COMING AND GOINGS
>> ?Bud Bergren, 65, will retire as president and CEO of Bon-Ton Stores. Bergren will stay on until a new CEO has been hired for the 276-store chain.
>>? Platinum Guild International promoted Kevin Reilly to director of business development. Prior to PGI, Reilly served as vice president of sales and marketing at Tache USA and as director of new business development at Lazare Kaplan.
Barbara Ryan
>> ?Stuller named Barbara Ryan its vice president of jewelry. A 20-year industry veteran, Ryan served in numerous roles at Helzberg Diamonds, including vice president of merchandise planning and technology.
>>? Zale Corp. named Subha Ramesh senior vice president of real estate. Ramesh comes from Hilco Real Estate, where she served as a senior vice president.
Rebecca Smith
>>? Plouton Consulting named Rebecca Smith an associate partner. Smith worked previously as North American marketing and PR director for Royal Asscher.
>>? Claire’s Stores appointed Beatrice Lafon president of its European division. Lafon has served in executive positions at TJ Hughes and Animal Ltd. in the United Kingdom and Etam Group in the Netherlands.
>>? Christie’s appointed Sam Hines head of watches for Asia and Seth Larrabure head of watches for the Americas. Hines will be based in Hong Kong. He joined Christie’s in 2005 as manager of the interiors department.
>>? Kyle Anderson, formerly Elle‘s senior accessories editor, has been named the accessories director of Marie Claire magazine. He replaces Taylor Tomasi Hill, who left Marie Claire to become the artistic director at Moda Operandi.
>>? Daniel Walker has been named J.C. Penney‘s chief talent officer. Walker previously served as the chief talent officer at Apple from 2000 to 2004.
>>? The Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association has elected Abraham (Bumi) Traub as its new president, succeeding Moti Ganz.
REMEMBERED
>>? Aaron Chitrik, founder of Aaron and Son, a Parksville, N.Y., wholesaler of diamond mountings, died Oct. 27 at age 73.
>>? Myer Barr, who operated a chain of jewelry stores in the Philadelphia area, died Oct. 23 from complications from pneumonia in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 98 years old.
>>? On Oct. 6, Jose Arquero Hidalgo, 55, editor and publisher of the Spanish gem and jewelry magazine Gold & Time, died in Madrid after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
>>? Russell Clark, 77, the retired founder and former owner of Clark’s Jewelers in Gig Harbor, Wash., died in November.
>>? Famed British watchmaker George Daniels died Oct. 21 at his home in the Isle of Man at the age of 85. Daniels is credited with inventing the coaxial escapement and authored the seminal book Watchmaking. In 2010, Queen Elizabeth II named him a Commander of the British Empire for his contributions to the watch industry.
OPENING
>>? Bailey Banks & Biddle opened its sixth retail store location in the Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock, Ark.
INTERNET
>>? The Gemological Institute of America has launched its 4Cs iPad application. The consumer version is available as a free download on the iTunes App Store. The retailer version is also downloadable for free at retailer.gia.edu.
>>? Tiffany & Co. has launched a website, tiffany.com/csr, dedicated to the company’s corporate responsibility measures. The site contains a report that provides insight into Tiffany’s sourcing of gold, silver, and diamonds.
COMPANIES
>>? A new Pandora credit card, backed by GE Capital, is being made available for purchase at select company concept stores nationwide. It “will expand to more retail locations in early 2012,” said a GE Capital statement.
>>? Tiffany & Co. has partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures and Bazmark to design jewels for Baz Luhrmann‘s The Great Gatsby, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic. Tiffany created a collection of platinum-set diamonds and pearls that complement the film’s period costumes.
>>?Noted De Beers broker I Hennig opened an office in Botswana in preparation for the Diamond Trading Company‘s move there. Prior to the opening, the company’s worldwide staff convened in the country’s capital, Gaborone.
>>? J.C. Penney is acquiring the worldwide rights to the Liz Claiborne brand as well as the U.S. rights to jewelry brand Monet. The company paid $267.5 million for the two acquisitions. J.C. Penney plans to become the exclusive destination for Monet, which is not currently offered at its stores, by August 2012.
HONORED
Mehul Choksi
>> ?Mehul Choksi, chairman and director of Gitanjali Group, was awarded the outstanding entrepreneurship award at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards in New Delhi on Nov. 11.
Steve Becker
>>? Sterling Jewelers‘ senior VP of human resources, Steve Becker, was honored as one of Crain’s Cleveland Business‘ Human Resources Executives of the Year. Sterling’s executive VP and chief financial officer, Bob Trabucco, was recognized with a CFO of the Year Award.
Bob Trabucco
>>? The Accredited Gemologists Association will award jeweler Thom Underwood the 2012 Antonio C. Bonanno Award during its winter Tucson Conference on Feb. 1. Underwood is the director of the San Diego Gemological Laboratory, an appraisal firm he started in 1978.
>>? The Jewelry Information Center announced that the Jan. 6 10th Annual GEM Awards will honor the architect and creator of the GEM Awards ceremony, Ralph Destino, with a GEM Award for lifetime achievement.
>> ?Luxury conglomerate LVMH announced that it had acquired all of the shares of ArteCad SA, one of the leading manufacturers of Swiss watch dials.
ORGANIZATIONS
>> ?The World Federation of Diamond Bourses announced that it would not let the South Korean bourse join the worldwide group because the organization had failed to pay its dues.
MEDIA
>> ?On Sept. 27, Spike TV announced the pick-up of 10 episodes of the original series Diamond Divers, in which a crew of Washington divers and sailors head to South Africa searching for diamonds under the sea.
ASSOCIATIONS
>>? The Diamond Development Initiative International and the Responsible Jewellery Council announced they are partnering to advance both organizations’ social objectives regarding artisanal diamond production.
FINANCIAL
>>? Bidz.com‘s net revenues for the third quarter of 2011 totaled $20.3 million, a decrease of 7.1 percent from last year. The company blamed the decline on a lower demand for discretionary items, specifically jewelry.