the jck show ~ orlando, slated for feb. 2-4, 2003, at the orange county convention center, will have a better segmented show floor to address the social and comfort needs of show participants as well as educational seminars that focus on profitability. the jck orlando show dates do not coincide with any other industry shows this year.

another celebrity has discovered the allure of eye-popping diamonds. destiny’s child singer beyoncé knowles chose vivid collection diamond jewelry for her 21st birthday bash. knowles wore an emerald and diamond necklace, along with several line bracelets, to dress up the hip-hop roller skating outfit she wore to the event in atlanta.

the kimberley process, the system that will govern how diamonds cross borders, this month graduates from discussion to reality. in some ways, the industry’s work on conflict diamonds is over. in other ways, it’s just begun. the process creates new obligations for all segments of the diamond pipeline, including retailers.

perlas del mar de cortez, the first modern commercial cultured saltwater pearl farm in north america, has harvested its fourth crop of pearls, and the results are dramatic. “this harvest shows more colors than previous harvests, only including pearls from the rainbow-lipped oysters pteria sterna,” says company co-founder enrique arizmendi castillo, m.

recent news stories about the woes of two major retailers caught my attention. one was about jacobson’s; the other was an article on kmart’s new efforts to emerge from chapter 11. both stories contain a valuable lesson for jewelers. jacobson’s was a regional high-end specialty store that focused on ready-to-wear, home accessories, and jewelry.

this is the year jewelers and other small businesses will probably see permanent repeal of the federal estate tax, more tax relief, and action on health insurance. the 108th congress, which convenes this month, is expected to deal with these and other issues of concern to small businesses. as a result of november’s midterm elections, republicans control both houses of congress as well as the wh…

the european commission recently approved de beers’ “supplier of choice” strategy, giving it the go-ahead to reinvent itself and the diamond industry. according to an ec document obtained by jck, the commission’s directorate-general for competition now takes a “favorable position” toward a revised version of the strategy, agreed to after a year of negotiations between the ec and de beers.

roman research inc. has introduced the steri-cartridge 3000 ear piercing system, which includes the features of roman’s original system—spring-activated and trigger-released—combined with a new pre-sterilized ear-piercing cartridge. the steri-cartridge can be loaded while still inside its sterile blister, and everything that touches the ear is pre-sterilized and disposable.

montblanc, a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of fine writing instruments, watches, leather goods, eyewear, and fragrance, has announced a partnership with baz luhrmann’s production of puccini’s la bohème on broadway. as part of the strategic partnership, catherine martin, the two-time academy award-winning designer for luhrmann’s moulin rouge, will conceptualize windows for the luxu…

high-end jewelry manufacturer mouawad has decided that merely placing jewelry on supermodels isn’t enough. the well-known international jewelry firm, which last year launched a new, more accessibly priced collection in the united states, has teamed up with model heidi klum to co-design a new line. the heidi klum collection by mouawad combines 18k white gold, colored gemstones, and diamonds man…

laurie hudson has retired as president of platinum guild international (pgi) usa, the u.s. marketing arm for the worldwide platinum industry, effective nov. 1. she has headed the association since it was formed 10 years ago. until a replacement is selected, pgi usa will be led by frank proctor, the group’s vice president.

l&r manufacturing co. now offers its popular ellanar dip – instant silver cleaner in an easy-to-use wide-mouth jar made of shatterproof plastic. the new package is larger than the previous one, containing 16 oz. l&r, a manufacturer of ultrasonic cleaning systems, solutions, and accessories, has served the professional jewelry industry for over 70 years.

the third annual globaldesign show will be held feb. 18-20 at the baltimore hyatt inner harbor hotel in maryland. the show is held during the american crafts council show, which takes place at the adjacent convention center. among the exhibitors will be michael zobel, tom and jutta munsteiner, gellner, kubik, wilhelm buchert and ute büge from germany, karl benz from japan, de vroomen from …

mother-of-pearl is defined as the hard, smooth, pearly, iridescent nacreous layers that make up the inner surface of a pearl-producing mollusk’s shell. according to webster’s dictionary, the name has been around since the 1500s, and no one seems to mind that it isn’t really a pearl’s mother at all. in fact, it should probably be called house-of-pearl.

