Jewelry News

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There’s no easy answer to the question. Most of assume the jewelry is “on loan” for the evening but that’s not always the case. Here are a few case in points:

CBS) Actress Anne Hathaway was reportedly paid a pretty penny just to wear a few flashy gems during Sunday’s Oscar ceremony.An insider tells Us magazine that the 28-year-old show host was paid $750,000 to exclusively wear Tiffany and Co. jewels throughout the evening.

For her red carpet appearance, Hathaway paired her strapless red Valentino bustle gown with a $10 million Tiffany Lucida Star diamond necklace, diamond earrings and ring.

Show performer Gwyneth Paltrow was reportedly also generously compensated to wear Louis Vuitton jewelry. Paltrow, who sang “Coming Home” during the ceremony, accented her shimmery Calvin Klein Collection gown with a pair of multi-toned earrings, ring and brooch from the fashion house’s “L’Ame du Voyage” collection.

Others stars to make a statement with their baubles include presenter Cate Blanchett, who wore a Van Cleef & Arpels vintage bracelet, which boasted 127 yellow and white diamonds, and best supporting actress nominee Amy Adams, who reportedly wore $1,350,000 worth of Cartier jewels with her sparkly, midnight blue L’Wren Scott gown.

Source: CBS News

Moissanite is our number one diamond alternative here at Joseph Schubach Jewelers. And for good reason: We’re seasoned jewelers who understand the difference between a viable and remarkable diamond alternative and one that is simply beneath our standards.

We also understand the global community in which we live: moissanite provides a diamond alternative that is ecologically wise, all the while maintaining its strength and brilliance.

Moissanite stories

Recently we were approached by DiamondRing.com, who asked us for our best moissanite stories. Where to begin? There are hundreds to tell: couples who saved money on their wedding costs while never compromising taste or a dream piece of jewelry created by our custom jewelery designers that just wouldn’t have been possible with naturally mined diamonds.

So what’s your story? We figure it this way: the more positive moissanite stories that are shared, the more people can realize their jewelry dream affordably, without sacrificing quality and contributing to a healthier environment.

Drop by DiamondRing.com if you have a story to tell.

Tiffany’s economics up and downs have been quite indicative of the general outlook of our economy overall. And it’s no surprise, right? If you can afford a diamond anniversary ring for your wife, chances are your pursestrings aren’t as tight!

Here’s the latest:

Tiffany & Co. sounded an optimistic note for the holidays, saying its sales in the retail industry’s most important season are running ahead of target.

The comments from luxury jewelry company come as retailers are gearing up for the frenzy of Black Friday weekend and a holiday season that the National Retail Federation forecasts will be the best in four years.

“We are now a few weeks into the all-important two-month holiday season, and sales growth is exceeding our expectations,” Tiffany Chief Executive Michael Kowalski said.

The comments followed a strong third quarter for the company, which raised its profit forecast for the year. Tiffany’s shares rose to a record high in early trading Wednesday, and the outlook gave a boost to companies like Coach Inc., Nordstrom Inc. and Saks Inc.

The luxury-goods industry has rebounded sharply this year after a disastrous 2008. Coach said in October that it is pleased by its sales trends, and French luxury goods company Hermes International predicted earlier this month that it would have a record year.

Punctuating the rebound, Tiffany said it is seeing the most strength in its higher-end goods. “We continue to see bifurcated performance, with declines in sales and transactions below $500, but double-digit percentage increases in most every other higher priced category,” investor relations chief Mark Aaron said on a conference call with analysts. “This indicates to us diverging effects to one degree or another that the economy is having on consumer spending.”

Tiffany has benefited from higher pricing of late. For the period ended Oct. 31, Tiffany posted a profit of $55.1 million, or 43 cents a share, up from $43.3 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales jumped 14% to $681.7 million following last year’s 2.9% drop. The company’s gross margin widened to 58.5% from 54.8%, due in part to higher prices.

Sales in the Americas rose 9% and climbed 5% on a same-store basis excluding currency impacts. Internet and catalog sales in the Americas climbed 7%. At Tiffany’s New York flagship store, sales declined 3%. Sales were up 24% and 22% in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, respectively.

