Archive for June, 2006
Sentences cut for father, son in jewelry heist
By MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star
A judge on Tuesday cut at least 10 years each from the sentences of two men who conspired to rob Tivol Jewels of millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
Still, U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith left their sentences at a quarter-century in prison.
Angelo Porrello, 82, and his son, Joseph Anthony Porrello, 36, originally were sentenced to prison terms of 39 years and 35 years, respectively. In 1997, the Porrellos agreed to buy jewelry that a gang of armed robbers stole from Tivol and other stores
Other members of the gang received far lighter sentences because they pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. At Joseph Porrello’s initial sentencing in 2002, Smith said he thought the 35-year term was too harsh but that he had no other choice because of federal mandatory sentencing rules.
After the rules were made advisory last year, an appeals court ordered Smith to reassess the Porrellos’ sentences.
On Tuesday, Smith sentenced each man to a mandatory 25 years for firearms convictions and to a series of one-day sentences, to be served consecutively, for other conspiracy, armed robbery and money-laundering convictions.
June 15th, 2006
India turns to Bollywood to help lift jewelry exports
International Herald Tribune
MUMBAI Indian jewelers have recruited the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and the Bollywood film star Amitabh Bachchan in a battle to overtake Italy and Belgium as the world’s biggest jewelry exporters.
India plans to double jewelry exports in five years to $10 billion, using incentives such as low-tax export zones, said G. Pillai, special secretary at the Commerce Ministry, who heads a team trying to increase the nation’s share of the $90 billion export market
India, the largest market for jewelry, is stepping up overseas sales after demand for gold pushed prices to a 26- year high last month. Indian jewelers are counting on the cost advantage of its 1.3 million gem workers and the lure of Mumbai’s movie stars to outsell the diamond industry of Antwerp and the goldsmiths of Italy.
“Several companies have appointed Bollywood stars as their brand ambassadors, as these faces have glamour appeal,” said Si Kannan, an analyst at Sharekhan Commodities in Mumbai. “If taxes are lowered and rules are made simpler, then India can definitely become a jewelry hub.”
Global demand for jewelry is expected to rise 9.1 percent to 2,987 metric tons in 2006, Merrill Lynch said.
De Beers, which sells 60 percent of the world’s diamonds, employs Rai, the star of “The Mistress of Spices” and “Bride and Prejudice” to sell its Indian- made Nakshatra brand jewelry.
Vijaydimon Group of Belgium and India’s Asmi Jewelry use the Bollywood stars Bipasha Basu and Kajol to wear their jewelry in public.
Jewelry fabrication in India has grown 10 percent annually in the past decade, according to a study by the Indo-Italian Chambers of Commerce & Industry. Exports are worth about $16.6 billion and account for 20 percent of export revenue.
Still, the Gem & Jewelry Export Promotion Council, which represents more than 7,000 jewelers, said the government needs to adopt Italy’s simpler 1 percent turnover tax. Currently, jewelers in India pay a 1 percent value-added tax.
The council also wants Pillai’s committee to recommend lowering imposts on gold imports to 5 rupees per 10 grams from 10 rupees per 10 grams.
Shares in Rajesh Exports, India’s largest exporter of jewelry, have risen 43 percent this year to 226 rupees – seven times the gain in the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, in anticipation of the tax changes.
“If jewelers get the right taxes, they will be able to sell at globally competitive prices,” said Ng Cheng Thye, head of the precious metals markets desk at Standard Bank Asia in Singapore.
Lower taxes may also attract Italian and Belgian jewelers to India. Italy’s industry only employs 2,500 people but generates $13 billion in sales. Belgium exports $8.9 billion in diamonds and employs 30,000 people to process them.
“With the right kind of tax incentives, several jewelry companies from Italy and diamond merchants from Antwerp may start operations in India,” Bakul Mehta, the chairman of the jewelry council said.
Still, some analysts, including Vineet Kumar Rai, say the tax changes may not be enough.
“The paperwork in India for exporters to get tax breaks on gold imported is just too cumbersome,” said Rai, assistant vice president at Man Financial Commodities India. “Import duties have to be abolished.”
