Archive for June 8th, 2006
Polished jewelry beads with 32 facets
Global Sources, Singapore
China (mainland) – Hangzhou Alp Import & Export Co. Ltd is offering model 1, jewelry beads in a polished finish.
The products are made of acrylic and have 32 facets. They are available with round or pointed edges. Versions measuring 4 and 6mm in diameter are also offered.
Buyers’ specifications on the size and color are accepted.
The beads are strung together. Fifty strands are packed in a paper box.
FOB Xiamen prices range from $0.007 to $0.013, depending on the design. The minimum order is 6,000 pieces, for delivery within 30 days after receipt of an L/C or TT.
The company is a trading company that supplies jewelry beads, crystal parts for chandeliers, keychains, kitchenware, cushions and bedding.
Hangzhou Alp Import & Export Co. Ltd
Fax : (86) 571-85120479
Phone : (86) 571-85120478
URL : www.lianshan.com.cn
Contact Person : Lin Xiaofeng
Note: All price quotes in this report are in US dollars unless otherwise specified. FOB prices were provided by the companies interviewed only as reference prices at the time of interview and may have changed.
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June 8th, 2006
The Jewelry Factory in Norristown to Become a Jewelry Exchange
Market Wire (press release)
TUSTIN, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — 06/07/2006 — The Jewelry Factory in Norristown is changing their name to the “Jewelry Exchange.” The store remains under the same ownership. The Jewelry Exchange is the nation’s leading chain of independent jewelry stores, and operates in about 60% of the country under that name. In some cities, the company operates under the name the “Jewelry Factory” or the “Jewelry Source.”
The company decided to rename the store in Norristown in order to solidify the brand name and eliminate any confusion in the marketplace. The name change takes effect on June 8, 2006
The Jewelry Exchange is owned by Goldenwest Diamond Corporation, and has been operating for over 25 years, doing business as the “Jewelry Exchange” in Los Angeles/Tustin, Chicago/Villa Park, San Francisco/Redwood City, Boston/Sudbury, Dallas, Tampa, Seattle/Renton, Denver/Greenwood Village, and now in Philadelphia/Norristown. The company operates as the “Jewelry Factory” in Washington D.C./Bethesda, New York/Hackensack, Detroit/Livonia, and Cleveland/North Randall. In Houston, the company operates the “Jewelry Source.”
“The Norristown store is one of our most important locations and will continue to provide our customers with unbeatable values, huge selections, and fun shopping experiences — with no commissioned salesmen,” according to a company spokesman. “And, of course, our tradition of providing factory-direct pricing will continue to save our consumer up to 80% on their jewelry purchases.”
The Jewelry Exchange is the largest private importer of diamonds in America, and has over 30,000 loose diamonds in stock. The Jewelry Exchange was also recently named one of the top 25 jewelers in America. For more information, call (800) 441-0715 or go online at www.jewelryexchange.com.
June 8th, 2006
Pugster, Inc. Fashion Jewelry Doubles Its Size
PR Leap (press release), CA
(PRLEAP.COM) Pugster, Inc. Pasadena, CA
Pugster, Inc., one of the largest online sellers of Italian Charms and quality fashion jewelry, doubled its number of employees this month. Every department at Pugster, Inc. has experienced a growth spurt, including Marketing, Design, Web Development and Administration.
“I knew it was a smart career move to get involved with web marketing years ago,†commented Pugster’s new Marketing Manager, Marci Rosenblum. She carries her expertise and passion for online marketing to Pugster.
Co-founder of the Web Success Team LLC, Ms. Rosenblum worked with such high-profile companies as Vons, Time Warner Cable, FOX Sports, Univision Television, California Broker Magazine, MyTrainer.com, Anthony Robbins & Associates, and others
The Design Department also found a new leader in Creative Director Erika Kao-Haley, a seasoned marketing and design professional with over 10 years of branding, communication, and marketing experience. Her extensive web and print design skills make her a true asset for Pugster, as the firm expands its online property and off-line image branding.
