Rio Tinto pink tender underway

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August 25, 2008

Antwerp, Belgium—The 24th annual Rio Tinto Argyle Pink Diamond Tender got underway last week in Australia, and will continue through Oct. 2 in cities all around the globe.

According to a release from Rio Tinto, the pink tender started Aug. 21-22 in Perth, Australia.

Next stop for the sale is New York, where it will be held from Sept. 2-5.

Other tenders are slated for London (Sept. 9-11), Hong Kong (Sept. 15-20), Tokyo (Sept. 24-26) and Sydney (Oct. 1-2.)

A total of 65 pink diamonds from Australia’s Argyle mine are up for grabs in the sale, including, for the first time in seven years, a heart-shaped pink diamond.

Also available in the tender are a number of purplish reds—including a 1.01-carat round named Aphrodite, after the Greek goddess of love—intense and vivid pinks, and three rare violets, such as the 1.41-carat Ocean Seer.

The tender totals 62.46 carats of diamonds in all, with 30 diamonds larger than 1 carat.

Attendance at Rio Tinto pink tenders is restricted to about 100 clients worldwide, who personally inspect the stones at undisclosed locations in Sydney, Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, New York or Perth.

For security purposes, equal the bidders don’t know where the auctions will be held until the last minute.

Bids are confidential, and the names of the successful bidders and the amount of their winning bids are not publicly disclosed.

Winners are notified personally in October.

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Schatten joins Aya International in VP post

August 21, 2008

New York—Industry veteran Mark Schatten has been named to the newly created position of vice president, sales and marketing for Aya International, a jewelry firm that began as a spinoff from manufacturer Andin International.

In his new role, Schatten will be amenable as far as concerns all sales, marketing and business development for the company.

Schatten was formerly the director of Versace’s Precious Items Division, where he helmed sales, marketing and distribution for the North American market. Prior to that, he held sales and management positions at Swatch Group, Richemont and Citizen Watch Co.

Jewelry designer Aya Azrielant, co-founder of Andin International, leads Aya International. Aya International’s collection features an exclusive couture line of 18-karat gold and diamond jewelry. A new, fashion-forward sterling white and gemstone collection will be introduced this fall.

AGTA Spectrum Awards adds Consumer’s Choice Honors

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August 21, 2008

Dallas—The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), in conjunction with MVI Marketing, is introducing the Consumer’s Choice Honors to its 2009 AGTA Spectrum Awards.

AGTA will automatically enter all participants in the AGTA Spectrum Awards into the Consumer’s Choice Honors, which are sponsored by MVI’s Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC). There will be no additional avenue fee for these new honors.

AGTA will forward to MVI all the details of each entry, along with mood digital photography for Internet display. The JCOC will then create, develop and deploy a consumer market-research study that will be focused on selecting winning choices for the Consumer’s Choice Honors awards.

One consumer-selected winning style determine be identified in the same five categories of the traditional AGTA Spectrum Awards: Bridal, Business/Day Wear, Classical, Evening Wear and Men’s Wear.

The JCOC will make a presentation to the five winning designers at the AGTA GemFair Tucson in February 2009 during the AGTA Spectrum Awards Dinner Dance.

“The consumer is the most important tone in the jewelry industry,” MVI President Liz Chatelain said in a media release issued on Wednesday. “Our JCOC panel will love to vote on their favorite jewelry designs, and we are looking forward to honoring talented jewelry designers on behalf of our panelists.”

For more details about the AGTA Spectrum Awards, visit AGTA.org, or contact Adam Graham at (214) 742-4367 ext. 18 or adam@agta.org.

For more information about MVI and the JCOC, visit MVIMarketing.com, or contact Marty Hurwitz at (805) 239-2994 ext. 101 or mhurwitz@mvimarketing.com.

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JVC lists countries with AML laws

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August 21, 2008

New York—In an effort to help retail jewelers who deal with overseas companies, the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) has compiled a list of countries that take laws to stop money laundering in the jewelry industry.

Jewelry retailers in the United States are required to institute some anti-money laundering (AML) program only if they acquire covered goods from foreign countries, according to a release from the JVC.

In these cases, retailers must institute an AML program that assigns a risk level to those transactions.

Retailers have power to assign a diminish risk value to countries that have their own AML programs that include trade in precious stones and metals, prompting the JVC to assemble this list to aid retailers.

