Archive for March 27th, 2006
Fashion Jewelry Hall of Fame Inducts Famous Jewelry Designers Marcel and Sandra Boucher
The Fashion Jewelry Hall of Fame was created to honor those designers who pioneered the costume jewelry industry.
PR Web (press release)
Attleboro, MA (PRWEB) March 26, 2006 — Guyot Brothers Company, Inc., a century-old manufacturer of decorative brass stampings used in making costume jewelry and in the related arts trades, created the Fashion Jewelry Hall of Fame to honor those designers and manufacturers who helped shape the industry through their ingenuity, creative spirit, and dedication to excellence.
The most recent inductees, Marcel and Sandra Boucher, pioneers in fine and costume jewelry design, had long and varied careers, both as a team and individually. Their story is well worth telling and reading. Their intriguing history, including designing at Cartier before making the move to costume jewelry design and manufacture, Marcel Boucher became well known for his mechanical brooches, which had moving parts, and his naturalistic flowing designs, which were very different from many years of jewelry fashion dominated with Art Deco style.
Sandra Boucher, a talented and detail-oriented designer, enjoyed her start in jewelry working for Harry Winston, and even had an opportunity to see the Hope Diamond during the time that Harry Winston owned it. This article includes a detailed photo gallery of their colorful jewelry designs. The photographs clearly show both the vibrant colors and the fluid lines of these brooches. Sandra is still active in the jewelry design field.
“These are excellent examples of what a creative mind coupled with meticulous attention to detail can produce. They will be enjoyed not only by the vintage jewelry collector but by students and casual admirers as well”, stated Stephen Guyot, President of Guyot Brothers. The article can be found at
http://www.guyotbrothers.com/jewelry-history/jewelry-hall-of-fame/marcel-sandra-boucher/Boucher1.htm
Located in Attleboro, Massachusetts, the Birthplace of the Jewelry Industry in America, Guyot Brothers continues to produce their high-quality line of stamped filigree, charms floral, and other decorative items. For viewing the line in person, they are represented in New York, New Jersey, California, Arizona, New Mexico, England, and France. The company also maintains a showroom at their factory in Attleboro.
March 27th, 2006
Web sites can help teach how to buy fine jewelry
Akron Beacon Journal
Few purchases are more mystifying for first-time buyers than fine jewelry. There’s more information out there than ever — from jewelers’ Web sites and online forums to nearly ubiquitous grading reports from independent labs. But buying expensive gems and precious metals is still largely a matter of trust between you and the jeweler.
First, educate yourself on the basics. For diamonds, that means the four Cs: cut, color, clarity and carat weight. For gold, platinum and silver, it means purity.
You can find helpful information on these fundamentals from the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org). The Gemological Institute of America, the most prominent diamond grading agency, provides tutorials on buying diamonds and colored gems at (www.gia.edu).
But there is still no substitute for a reliable dealer with an established reputation.
March 27th, 2006
Auroran charged in heist of jewelry
Aurora Beacon News
Beacon News Staff
AURORA — Aurora police and the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office have charged an Aurora man with burglary in connection with the heist of about $30,000 in jewelry from a store on North Lake Street.
Anthony Herron, 46, also is charged with possession of burglary tools and criminal damage to property in a break-in at 2:16 a.m. Friday at the Carson Pirie Scott department store in the 900 block of North Lake Street.
Herron, of the 600 block of North River Street, was taken into custody without incident after he exited the store carrying a bag that contained about $30,000 worth of jewelry taken from an interior showcase he apparently had smashed, authorities said.
Herron gained entry into the store by breaking through a glass door on the southwest side of the building, which activated a security system and prompted response by Aurora police, authorities said.
The Kane County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit assisted with the incident.
03/25/06
March 27th, 2006
Reebok recalls children’s jewelry made with lead
Boy, 4, dies after swallowing bracelet part
The Monterey County Herald
WASHINGTON (AP) - Reebok is recalling 300,000 children’s charm bracelets because a 4-year-old died from lead poisoning after swallowing a piece of the jewelry, the government said Thursday.