—Matt Jarzemsky contributed to this article.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Shared Prong Princess Cut Diamond Anniversary Band - Click on image for more information

Behold the pink diamond – a dazzling, natural color 25 carat gem, just sold for the low, low price of $46.16 million!

Laurence Graff again raised the auction stakes for natural color diamonds on Tuesday evening when he paid a world record price of $46.16 million for a 24.78-carat fancy intense pink diamond at Sotheby’s.

The legendary diamantaire, who immediately dubbed the diamond “The Graff Pink,” called the emerald-cut stunner the “most fabulous” diamond he has seen in the history of his career.

“I’m delighted to have bought it,” Graff said.

The diamond’s $40-million-plus price sets a new world record for any jewel sold at auction, shattering the previous record of $24.3 million held by Graff’s 2008 purchase of the blue Wittelsbach diamond at Christie’s.

Four bidders competed for the stone Tuesday at Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels” sale in Geneva. Sotheby’s Chairman in Asia Patti Wong, bidding on behalf of Graff, finally emerged as the winning bidder.

David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Department for Europe and the Middle East, echoed Graff’s sentiments about the stone.

“Tonight’s spectacular result demonstrates that truly extraordinary objects will bring truly extraordinary prices,” he said. “This outstanding pink diamond combined exceptional color and purity with classic emerald cut and fully deserves the exceptional price [it attained]. It was simply one of the most desirable diamonds I have seen during my 35-year career at Sotheby’s.”

The diamond, mounted as a ring, is classified as a Type IIa diamond, diamonds that comprise less than 2 percent of all the world’s gem diamonds. It came to the market from a private collection and had not been seen on the open market since being purchased from Harry Winston some 60 years ago. The pre-sale estimate on the stone was $27 million to $38 million.

Source: National Jeweler

If $46 million is a little out of your price range this holiday season, why not check out our fancy colored gems, like the warm and wondrous Gemesis or our pink champagne diamond ring:

Pink Champagne Color Enhanced Natural Diamond Ring With Pave' Diamonds Stunning .70ct pink champagne, color enhanced princess cut natural diamond, VS2 clarity handset within a 14kt rose and white gold frame with .36ct t.w. pave' diamonds.

We’re happy to share with you a few of the winning pieces at AGTA’s (American Gem Trade Association), revealed at the AGTA Spectrum Awards in New York City last week. To see all of the winners, check them out here.

This platinum and 18-karat yellow gold Samuel Getz Designs necklace won first place in the "Classical" category of the Spectrum Awards. It features yellow and blue sapphires, red spinel and diamonds.

First-place winners were:

Best of Show
Todd Reed, Todd Reed, Inc.
Palladium cuff bracelet featuring a 22.40-carat aquamarine accented with 6.90 carats of grey diamonds and 2.2 carats of white diamonds.

Best Use of Color
Martin Key, Martin Key Co.
22-karat yellow gold “Frame” ring featuring a 1.50-carat blue tourmaline accented with four Mexican fire opal baguettes, total carat weight 1.82.

Best Use of Platinum and Color
Niveet Nagpal, Omi Gems, Inc.
Platinum “Princess of Ratnapura” bracelet featuring nine round sapphires (14 carats total) and 8.48 carats of round diamonds.

Best Use of Pearls
Llyn L. Strelau, Jewels by Design
Sculpture titled “Who Are You” (pictured above) featuring two-tone gold and silver with freshwater baroque pearls, South Sea keshi pearls, akoya seed pearls, demantoid garnets, a 0.20-carat ruby and 0.03 carats of cognac diamonds on a crystal quartz base.

Fashion Forward
Gregore Morin, Gregore Joailliers
18-karat white and yellow gold earrings featuring a 22-carat lemon chrysoprase accented with 2.38 carats of garnets.

SPECTRUM AWARDS

Bridal Wear
First place:
Niveet Nagpal, Omi Gems, Inc.
Platinum and 18-karat yellow gold ring featuring a 5.55-carat oval tsavorite garnet accented with fancy yellow diamonds.

Business/Day Wear
First place and Best of Show:
Todd Reed, Todd Reed, Inc.
Palladium cuff bracelet (pictured above) featuring a 22.40-carat aquamarine accented with 6.90 carats of grey diamonds and 2.20 carats of white diamonds.

