the rumor that the argyle diamond people in australia have considered going it alone in the market and ending their ties with de beers has been kicking around for more than a year. but back in january we got the first real signs that they are serious about the move ­ serious enough that we believed we had to start some on-site reporting.

jewelry design the art of jewelry design; rings and earrings, by maurice galli et al. 1995. 224 pages. 104 color drawings. $59.95. (jck data center cn-060) call (610) 593-1777. do you like sumptuous drawings and color renderings of gemstones and fine jewelry? interested in basic design principles for commercial jewelrymaking? want to impress customers and colleagues with your jewelry rendering …

henry b. fried, dean of u.s watchmakers, dies at 89 “expert.” few people qualify as living definitions of that word. but henry b. fried, horologist extraordinaire, dean of america’s watchmakers and jck horology editor for half a century, was one who did. henry ­ “call me henry, never mr. fried,” he always said ­ died in his sleep march 10.

jck’s third annual retail jewelry design contest drew a record 286 entries. the contest, launched in 1994, was created to encourage custom design work and recognize design talent in the retail sector of the jewelry industry. to be eligible for competition, pieces must have been an original, complete creation made by a present or former employee of a retail jewelry store that derives at least…

show: atlanta jewelry show. sponsor: southern jewelry travelers association. location: atlanta merchandise mart. date: march 3-5. attendance: exhibitors; 700; buyers, 3,200. business: in the atlanta jewelry show’s farewell appearance at the downtown atlanta merchandise mart, attendance was somewhat lighter than usual, with retailers citing dismal january and february sales primarily because of …

friedman group plans 1996 seminars a 1996 schedule of store management seminars is available from the freidman group. developed by retail authority harry j. friedman, the seminars offer owners, supervisors and managers a chance to learn the newest on-the-floor management techniques for keeping their staffs producing at record levels.

by charles bond five years ago, when jck first went into show business, most of us on the magazine felt we had a fairly good handle on the jewelry industry even if we knew we were newcomers to the exhibit hall. but one of the first things we learned from our show experience was that there’s a whole segment of jewelry retailing about which we didn’t know as much as we should ­ namely the d…

‘we want consumers to link watches with our name.’ ­ arthur sockolof, simms jewelers a south carolina jeweler adds a new watch line for the first time in five years. a louisiana retailer finds several midpriced lines to fill the gaps in his inventory. a new jersey jeweler creates a watch “room” and beefs up sales training.

c.d. peacock wins lalique contest four dramatic windows featuring lalique items won first prize in lalique’s nationwide display contest for c.d. peacock jewelers, northbrook, ill. winners of the contest received a trip to paris hosted by lalique, a visit to its factory and a private lunch with lalique vice president michel iltis.

new agslab issues grading reports agslab ­ the new american gem society diamond grading laboratory ­ is now open and assigning grades for the quality of cut as well as color and clarity. the grading reports also have high-tech features designed to deter counterfeiting and to make diamond information more accessible to consumers.

no to cz master sets your cover article in the march 1996 issue on jewelers’ gem labs (page 54) suggests that a jeweler may build both prestige and profits. i take exception to the listing of cz master stones as aiding either endeavor. cz master sets are sold by many firms as sales aids, to explain color differences to customers.

argyle diamonds, australia’s large diamond mine, almost certainly will not renew its rough diamond marketing contract with de beers’ central selling organisation when it expires next month, say key executives of the company. an independent argyle would sell some 40 million carats yearly – most but not all smaller, lower-quality goods – on the open market through its office in antwerp, belgium.

probe still seeks stolen argyle gems police and private investigators are combing four continents for the whereabouts of up to $50 million worth of rough diamonds stolen from australia s argyle mine between 1988 and 1993. three accused principals in the scheme have been arrested: barry crimmins, argyle s former security chief; crimmins wife, lynette; and lindsay gordon roddan, a race horse owne…

christie’s to auction jewels of maria felix christie’s will auction the jewels of celebrated mexican actress maria felix at the hotel richmond in geneva on may 15. felix worked with the top mexican film directors and made her first film in france in 1954. felix, who lives in paris and mexico and whose films are still shown in south america, received a coral cross pendant at birth and began to c…

as a schedules1996 conference the american society of appraisers will present its international appraisal conference june 16-19 in the sheraton centre toronto. the conference, which will mark the society¹s 60th anniversary, will feature an array of educational and social events. asa teaches, tests and accredits appraisers.

seen at the craft shows natural forms, high karat gold and organic shapes were the biggest design trends in jewelry at both the philadelphia buyers’ market of american crafts (feb. 9-12) and the american craft enterprises craftfair in baltimore (feb. 27-march 3). the two shows are primary venues for many goldsmiths and artisans who produce either one-of-a-kind or art-to-wear jewelry.

tanzanite and tourmaline have enjoyed a marked increase in sales over the past few years. it’s easy to see why. see the may issue of jck for photos of some of the newest, most creative designs available using these t-riffic stones.

gold jewelry sales set new record gold jewelry sales rose 5.4% to a record $10.7 billion in 1995, the fourth consecutive year of gains, according to the world gold council. the number of pieces sold grew 5.5% to 124 million units. in the fourth quarter alone, gold jewelry sales rose 4.7% to $4.7 billion.

in the uncertain world of diamonds, antwerp has always set a certain course for itself as the premiere diamond trading center. now it wants to enhance that position by attracting even more business ­ yours. the diamond business in belgium’s second largest city works hard to answer any concerns that may arise about buying or selling in a foreign country.

gucci timepieces joins fund-raising effort gucci timepieces has created two new watches to help fund aids education. the company will donate a portion of sales of the watches to love heals, which is part of the alison gertz foundation, new york, n.y. the first watch is ³1800,² an 18k white goldplated model with interchangeable marine-link bracelet with straps in red and black.

the future is now. in less than a year, the internet and its world wide web (the computerized structure where information is stored and read on the network) have become a major electronic meeting- and marketplace. as use of personal computers has mushroomed, so has use of the internet. in 1995 alone, the percentage of americans who had used the network grew from 4% to 19%.

traditional lines between who makes jewelry and who sells it are becoming increasingly blurred. more jewelry manufacturers are opening retail stores, while more retailers are making at least some of the jewelry they sell. indeed, 90% of jck retail jeweler panelists recently reported doing some custom design work, with more than half saying they’ve dramatically increased the amount they make in …