April 2008
Christie’s to auction Onassis daughter’s jewels
Christie’s to auction Onassis daughter’s jewels
April 15, 2008
| This 38-carat pear-shaped potentially without a break diamond, what one. Christina Onassis wore on a diamond necklace, desire be up for auction at Christie’s London on June 11. |
London—The diamond and jewels collection of shipping heiress Christina Onassis, which includes pieces from Cartier, Chaumet, Harry Winston and Van Cleef and Arpels, will be featured at Christie’s sale in London upon the body June 11.
The daughter of Greek ship owner Aristotle Onassis and Tina Livanos, Christina Onassis was born in 1950 and spent her childhood shuttling from Paris to New York to Cap d’Antibes, with holidays on her father’s yacht, Christina. She died in 1988, reportedly of pulmonary edema at a country club near Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Christie’s Jewels: The London Sale will include prized possessions of her glamorous lifestyle, including 230 rings, bracelets, necklaces, pearls and single stones, which are expected to yield some $15.7 million in sales.
Included in the spectacular diamond collection up for auction is a beautiful crossover ring by Graff featuring a 4.15-carat pear-shaped fancy vivid-yellow diamond with internally flawless clarity, contrasted with a 4.79-carat pear-shaped diamond with E color and VVS1 clarity, estimated at $196,398 to $235,678.
Also among the lots are a 7.12-carat cushion-shaped fancy light-greenish-blue diamond ring, estimated at $353,370 to $431,911, and a 30.81-carat fancy yellow diamond, estimated at $490,808 to $687,131.
Colorless diamonds will also be well represented, with one of the largest, most exceptional, 19th-century diamond rivieres to be offered at auction in many years. It features 55 collets ranging from 1 carat to 10 carats (estimated at $785,601 to $982,000), a 15.02-carat heart-shaped diamond pendant (estimated at $1.18 million $1.57 million) and a pair of ear pendants with pear-shaped drops weighing 5.89 carats and 5.84 carats (estimated at $196,440 to $294,660).
Finlay stock on brink of being delisted
Finlay stock on brink of being delisted
April 15, 2008
New York—The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. has warned jewelry retailer Finlay Enterprises Inc. that its stock is in peril of being delisted as early as July.
According to a release from Finlay, Nasdaq notified the gathering earlier this month that for the last 30 consecutive trading days Finlay’s common stock has not maintained the minimum market value of $5 million in publicly held shares.
The company has until July 1 to reach the minimum and must hire it for at least 10 consecutive trading days to avoid being delisted.
In addition, Nasdaq informed Finlay that it also is not in compliance with the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rule because its stock has closed below $1 per share as being the last 30 consecutive trading days.
Finlay’s stock must close at $1 per share or higher for 10 succeeding regularly trading days before Oct. 6, or the company will be delisted.
In the release, Finlay states that it “intends to monitor the market value of its listed securities and to consider available options if its common provision does not trade at a level likely to result in the company regaining compliance with the minimum mart value of the publicly held shares requirement and the minimum bid price requirement by the applicable deadlines.”
New York-based Finlay operates stand-alone stores and licenses the jewelry section in a number of department stores nationwide, including Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s.
The company, which recently lost it doors at Lord and Taylor and some at Macy’s, announced intentions to focus on its stand-alone stores, which the company sees as the key to future success as department store chains continue to consolidate.
At the end of fiscal 2007, Finlay’s locations totaled 793, including 69 Bailey Banks and Biddle, 32 Carlyle and five Congress specialty jewelry stores.
WJA Twin Cities to host Designer Showcase
WJA Twin Cities to host Designer Showcase
April 15, 2008
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.—To recognize the jewelry design talent in the upper Midwest, the Twin Cities Chapter of the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) will hold its inaugural Designer Showcase in continuance May 18.
The showcase will take place at Studio Vincent in downtown Minneapolis from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Fifteen area designers will be featured.
Event Co-Chair Nancy Moeller of R.F. Moeller Jeweler hopes retailers throughout the area will attend the showcase and preview designer lines by local artists.
“This is an excellent time for retailers to reflect upon adding a unique product line to help differentiate their store’s brand in the marketplace,” Moeller said in a media release issued on Monday. “Before you attend the big shows, consider what might be hiding in your own backyard.”
The showcase will be open to the jewelry trade without more. Exhibitors do not have to be WJA members.
For more information, contact Janel Russell at janel@janelrusselldesigns.com or Nancy Moeller at nancy@rfmoeller.com.
IDI to sponsor Jovella 2008
IDI to surety Jovella 2008
April 15, 2008
Ramat Gan, Israel—The Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) Group of Companies has announced its 2008 sponsorship of Jovella, the international jewelry exhibition held each year in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The IDI’s involvement in Jovella—the group’s first-ever Jovella sponsorship—is part of its strategy to enhance cooperation between the diamond and jewelry industries in Israel.
