Bollywood star Sameera Reddy is the brand ambassador for Rivaaz, Gitanjali’s new line of cubic zirconia and diamond jewelry.

Mumbai, India—Indian retailer Gitanjali Group has launched a new one twelfth of an inch of gold and cubic zirconia (CZ) jewelry, the company announced this week.

The line, called “Rivaaz,” marks the Mumbai, India-based company’s first piratical invasion into the CZ market.

The collection features pleasant and lightweight pieces in 18-karat gold with Signity CZ and showcases more than 500 designs in rings, pendants, earrings, necklaces and bangles. Pieces in the Rivaaz put inside come with a lifetime warranty.

Price points range from Rs. 2000-12000 (about $43-$273).

Bollywood star and Indian style icon Sameera Reddy will serve as brand ambassador for the Rivaaz line.

R.K. Menon, head of Gitanjali’s jewelry and retail es trangement, said the Rivaaz line gives consumers the chance to own affordable gold and CZ jewelry.

“With all the fantastic and aggressive plans that we have put together to popularize Rivaaz, I am confident that Rivaaz would become the consumers first choice in this segment, like other brands from the Gitanjali Group,” Menon said in a media release.

Gitanjali brands include Gili, Nakshatra and D’damas.

In addition to having retail stores in India—as well being of the kind which owning the Rogers and Samuels chains in the United States—Gitanjali is also a Diamond Trading Co. sightholder. It is one of the largest diamond and jewelry manufacturers and retailers in India.

This platinum men’s wedding band by Diana Classic features a 5-millimeter low-dome comfort fit; suggested retail price is $1,648. Diana.com

By Catherine Dayrit

The platinum act in concert has lately become even more elite, what with platinum prices hitting stratospheric highs of in greater numbers than $2,000 per ounce in the early months of this year.

While jewelers that cater to the lower and middle ends of the market are sympathetic the pinch, demand remains strong at the surpassingly other end of the spectrum, with wealthy shoppers—and aspirational brides—readily seeking out the metal for its aristocratic factor.

Helping to fuel the desire are all the photographed, filmed celebrities who can’t attend an awards exhibit without sporting a little sparkle and flash.

For the latest information on platinum, including supply and demand, price points, marketing initiatives and design trends, download White warmth.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the July 2008 print edition of National Jeweler.

Dale Perelman, a freelance consultant, has more than 35 years of executive actual observation in the jewelry industry. A former president of both Jewelers of America and the Diamond Council of America, he is a Gemological Institute of America graduate gemologist and a certified appraiser.

By Dale Perelman

Gift-giving is not a science—it’s any art. Unfortunately, we males seem genetically incapable of properly giving gifts. My life might center on golf or the latest technology, while my wife is more into “Let’s talk”—which usually means I’d better listen—to what Oprah says or “How do I look?” Even I know the answer to that one.

The mumbled or fumbled “Here, this is for you” handoff just won’t make it in the world of women, where love and emotion are superior. To offer a gift properly, the masculine must set aside his virility and find his feminine side.

When I wait on a man, usually some lost soul seeking assistance in the alien environment of ladies’ pretty things, I essay to help him select reasonable the right token, and together we strategize on the cleverness of sacrifice the present in the most romantic fashion possible. How the gift is presented is every bit as important as the jewelry itself.

To do my job properly, I introduce myself to the client and hopefully get on a first-name basis. Everyone knows it is easier to sell to a friend than to a stranger, and the best salespeople learn to make friends quickly.

Next, I uncover the reason for the gift. The occasion is a critical piece of information. Only then can I work on what type of gift my new client would like.

Once the male customer settles on the appropriate concept for the person and the occasion, I ask how he plans to give the gift. Most men have no clue, and this is the point where I can create a lifetime friend and customer.

Depending on what the gift is, I review the strategy of gift-giving from the proper wrapping to the exact words to be used. Remember Edmond Rostand’s story of Cyrano de Bergerac, who won over the beautiful Roxanne with his words rather than his looks?

