the american gem society (ags) will offer classes this month at its campus facility in las vegas. the gia diamond grading extension class begins sept. 16, and two gia diamond seminars—”identifying synthetic diamonds and synthetic moissanite” and the advanced diamond grading lab seminar—will be held sept.

rio grande’s new lynx c-4 (clean cut concave cutter) bur is made of a special tungsten vanadium alloy and is suitable for all metalwork, especially platinum. the c-4 bur features a crosshair slit inside the cutter that discharges the removed metal to prevent the bur from loading. the consistent fluting on the bur head is designed to eliminate chatter and grabbing.

pittsburgh jeweler gilbert s. broff died may 2 at the age of 89. born aug. 21, 1912, he attended the university of pittsburgh until the great depression forced him to leave school. he joined his father harry in the family business, and in 1938 married rosella bass, daughter of a wilkinsburg jeweler.

shreve, crump & low, a boston icon for more than 200 years, recently made a charitable contribution in the form of a rare rolex stainless-steel daytona watch valued at $6,000. company vice president jacqueline grande raffi donated the timepiece to a silent auction being held in conjunction with the ninth annual cam neely celebrity golf classic.

the patriot act—a terrorism-fighting measure passed by congress in response to the sept. 11 attacks—will likely create new legal obligations for jewelers, manufacturers, and anyone else who sells or trades in precious gems or metals. the act calls on all “financial institutions” to develop policies to prevent money laundering.

a nationwide sweep of immigrant-run jewelry stores launched in late june by federal investigators appears to be aimed at determining whether the stores are linked to international terrorism, the philadelphia inquirer reported. witnesses told the newspaper that agents of the fbi and the immigration and naturalization service (ins) raided a jewelry kiosk in the gallery mall in philadelphia on j…

starting this summer, seiko began phasing out the plastic packaging it had been using for its watch boxes and unveiled a new, more sophisticated look. the new packaging is designed to reflect what seiko officials call “the overall new direction” of the watch brand, with more emphasis on product design and quality.

the contemporary design group held its 12th annual designers’ gala and high achievement awards at the alexis park resort, las vegas, on may 31. the most valuable designer player award (which recognizes a designer who has created an indelible place in the world of designer jewelry) went to george sawyer.

nearly 85% of jewelers sell some kind of jewelry designed specifically for children, from newborns to 17-year-olds, according to a recent jck retail panel survey. results of the survey are shown in the charts below.

scot and doug congress of congress jewelers, bonita springs, fla., recently donated $210,000 to the lee and collier county habitat for humanity charities. the funds are being used to construct new homes for six low-income families in those counties. the money was raised during the fall anniversary celebration of the company’s bonita springs stores, through live and silent auctions as well as a …

in the inaugural international titanium jewelry design competition, designers created jewelry with a largely modern, high-tech style. the contest, sponsored by the world titanium council, recognized four designers. the overall grand prize for excellence in design went to kelly liddicoat of madison, wis.

gem-a, the new short-and-sweet name for the gemmological association & gem testing laboratory of great britain, has announced the establishment of a u.s. branch. anne dale of mandeville, la., the first director, will help gem-a develop its education and guild programs here. “gem-a usa will concentrate on actively promoting gemological education,” says dale.

the gold virtuosi 2002 international jewelry design competition, the premier prize of the gold jewelry industry, bowed with a gala ceremony during the vicenzaoro 2 trade fair. the competition whittled down 5,098 designs from 52 nations into 34 winning pieces judged to be the best of the best examples of innovative gold jewelry design.

cartier this summer sponsored a special exhibition of the demoiselle (“dragonfly”) monoplane, flown by alberto santos-dumont, a brazilian aviation pioneer who, in 1906, became the first person to fly over paris. the plane, on loan from the old rhinebeck aerodrome in rhinebeck, n.y., was displayed in the jacob javits convention center in new york city during the jewelers of america summer show i…

the gemological institute of america’s newest museum exhibit, “gems in art: art in gems,” presents an array of gemstones and other gem material whose natural beauty takes on even greater appeal as an art form. this “gem art” is on display in the mikimoto rotunda of gia’s world headquarters in carlsbad, calif.

wolverhampton jeweler john henn, gem. dip., fga, dga, managing director of t.a. henn & son, has been appointed chairman of the national association of goldsmiths (nag), a u.k. trade group. an expert gemologist and renowned jewelry valuation specialist, henn was previously vice chairman of nag as well as chairman of the association’s valuation committee.

