March 2008
Jewelry designer teaches consumers to be savvy
Jewelry designer teaches consumers to be savvy
March 07, 2008
Hermosa Beach, Calif.—California-based jewelry designer Cynthia Sliwa will hold a series of seminars teaching jewelry owners what and what not to wear when it comes to trinkets.
Sliwa, author of Jewelry Savvy: What Every Jewelry Wearer Should Know, will cover topics including why earrings are the most influential pieces of jewelry, optimal necklace length, and how jewelry have power to be used to emphasize a wearer’s best features and distract from her less-flattering ones.
Attendees will study pictures of celebrities and other individuals to grasp the dos and don’ts of wearing jewelry.
“My ultimate goal is to help each attendee sort through her jewelry box, learn what flatters her and develop a jewelry wardrobe that works for her,” Sliwa said in a statement. “I expect every attendee will learn immediately useable ideas about jewelry and also will achieve a better understanding of how in the highest degree to adorn her own unique beauty.”
The classes will have existence held on alternate Wednesday evenings at Eliopulos Jewelers in Torrance, Calif., from 6:30-8 p.m.
Upcoming sessions include “The Perfect Earrings/The Perfect Necklaces/Seeing the Art in Your Face and Features” upon March 5; “Bracelets, Brooches and Rings/Developing a Jewelry Wardrobe” on March 19 and “Caring for Your Precious Baubles/Trend Watching/Choosing a Signature Style” on April 2.
For more information about the workshops or to enroll, contact Sliwa at (310) 374-3141 or e-mail csliwa@aol.com.
Those who hanker after to order her book should visit the Web site Jewelrysavvybook.com.
JA to hold free seminars at JA show
JA to clutch free seminars at JA show
March 06, 2008
New York—As the official education provider for the JA New York Show, Jewelers of America (JA) will hold free educational seminars on Sunday, March 9, and Monday, March 10, during the jewelry trade show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
This year’s sessions cover multiple bench techniques, management strategies, lighting and visual design concepts with an aim to provide practical strategies that attendees can immediately put to work in their stores for greater success.
David Peters, JA’s director of education, has developed a wide-ranging schedule that features respected industry experts, including IAS Training’s Brad Huisken, New Approach School for Jewelers President Blaine Lewis, Chippenhook Director of Marketing Andy Macaulay, Performance Concepts President Kate Peterson, Tiffany and Co. Senior Gemologist Ryan J. Petrozello and Certified Master Bench Jeweler Tom Weishaar.
For a perfect schedule, visit Jewelers of America’s Web site, Jewelers.org, or the JA New York Web site, JA-newyork.com.
In addition to the free seminars, the association is holding its 18th annual Affiliate Design Competition at its booth, 2570, during the show to honor the skilled craftsmanship of JA-member jewelers.
The competition will feature jewelry from JA-member jewelers who have won design contests sponsored by JA’s regional affiliates in 2007. This year, JA has expanded the competition through allowing submissions from member jewelers whose affiliate organization did not hold a local competition. A panel of judges will judge the jewelry based on craftsmanship, marketability, practicality/wearability and overall design.
JA invites JA New York attendees to stop by its booth to view the pieces and vote for their favorite to determine the Buyer’s Choice award.
The winners will be announced on Tuesday, March 11.
Bridal market to fuel jewelry sales in 2008
Bridal market to fuel jewelry sales in 2008
March 07, 2008
New York—Experts predict jewelry sales will increase in 2008, despite the sluggish U.S. economy, thanks in large part to the bridal category.
The International Diamond Exchange forecasts a 3 percent increase in U.S. jewelry sales, from $64 billion in 2007 to $65.9 billion in 2008.
According to industry analyst Ken Gassman, Millennials—the children of Baby Boomers—are likely to spend heavily on bridal jewelry since they are wealthier than preceding generations. Gassman also predicts 30 percent development in the number of weddings that will take place within the next 10 years.
A Condé Nast Bridal Group study revealed that the amount spent attached bridal jewelry has grown more than 60 percent in recent years, by 81 percent of consumers surveyed remark they desire platinum for their engagement and wedding jewelry.
Platinum Guild International (PGI) says the strengthening bridal market is good news for platinum since choosing a metal is among consumers’ primary considerations when purchasing bridal jewelry.