jewelers of america members can save on shipping and insuring goods by using oneservice, including at least a 5% discount, with additional savings based on payment method, shipping method, and shipping volume. ja members who sign up online will receive a bonus savings off their first shipment. the company maintains service centers in new york and los angeles as well as offices in san francisco,…

the deadlines and details for the 29th international pearl design contest (ipdc) are jan. 31 for actual jewelry entries and march 14 for design renderings. monetary awards are offered for grand-prize through fourth-place winners in both categories. contestants may enter as often as they like, but a $30 entry fee must accompany each piece entered.

fabergé eggs: a retrospective encyclopedia (scarecrow press, 2001) is the culmination of several years of work by christel mccanless, a library consultant and independent researcher from huntsville, ala., and will lowes, a 30-year veteran tv and radio journalist based in adelaide, australia. their encyclopedia is an astounding piece of work.

irradiation of mail—and possibly gemstones going through the mail—is still an issue. (see “mail sterilization ‘enhances’ gems,” jck, february 2002, p. 40.) a member of jck’s retail panel—a jeweler in the washington, d.c., area—was unable to receive mail for some time, and a survey letter sent to him was returned to our office.

fashion today is stylistically schizophrenic, as victorian silhouettes, peasant prints, and general bohemian looks are countered by the full-on glamour of late ’70s and ’80s styles. gold jewelry is holding its own in this sea of contradictions by providing high-volume jewelers with options to suit all looks.

zale corp., north america’s largest jewelry chain, announced that it lost $6.7 million, or 20 cents per share, in the three months ended oct. 31. that compares with a profit of $37.64 million, or $1.08 per share, in the same period a year earlier. revenue in the quarter was sluggish, at $412 million compared with $410 million a year earlier, zale said.

don’t be confused by jewelry designer david muller’s claim to be designing clothing. the south african designer, who debuted to the new york fashion audience at a party thrown by the south african consulate, creates pendants and brooches that are enamel replicas of clothes. the focal point of the collection consists of stone torsos that are “dressed” in 18k gold and accented with colorful enamel.

most of the talk on conflict diamonds at the antwerp diamond conference came from the event’s honored guests—former u.s. vice president al gore and botswanan president festus mogae. gore, who spoke at a gala dinner, showed a surprising knowledge of the diamond industry, from its current problems to the history of antwerp.

the topic of choice at the recent antwerp diamond conference was “abc”—”anything but conflict diamonds.” with the kimberley process nearing completion, industry leaders were eager to move on to what hrd director peter meuss called “the post-conflict-diamond era” and discuss other serious issues facing the trade.

rochester diamonds inc. has changed its name to rdi diamonds inc. according to rdi president michael indelicato, the company, which is active in 37 states, “needed a less regional name.” in addition to the name change, the company is expanding its sales office by 2,000 sq. ft. to meet demand. rdi has also added a guaranteed trade-up certificate to its triple certification program.

what does jan. 1 mean to the average retail jeweler in america? aside from the obvious—holiday madness is over and it’s time to take inventory—it also means that jewelers can no longer dismiss the conflict diamond issue as “something in the magazines that doesn’t really affect me.” as senior editor rob bates discusses in his article on page 64, it does affect you.

blame it on the weak economy and the changing consumer. the leadership of tendence, billed as the world’s largest consumer goods fair held in autumn, made a stunning announcement during the annual trade fair in frankfurt, germany, saying they will dramatically change its format from “product-specific” to one geared toward “lifestyles.

the newest line by international design house chopard changes the emphasis from carats to karats. golden diamonds, a new creation by chopard’s caroline gruosi-schufele, takes white, pink, and yellow gold and shapes it into faceted “stones.” and in a radical shift, the golden “stones” are held in place with diamonds and other colored gemstones.