“I am proud to be part of a growing company, and look forward to helping Pugster.com reach the next level of success,” said Ms. Kao-Haley.
Prior to joining Pugster, Ms. Kao-Haley was a communications consultant at Homestore.com and responsible for their campaign executions and visual branding. Previous positions include Chief Editor for Vodka Magazine, a lifestyle magazine on urban living, cocktails and culture, and Creative Director at the Los Angeles based marketing agency, Zyrex.
Expansion at an online company such as Pugster.com obviously creates a need for knowledgeable, creative Web Developers. Pugster finds one in its newest Web Developer, Patricia Atrian. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Computer Science, Ms. Atrian acted as a Web Developer/Designer for the university. She also worked with the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Candle Corporation, an e-commerce company that was sold to IBM (www.ibm.com). Ms. Atrian carries her strong web development and design skills to Pugster.
Internet companies are frequently purchased by larger companies. Such is the case with Overture, administrative guru Bonnie Robb’s former company. In 2003, Overture was purchased by Internet giant Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) to become their Search Marketing arm. While at Overture, a company with over 12,000 global employees, Ms. Robb managed the desktop support teams for the U.S and international offices.
“Pugster is much more my size,†remarked Ms. Robb, who lends her personal touch to the ever-growing Pugster team.
Pugster, founded in 2002, is located in Pasadena, California. Operating entirely in-house, manufacturer, importer, distributor, retail and wholesaler, Pugster, Inc. (www.pugster.com) creates and distributes over 15,000 pieces of authentic licensed and original designed fashion jewelry, including Disney and Pepsi. In 2005, Pugster helped grow eBay’s popularity when it was the first company to receive 1 million positive feedback comments on their site.
June 8th, 2006
Asian jewelry warning
Shanghai Daily, China
TRAVELERS should avoid buying jewelry in small stores around Southeast Asia, a local testing center warned yesterday, saying tests of precious stones bought in several countries show a large number were far less valuable than buyers were led to believe.
The local laboratory of the National Gemstone Testing Center wouldn’t say which countries the stones came from, or which were the source of the most problems.
It did say that many travelers bought artificial stones thinking they were real, and emeralds were the biggest problem.
The newly opened laboratory offered to test jewelry for free last month. Of the 1,716 pieces tested, 485 were bought by tourists, either in other parts of China or oversees. The lab said only 51 percent of the jewels bought by tourists were as valuable as buyers believed.
It didn’t say how many of the problem jewels were bought it China.
All 26 pieces of emerald sent for testing proved to be man-made fakes, the lab said. It said only two of 45 pieces of jewelry bought in southeast Asian countries contained real stones.
Most of the problem jewels were bought in small stores, the lab said, adding that large department stores and brandname jewelry stores were much more dependable.
“Some stores will also give certificates with grades like B or C for the emeralds, which is an irregular practice and misleading,” said Sun Xiaofei, a lab official.
Stones with B or C grades are actually dyed or blanched jewels of poorer quality, but the shop assistants will tell buyers they are just a little worse than the grade A stones.
June 8th, 2006
Dimpex Jewels Introduces New Bridal, Gift Jewelry Lines
Diamonds.net, NY
(Rapaport…June 7, 2006) When a jeweler exhibits at a Las Vegas trade show sometimes the obvious can be a surprise, which was the case for Dimpex Jewels Pvt Ltd’s director Viral Mehta.
The jeweler said he was pleased that his new jewels “The Black Jack†collection was such a hit at the JCK Las Vegas Show 2006. “The line has been very popular,†Mehta told Rapaport News.
Dimpex Jewels and Dimpex Manufacturing Company are based in Mumbai. The JCK Show held June 3-7, 2006 was Dimpex’s third appearance at the show. Vijay said business at the show has been “okay,†but added that the activity as of day No.4 was not meeting his expectations.
Other than the interest in Black Jack, buyers were looking for more standard designs, he said.
Dimpex also launched two other collections at JCK, its new bridal collection titled “You complete me,†and a gift collection called “Faith, Love & Luck,†which features a circle of faith and love ring, and diamond pendant that doubles as a ring (pictured ahead.)