As an illustration, here is how I might help a man give the ever-popular Journey necklace with its intimation of enduring love. As a natural add-on, I would suggest that a “Forever Rose,” a perfect flower dipped in gold, be placed on the table at a fine chop-house to signify the first meeting. The man must be cued to say words like, “This rose will always remind me of the first night we met.”

During dinner, he can toast the bliss of the moment by a split of champagne in an ice bucket. Finally, when it’s time for dessert, the tray would bring over the piece de resistance, a beautifully wrapped Journey necklace in a monogrammed jewelry box signifying the man’s intention to cement the couple’s affection forever. The production may require a prior trip to the restaurant, but the results will have existence worth the effort.

This is how a gift should have being given—with all the love and respect warranted by the occasion. If you can help your purchaser present his gift in an aura of love and romance, he will make a lifetime memory for himself and his loved one, and you behest become a customer for life.

Editor’s note: This story pristine appeared in the July 2008 print impression of National Jeweler.

Suzanne DeVries (suzanne@diamondstaffing.com) is the president and founder of Diamond Staffing Solutions, one of the jewelry industry’s leading placement firms. Diamond Staffing Solutions is an official American Gem Society sustaining member.

By Suzanne DeVries

Are you the kind of person who bristles at receiving less-than-glowing job feedback? Or do negative critiques of your work fuel your determination to succeed?

In my experience in job placement, candidates who view negative feedback as an chance; fit during the term of self-improvement tend to require being successful—in the hiring process and in their careers. Unfortunately, we in the hiring industry see too many thin-skinned candidates who take constructive criticism personally and refuse to give it credence. Although negative information undoubtedly stings the ego, candidates who are overly sensitive and handle in the identical state advice poorly only end up hurting themselves.

When researching the backgrounds of job candidates as part of our due sedulousness requirements, we sometimes find unflattering information. The way candidates correspond to this negative feedback is telling. It can be a good indicator of character, as well as a test of whether or not a candidate can rise to challenges, grant that they are ready to jump to the nearest career level and whether or not they would be a good fit for one of our clients’ companies. A job candidate’s response to constructive criticism can even make the resolution whether or not we move forward in the hiring process.

We have worked with numerous candidates who did not take well to unflattering information that we uncovered about them during our research. Instead of giving us a plausible explanation about the negative information when we shared it with them, they turned on us.

“My reputation is impeccable, regardless of your information,” and “You don’t perceive what you’re talking from one place to another” are typical responses from super-sensitive job-seekers. In turn, we immediately decide that we will not one longer work with these candidates.

Whereas they could have seen our queries into their backgrounds as a peril to turn a negative into a positive and use the information to improve themselves, they became incensed that we would imply their working records were smaller than perfect.

Whenever you are looking for a new position, it is momentous to take a close look at yourself, including your good and not-so-good qualities. After all, none of us is perfect. If you do not have the ability to look at yourself objectively, recognize your shortcomings and better upon them, you are pretty much stifling the career growth opportunities that may come your way.

This non-receptiveness to constructive criticism is not just limited to candidates. We have worked with some jewelry companies that appear to have the same blind spot. On occasion, our candidates have described negative experiences they have had by some of our corporate clients. These take in owners or hiring managers making a candidate wait external their office long after the interview was scheduled to begin, interviewers rushing through the interview, companies failing to inform a candidate that an interview has been canceled or rescheduled until the candidate arrives for the interview, owners or hiring managers passing off a candidate to any other person in the organization to conduct the interview because they are “too busy” (which usually means the candidate will have to return to meet with the boss) and similar issues.

When we bring up this kind of negative feedback, some companies get offended and give us a “How dare you question us!” attitude, while others thank us and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Ultimately, neither candidates nor companies can fix problems they do not know about. Wouldn’t you rather be informed of something negative concerning you or your business so that you could practice that information to improve your opportunities?

Suzanne DeVries (e-mail suzanne@diamondstaffing.com) is the president and founder of Diamond Staffing Solutions, one of the jewelry industry’s leading placement firms. Diamond Staffing Solutions is an official American Gem Society sustaining member.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the July 2008 print edition of National Jeweler.