karin jacobson’s jewelry shows a touch of science fiction, a hint of animation, and a lot of playful motifs. jacobson, the grand-prize winner in the american jewelry design council’s new talent competition, uses clean lines, bold shapes, and some surprising sources of inspiration. the sculptural jewelry is largely in sterling silver and maintains an affordable price point thanks to accents in c…

finding a way to tell where a diamond is from was the subject of a recent american geophysical union meeting in washington, d.c. dr. james shigley, director of research for the gemological institute of america, spoke at the forum, which was designed to find a solution to the conflict diamond issue. the presentations mostly concurred with a conference on the same subject last year, which conclud…

for a product—diamonds—once considered “un-brand-able,” the sheer creativity and variety of the new sightholder initiatives is staggering. there are branded loose diamonds, branded set diamonds, retail “co-brands,” even branded treatments. there are new ways to present diamonds, new machines that measure them, and new occasions to give them.

sally morrison, a former vice president of publicity for miramax films and the american foundation for aids research (amfar), is the new director of the diamond information center, the public relations arm of de beers’ diamond trading company. morrison replaces joan parker, who headed the dic for nearly 30 years but recently left to oversee publicity for the new de beers retail chain.

the gemological institute of america invites students to consider courses at gia’s branch in vicenza, italy. gia italy has openings in its seven-week jewelry design class, scheduled for oct. 7-nov. 22, 2002. students will learn the principles of quality jewelry design by developing the skills needed to create and illustrate designs in full color and fine detail and learn how to design for beaut…

u.s. diamond jewelry sales rebounded in the first quarter of 2002, according to research by j. walter thompson, de beers’ u.s. marketing firm. according to jwt’s statistics, the value of diamond jewelry sold at retail during the first quarter of 2002 was 5% higher than the figure for the first quarter of 2001.

faced with another bump on the road to a rough diamond certification system, the world diamond council reiterated its support for rough controls at the jck show ~ las vegas. the wdc also voiced its support for the voluntary “chain of warranties” the industry is scheduled to adopt in november. while both these points are obvious and not particularly newsworthy, sources say the statement was a si…

the industry in california is mourning the loss of yaakov aminov, 46, the diamond dealer who was killed in the july 4 shootout at the el al counter at los angeles international airport business associates and friends remembered aminov as a soft-spoken, friendly person. a devout orthodox jew, he and his wife had eight children and were expecting their ninth.

january garnet. garnets are among the few gemstones that are unenhanced, and they come in every color of the rainbow except blue. to prepare for the holiday selling season, check which colors you have in stock, and take note of where they’re displayed. sometimes colored stones are grouped by color rather than by species or birthstone.

you’ve probably noticed that for the past few years purple has been—and remains—a popular and fashionable color. and with the holidays fast approaching, it’s time to focus on amethyst. amethyst is purple quartz, the majestic-colored sibling to colorless rock crystal quartz and yellow/orange citrine quartz.

diamond dealers club president jacob banda won his re-election bid by a landslide, beating opponent zvi farber, the ddc’s former vice president. banda, who won his first ddc election by just four votes, received 80% of the votes this time around. banda said he was “deeply honored” by the win, and he vowed to boost business in the club and secure more rough for new york manufacturers.

there has been another successful prosecution for “memo fraud.” following a two-week trial, beverly hills diamond dealer richard maslin, 55, was found guilty on eight counts of grand theft embezzlement. according to los angeles deputy district attorney allan fork, maslin received high-end jewelry to sell on consignment at his store on wilshire blvd.

the independent jewelers organization’s fall buying show in reno, nev., held july 13-17, had a registration of 454 member stores, an increase of almost 7% over last year’s figure. also attending were 42 new member jewelers and 12 guest member stores (two of which joined the group half an hour into the opening ceremony).

the american gem trade association (agta) is accepting submissions for the 2003 spectrum and cutting edge awards competition, which will be held oct. 25-27. winning entries will be displayed at the agta gemfair tucson, feb. 5-10, 2003, and the 2003 jck show ~ las vegas. entry forms are available on the agta web site at www.

two of leslie’s sales representatives recently were honored by jewelers of america. arthur back, who covers the states of mississippi, missouri, alabama, arkansas, and sections of tennessee, was named “salesman of the year” by the mississippi jewelers association, and the georgia jewelers association presented clayton gillespie with the joe and margo sommers “salesperson of the year” award.

terry burman, chairman and chief executive of sterling jewelers inc., was selected to receive the 2002 national jeweler retailer hall of fame award in the jewelry chains/supersellers category. burman was honored at the 15th annual retailer hall of fame ceremony in new york in july. established in 1988, the hall of fame recognizes executives who are active in the jewelry industry and have made s…

one out of two in-store purchases is made with electronic payment methods such as debit and credit cards, according to a new survey. results of the 2001 consumer payment preferences study, conducted by the american bankers association and dove consulting, show that electronic payments’ share of wallet grew from 43% to 49% in the past three years.