According to Mehta, consumers in India prefer jewelry with a story behind the scenes especially when romance is involved, such was the basis for creating the bridal and gift collection, which also represent sentimental feelings.
During the JCK Show, Diamond Promotion Service held a seminar on the up coming Journey Diamond Jewelry launch. Mehta commented that the collection’s popularity maybe confined to the United States at first, but would undoubtedly spread into India as well “as did the three-stone diamond ring. Consumers are sure to enjoy it because of the story behind Journey,†he said.
The Black Jack pendant used black and white diamonds and rubies and was set in 18 karat gold with price points beginning at $1,500.
June 8th, 2006
Jewelry Firm Launches ‘Live Your Color’ Motto at JCK
Diamonds.net, NY
(Rapaport…June 7, 2006) Brother and sister jewelry designers Ryan Vaughn-Zahm and Carly Todisco were quite young when their father Philip Zahm started exhibiting at the JCK Las Vegas show more than a decade ago. But now the two have come along way, in age and experience, in designing their own jewelry for the family business.
Todisco told Rapaport News that her father’s firm, Philip Zahm & Associates, had a decent sales year in 2005, but a slower one in 2006, as has been the case with many other jewelry wholesalers in the trade
JCK brought in new business however, “a lot of it due to referrals,” Vaughn-Zahm said.
For the “lesser known brands” referrals have helped to fuel growth more than simply marketing goods by the Aptos, California-based company, said Todisco. Nonetheless, the jewelry company launched a new marketing campaign along with a new company logo, and offered new designs specifically for this year’s JCK Show. Philip Zahm & Associates’ new company logo is “Live your color.”
“Most of the time buyers start with smaller purchases” to test the marketplace, Vaughn-Zahm said. “People are tracking inventories much better today, which means they may hold off buying.” Philip Zahm & Associates offer a range of loose gemstones, rings, and necklaces to the wholesale trade with price points of between $1,500 and $2,500 “for the most part,” Todisco said, “It depends upon the stones of course.”
Vaughn-Zahm describes their clients as, first “they need to fall in love with color to buy it and be in love with it to sell it.” All of the gemstones used in jewelry designs are natural color and roughly 95 percent of settings are white gold.
The two described regional differences in how they see distribution trends: “The coastal areas are usually of smaller (stones,) elegant and simpler pieces,” Vaughn-Zahm said. The Midwestern consumer in the United States desires a “bigger look with more splash” while the northeastern part of the country prefers traditional jewelry using colored gemstones, he said.
Vaughn-Zahm designed a 3.60 carat cushion-cut pink sapphire ring, which also uses a total weight 90-points of diamonds and is set in 18 karat white and yellow gold. Todisco designed a 2.83 carat blue-green Tourmaline oval with a total of 41-points of diamonds set in 18 karat white gold.
One centerpiece necklace on display at Philip Zahm & Associates’ booth was designed by Judy Evans for the company and serves a dual wear purpose as either a necklace or a brooch. The design uses 5.13 carats of fancy colored sapphires and a total weight 96-points of diamonds and is set in 18 karat white gold.
The company’s designs are all one-of-a-kind and Vaughn-Zahm said that he and his father travel the world in search of gemstones to use in their designs. He said that sizes larger than 2 carats are currently difficult to locate.
June 8th, 2006
Armed Group Targets High End Jewelry Stores Across Region
WJLA, DC
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - Police are searching for a group of jewel thieves who have robbed several high-end jewelry stores in the region.
The robberies all happen during regular business hours in broad daylight. Men, wearing ski caps and masks and at times brandishing guns, smash glass cases and grab thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. They enter and make their getaway all within a few minutes.
Before leaving the stores, they have been demanding the video surveillance tapes.
Police in Montgomery County (website - news) tell WTOP Radio they are investigating two incidents that fit this pattern. The group has also hit stores in Prince George’s and Charles counties as well as D.C.
June 8th, 2006