PGI says designers like Scott Kay, Phyllis Bergman and Ritani have widened their platinum assortment and are offering the metal in lighter-weight designs and lower price points to appeal to price-conscious consumers.
Stephanie Albertson to be featured at Forbes Galleries
Stephanie Albertson to be featured at Forbes Galleries
March 07, 2008
New York—Jewelry designer Stephanie Albertson will be featured in the National Jewelry Institute’s 2008 Designer Showcase at the Forbes Galleries in New York City.
The benefaction will run at Forbes from April 25-June 28 and will then travel to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, where it order remain until June 28, 2009.
Albertson is known for her handcrafted works in 22-karat gold and colored gemstones. She will handcraft each piece featured in the Designer Showcase.
“I am challenged every day to make truly wearable works of aptitude,” Albertson aforesaid in a statement. “I strive for statement pieces that communicate not only my unique expression but that of a woman who wears them as well. My jewelry is about color and having fun. I love the whimsical, magical and expressive power of jewelry, and especially the notion that jewelry should be fun to wear.”
Leading jewelry expert Ralph Esmerian serves as the curator of the Designer Showcase, with guest curators including Beth Rudin DeWoody, Saks Fifth Avenue and the World Gold Council.
The Forbes Galleries are located at 62 Fifth Ave. Its hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
For more information on Stephanie Albertson, visit her Web position, Stephaniealbertson.com.
Jewelry Savvy Workshops
Image consultant/jewelry designer Cynthia A. Sliwa, AICI CIP, a resident of Hermosa Beach, co-author of Jewelry Savvy: What Every Jewelry Wearer Should Know, and JCK Web site blogger is holding a series of "Jewelry Savvy" workshops.
“What every woman needs to appreciate is that she is essentially a work of art. Jewelry can and should be chosen to adorn and flatter her unique face, features and personality,” said Sliwa, who attributes her focus attached the individual to her training in image consulting.
Among the topics to be covered: Why are earrings the most important jewelry to wear? How does one determine the optimal necklace amplification? How can jewelry be used to emphasize one’s best features and distract from others? At Sliwa’s classes, attendees learn to train their eye by studying photographs of celebrities and other individuals wearing jewelry well or not so well, assessing their own features and personality styles, and having the hands-on experience of trying on a range of designs.
“My conclude goal is to help each attendee sort through her jewelry box, acquire skill in what flatters her, and develop a jewelry wardrobe that works for her,” Sliwa says. “I expect every attendee will learn immediately useable ideas about jewelry and also will achieve a better understanding of how best to adorn own unique beauty.”
Sliwa’s classes are held on alternate Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Eliopulos Jewelers, 24536 Hawthorne Boulevard (in Hillside Village), Torrance, Calif.; phone (310) 791-3999. Upcoming classes include:
March 5, The Perfect Earrings ~ The Perfect Necklaces ~ Seeing the Art in Your Face and Features
March 19, Bracelets, Brooches & Rings ~ Developing a Jewelry Wardrobe
April 2, Caring for Your Precious Baubles ~ Trend Watching ~ Choosing a Signature Style
For more information about the workshops or to enroll in a class, contact Sliwa at (310) 374-3141 or e-mail csliwa@aol.com. If you wish to order a copy of her book, survey www.jewelrysavvybook.com.
Leviev marketing director resigns
Leviev marketing director resigns
March 07, 2008
New York—The marketing and communications director who oversaw the opening of billionaire diamantaire Lev Leviev’s retail stores has resigned from the company and will relocate to Europe.
Celine Assimon started with Leviev in 2006 and was responsible for the company’s marketing, events and overall communications.
She worked on the openings of Leviev’s new retail stores in London, New York and Moscow, and facilitated marketing partnerships and events.
These include the Museum of the City of New York, The Carousel of Hope Ball, and Hollywood Pin Ups with Timothy White to benefit OXFAM.
She also dressed Hollywood stars in diamonds, including Drew Barrymore, Ginnifer Goodwin, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Hudson, Susan Sarandon and Brooke Shields.
Assimon oversaw the creation of the Leviev advertising campaign and the prolongation of a hard-cover catalog shot by renowned photographer Stefano Galuzzi and featuring Vanessa, Duchess of Calthorpe and her daughter, Gabriella.