the internet is being used by the american watch association (awa) to combat a serious problem in the u.s. watch and jewelry trades—the sharp decline in trained watchmakers. the awa has created a web site (www.watchmakereducation.com) to connect prospective students with schools that provide such training.

business hours for the spring 2003 jewelers of america show in new york, to be held jan. 26-28 at the jacob javits convention center, have been changed to 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on jan. 26 and 27, and 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on jan. 28. ja is offering a variety of educational seminars on jan. 26 and 27. sunday seminar topics include “marketing your independent fine jewelry store,” by jennifer burke-mcgeeha…

dcit corporation recently introduced businessmind for jewelers v. 2.10, the latest version of the software suite, with dozens of new features and improvements. the new version is available as separate bmj products for jewelry retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. users of any businessmind 2002 and later software system with an active support and upgrade subscription can download the latest…

before an audience of the jewelry industry’s leading dignitaries, the gemological institute of america unveiled its new “tower of brilliance” nov. 10 at its carlsbad, calif., campus. the world’s largest crystal octahedron, resembling the shape of a natural diamond crystal, was created by d. swarovski & co.

tanzanite has joined turquoise and zircon as an “official” birthstone for the month of december. the american gem trade association (agta) made the announcement oct. 30. but can anyone declare a new birthstone? “there’s no astrological authority [that assigns birthstones],” douglas k. hucker, agta’s executive director, told jck.

the federal bureau of investigation has updated the jewelry and gem (jag) portion of its web site (www.fbi.gov) and linked it to the jewelers’ security alliance web site (www.jewelerssecurity.org.) a link to a private organization such as jsa is unusual; almost all other links on the fbi’s web site are to government sites, says jsa president john kennedy.

leshem diamond services (lds), a supplier of clarity-enhanced diamonds and clarity-enhanced diamond jewelry to retail jewelers throughout the united states, has opened a new office to serve oklahoma, arkansas, and mississippi retailers. regional manager lehoma gallagher, who has been in the jewelry industry since 1989, will supervise the new office, located at 710 n.

idar-oberstein saw the usual gem names from the usual gem merchants, but in true idar fashion, there was nothing usual about the quality of cutting on display at intergem. ekkehard schneider, known for his aquamarine sailboat-cut design labeled “tradewinds,” traversed a more traditional course, cutting flawless top-color single stones.

the 14th international jewellery tokyo (ijt 2003) will be held jan. 29-feb. 1 at tokyo big sight, welcoming the largest number of exhibitors in the history of the event—1,100 from 35 countries, including some 100 new companies. exhibiting in special country pavilions will be companies from italy (60), germany (40), and france (30).

when trying to identify thai bulk diffusion of sapphire, there are two indicators to look for: evidence of high heat and evidence of a surface conformal color layer. when looking for evidence of high heat, “look for an inclusion scene that suggests extreme conditions, where inclusions have been strongly altered,” says tom moses of the gemological institute of america’s gem trade laboratory (gtl).

kurt s. adler inc. introduces the new mardi gras collection of gifts and accessories for the week before lent. the line includes mask ornaments, peacock feather mask ornaments, jester mask ornaments, harlequin head ornaments, purple light sets, and colorful beaded and feather garlands. the company also offers a st.

color is in, but gemstones aren’t the only way to get it. for sophisticated customers seeking a distinctive look, a lustrous piece of enameled jewelry may be just the fashion-savvy ticket. there’s never a shortage of traditional favorites like bagués-masriera, classic favorites like enameled bangles by la nouvelle bague, or more modern takes like delicate pieces by carolina bucci.

the relationship between banks and small businesses—including jewelers—isn’t always easy. many recall the recession of the early 1990s, when banks called in loans and tightened credit. others believe banks consider small businesses second-rate compared with larger corporate clients. “banks tend to treat jewelers as paupers who must sign every loan or credit request in blood, with li…