Jewelers will also have to design for Western tastes in necklaces, earrings and bracelets, rather than the ornate designs favored at Indian weddings, said Sanjeev Agarwal, managing director of the India office of the World Gold Council.
Rajesh Nair, manager at Dubai Gold & Jewelry Group, said other countries compete with India by organizing shopping festivals and offering discounts to lure customers.
“We are the world’s best price market and there is no taxation,” said Nair of the group, which represents 90 percent of the jewelers in Dubai.
One area where India has been gaining influence is in the diamond trade. Diamonds account for more than 70 percent of India’s gem exports. Shipments of cut and polished diamonds grew to $11.8 billion in the year ended March, up 6 percent from a year ago, according to the gem and jewelry council.
Indian businesses and citizens account for 60 percent of Antwerp’s $36 billion rough and polished diamond business.
“Jewelry making is our strength and, finally, we as a country have woken to the fact,” Rajesh Mehta, the chairman of Rajesh Exports, said from Bangalore.
June 15th, 2006
As gold prices rise, jewelry should be reappraised
Akron Beacon Journal
With gold topping out at more than $700 an ounce last month — a record price — you may be wondering if your jewelry, watches and other gold valuables have gone up. They have, though how much varies.
Since prices are high, it makes sense to be sure you are properly insured for the full market value.
“A lot of people probably should have their jewelry reappraised,” says Nancy Stacy, a master gemologist appraiser based in Walnut Creek, Calif.
When it comes to jewelry, she says, price depends on many things.
The cost of a diamond engagement ring is mainly in the diamond, and recent rises in price are being passed on to the consumer very quickly. On the other hand, the value of a mass-produced gold chain resides mostly in the amount and purity of the gold in it. That means that machine-made, gold-heavy products will rise significantly in value when the price of gold goes up, although consumers can expect some lag time before seeing higher prices.
June 14th, 2006
USA : House of Taylor Jewelry announces successful trade show activity
June 13, 2006/Fibre2fashion.com, India
Jewelry maker House of Taylor Jewelry Inc announced nearly a three-fold increase in the value of written orders of its branded jewelry products from independent retailers at a series of industry trade shows last week in Las Vegas.
Jack Abramov, President and Chief Executive Officer, said the increased value of the orders exemplifies the magnetic power of the company’s Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland brands, a potent marketing force for independent retailers across the country.
“We look forward to supplying a growing number of independent retailers with Dame Elizabeth and Kathy’s brands of jewelry, giving them a competitive advantage and allowing them to better serve their customers,” Abramov said.
“We continue to progress in a wonderful way. I am pleased that our designs were well received by the retailers. This was a very exciting series of shows for us,” said Dame Elizabeth.
“Our orders increased dramatically. It was a great pleasure to be present and support Dame Elizabeth’s beautiful collections at JCK Las Vegas. Buyers were enthusiastic about the jewels from the Elizabeth, House of Taylor Jewelry and Kathy Ireland Jewelry exclusively for House of Taylor Jewelry collections,” said Kathy.
At the shows, the company introduced new bridal rings with diamond center stones and an extended product line from leading factories in Europe, Asia and the United States. Independent jewelry retailers from the United States, Canada, Mexico,the Caribbean, Japan, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom visited the company’s salons during the shows.
House of Taylor Jewelry is a Los Angeles-based international jewelry company whose principal shareholders include entities owned by Dame Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland, along with members of the Abramov family. It serves fine jewelry retailers worldwide with diverse jewelry collections marketed under the brands Elizabeth, House of Taylor Jewelry, and Kathy Ireland Jewelry Exclusively for House of Taylor Jewelry.
House of Taylor Jewelry Inc
June 14th, 2006
RP jewelry may finally glitter with gold from Bangko Sentral
Sun.Star, Philippines
THE vision of building a strong fine jewelry industry in the Philippines with better laws and better access to refined gold is starting to glitter.