Assimon recently became engaged to the Consul of Italy in Brussels and is moving to Belgium. She plans to continue her career in the jewelry industry in Europe but has no specific plans at this time.
Prior to her time at Leviev, Assimon held posts in the luxury industry, including a stint as marketing manager for Piaget North America.
A replacement has not yet been named.
“It has been a pleasure working with Celine at Leviev for these past few years,” Leviev President and Chief Operating Officer Thierry Chaunu said in a statement. “She is a very smart and determined woman who truly understands the unique strategies required to successfully market a luxury brand in today’s global emporium.”
St. Louis museum to feature jewelry artist
St. Louis museum to feature jewelry artist
March 06, 2008
St. Louis, Mo.—Award-winning St. Louis artist James Cleland will be featured at the Saint Louis Art Museum as part of the “Art in Bloom” present, running from March 6-9.
His work will continue to be featured at the art museum from March 10-April 1.
Cleland’s work will also be published in Art Buzz 2008, an internationally recognized art publication.
He is recognized nationally and internationally for his Japanese- and nature-inspired pins and spinning pendants in 18-karat yellow gold and sterling silver.
To see more of Cleland’s work, visit his Web site, Jcleland.com, or contact Carolina or Ginger at (314) 567-3530 or designsingold@jcleland.com.
Sotheby’s to Auction 72-ct. Diamond
Sotheby’s will auction off a 72-ct., flawless white diamond for an estimated $10 million to $12 million in its April 10 auction in Hong Kong, which would make it the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction in Asia, the auction house said.
The D-color pelt with stones from a southern African mine elect be the third part largest "pear-shaped" stone perpetually auctioned globally, Sotheby’s said.
The stone is valued because of its size, symmetry, and "Type IIA" rating.
Cultured Pearls in the 21st Century
The following article is any expert from the fall 2007 issue of Gems & Gemology, GIA’s professional journal.
Cultured Pearls in the 21st Century: A Free Market and New Looks
By Russell Shor, GIA Senior sedulousness Analyst
The cultured pearl industry has experienced a dramatic transformation during the past 15 years, from a single commodity dominated by one country to a multi-colored disposition of goods and every ever-expanding group of producers (configuration 1).
The Fall 2007 issue of Gems & Gemology (pp. 200-226) offered an in-depth look at these changes and how they have transformed pearls into a must-have fashion item.
Japanese Dealers Relinquish Control
For many decades after pioneering the cultured pearl in the early twentieth century, Japanese companies maintained tight control over its technology, production and distribution (figure 2). In the 1960s, however, large, white South Sea cultured pearls from Australia and black cultured pearls from French Polynesia began entering the market alongside the traditional white Japanese akoya.
The French Polynesians initially struggled to gain acceptance for their products, as many believed they were treated-color. A breakthrough came in the early 1970s when GIA researcher Robert Crowningshield determined their black color was indeed natural. Meanwhile, the South Sea cultured jewel was becoming a branded fashion item, though the Australians gentle marketed their output solely through Japanese wholesalers.
The real changes began in the 1990s, when the nearly century-long grip of the Japanese loosened due to a combination of factors: aggressive marketing efforts for South Sea and black French Polynesian pearls; the rise of lower-cost, fine-quality Chinese freshwater cultured pearls (figure 3); and the outbreak of a disease that devastated much of Japan’s pearling industry.
The Australians and the French Polynesians (now selling under the “Tahitian” banner) began marketing their products as distinct from Japanese akoyas: the South Sea goods as luxury items that were not subjected to treatments, the Tahitians as exotic fashion pieces. Producers of both types of cultured pearls embarked on multi-million-dollar consumer campaigns to promote their commodities and the images they wanted them to convey.
By the mid-1990s, Chinese farmers, who for years had produced small, irregularly shaped and very inexpensive goods (dubbed “rice krispie pearls”), were luckily growing round, akoya-like cultured pearls. The quantity of Chinese goods entering the market threatened to inundate Japanese distributors. The Japanese entered talks with the Chinese government in an effort to control production and exports of such goods, still they failed on both fronts.