The silver-colored bracelets, bearing heart-shaped charms engraved with the ”Reebok” name, were given away from May 2004 through this month with the purchase of children’s shoes in major shoe stores across the country. The bracelets contain high levels of lead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said
CPSC officials said a child from Minneapolis died after reportedly swallowing part of one of the bracelets.
”I want to assure all of our consumers and our retailers that I will do everything in my power to ensure that no other family, no other child, suffers a similar tragedy,” Paul Harrington, president and CEO of Canton, Mass.-based Reebok International Ltd., said in a statement.
Harrington said in a phone interview that the bracelets were manufactured in China by a contractor. He said Reebok was investigating how they reached the market despite the lead risk.
”I’m conducting a full review of our procedures,” he said.
Reebok learned of the child’s death on March 10 from Minnesota health authorities, and Reebok sales employees began notifying retailers three days later to stop distributing the bracelets, Harrington said.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner on Thursday said 4-year-old Jarnell Brown died Feb. 22 at Children’s Hospital of acute lead poisoning. His death was ruled accidental.
His mother, Juanna Graham, told reporters that doctors at first thought her son had the flu when he fell ill. She said she didn’t know he had swallowed the heart.
By the time they determined he had swallowed the trinket, he had already absorbed too much lead and died days after arriving at the hospital.
In a separate action Thursday, the CPSC said about 580,000 necklace and ring sets, imported by Dollar Tree Distribution Inc., are being recalled for a lead poisoning danger.
The silver-colored, adjustable rings come in a variety of designs with a toy ”gem” in the center. The necklaces have a black string with silver-colored clasps and a silver-colored charm with a ”gem” in the center.
The packages are printed with ”Mood Necklace,” Mood Ring,” ”Glow in the Dark Necklace,” ”Glow in the Dark Ring,” ”UV Necklace” or ”UV Ring.” The ”UV” jewelry packaging reads, ”The Sun’s Energy Will Change The Color.” Printed on the back of the packaging is ”SKU815485” and the name ”Mannix.”
The jewelry was sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bills, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only $1 and Super Dollar Tree stores nationwide from September 2003 through February.
Consumers owning either the Reebok or Dollar Tree jewelry should take it from children immediately, the CPSC said.
March 27th, 2006
Raise expectations with embossed jewelry
Indianapolis Star
By Kathy Cano Murillo
The Arizona Republic
Embossing is a technique often used in scrapbooking and other paper arts. Now it’s time to mix it up and use it in jewelry.
This project is perfect for beginners because by using small wood pieces you can play around with colors and images and use them for a variety of purposes. All items can be found at any craft or paper arts store.
Embossed jewelry
Supplies:
assorted small wood pieces
assorted dauber-type paper inks
embossing stamp pad
assorted rubber stamps
embossing powder
embossing tool
hand-held drill
necklace chain or cording
Directions:
Use the paper inks to color the wood pieces. Let dry.
Dot the embossing pad over the surface of the rubber stamp until generously covered. Press in desired place on the wood piece — be careful not to smear. Pour embossing powder over the wet surface and tap off excess as much as possible.
Heat with embossing tool until the powder dries to a shiny, raised look. Let cool.
Drill holes where desired in order to connect the pieces or attach the cording or chain.
March 27th, 2006
Singapore Jewelry Auction Fails to Sell Forty-Carat Diamond
(The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Bloomberg.)
Bloomberg
By Yoolim Lee
March 27 (Bloomberg) — A necklace with a 40-carat oblong diamond failed to sell at a jewelry auction in Singapore yesterday after the light bidding ended at S$332,000 ($205,000), short of the seller’s expectations.
