revere academy expands gemology program the revere academy of jewelry arts in san francisco, cal., has added a class on “detecting treated diamonds” to its gemology program. the one-day class teaches participants how to use standard gemological instruments to evaluate a diamond’s authenticity and determine if it’s treated, fracture filled, laser drilled, synthetic or a look-alike.

ja las vegas! makes its january debut event: the first ja las vegas! show. date: jan 10-12. location: sands expo & convention center, las vegas, nev. producers: miller freeman jewelry group and blenheim group usa. cosponsors: jewelers of america and the california jewelers association. attendance: nearly 900 exhibitors (1,645 exhibit spaces) and 3,485 buyers, according to show producers.

jerry madison to head new fantasy division jerry madison has joined fantasy diamond corp., chicago, ill., as vice president of a new division called masterpiece by fantasy. the line will mark a return to what madison calls “the old jerry madison flavor and look, but with a modernized appearance utilizing tapered baguettes.

zale buys karten’s, posts holiday gain zale corp. has acquired karten’s jewelers, which has 20 stores in new hampshire, massachusetts, connecticut and rhode island. karten’s will become part of zales jewelers, the company’s largest division with more than 540 stores. the stores will keep the karten’s name for an unspecified time and then change to zales jewelers.

there’s been a lot of talk recently about the need for the jewelry industry to be more unified, to speak with one voice on critical issues. much of the talk is prompted by tv shows that have put the spotlight on dishonest, ignorant or incompetent sellers of jewelry who mislead consumers about quality or price.

italians scale back their traditional boldness in jewelry design subtle changes and understated elegance characterized new design trends at vicenzaoro i, held jan. 14-21 in vicenza, italy. the most noticeable element was diminutive sizing: a scaling back of the italians’ traditional boldness. though many pieces still were significantly larger than u.

wja elects new officers rachel treitelman rosin, industry liaison with the diamond promotion service, was elected to a two-year term as president of the women’s jewelry association. she succeeds helene fortunoff of fortunoff fine jewelry and silverware inc. rosin has been a wja board member for six years and most recently chaired the show booth committee.

gold jewelry sales rise gold jewelry sales totaled $6 billion in the first three quarters of 1995, up 5.9% from the same period of 1994, says the world gold council. at this pace, says the council, sales were poised to exceed the 1994 total sales volume of $11.3 billion. (the fourth quarter traditionally accounts for more than 40% of gold jewelry sales.

market-driven crystal growers in china produce a wide variety of synthetic gems. but they’re avoiding “luxury” synthetic gems – for now most of us know that many products are manufactured in china very inexpensively. however, few in the trade know china produces large numbers of synthetic gems. except through an occasional mention in a trade magazine or technical journal, it’s hard to fathom th…

strong holiday sales send retailers to a more compact new york ja show while record cold hobbled parts of the u.s. in february, buyers and exhibitors at the ja international jewelry show feb. 3-6 found a smaller but surprisingly warm forum in which to reorder after a mostly good holiday season. exhibitors said traffic at the jacob javits convention center was slow except for sunday.

a “continuing sense of urgency about running the business” permeates this revitalized jewelry chain from top to bottom a framed poster is prominently displayed in the office of tom whiddon, chief financial officer of the zale corp. it shows a golf hole in the middle of an island, in the middle of a lake, in the middle of a golf course.

demise of colormaster: end of an era a controversial chapter in the way gem color is communicated has come to an end. the gemological institute of america has halted the production and sale of its colormaster machine. “sales of colormasters had decreased over a long period of time,” says dick agnew, chief executive of gia’s gem instruments division.

a customer walks into your store and hands you a ballerina style ring with a large green center stone. “is this a real emerald?” she asks. you could wing it, take an “experienced” stab at the stone’s identity and answer “yes.” or you could be more cautious and turn to your trusty laboratory equipment for an identification.

the technology for producing gem-quality synthetic diamonds is maturing, the producers are willing and consumers are receptive synthetic diamond jewelry. utter these words in the presence of diamond merchants and the result is dissonance. some embrace the product, some fear it will destroy the industry, some change the subject.

niche honors first lady, curator the rosen group inc., publisher of niche magazine for american craft retailers, selected hillary rodham clinton to receive the 1996 niche humanitarian of the year award. “the first lady is being honored for her dedication to establishing the white house crafts collection as well as for her avid interest in bringing handcrafted ornaments to the white house during…

rich history jewellery in britain 1066-1837: a documentary, social, literary and artistic survey, by diana scarisbrick. 1994. 456 pages. 176 black/white, 54 color illustrations. $100.00. (jck data center oq-001) to order call (212) 535-5406. one pleasure for me as a jewelry-maker is awareness of the role jewels have played in the daily lives of people who have come before us.

section 6, subsection (c) in the contract which all exhibitors at the jck international jewelry show sign off on reads: “exhibitors must conform with the provisions of the national gold and silver marking act 15 usc294 et seq. (the stamping act) as well as the federal trade commission guides for the jewelry industry 16cfr part 23, including the guide against deceptive pricing.

canadian firm signs first china deal asia minerals of vancouver, canada, has signed the first joint gold mining contract with china. under the $72 million agreement with shandong zhaoyuan gold industrial group, a joint company will be formed to expand an existing mine. asia minerals will provide half the necessary funds; the chinese company will pay for its half with gold assets.

gem treatments and synthesis have made many popular types of stones more readily available to the average consumer. treatment can turn once unsalable material into attractive, affordable goods. and synthesis can bring clean, beautifully colored stones within the reach of consumers who otherwise couldn’t dream of owning quality emeralds, rubies or other gems.

‘mother and child’ designer sues esslinger janel russell, designer of the “mother and child” pendant sold under license by the kirchner corp., charges esslinger & co. of st. paul, minn., and designer steven ertle with copyright infringement in a suit filed in u.s. district court in minnesota. kirchner is not a party to the suit.

the number of treated diamonds is growing. here’s a look at the four basic treatments – as well as synthetics – with tips on how to detect them no doubt about it, treated diamonds have become a big part of today’s market. they’re also becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect. treated diamonds – and disclosure of the treatment – have become such as concern that de beers formed a commi…