did tucson really feel like “tucson” this year? ok, the weather was delicious. the flora and fauna were still southwestern, and so were the architecture and steaming meals served up all over town. but some critics who attended the city’s annual gem and mineral shows in late january and early february questioned whether the usual excitement was there this year.

gia chart helps identify synthetic diamonds the gemological institute of america, with assistance from de beers, has produced an elaborate photo chart to help diamond dealers and jewelry retailers distinguish synthetic diamonds from natural ones. “small numbers of gem-quality synthetics have begun appearing in the jewelry industry,” says dr.

tiffany names new president michael j. kowalski, 43, was named president of tiffany & co. in january. this is the first time the company named someone to the separate post of president. formerly, the presidency was combined with the chairman and chief executive posts, which are held by william r.

jewelers cast their votes the votes are in. the people have spoken. sen. robert dole should be the next president of the united states. that’s the opinion of jewelers jck polled in january. but the endorsement of dole wasn’t overwhelming. he simply had the most votes (27%) in a field of 13 declared candidates at press time.

the woman sitting at steven tapper’s desk fingers three antique diamond brooches. she wears well-cut wool trousers, a tweed sweater and about 12 carats of diamonds. today, she’s thinking of buying a brooch to wear with a double strand of pearls she has at home. tapper fetches a pearl necklace so she can see how a brooch would look with it.

shrinking profitability in the diamond business the following editorial written by glenn rothman, president of boston-based di-star ltd., for his company’s di-star report, provoked what the company calls an “overwhelming” number of calls and comments from readers of the newsletter. because of this response, we are running the full editorial here with di-star’s permission.

here’s how a number of designers who have established a name in platinum describe their stormy relationship with this marvelous material. cool. steely. strong. sensuous. heavy. difficult. unforgiving. magical. solemn. eternal. jewelry designers use these words to describe their feelings about platinum.

executives of two jewelry chains, confident about business prospects, discuss their plans for new stores two of the nation’s largest retail jewelry chains plan significant expansions this year. helzberg diamond shops of north kansas city, mo., and barry’s jewelers of monrovia, cal., are among retailers who are bullish about business.

over the past three years, more than 3,500 students in orange county, cal., have written essays on “why mom deserves a diamond” for a contest sponsored by gallery of diamonds, a small jewelry store in costa mesa and its owner, michael watson. some 600 of those students came into the store to claim a prize, all accompanied by their mothers and, often, by fathers, grandparents and siblings as well.

exhibitors and buyers at this year’s basel world watch, clock and jewellery show, which runs for seven days starting april 18, will once again face an overvalued swiss franc and increasingly competitive global manufacturing and consumer markets. these factors caused the slight drop in overall exports the swiss watchmaking industry is expected to report for 1995 compared to the brisk pace set a …

friedman realigns top management friedman’s inc., the third-largest multi-unit jeweler in the u.s., announced major changes in its executive management team on march 1. they’re designed to “enhance [its] ability to execute its growth strategy,” said friedman’s board of directors. bradley j. stinn was elected chairman and chief executive officer.

when fashion and fine become one is it fashion jewelry or fine? with some of the newest pieces, only the wearer knows for sure. the pieces shown here demonstrate how designers have interpreted the trend toward delicate, diminutive styling in fashion jewelry. but while the look is fun, the feel is real.

auction houses have become full-service jewelers in their quest to lure private buyers. they’re also taking pains to overcome bidders’ anxiety when edward and jessica decided to marry, they discussed at length how much to spend on an engagement diamond. they made the rounds of local jewelers, and then visited a fine arts auction house to check out diamonds coming up for auction.

the deal obsession or getting what you pay for a few years ago we had a young editor on the staff who had trouble with calculating percentages. so it was that one day he turned in a story in which he reported that such-and-such a company was selling goods at 110% off. in the real world of mathematics, that’s impossible.

ijo debuts internet site, features keynoter roman twenty-five years ago, then-jewelry and watch salesman bill roberts had an idea that hometown jewelers could “buy smarter and make more money together than by themselves.” so he launched the independent jewelers organization. this february, some 1,000 people representing 335 retail jewelers, about a third of ijo’s membership, met at the new orle…

kinetic sales charge seiko with momentum “explosive” growth of its kinetic watches helped seiko corporation of america boost 1995 sales of seiko watches 8% to 13% and of pulsar 5% to 7%, says senior vice president of sales larry sussberg. this was the firm’s first full year of operation since its 1994 internal restructuring.

goldsmith’s aid practical goldsmith; mounting joints, electroplating. 1993. 80 pages. 1,216 color photographs. $70. (jck data center dv-009) to order call (49-771) 976-6749. well, where to start? this is the fourth in an excellent series from germany of technical how-to books for serious goldsmiths. it has numerous superb, step-by-step photos and instructions.

juergens & andersen offers stringing lessons juergens & andersen co. will offer private pearl stringing lessons may 30-june 4 in las vegas, nev. the company says it will teach time- and money-saving stringing techniques in 45-minute classes by appointment only. juergens & anderson co., 55 e.

cartier heirs win back some jewels from college the five daughters of marion rumsey cartier were angry when their mother donated 50 pieces of jewelry valued at $2.3 million to st. louis university just before she died in 1994. but they had little to say in the matter at the time. cartier, whose father, pierre, established the house of cartier’s new york offices, donated the jewelry as a memoria…

by george holmes, editor-in-chief an interesting picture of jewelers’ 1996 interests and concerns is shaping up as early registrations for the conference program at the jck las vegas show start to come in. not unexpectedly, getting more bang for the buck is the topic that arouses the most interest, no matter which way a speaker chooses to zero in on the subject.

luxury watch show doubles exhibit space the sixth annual salon international de la haute horlogerie, the luxury watch show founded by the cartier group of watch companies, will be held april 13-19 in a new 9,600-sq.-yard salon in the palexpo center in geneva, switzerland. that’s more than double the space of the previous shows.