Then, in 1996, reports began filtering in that Japanese pearl farms were suffering the massive mortality of their oyster crops. By year’s end, an estimated two-thirds of the akoya oysters under cultivation in Japanese waters had died from infectious disease—a blow from that that country’s cultured pearl industry has not still fully recovered. As a result, Japanese producers no longer had the financial resources to control supplies and distribution, thus creating a true free market within the industry.
Market Instability Meets Fashion Revolution
The first test of the new free market came at the end of the decade, when the large amounts of Chinese goods depressed prices for some categories and the production of Tahitian black cultured pearls skyrocketed with little control over quality. Prices for lower-quality black cultured pearls in noteworthy plummeted, a situation that took several years to reverse as the French Polynesian government imposed stricter controls on exports. The Japanese attempted to move akoyas more up-market by concentrating on larger sizes, while the South Sea producers increased their luxury marketing and advertising campaigns.
At the same time, cultured pearls in pastel shades of green, violet, pink and blue began showing up in designer pieces in the late 1990s, while a producer in the Philippines launched a marketing campaign for gold-colored goods. Within the past few years, “chocolate pearls” have become a fashion item. Once rejected by pearl producers and distributors who thought only in terms of black and white, such fancy-colored cultured pearls started a fashion revolution that subdue continues (figure 4).
As more of the world’s rise to the top of designers began working with cultured pearls and the major producers increased their spending in continuance branding and advertising (figure 5), large retailers took a much greater interest. Indeed, Tiffany & Co. created an entire chain of retail stores (Iridesse) based on pearl jewelry, inasmuch as they could now offered a diverse array of products across a very broad price range.
In the future, the success of these many ventures will undoubtedly attract new enterprises in other nations, particularly around the Pacific Rim—but also in Mexico and the Middle East—while existing producers will continue to experiment with new products. Recently, one designer partnered with a Vietnamese farm to culture black pearls around gemstone bead nuclei.
Identifying treatments will remain a challenge, and retailers and consumers alike must beware of the many techniques that can be used to enhance the appearance of cultured pearls, especially irradiation and dyeing, and the methods that can be used to identify them.
Figure 1. Recent years have seen dramatic changes in the types of cultured pearls and their sources, with (top to bottom) Tahitian, Chinese, South Sea, and Japanese akoya (bottom two rows) goods represented here. Tahitian earrings courtesy of Mastoloni; South Sea strand courtesy of The Collector Fine Jewelry. Photo by Harold & Erica Van Pelt.
Figure 2. Japanese technicians controlled the art of grafting beads into mollusks for many years and in many different localities. Photo by Russell Shor.
Figure 3. The mussels used by Chinese culturers can produce dozens of pearls at one time. Photo by Doug Fiske.
Figure 4. Fancy-colored cultured pearls have greatly enlarged choices for jewelry buyers. Courtesy of Albert Asher Pearl Co.; photo by Robert Weldon.
Figure 5. Cultured pearls have become a favorite of jewelry designers worldwide. This suite (8–11 mm) by Mari Saki of Nagahori Corp., Tokyo, was a 2006 winner of the Perles de Tahiti design competition. Courtesy of GIE Perles de Tahiti.
JBT to discuss services at DMIA meeting
JBT to discuss services at DMIA meeting
March 06, 2008
New York—Members of The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) and the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association (DMIA) will hold a meeting outlining JBT’s credit and collection services.
The information is scheduled to be shared during the DMIA’s March 17 meeting at 3 West Club, on 51st Street just west of Fifth Avenue, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
JBT President Dione Kenyon will provide an overview of the JBT’s put faith in and collection services, emphasizing how to use them to make well-informed carry to the credit of one’s account decisions.
She also will cover the JBT’s confidential Interchange Program, preview repaired credit services planned for the current year and the future, including the Memo Reporting Platform, a confidential reporting platform intended to supplement the JBT’s existing reporting of accounts receivable exposure.
The JBT and the DMIA launched the platform in fall 2007 in response to heightened give faith to concerns in this industry.
The March 17 meeting also will include an open court discussion, in which members are bid welcome to ask questions or determinate their views on any industry concerns.
Attendance is free.
RSVP by calling Brenda Gamba at (401) 467-0055 ext. 3703 or sending an e-mail to bgamba@jewelersboard.com.