Classical
First place:
Samuel Getz, Samuel Getz Designs
Platinum and 18-karat yellow gold necklace featuring 68.77 carats of yellow sapphires, 24.34 carats of blue sapphires and 24.20 carats of red spinels with 22.38 carats of diamonds.

Evening Wear
First place:
Cynthia Renee Zava, Cynthia Renee Zava
Palladium necklace (pictured above) featuring a suite of green tourmalines, 75.89 carats total.

Men’s Wear
First place:
Mark Lauer, Mark Michael Designs
18-karat yellow gold cufflinks featuring jasper agate and lapis lazuli composite accented with 2-mm spessartite garnets and sapphires.

CUTTING EDGE AWARDS

Classic Cut Gemstones
Open Category Classic Gemstone
First place:
Joseph Ambalu, Amba Gem Corp.
8.04-carat pigeon blood ruby.

Open Category All Other Faceted
First place:
Ruben Bindra, B & B Fine Gems, 9.59-carat trillion-cut red spinel.

Phenomenal Gemstones
First place:
Robyn Dufty, DuftyWeis Opals, Inc., 36.73-carat Mexican fire Opal cabochon.

Pairs & Suites
First place:
Clay Zava, Zava Mastercuts
Suite of pastel Cuprian tourmalines, 127.40 carats total weight.

Faceting
First place:
Jeff L. White, J.L. White Fine Gemstones
48.83-carat square, cushion-cut morganite.

Carving
First place:
Joseph August Voss, Joseph August Voss
220.30-carat crystal quartz carving.

Combination
First place:
Thomas Trozzo, Trozzo
66.48-carat square, dimple, concaved, scissor-cut aquamarine.

I stumbled across this article by columnist James Alperinover coffee this morning. Good points about the changing mindset of today’s customers:

When you consider the traditional products that older generations considered to be within the realm of luxury, it seems that the younger generation has set its sights in a whole new direction. The status symbols for Gen Y are not fine china, crystal and sterling silver flatware as much as they are the latest big-screen TV, computer or i-whatever.

Ask a young person, “What time is it?” and they will answer you by pulling out their cell phone, not by looking at their watch, an object that most of their peers consider an artifact. After all, a watch only tells time; today’s “cell phones” connect their owners to the world via the Internet.

Our industry is not just facing a crisis because of the global economic downturn. We are faced with a crisis of changing tastes and realities. We tend to think that the Internet has affected our industry only through changes in customers’ buying habits and their heightened abilities to become educated consumers. It is true that the days when a customer knew nothing about products they wished to purchase disappeared when “Google” became a household word. But it goes beyond that. Besides changing the way the world educates itself and shops, the digital age has actually changed what consumers want and turned what generations of Americans have perceived as luxury upside down.

Remember, we are engaged in a “want” business, not a “need” business. The younger generation has broken ties with the past, for better or worse. Nearly gone are the days when people visited their trusted family jeweler just as they visited their trusted family doctor. Even in medicine today, you no longer meet with a family physician who made house calls (remember those?) carrying a black medical bag. Now, you go to a large multi-doctor practice and proceed to sit in a waiting room.

There is, today, a lack of commitment in society, a fickleness that is all around us in our “throwaway” culture, and one that is reflected in what is happening within the jewelry industry. Today’s young people do not want the commitment of one expensive piece of jewelry. They prefer fashionable costume jewelry to accessorize the styles of the moment. When costume jewelry breaks or goes out of style, it is discarded, its ultimate destiny the same as the sweater that it was purchased to go with.

There is no insurance premium to pay, nothing to cover a potential loss. There is no sense of, “I have to wear this piece because it was so expensive to buy.” There is no sense of obligation, because, to the younger generation, it is frankly easier and often more fun to own and wear many pieces of costume jewelry than it is to cherish one expensive piece of fine jewelry. Fashion jewelry is an accessory, not an item of luxury, but it fills a niche in today’s world.

One area of the jewelry industry that has bucked this trend toward fashion jewelry and ever-shifting tastes has been bridal. An important diamond ring now possesses even greater significance than it did in our grandmothers’ time. The diamond engagement ring has become more a symbol of success and status than an item of pure luxury. So although young people today want to feel free to change their minds without guilt about what items of jewelry to wear, they very much wish to show their friends that they have been successful in their selection of mates, who are, as their rings make evident, also good providers.

