RELOCATION NEWS

• Kay Thessali Inc. has moved to larger facilities. The new address is Kay Thessali Inc., 222 W. 37th St., Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10018; (800) 764-3989 or (212) 904-1001, fax (212) 904-1259.

• Designer Judith Ripka has moved her Beverly Hills, Calif., store to 234 Rodeo Dr. The store had been housed in temporary quarters at 340 N. Beverly Dr. since 1998. Other Judith Ripka stores are located in New York, Manhasset, N.Y.; Short Hills, N.J.; Aspen, Colo.; Chicago; Atlanta; and Boca Raton, Fla. A San Francisco store is scheduled to open this month.

• Hugh Power Designs Inc., known for natural colored Tahitian and South Seas pearls, has relocated. The company, formerly based in Alaska, is now headquartered at 55 E. Washington, Suite 741, Chicago, IL 60602; (847) 919-4183.

PREMIER GEM OFFERS CO-BRANDING PLAN

Premier Gem Corp., New York, a 30-year De Beers Diamond Trading Co. sightholder, has launched a co-branding plan to identify retail stores as a leading source for fine diamonds. The program will offer Internet, advertising, and public relations support as well as customized promotional material.

The new Premier Gem Collection co-branding program, launched at The JCK Show in Las Vegas, will offer Gemological Institute of America-certified and laser-inscribed diamonds of Flawless to SI clarity and D to J color. The store name will be inscribed on each Premier Gem Collection diamond and customized on promotional material such as ad slicks and in-store signage.

For information, contact Premier Gem Corp. at 587 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10017; (800) 526-0606 or (212) 319-5151, fax (212) 759-2255.

EPIC GOLD ACQUIRES H.K. SCHAEFFER CO.

Epic Gold, one of the largest gold jewelry manufacturers in Mexico, has acquired the H.K. Schaeffer Co. of Hialeah, Fla. H.K. Schaeffer is a manufacturer of diamond and bridal products.

Epic Gold has U.S. offices in Miami and Chicago and four offices in Mexico. It maintains a 60,000-sq.-ft. factory in Mexico City that employs 450 people.