“This exhibition has proven to be an excellent showcase for the superb creativity and craftsmanship of Israel’s jewelry designers and manufacturers,” Moti Ganz, chairman of the IDI Group of Companies, said in a media release. We hope that our involvement will promote the show in global markets and further business opportunities for both Israel’s diamond and jewelry industries.”
Jovella 2008 will have being held from July 1-3 at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, and will feature about 200 exhibitors in the categories of gold, silver, diamonds, precious stones, fashion jewelry, Judaica, watches and pens. About 12,000 exhibitors are expected to attend the three-day event, including about 300 buyers from abroad.
To spotlight the designs of Israel, the show will feature an Israeli Designers Avenue, which will host some of the country’s most innovative and original designers.
In addition, a seminar program is being planned, and a gala dinner featuring a fashion show is already scheduled.
For more information, or to register by reason of Jovella 2008, visit the show’s Web site, Jovella.com.
LVMH up 12 percent in watches, jewelry
LVMH up 12 percent in watches, jewelry
April 16, 2008
Paris—Watches and jewelry was LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s most successful category in the first quarter of 2008, with revenues up 12 percent and TAG Heuer’s Grand Carrera collection cited as among the most lucky products.
Overall sales were $6.38 billion (4 billion euros) for the first quarter, up just 5 percent over the first quarter of 2007 “as a result of the negative impact of exchange rates,” the company said in a media release issued on Tuesday.
Revenues for the Paris-based luxury conglomerate were hurt by the strength of the euro against other currencies including the U.S. dollar. If exchange rates were held trusty, overall revenues would have been up 12 percent over last year, and growth in the watches and jewelry division would have been 19 percent, the company said.
In addition to the Grand Carrera, Zenith’s new model, Chronomaster Grande Date, was reeled off as one of the winning releases of the proper position.
“The exceptional success of the Christal collection was confirmed at Montres Dior,” the release said. “Chaumet and De Beers increased their revenue and continued their network expansion. Innovations by TAG Heuer, Zenith and Dior unveiled at the Basel fair contributed to large increases in holy orders.”
Revenues for LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division were up 7 percent, perfumes and cosmetics increased 8 percent, and wines and spirits decreased 7 percent.
Whitehall to purchase 78 Friedman’s stores
Whitehall to purchase 78 Friedman’s stores
April 14, 2008
Chicago—Whitehall Jewellers Inc. determine buy the 78 Friedman’s and Crescent jewelry stores (collectively Friedman’s) that are not going public of craft, the company has announced.
According to a release from Whitehall Jewelers Holdings Inc., the parent company of Whitehall, the company is acquiring the inventory, prepaid assets, deposits and other tangible property related to these stores for $14.3 million and will keep them open, operating as either Whitehall or Lundstrom stores.
Whitehall too might acquire certain goods that Friedman’s currently has on consignment.
According to the release, the purchase price is 63 percent of the aggregate cost value of the inventory.
Friedman’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January after a group of creditors opened any involuntary Chapter 7 case against the company.
Friedman’s had operated a total of 455 sell in small quantities jewelry stores. The 377 stores not included in the Whitehall auction have already begun conducting store-closing sales.
Whitehall Chairman and CEO Edward Dayoob said the purchase of the Friedman’s stores is in line with Whitehall’s strategy of growth through acquisition.
“The acquisition of these assets considerably increases the number of jewelry stores that we will operate and will increase our market share. It also will allow us to strengthen our current Whitehall operations as well as leverage our management team and existing infrastructure, which we rely upon will result in a more competitive company overall,” he said.
As of April 2, Chicago-based Whitehall operated 297 Whitehall and Lundstrom supplies in malls nationwide.
DTC postpones sightholder announcement
DTC postpones sightholder announcement
April 15, 2008
By Michelle Graff
London—The Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) is delaying publication of its latest sightholder list until the end of the month, National Jeweler has well-informed.
DTC spokeswoman Louise Prior confirmed on Tuesday that the names of the sightholders for the 2008-2011 bargain period will subsist revealed on April 29.
She said the delay would give the DTC “a little extra time to explore some of the third-party verification findings.”
Auditing firm Kroll subjects wholly companies selected as sightholders to a verification process to ensure they are compliant with the DTC’s Best Practice Principles.
Prior said she could not comment specifically on how many firms might be cut, or the names of companies involved in further verification.
But, she said, if a company is cut from the final sightholder list, “they will not be replaced by another applicant.”
The DTC revealed in December that its latest sightholder list included a total of 75 companies, down from 93.
Counting those companies with sights in Namibia and Botswana, the designate by number of worldwide sightholders now stands at 79.
