our two processing centres - one looking after watches and the other for jewellery. We are currently building a third to look after the luxury side of our business focusing on handbags, trainers and designer wear.

In recent weeks we have started work on opening a new luxury shop brand Re:Loved, which will add a different look and feel to our brand; just focusing on premium watches, designer jewellery, handbags, shoes and trainers. This is a trial concept for the UK division after a successful trial by our Australian partners in Bondi Beach. Exciting times and a testiment to us always looking to develop our customer offering.

I also oversee our online brand The Watch Experts, which focus on premium watches that are preloved. This part of the business keeps me busy, with the YouTube channel updates and writing a fortnightly blog on all things watches. It's hard building a new brand and it takes time to build customer confidence, but it’s a part of the business I have a huge passion for as do my team around me, combining our timepieces experience with e-commerce.

Together as a team, we also provide a remote authorisation service to our corporate network helping us to make speedy decisions to support the customers that need us. No one knew what would happen to the industry as we came out of lock down, but we have seen the need for our services grow with our customers. We strive to be a community lead group of stores who support our customers daily with the various services we offer.

Alongside my business role above, I also wear another hat and that is being a Warden of the Birmingham Assay Office. I have always used Birmingham since I started in the trade and when a position as a Guardian came up I was keen to apply to try and understand the office even more. After nearly 2 years, a Warden position became available and in May of this year I took the next step to join the leadership team to support the office further.

It’s a challenging role but I feel its my chance to represent my sector and support the office with my experience.

*As head of the Appointments Committee, I am always keen to speak to trade and non trade people wishing to join, so please get in touch if you are interested in joining the team.*

Favourite task

I think it's the fact that we never know what we are going to see day to day in the office. One day it’s a Rolex watch or a diamond ring and then it’s a silver frog or a pocket watch screaming for a new life; no two days are the same and that's a thrill which is hard to beat. Even more so as we continue to expand our stores, with our brand new Cwmbran store opening YESTERDAY - welcoming our 2nd store in Wales.

Least favourite task

Least favourite task has to be looking at the clock... There are just never enough hours in the day and in a blink of an eye the day is gone, never enough time…

Thoughts for dream client

This would be two different people. I would love to get into the royal vaults and have a really good hands on look over the crown jewels and all the fantastic stones in the collection.

The second would be Ed Sheeran - he is a silent watch collector and I would love to sit down with him with a cold beer and just look over the collection and understand why he bought it and what it means to him.

Favourite Walsh product

Definitely the Drying Chamber TD30.

I was having a cup of tea with the HS Walsh team in Birmingham one day and there was one on the floor and the team explained what it was for. They offered for me to try it and see what I thought so I quickly loaded it into my car and 5 years later it has changed our operation and speeded up the whole process in our jewellery processing centre.

It has eliminated the oxidisation problem we used to have on silver during the drying process and it has also halved the drying time - a winner on all levels.

Pushing the limits - Arctic Trek Challenge 2026

This coming January, a team of nine trekkers from Cash Converters UK, including Michael, will take a short break from the business to undertake an epic Arctic Trek of 78km over 3 days. The team are raising vital funds for The Genie’s Wish; a charity dedicated to granting wishes for children and young people living with critical illnesses.

Please join HS Walsh and others in supporting this amazing fundraiser and help the team smash their target of £250,000. We wish the team all the very best with their grueling preparation and hugely worthwhile expedition.

Click here for more information or to sponsor/donate to the Arctic Trek 2026