Back in the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry found itself in deep trouble as the Japanese quartz movement watches swept through the watch world. The Swiss government had to come to the aid of an industry left behind as the upstarts from overseas took over the market.

The industry was in turmoil and it took a lot of work, but the Swiss began to catch up and today are viable quartz watch manufacturers. Even more interesting is the fact that self-winding, automatic watches are again becoming popular. This supports the idea that the pendulum of fashion does, in fact, swing back.

So when it seems that today’s youth have less interest in fine jewelry than their predecessors, consider this: Before too long, once again, consumers will look to jewelry as a desired luxury item, maybe to wear while talking on their new iPhone and watching their new big-screen TV.

To add to his points about engagement rings, we also see a trend toward engagement rings and wedding rings made of eco-friendly (and affordable) moissanite, like this beauty below:

Style 9438M

Classic Tiffany Style Marquise Shape Moissanite Solitaire

Classic tiffany style solitaire with a Charles and Colvard created marquise shape moissanite.

Available Center Stone Size: 1/2ct-1 3/4ct

Call for Platinum Pricing

Zales was a good example of a tumbling company during the last few years. Small signs and managerial changes show it may be holding it’s own and won’t be “pawned” any day soon:

Zale Corporation has signed a new agreement with Citibank to provide the private label credit card program at Zales, Zales Outlet and Gordon’s brands in the U.S.

The five-year deal, which goes into effect on October 1, 2010, replaces the jewelry retailer’s current agreement with Citibank which was scheduled to expire in March 2011. The agreement also provides an automatic renewal for two successive two-year terms.

Citibank cancelled a penalty owed by Zale for a shortfall in credit sales, and the new agreement reduced the annual minimum volume of credit card sales required by Zale from $600 million to $315 million. Citibank has also pledged to provide financial support for Zale’s marketing activities during the initial five year term of the contract.

Separately, Zale has named Theo Killion as chief executive officer (CEO) to permanently replace Neil Goldberg who stepped down from the position in January. Killion has served as interim CEO since Goldberg’s departure.

Killion joined Zale in January 2008 after serving in senior management positions at Tommy Hilfiger, Limited Brands, Macy’s East and the Home Shopping Network.

Source: Diamond.net

Most of you remember mood jewelry, big in the 70’s and having bubbles of resugence over the years. Well, apparently, you shouldn’t eat them. Now I’m not sure what to do for lunch:

A Tacoma company is recalling about 23,000 “mood” rings and necklaces after they were found to contain high levels of lead.

The heart-shaped jewelry, marketed under the brand name “Love Tester,” was sold for about $4 each in retail stores from September 2005 through June 2010.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the recall, said some 19,000 rings and 4,000 necklaces are covered by the recall.

The jewelry poses a danger to young children, who can be harmed by the lead if they ingest it. No incidents or injuries from the jewelry have been reported, according the commission.

The products change colors when the user’s “mood” changes. The rings and necklaces were sold separately and mounted on round red discs printed with the words “Love Tester” and “Are you in the mood?”

D&D Distributing-Wholesale of Tacoma imported the products from China, the commission said. The jewelry was sold to small retail shops nationwide.

On its website, the company said it tests products at independent safety labs. A spokeswoman was not immediately able to answer why the jewelry was sold for nearly five years before the high lead levels were detected.

The company also was not immediately able to provide a list of retailers who sold the jewelry.

The commission said consumers should return the jewelry to the store where it was purchased for a refund or replacement product.

Source: Seattle Times

SICK?

We’re always happy to share great local news when it’s sent our way!

The MJSA Education Foundation recently awarded scholarships to four hard-working students who are pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as gemology diplomas–all to prepare them for a future life in jewelry making and design.

Katie Poterala of Tempe, Arizona, who won $1,800 to help her work toward an MFA in Fine Metals at Arizona State University within the next two years. (Her necklace is pictured at right.) Poterala also received a Foundation scholarship in 2008.

Congratulations, Katie…and great work!

Source: MJSA Up to Date

Katie’s Work on Etsy