to commemorate 25 years of business in westchester county, jeweler daniele trissi inc. has donated a standing four-sided clock to the village of scarsdale, n.y. erected in the center of the picturesque village, the timepiece is a focal point of downtown traffic. standing approximately 16 ft. high, the clock was cast of aluminum in massachusetts, and weighs about 1,500 lbs.

if opportunity knocks but once, right now it’s pounding on the door, and smart jewelers need to run—not walk—to answer it. the apparel industry (and, to a lesser degree, the beauty industry) has been beleaguered of late, giving jewelers an opportunity to fill a gaping hole. while the ’90s trend toward casual offices wreaked havoc among suit makers, most of the reasons the apparel in…

m.i.d.a.s has announced that it plans to host mini-shows in san antonio, texas; new orleans; little rock, ark.; oklahoma city, okla.; and wichita, kan. these mini-shows will allow traveling salesmen to safely show their lines in groups, at locations where retailers can spend a full day viewing the various lines.

how can jewelry store owners and managers motivate their employees and encourage commitment? one way is to foster an environment in which employees feel satisfaction from the work itself. that’s the view of kenneth w. thomas in his book intrinsic motivation at work: building energy & commitment (berrett-koehler publishers inc.

torrance d. hoover, a fourth-generation hoover, will take over as hoover & strong’s president. he joined the company in 1981, became vice president of sales and marketing in 1987, and was promoted to president of hoover findings in 1997. george f. hoover, president of the company since 1970, is now ceo and chairman of the board.

sue e. gove has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of zale corp., dallas. she replaces alan p. shor, who resigned as president and chief operating officer. in addition, mary l. forte has assumed the title of president. the changes were announced july 12. the company had announced in may that forte would be named chairman and ceo on july 31, replacing robert j.

hispanic-americans make up the second-largest ethnic group in the united states, and hispanic buying power—the total discretionary income of all u.s. hispanics—is second only to that of white americans, according to recent census figures. many groups in the united states are taking these numbers seriously.

vivid recently combined two strong market trends in one hot promotion of their company. the jewelry industry has witnessed the gradual development of near obsession with celebrity during the past decade as companies scrambled to provide the jewelry for stars at high-profile events. at the same time, companies across the board have recognized the power of the latin american market and its icons.

inhorgenta has now become inhorgenta europe. this name change in the fair’s anniversary year of 2003 reflects the market significance and development of one of the most important trade fairs in the world for jewelry, clocks, and watches. the 30th anniversary show will be held feb. 21-24, 2003, in munich at the new munich trade fair centre.

flawless rock crystal quartz cabochons are carved in reverse intaglio and hand painted by master carvers/artists, then backed by mother-of-pearl and set into handmade 18k and 22k gold frames. these one-of-a-kind signed pieces of art are created by helmut and heike bussmer of idar-oberstein and finished by d.

the jewelry and watch division of the national conference for community and justice (nccj) will hold its annual dinner dec. 2 at the pierre hotel in new york. during the event, koichi takahashi, coo of mikimoto (america) co. ltd., will be honored for his commitment to the industry and to community and humanitarian causes.

brook ellis, vice president of education for the gemological institute of america (gia), has been elected an academic member of the distance education and training council (detc) accrediting commission. in this position, ellis (and other members of the commission) will oversee the accreditation of educational institutes for various industries.

vintage jewelry, a price and identification guide, 1920-1940s, by leigh leshner, has been published by krause publications. the full-color guide covers more than 1,000 signed and unsigned vintage white metal and rhinestone jewelry pieces made from the 1920s to the 1940s. the price and identification guide chapter consists of 400 exquisite color photos displaying more than 1,000 jewelry pieces…

tanzanite is on the rebound: with little fanfare, retail giant tiffany quietly put tanzanite jewelry back in its showcases in late june. “based on lack of credible evidence linking tanzanite and terrorism as well as progress to further controls over trade in tanzanite, tiffany & co. has resumed the sale of jewelry containing this gemstone,” said tiffany public relations director linda buckley.

the ultrascope is designed to help jewelers locate and recover gemstones and other small objects from the bottom of an ultrasonic cleaner without emptying the tank. this creative solution to a common problem was designed and patented by a jeweler/inventor. it is available for just $19.95 plus shipping from legacy marketing, p.

the fourth-quarter holiday season is when jewelers earn most of their annual revenues. it’s also when they face the greatest security risks, say industry security and insurance experts. a third (34%) of all robberies of jewelers occur in october, november, and december, according to the jewelers’ security alliance (jsa), but other types of theft increase, too.

the manufacturing jewelers and suppliers of america (mjsa) next year will move its expo new york to the jacob k. javits convention center. the 2003 expo is slated for march 2-4. previously, the expo had been held at pier 94, the unconvention center, but growth in buyer attendance led managers to seek another venue.