The seller’s estimate of the piece, which also contains 50 smaller diamonds set in an 18-carat white gold necklace, was between S$400,000 and S$600,000. About 200 people, mostly Singaporeans, attended the four-hour sale at Hilton Hotel Singapore, where 224 other items were also sold.
“I would have loved to have sold it,” Ari Taibel, director of First State Auctions, which organized the event, said in an interview after the sale. “For big ticket items like this one, you need a few people driving up the price.”
Singapore is emerging as a new market for jewelry auctions because of the increasing number of millionaires. The city-state of 4.35 million people had 48,500 people with assets of more than $1 million at the end of 2004, up 22 percent from a year earlier, according to the 2005 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch & Co. and Cap Gemini SA.
A Singaporean couple made the highest bid for the 40-carat diamond necklace. They declined to be identified. Both the couple and the seller were “adamant” about sticking to their prices, Taibel said, declining to disclose the name of the seller.
Another Singaporean couple bought at least three jewelry pieces with a combined value of more than S$60,000.
Quality Diamonds
The 40-carat D-color solitaire diamond, cut emerald-style, has a slight yellow tint. Quality diamonds have color between D and H and clarity between internally flawless and very small inclusion.
First State, Australia’s biggest jewelry auctioneer, will hold its third jewelry auction in Singapore on May 28, Taibel, 36, said. Its first Singapore sale was on Jan. 22.
The largest diamond ever to go up for auction was a 407.48- carat colored diamond which failed to sell in New York in 1988. The bidding at Christie’s International stopped at $12 million, short of the owners’ expectation. A carat is one fifth of a gram.
The world’s most valuable jewel to be sold at auction was a 100.10-carat flawless diamond, which was sold for 19,858,500 Swiss francs ($15.2 million) in Geneva in 1995, according to Guinness World Records. It was bought by Sheikh Ahmed Fitaihi for his jewelry shops in Saudi Arabia.
March 27th, 2006
BENEFIT GALA REAPS GOLDEN REWARDS ON TMA ANNIVERSARY
Tyler Morning Telegraph
By LINDSAY RANDALL, Staff Writer
Every room at Willow Brook Country Club shone brilliantly on Saturday night, from the dazzling jewels nestled in velvet-lined boxes to the sequin-laden gowns of guests at the Tyler Museum of Art’s 35th annual benefit gala and auction.
TMA committee members wore flashing red, blue and yellow rubber rings, women dangled strings of gems from their ears and necks, and the cut glass of chandeliers and wine glasses sparkled subtly … an apt ambience for a ball dubbed “All that Glitters.”
Kaye Ferrier said the gala committee came up with the theme within minutes.
“Someone said, ‘Jewelry!’ and someone said, ‘All that glitters!’ and that was it,” she laughed.
Jewelry constituted several high-dollar items at the evening’s auction. Dr. Noah Israel won a Charles Krypell pink morganite necklace, donated by Susan Robinson Jewelry, for $3,750, and Ramsey-Fritz Jewelers and American Gold & Diamond also donated pieces.
But for Tisa Hibbs, the real gem of the evening was glittering at the end of the treasure hunt. After searching the country club high and low with the aid of a “treasure map,” she was rewarded with a pair of diamond and pearl earrings from Ramsey-Fritz Jewelers.
“Tisa had to sweat a little to solve it, but she did,” said chairperson Marsha Harrison.
The committee devised the hunt to coincide with the theme of jewels, gold and treasure, media coordinator Jan McCauley said.
“This is the first year for it,” she said. “(The committee) really wanted people to go, ‘Oh, that was fun!’ … to have something unusual.”
HUNTING HIGH AND LOW
Shane Freeman spent hours at the club and came up with the “treasure map,” a poem of rhyming couplets, chock-full of clues that would lead a clever person to the end of a hunt with the lucky number 13 to win the jewels.
“From griffins, crows, a rabbit in a hat, to a wolf at the door, keep moving, don’t linger, you have to do much more,” read the clues, etched on individual maps of torn paper rubbed with coffee grinds to look worn and old.
