anna martin, an industry legend and mainstay of the abn amro diamond and jewelry division for over 40 years, resigned in october to take a position with another bank, where she again will work with the diamond and jewelry business. abn has appointed rob broedelet to succeed her. broedelet “has been with abn amro since 1980, and he has a similar background to mine,” says loet kniphor…

the 2008 elections—and those floods of campaign ads—are finally past, with barack obama and joe biden emerging victorious. but how did america’s jewelers vote in this important presidential election? a jck national survey of hundreds of retail jewelers found a solid majority were for the mccain/palin ticket (58 percent), while the obama-biden ticket received more than a third (38 pe…

a watch owned by famed physicist albert einstein sold for $596,000, 2,000 percent over its pre-auction estimate, at antiquorum auctioneers’ oct. 16 important collectors’ wristwatches, pocket watches & clocks sale. the sale of einstein’s timepiece—made in 1930 and presented to him in 1931—set a world record for a longines wristwatch at auction and capped a round…

de beers plans to double its marketing budget this christmas to its highest level ever—with a campaign built around the idea that “diamonds are the ultimate icon of enduring value.” the campaign is aimed at persuading consumers to “think about diamonds as things that last,” said de beers external and corporate affairs director stephen lussier.

spending on luxury and fashion has declined. a report from tanzania indicates that tanzanite prices have dropped 25–30 percent in the arusha market, the result of weak global demand, say dealers. similar reports are coming in from madagascar and the thai-burmese border towns that once were active rough trading centers.

fine jewelry for the cost of an ipod turn off the news this weekend and indulge yourself in a pick-me-up present! it is the right medicine to combat all the infectious doom-and-gloom news on television. nothing cheers you up like retail therapy, and there is no better time than now to shop. while hallmark has yet to recognize a “national fine jewelry appreciation day,” i urge indus…

the photo credits for the cover image and cover story opener in the october issue were missing. the photographer was leslie jean-bart. jck regrets the error.

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two “altered” gemological institute of america lab reports were recently spotted on the market, gia acknowledged recently. the institute made the statement after gübelin gem lab issued an alert warning that it had seen a 2.00 ct. hpht-treated diamond “that was accompanied by a report from the gia laboratory, and did not mention any treatment.