seiko corp. of america had a sudden change in top management in june when les perry, formerly with the movado group, replaced richard “rick” vogler as executive vice president of sales and marketing. vogler, who had been with sca for three years, led the revision, consolidation, and streamlining of sca’s business structure.

through an exclusive arrangement with marketing momentum, jewelers of america (ja) members are now eligible to receive savings on a full-color quarterly direct-mail newsletter program. each issue of the professionally produced newsletter contains timely articles designed to educate a retailer’s customers and increase store traffic and sales.

as the critical fourth quarter approaches, an uncertain economy could lead retail jewelers to second-guess their holiday-season marketing tactics. to help, jck queried promotions experts to find out what will work best now to attract shoppers. maintain the same level of media exposure. this assures your customers that even though wall street is facing tough times, your business is as strong a…

“tashmarine” sounds much more appealing than “yellowish-green diopside.” discovered last year and brought to the united states by eric braunwart of columbia gem house/trigem designs, vancouver, wash., tashmarine is a natural, unenhanced, slightly grayish-green to slightly yellowish-green diopside. it’s on braunwart’s list of branded gems, which includes grape garnet and spice pearls.

on oct. 27, 2002, the consolidated jewelers association of greater new york inc. will celebrate 46 years of service to the industry with a dinner dance at tavern on the green in central park. during the event, the association will honor john j. kennedy, president of the jewelers’ security alliance, for his efforts to address the problem of crime in the jewelry industry.

jean-daniel pasche has succeeded françois habersaat as president of the federation of the swiss watch industry (fh), effective july 1, according to an fh announcement. habersaat, who resigned, had said when re-elected in june 2000 that he would turn over the office to his successor before the end of his three-year term.

the family-owned thalheimers jewelry firm, located in naples, fla., has been a strong supporter of the american cancer society’s annual “relay for life,” fielding the top fundraising team for three consecutive years. this year, the thalheimers team netted $127,046 and made possible the collection of 1,048 pints of blood—an item crucial to cancer survivors.

in the year since the terrible morning of september 11, 2001, we’ve come to terms with a new kind of existence—one where there are no absolutes and where the insular peace we took for granted is forever shattered. the jewelry industry honors the memory of a cherished colleague, bob spiesman of lazare kaplan, who perished in the attack on the pentagon, and the jck family also remembers jef…

the american society of business publication editors recently presented ajm magazine with both regional and national awards for “big e, little e,” an e-commerce case study by staff writer john shanahan. the article received bronze national honors in the technical articles category and gold honors for the same category in the eastern region.

a familiar name returns with a stylish new look and market focus. bulova corp. bought the wittnauer brand last september. it has redesigned and repositioned it as a dressy “special occasion” line for men and women ($300-$1,000 retail), based on research with wittnauer retailers on the u.s. watch market and where its strengths were.

the retail jewelry scene confounds many in the corporate world. it remains one of the few industries still dominated by independent retailers and the independently owned manufacturers and wholesalers that supply them. it’s a business where the brand continues to be the local retail jeweler, despite rhetoric from manufacturers trying to play the brand game with once- or twice-a-year spends in co…

according to one piece of post-it note wisdom, “if it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.” but if retail jewelers wait till the last minute to hire extra help for the holidays, they’re asking for trouble, says veteran retail jeweler and teacher david peters, director of education for jewelers of america.

the june 2002 edition of auction market resource for gems and jewelry offers an expanded section of 160 pearl jewelry items examined during the 2001-2002 auction season. the issue also includes an analysis of the pearl grading dilemma by gemologist sharon wakefield, titled “the tao of pearl grading.

anxiety over terrorist threats, mixed reports about consumer confidence, and wild gyrations in the stock markets are making holiday-season planning a difficult proposition for many jewelers. nevertheless, at least one expert is optimistic about the coming holiday season. “the latest data from the u.s.

richard t. liddicoat jr., the much-honored “father of modern gemology” and chairman of the gemological institute of america, died july 23 at his santa monica, calif., home following a battle with cancer. he was 84. a gemologist, educator, scholar, and trade industry leader, liddicoat was a leading shaper of today’s gemological profession and had enormous influence on development of the domestic…

de beers corporate communications manager rory moore o’ferrall raised eyebrows in june by attending two events at the jck show ~ las vegas. de beers executives typically do not go to the united states on business because of this country’s strict antitrust laws and an outstanding indictment on price fixing.

the 6th international jewellery kobe (ijk) 2002 was held may 16-18 at kobe international exhibition hall, kobe, japan. the show drew the major japanese pearl companies, who reported consistent business. according to show organizers, the jewelry and gem sector of the show also is growing. this year’s show was the largest to date, with 421 exhibitors (326 domestic, 105 international) from 21 coun…