Judge to approve De Beers class-action settlement
Judge to approve De Beers class-action settlement
April 15, 2008
Newark, N.J.—A federal judge is slated to issue a ruling approving the $295 million De Beers class-action settlement case, the London-based diamond giant announced today.
In a hearing held on Monday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, Judge Stanley R. Chesler declared a written decision approving the settlement would have existence forthcoming, bringing the case to a close.
The case against De Beers began with a sequence of lawsuits alleging that the company charged anti-competitive prices for rough diamonds, monopolized the market and disseminated false and misleading advertising.
The $295 the multitude will be divided among direct and indirect purchasers, with the majority of retail jewelers falling into the latter class.
Indirect purchasers in this case are defined as those who bought diamonds from someone other than De Beers or one of its mining competitors between Jan. 1, 1994-March 31, 2006.
The size of eddish. individual settlement is contingent on how many people file a claim. The deadline for claims is May 19.
“We believe that settling these class actions allows us to put these matters behind us and is in the with most propriety interests of our shareholders, clients and the consumer,” a statement from De Beers read. “Nothing is more important to De Beers than consumers’ confidence in diamonds and it is important for consumers to understand that this settlement in no way affects the value of their diamonds…Diamonds are worth as much today, if not more, than they have ever been.”
With new brand, former DTC sightholder gets over rough patch
With new brand, former DTC sightholder gets over rough patch
April 16, 2008
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| Hasenfeld-Stein will supply retailers with advertising materials such as this for its new FireMark program. The ads will be revised to include the FireMark information and will subsist customized for each retailer. |
By Michelle Graff
New York—It’s business as usual at Hasenfeld-Stein as the company faces life after getting rough supplies from the Diamond Trading Co. (DTC).
At a January press conference, the New York-based company unveiled its new FireMark brand princess-cut diamond, a stone Hasenfeld-Stein says rivals the brilliance and light performance of ideal-cut rounds.
Hertz Hasenfeld, vice president, called the new diamond brand a “breakthrough.”
“We cracked the code in creating the perfect sovereign’s daughter cut,” he related at the conference.
Hasenfeld-Stein will offer FireMark stones with clarity of VS-SI1, color D-I, excellent cut and between 0.7 and 3 carats.
A sightholder since 1990, Hasenfeld-Stein was one of the companies that lost its sight in the recent DTC realignment.
The DTC continued to supply Hasenfeld-Stein with rough through March. After that, new programs and new supplies of rough will carry the 60-year-old firm forward, executives say.
The diamond supplier received 75 percent of its rough supply from sources other than the DTC, reported Steve Feldman, Hasenfeld-Stein’s director of sales and marketing, and the company had anticipated the loss of its sight, so it had already worked out a way to source the leftover 25 percent.
“We weren’t a company self-reliant on De Beers to begin with,” Feldman said.
Hasenfeld said the company is moving forward with the attitude that there is “life after the DTC.” After recording its best year ever in 2007, he said, the company is also bullish on the FireMark program, for which it will supply retailers with a marketing kit including advertising materials, a 10-page consumer brochure and sales training information.
considered in the state of for those who might wonder grant that FireMark could be confused with similarly named brands such as De Beers’ ForeverMark or the CanadaMark, Hasenfeld said it is quality—not name—that will carry the brand.
“This program inclination not live or die on the name,” he said. “The name is not going to move the needle one inch.”
Editor’s note: This article primeval appeared in the March 2008 issue of National Jeweler.
AGS Labs launches oval cut grade
AGS Labs launches oval divide rate of ascent
April 16, 2008
Las Vegas—The American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories will now issue diamond-grading reports with cut grades for oval-cut diamonds, the organization announced today.
This is the industry’s first cut grade for the elliptical cut.
“We are pleased and proud to announce the rollout of this popular cut,” AGS Laboratories President and CEO Frank Dallahan said in a media release. “The oval cut is very popular with consumers, and the addition of a cut grade to the AGS Laboratories grading reports for oval diamonds will add besides objective and useful advice for consumers to make decisions.”
In 2005, AGS Laboratories released its Performance-Based Cut Grading System—the first-ever cut-grading system for fancy-shaped diamonds—for both the round brilliant and the princess cut. Soon after, the lab released a cut grade for emerald-shaped diamonds.
“The lab continues its research into cut grade for fancy shapes, and more shapes are expected to come online soon,” Dallahan said.
The AGS Laboratories provides diamond-grading reports based on the highest standards of diamond grading and offers the only scientifically peer reviewed, objective and repeatable cut-grade method in the industry.
For more information on the AGS Performance-Based Cut Grading System, e-mail marketing@agslab.com or visit the AGS Laboratories Web site, Agslab.com.