Mrs. Hibbs said the hunt was difficult because of several obtuse clues, such as the “Tolstoy Masterpiece” which was two paintings entitled “War” and “Peace.”
“I was thinking it was a book,” she said, smiling. “But I had no idea I would win a fabulous prize! I thought you just solved the puzzle.”
The ball continued with an ongoing silent auction, with items ranging from pound cakes to zoo trips, and from sapphire rings to French candlesticks.
Wesley Beard came back for a sixth venture as auctioneer of the live auction, beckoning guests to donate “to fund the life vein of the museum so that it can create a legacy for years to come.”
Big-ticket items included a trip to Angel Fire, N.M., won by Betty King for $3,250, a bridge/mah-jongg luncheon for 50 ladies won by Robin Rogers for $3,250, and a Cancun vacation won by Buck Files for $3,200.
The night’s loudest screams came from the Ma-Yas, a mah-jongg club in Tyler who won an extravagant Mardi Gras party at the home of Dick and Betty Summers for $6,500.
Sue Garrett, Betty Danielson, Karma Crisp and Mary Allen Hughes originally planned to bid no more than $5,400, but caved when the opportunity arose to donate more money to the museum.
Ms. McCauley estimated the ball reaped more than $50,000. All proceeds go to the TMA.
March 27th, 2006
Pearls of wisdom
San Jose Business Journal
E-commerce jewelry retailer PurePearls.com has polished its image to stand out in a sea of online competitors
In addition to maximizing the PurePearls.com’s position on search engines such as Google and Yahoo, Raab also wrote and submitted articles on pearls, created marketing materials, and networked. Now, she hires outside contractors to do most of those tasks so she can focus on growing the business.
“It takes a lot of work,” Raab says. “This is not like a retail store where people have to drive to your store. In this business they can pop back and forth on line, so you have to keep their attention.”
Raab admits that she does have a lot of competition, both online and through storefronts.
“The jewelry industry is a tough industry in general, especially in e-commerce,” she says. “To be in a sea of 20 million companies and set yourself apart is very tough.”
Pearls of knowledge
PurePearls.com employs Webmaster Cameron Horton to help maintain and develop the company’s site. Based in Kansas City, Horton continually upgrades the way customers place and receive orders using StoreFront software. He says Raab’s hands-on, inquisitive approach to running her business puts the company ahead technologically.
“Some of the things she’s asking me to do are not even on the Web, so they have to be invented,” he says. “Not only is that good for her business, it’s good for mine. I’d much rather be developing content than maintaining a Web site.”
Raab and Horton are working on a project that involves automatically sending a discount coupon to customers’ friends when the customer makes a purchase.
“She’s good at coming up with these ideas,” Horton says. “Other people may be doing them, but not very many in her industry that I’m aware of.”
Raab constantly monitors her competition, including other online jewelry companies and retail stores. She is consistently adding to her expertise by reading, traveling and talking to her contacts at the pearl farms.
Soon PurePearls.com will feature a new interactive feature, Pearl.O.Pedia, where customers may ask Raab anything they’d like to know about pearls.
A significant portion of PurePearls.com’s business comes from repeat customers who realize how much money they can save by shopping online.
Raab also brings in new business by meeting potential customers at trunk shows, and setting up individual appointments with those making large purchases.
Among the company’s most expensive products is a $100,000 strand of South Sea pearls.
Most of PurePearls.com’s customers reside in Texas, California and New York, although a growing number are from overseas.
PurePearls.com offers free international shipping, which Raab says has become especially important as markets in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia continue to open up.
Raab plans to continue to cater to those markets, as well as expand her products to include more pearls for men as well as younger customers.
The company was founded by focusing on the classical look of pearls, which Raab says will always be an emphasis, even as she expands to include a trendier line.
March 27th, 2006
