a matter of design: we’ve come a long way when our fashion editor, hedda schupak, went to hong kong last fall to find out just what is going on there with jewelry design, her quick reaction was really very little. most of the manufacturers who aren’t trying to imitate american or european design are turning out attractive, well-made, but largely unexciting pieces.

attendance, buying are light at uj expo event: the inaugural united jewelers expo. dates: jan. 8-10. location: sands expo and convention center, las vegas, nev. sponsor: united jewelers expo inc., fallbrook, cal. attendance: 500 exhibitors and 2,900 buyers, according to show organizers. mood: exhibitors expressed disappointment with traffic and lack of buying by those who did attend.

pearl conference scheduled for may the second international pearl conference and exposition will be held may 14-18 at the grand wailea resort in maui, hawaii. the event, sponsored by the international pearl association, will bring together all facets of the pearl industry: growers, retail buyers, manufacturers, wholesalers, designers, scientists, investors, news media and government officials.

hugh glenn receives humanitarian award hugh glenn, president of cyma watch/glenn corp., new york, n.y., received the national humanitarian award from the jewelry division of the national conference in new york city nov. 30. sanford cloud jr., president of the national conference, was guest speaker. joseph thompson, editor in chief and publishing director of modern jeweler magazine, overland par…

italian exhibitors at vicenzaoro i, the year’s first major international trade fair, were optimistic about the outlook for 1995. their business had been hesitant as italy struggles with recession and an unstable political environment. but the recovery that drove u.s. jewelry shows last year now appears to be helping vicenza.

it seems almost beyond belief that at a time when the new russia is being torn apart by internal political dissent, by war with a wayward satellite and by economic dysfunction that more and more people in the diamond world are turning to that nation as some kind of savior. the situation says more about disenchantment with de beers than enchantment with russia.

ja show: good despite show-slowing snow optimism and good business in the wake of good christmas sales warmed the ja international jewelry show despite the northeast’s first major snowstorm of 1995. the snow kept many buyers away the opening day of the show, held feb. 4-7 in the jacob javits convention center in new york, n.

where to get your diamonds: de beers or the russians? i recently read an article in the rapaport diamond report entitled “leading dealers lose patience with the russians.” well, we complain about the russians and blame them for everything, but there is nothing more away from the truth than this headline.

one in three jewelers had a merchandise loss in the past year. common-sense precautions could have reduced that figure sharply, say experts a 1994 labor day weekend burglary of tiffany’s in new york city unnerved some jewelers. “if tiffany with all its security can be robbed, what chance do the rest of us have?” asked a jeweler interviewed on a tv news show.

in today’s world of e-mail, faxes and photocopies, a message, a proposal, even a signature can be transmitted electronically at the touch of a button. gone are the days of handwriting multiple drafts of a memo. even zipping off a quick letter to a friend is more likely done by computer than pen and paper.

mayor’s jewelers opened a new store in the broward mall in plantation, fla. it replaces another mayor’s store that had been in another location in the mall. the new store features a new point-of-sale merchandising system that simplifies sales transactions and a new lighting system that allows customers to view jewelry as it would appear in natural sunlight.

hong kong is shedding its image as a mecca for low-end manufacturing as consumer demand and a firm nudge from industry organizations fuel a true native design movement. still, the industry has a long way to go before it develops a style instantly recognizable as “made in hong kong.” chinese consumers have traditionally considered jewelry a commodity, held more for its intrinsic value than its a…

colorado may see `small’ diamond mine after many years of virtually fruitless exploration, northern colorado may yet see a viable diamond mine. a cluster of kimberlite deposits near kelsey lake near the border with wyoming could become a working diamond mine by the end of the decade, says howard coopersmith, president of diamond co.

narragansett silversmiths the silversmiths of little rest, by william davis miller, limited edition of 250 copies, facsimile of 1928 original. 1992. 50 pages. $65. (jck data center ny-005) this book will have special meaning to you if you’ve ever visited little rest (now called kingston), r.i., where worked six silversmiths herein described.

platinum day to premiere at mjsa expo/new york platinum day 1995 will give jewelry industry professionals a chance to learn more about working with the world’s most precious metal. the event, sponsored by the platinum guild international and the manufacturing jewelers and silversmiths of america, will be held march 11, the day before mjsa’s expo/new york opens.

gold jewelry sales to rise in south korea south korea soon will be the third largest consumer market in asia and a key market for gold jewelry, according to far eastern press reports. the country has a fast-growing economy, but its jewelry market had been hampered by high tariffs and restrictive laws that now are being liberalized.

much of what watch firms have added to their early spring 1995 collections is whiter, brighter and lighter – even when referring to price. expanded use of dial lighting technology, white dials, brighter straps, sport watches with softer edges and dressier, more classic looks already were peeking out of catalogs in the weeks before generally broader debuts at the late april basel ’95 &#821…

currency problems unsettle industry a new round of world currency fluctuations has put the jewelry industry in a spot. first, the rising japanese yen sent pearl prices up 30% or more. then, the free-fall of russia’s ruble caused some frantic gold, platinum and diamond sales. now the devaluation of mexico’s peso has raised havoc, causing many of that country’s jewelry retailers to close shop tem…

doing business in america: give value, meet needs, keep promises italian jewelry manufacturers got an in-depth look at the u.s. market in a seminar titled “doing business in the u.s.: what italian manufacturers need to know,” presented during the vicenzaoro i trade show in vicenza, italy, in january.

philadelphia jeweler dies in shooting at stop light a philadelphia jeweler was shot and killed when he stopped his car at a traffic light jan. 18. the murder occurred during the evening rush hour just two blocks from city police headquarters. the jeweler was arkady shvartsman, 55, a russian immigrant who did business for more than a decade in a small shop on philadelphia’s “jewelers row.