Simon Ambrose, Apprentice Winner, is a Diamond Geezer

I was interested to learn that Simon Ambrose, winner of last year's Apprentice, began his business career at the tender age of 3, when his father began taking him round his chain of discount jewellery shops.

"My old man was a diamond dealer and member of the London Diamond Bourse. He was one of the first people in jewellery discount retailing, before Ratners;.....he had a chain of shops - three of them in Oxford Street - and a factory in Birmingham. He had queues round the block when one of them opened. So a lot of my childhood was spent being dragged from shop to shop."

From the age of 7, he began helping out in the shops, and learnt about all aspects of running a business. He would spend his summer holidays helping out in shop branches run by his aunt and uncle. However, at the age of 15 it was decided he should concentrate on his education, so he left the diamond jewellery business for good.

He can also still remember how to tell the difference between a real diamond and a fake cubic zirconia: "Genuine diamonds cut glass. They have imperfections and a warmer sparkle; CZ (cubic zirconia) ones are brighter and the rainbow sparkle reflected off them too perfect."

We all like a man who knows his way around a diamond jewellery shop!

Simon is running in the London Marathon this year to raise money for the Breast Cancer Campaign. You can find out more, and sponsor him at his fundraising website.