de beers denies rumors of two-tier market de beers has publicly acknowledged that it lowered prices on certain types of low-quality diamonds for the first time ever in august. but a senior executive at de beers insists there’s no move to abandon cheaper diamonds to the free market. ever since de beers announced it had “readjusted” prices of some low-quality diamonds downward by 11%, rumors ha…

charriol seeks stolen watches philippe charriol u.s.a. and law enforcement officials are trying to track down a large shipment of timepieces stolen from one of the company’s international distributors. some of the watches are believed to have made their way to the u.s. a’lor international, which distributes the brand in the u.

it’s been almost a year since we made two major changes in the jck jewelers’ directory issue. first, we changed the publication date from mid july to late december. second, we made many improvements in the product listings. we’re very pleased to know, thanks to a just-completed readership study, that our subscribers appreciate both changes.

hong kong’s vast watch and clock industry is at a crossroads, just like the territory itself. while it continues to hum as a business mecca, hong kong’s official transfer from great britain to china in mid-1997 raises questions about what lies ahead. but its watch and clock industry, the largest exporter of watch units to the world, is confident it can retain its standing by creating added va…

wittnauer selects service center wittnauer international, new rochelle, n.y., has named universal watch repair, southfield, mich., as official repair center for all universal geneve watches. wittnauer is the exclusive north american distributor of universal geneve watches. separately, wittnauer announced its zodiac brand swiss formula watches will be featured on the tv game show “wheel of for…

silver for the uptown girl you heard it here first: after seemingly endless seasons of unwearable grunge and waif looks, fashion is heading back to being grown up and dressed up. the silver information center says that in keeping with the trend, sterling silver jewelry &endash; which has been known of late for its streetwise downtown style &endash; is traveling back uptown.

the challenge of affluent boomers if you had to name the most desirable potential customers, you’d probably choose the most affluent. after all, they have the most money to spend. but they might be tighter-fisted than you think &endash; especially when it comes to buying jewelry. that’s one of the findings of the eighth annual “u.

lapponia announces jewelry design contest lapponia jewelry oy of helsinki, finland, is celebrating its 35th anniversary with a jewelry design contest. the contest is open to all designers under age 35 who live in most western european nations, the u.s. and japan. entries must comprise a set of three to five pieces of jewelry consisting mainly of precious metals and gemstones.

every store is different. that’s the first rule in the design process. when designer and jeweler work together to envision a final result, they need to consider many elements, from personal taste and store location to merchandise carried and customers served. it’s desirable that a designer have some experience with jewelry retailing, but vital that he or she be a good listener.

jeweler’s advisory group fights against deception the industry’s newest watchdog organization is about to mark its first full year of quietly but aggressively providing support for jewelers and consumers stung by deceptive practices. the non-profit jeweler’s advisory group was born &endash; almost unexpectedly &endash; jan.

appointments steve grossman was named senior account manager at ardian corp., new york city. he formerly was president of leda-rodman findings and vice president of n.e.i., hackensack, n.j. grossman has served as president of the golden circle club of new york and a director of the manufacturing jewelers and silversmiths of america.

appraisers association announces conference the appraisers association of america will hold its national conference nov. 17-19 in new york city. the conference, titled “the value of value: the appraiser in the home,” will be held in the crowne plaza hotel. “new regulations being imposed on appraisers are now extending into every aspect of appraisal report writing,” says aaa president alex j.

zale earnings rise 46% in fiscal 1995 zale corp., the nation’s largest jewelry store chain, posted a 46% gain in net earnings for fiscal 1995. earnings grew despite a fourth-quarter loss attributed to early cancellation of debt. earnings for the fiscal year ending july 31 totaled $31.5 million on sales of $1.

here we are at the time of year for peak performance &endash; the critical selling months of november and december. as an aside, it’s one of our industry’s (and most of retailing’s) great weaknesses that so much business is concentrated into so short a time. but that’s an issue to be dealt with at another time.

buyer’s guide: moonstone feldspar this is the ninth in a series by senior editor robert weldon designed to help jewelers buy different types of gems. what to look for: moonstone has an aura of mystery &endash; and for good reason. properly oriented, the best moonstones glow with a shimmering blue light against an otherwise colorless, transparent to semitransparent body color.

few jewelers have structured compensation plans to help them decide how to measure and reward top performance. instead, many base pay decisions on how well the business did. last year’s modest business gains mostly meant modest pay. increases &endash; or none at all last year was pretty ho-hum for jewelry-store paychecks.

[mark ebert is president of ebert & co., a supplier of antique and estate jewelry in los angeles, cal. a certified gemologist of the american gem society and a former instructor of gemology at the gemological institute of america, ebert lectures frequently on gemology and antique and period jewelry.

judges chose among pieces ranging from the fantastic to the fabulous to come up with 47 winners in the 23rd international pearl design contest held in tokyo this summer. the contest, sponsored by the japan pearl promotion society, attracted 730 entries from 19 countries. six runner-up awards went to u.

retailers buy carefully at midas show in dallas name: dallas fine jewelry show by midas (manufacturers, importers, diamond dealers and associates show). date: sept. 16-18. location: market hall, dallas, tex. attendance: 330 exhibitors, 10% more than in 1994, with 350 product lines in 379 booths. about 15% of vendors were first-timers at midas, including a few from mexico and canada.

[pino bianco, an italian antiquities collector and archaeological consultant, has amassed an array of ancient gemstone and bead necklaces that made their first appearance in the u.s. at the jck international jewelry show in las vegas in june. the following excerpts are from a speech he delivered at the gemfest europa symposium in june in vicenza, italy.

70 silversmiths american silver 1670-1830; the cornelius c. moore collection at providence college, edited by alice h. hauck. 1980. 156 pages. $39.75. (jck data center ok-001) to order call (608) 244-6210. if you enjoy the refined simplicity of 18th century new england silver, you’ll like this catalog of an outstanding collection of early american silver owned by cornelius c.

a new debate over diamond color grading is shaping up, and it’s a battle of man vs. machine. the machine is an electronic grader called the gran colorimeter. an israeli manufacturer introduced the instrument 11/2 years ago, but it’s only now making an impact, thanks to a new full-fledged marketing program to retailers and the diamond trade.