tiffany is introducing a new store concept that will more than double the number of stores it has in the united states. the new, smaller-format stores will occupy approximately 2,000 square feet and offer standard tiffany product with the exception of engagement and statement jewelry. catering to the female self-purchase market, they have the working name tiffany & co.

who doesn’t love animals? the unconditional love and endless photo opportunities that pets provide should be enough to melt the hardest heart. and because jewelry designers love their own pets, their preferences are spilling over into the styles they create. be it dog, cat, bird, horse, ferret, or fish, adopt an animal (and a piece of animal jewelry) today to join the happy world of critt…

hans stern, founder and chairman of the board of h.stern jewelers, died in late october at age 85. stern, born in essen, germany, in 1922, emigrated to brazil with his family in 1939. he founded h.stern in the 1940s, at first selling only gemstones and later moving into jewelry. stern is credited with paving the way for the birth of brazil’s fine-jewelry industry and promoting colored gemston…

celebrity jeweler jacob arabov, of new york’s jacob & co., has pleaded guilty to falsifying records and giving false statements to investigators looking into a multistate drug ring, the associated press reports. arabov will serve up to 46 months in prison and pay a $2 million penalty, u.s. attorney stephen j.

GIA Elects New Governors The Gemological Institute of America has elected Dione D. Kenyon and Frederick N. Levinger to its board of governors. Kenyon is president and chief executive officer of Jewelers Board of Trade, and Levinger is CEO at Nobadeer Enterprises/Speidel. JA Appoints Public Affairs Manager Susan Thea Posnock, former senior editor for National…

claim forms for industry members to receive cash from the de beers class-action lawsuit will be published dec. 21, according to jewelers vigilance committee. on dec. 28, written notice about the claim form will be mailed to 50,000 entities covered under the lawsuit. those who wish to make a claim will have until may 19, 2008, to submit a claim form.

martin rapaport called results from the first internet diamond auction “disappointing,” with only 27 of 210 lots sold. the auctions are meant to build an index for a proposed futures contract. (see “back to the futures,” jck, october 2007, p. 94.) the auction, which was limited to trade buyers, attracted 194 bidders from 18 countries.

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los angeles–based dominique cohen, known for luscious gems set in 18k gold, recently launched a 44-piece line of costume jewelry for target. like cohen’s precious jewelry, designs for target are feminine and fun but maintain a distinct identity separate from her fine jewelry. the romantic collection for target features bows, faux pearls on ribbons, and pieces inscribed beau coeur (beautif…

thomas bendheim, president and chief executive officer of the colibri group, has left the company, due to “differences of opinion on the future direction of the company,” according to a brief statement from the providence, r.i.–based supplier. the company’s board of directors named jim fleet as the new president and ceo.

lev leviev’s lld and tiffany are among the companies receiving sights for their namibian factories in the first direct allocations from dtc namibia. dtc namibia is the new de beers subsidiary that distributes diamonds from namibia’s mines to local factories. leviev’s company was a particularly striking choice.

dubai multi commodities centre has announced it will build industry-specific trade relations with the hong kong gemstone manufacturers’ association in the colored stones and pearls sector. dmcc and hkgma will combine forces to promote colored stones and pearls through trade forums, exhibitions, seminars, and jewelry events.

if you missed “pearls, a natural history” at the american museum of natural history in new york, you can still catch it—in paris. the exhibit will run through march 10 at the muséum national d’histoire naturelle. for information, visit www.mnhn.fr.

the man who acted as the spokesman for the alleged 8,000 ct. stone billed as the world’s largest diamond still believes it exists—despite a bizarre incident where the people who promised to show him the diamond instead produced a lump of plastic. “i truly believe [the diamond] is still out there,” south african businessman brett jolly told jck.

style 360 yesterday i had the pleasure of participating in the american heart association’s 5k heartwalk at rocky neck state park in connecticut. … at the heartwalk, a towering poster showed the red dress—the symbol of aha’s go red for women campaign to raise awareness among women to prevent life-threatening misconceptions and misdiagnoses like my mom’s.

more than 100 jewelry professionals from around the country attended the women’s jewelry association’s first women in the know west coast conference on sept. 8 in anaheim, calif., learning about entrepreneurship, networking, taking over the family business, and even the healing properties of gemstones.

the diamond trading company has launched a sightholder support programme for companies that don’t get allocations under the revised client list it will announce this month. a brochure describing the program, distributed at the october sight, says the dtc has “no idea, at this stage, how many clients we will be supplying in the next contract period,” but because of decreased availab…

john yo tsukahara will remain antiquorum s.a.’s chief executive officer well into 2008. jck’s oct. 31 disclosure was later confirmed by artisthouse holdings, which owns 50 percent of the international auction house. the search for a permanent replacement for founder osvaldo patrizzi, who left in august, ended in october.

bhp billiton, owner of the ekati mine in canada’s northwest territories, has made an offer to acquire rio tinto, which owns australia’s argyle mine and zimbabwe’s murowa mine and sells diamonds from diavik, the other mine in the northwest territories. rio has rebuffed the offer, calling it too low, but at press time bhp said it was lining up shareholder support and may try again.

swiss luxury watchmaker audemars piguet and former president bill clinton, representing his william j. clinton foundation, in october unveiled the new clinton foundation equation of time watch. to honor the 42nd president, there are 42 in each of the limited edition’s three versions: 18k rose gold; 18k white gold; and platinum, which comes with a model of the white house.

four points corp., the louisville, ky.–based chain that owns 30 brendan jewelers stores in eight states and others under the name jc keepsake, has filed for chapter 11. assets are $26.8 million, debt is $52.1 million, according to a report in the denver post. the company, founded in 1998, purchased the gross diamond center, jc keepsake, and only diamonds chains that year.

los alamos national laboratory has requested crystals of chatham created emerald for use in a scientific instrument that will analyze minerals on mars during nasa’s next mission to the red planet, scheduled for fall 2009. the instrument, called chemin (for chemistry and mineralogy), will be shuttled around the planet’s surface by nasa’s mars science laboratory rover, now under construction at …

jewelry manufacturer alarama was recently purchased by the richline group, the new company controlled by famed billionaire investor warren buffett’s holding company, berkshire hathaway. richline purchased bel oro and aurafin in a transaction earlier this year. brands now under its umbrella include aurafin, baby gold, bel oro, gold expressions, michael anthony, oro america, pace designs, sardell…