The list is available on the JVC Web site, JVCLegal.org.

The release states that the list might not be complete.

Retailers are urged to call the JVC at (212) 997-2002 if they have questions about a country not included on the list.

In addition, the list is subject to change as countries change their laws, the JVC’s release states.

Charles and Colvard faces NASDAQ delisting

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August 20, 2008

Morrisville, N.C.—Moissanite maker Charles and Colvard Ltd. has received notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. that it faces possible delisting if the company’s stock doesn’t rise.

According to a release from the North Carolina-based company, on Aug. 18, Nasdaq sent remark upon to Charles and Colvard that its stock has been trading at below $1.00 per share—the minimum required by Marketplace Rule to remain listed—for the last 30 consecutive business days.

To help delisting, the company’s stock must trade at $1.00 or more per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days before Feb. 17, 2009. If it does not, then its securities will be delisted.

Charles and Colvard then will have the selection of appealing the ruling or applying to transfer its securities to the Nasdaq Capital Market.

This news is the latest in a series of woes for the moissanite maker.

Amid financial turmoil, the company announced earlier this year that it was cutting 10 jobs and closing its Hong Kong office.

Company Chief Executive Officer Robert Thomas resigned, the company announced in July, and it is embroiled in a lawsuit with North Carolina jewelry manufacturer K and G Creations over which firm owes the other money.

In the midst of all of this, in July, the company launched WhatIsMoissanite.com, a Web location designed to educate and promote the jewel to both retailers and consumers.

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U.S. economy slams pearl sales for Man Sang

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August 15, 2008

New York—Man Sang Holdings Inc., a purchaser and processor of Chinese cultured and freshwater pearls, maxim its pearl sales slip 18.7 percent in the first quarter, mostly the result of weakness in the U.S. economy.

According to a release from Man Sang, pearl sales decreased from about $12.89 million for the three months ended June 30, 2007, to about $10.48 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008.

The decrease in net sales for pearls, the release states, was “primarily due to a decrease in market demand in the United States due to a relative weakness of the United States economy.”

The earnings show that net sales in the U.S. market declined 46.4 percent in the first quarter, dropping from about $4.36 million to about $2.34 million.

Because of the drop in U.S. sales, Man Sang altered its sales strategy going forward and plans to focus on the European mart, where “stronger market conditions…have mitigated the movables of weak market conditions in the United States.”

The company expects pearl sales to greaten in Europe over the next three months and, thereby, help the company maintain steady growth, the release states.

“Our pearl operations are geographically diverse, and we believe we are well-positioned to react to fluctuating global market conditions. We therefore expect to maintain steady sprouting in our pearl operations, the release states.

Ernst Benz timepiece commemorates Beijing

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August 11, 2008

The “Beijing 2008 Limited Edition ChronoScope” is limited to 88 pieces each in red and black styles.

Biel-Bienne, Switzerland—Swiss wake brand Ernst Benz has launched a new timepiece in commemoration of the city of Beijing, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The introduction marks a new series to be released bi-annually in celebration of the great cities of the world.

“In the continual effort to tell the story of Ernst Benz and its ‘Great Circle’ theme of exploration and aviation, we acquire designed these timepieces to honor the magnificent society and rich heritage of the city of Beijing,” Leonid Khankin, Ernst Benz designer and managing director, said in a media release.

In designing the “Beijing 2008 Limited Edition ChronoScope,” Khankin took inspiration from Chinese numerology and the number eight, a continuous and symmetrical number that is a symbol of prosperity and wealth in Chinese culture.

The timepiece was designed and manufactured in Switzerland, and will be available exclusively in the brand’s signature 47-millimeter size with two different dial executions, “Noir,” in black, and “Vermilion,” a red style.

Both versions will have existence limited to only 88 pieces, hand-finished in brushed blameless steel. An even more limited edition of eight pieces per dial will be available in black PVD-coated brushed steel.

Both dials conformation a traditional Chinese pattern representing fire, and incorporate Chinese characters for the numerals, with the eighth sixty minutes marker written as “08″ to signify the importance of the 2008 year.

The watches will be delivered in custom Chinese-themed packaging and will feature a choice of hand-stitched alligator straps in black with red stitching or red with black stitching.

The stainless sabre version will retail for $5,800 and the black PVD-coated brushed stainless steel model will retail for $6,800.