The special privilege presently enjoyed by the Meycauayan Jewelry Industry Association (MJIA) of buying refined gold from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) through a private bank may now be extended to all jewelry makers in the country
The matter has been taken care of after the Guild of Philippine Jewellers appealed to BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. and Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. that the same arrangement between BSP, the Meycauayan jewelry makers and the Philippine Business Bank be expanded to members of the Guild of Philippine Jewellers, Inc.
Under the arrangement, a jewelry manufacturer can buy BSP gold in cash or on credit through the private bank, solving a long standing problem of Philippine jewellers of getting access to locally mined gold raw materials.
Under an old law which is yet to be changed, only the BSP is allowed to buy all the gold and silver produced by local mines and sell the same to local and foreign buyers. The BSP monopoly in domestic gold trade had limited the access to high quality gold by local jewelry makers, who, until the passage of the Jewelry Act of 2004, stayed part of the underground economy. Their supply then was limited to those sold by traders of unrefined gold from small miners, and by importing more expensive yellow metal.
“The guild is now talking with PBB and BSP officials on how it will be done. We have gotten them together after the issue was taken up by the Export Development Council”, revealed Ortiz-Luis.
When pushed through, the Philippine jewellers may even buy their gold in advance and withdraw their purchases as the need arises.
In their letter to Ortiz-Luis, the Guild also asked for representation for them to enjoy the incentive for exporters under the Export Development Act of 1994 of being value-added tax (VAT)-free in their gold purchases from the Bangko Sentral.
They also appealed for the BSP to resume its old practice of buying and selling silver produced by the local mines to further help the jewelry makers, many of them using silver in addition to gold as the main raw material in the manufacture of fine jewelry.
Way back in the early years of the Ramos administration, export leaders and the government had identified fine jewelry manufacturing as one of the domestic industries that could be developed into a billion dollar a year industry.
The challenges then were two-fold, reviving the comatose mining industry and coaching the jewelry makers to surface from the underground economy. This led to the passage into law of the Mining Act of 1994 that replaced the mining law of 1902, and the Jewelry Development Act, in addition to the Export Development Act, the blueprint in making the Philippines an exporting country. The three related laws were passed in 1994.
The idea then was to develop mining and the jewelry industry, link them up and build a strong fine jewelry industry in the Philippines that use locally mined precious and semi-precious metals and stones.
The jewelry industry has since joined the economic mainstream, and from minimal exports, is now one of the 10 top dollar earners for the country. Its growth, however, was slow due to other laws that inhibit their growth. Gold mining is yet to stage a comeback.
Filipino jewelry designers have gone to win top awards in international competition.
Started almost at the same time, a similar industry in Thailand, despite the absence of gold or silver resources of that country, now fetches over US$1 billion a year in export revenue. (Philexport News and Features/Sunnex)
June 14th, 2006
Jeweller Signet ends preliminary talks with Zale
Reuters via Yahoo! News
By Marc Jones Mon Jun 12, 1:49 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) – British-based jewelry retailer Signet Group said on Monday talks about a possible merger with U.S. rival Zale Corp had ended, having first announced just a few hours earlier that it was having talks.
“Signet confirms that discussions regarding a possible merger with Zale Corp have been terminated,” the company said in a statement after the close of trading in London where its shares ended 2.9 percent higher at 98.75 pence.
Zale shares were 12.3 percent higher at $26.80 by 1730 GMT.
Signet, which runs H. Samuel and Ernest Jones shops in Britain had said in a statement earlier it had held “preliminary discussions with Zale Corp regarding a possible merger,” adding “at this early stage, there is considerable uncertainty as to whether any transaction will be forthcoming.”
The Mail on Sunday newspaper had said that Zale had approached Signet about a deal and that a takeover by Signet of its smaller rival was the most likely outcome.
The United States accounts for three quarters of Signet’s sales. It has more than 1,200 U.S. stores under the names Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, with 8 percent of the U.S. market. In Britain it has just under 600 stores.
Zale, which operates about 2,300 stores in the United States, has suffered a series of recent setbacks, including the January departure of Chief Executive Mary Forte, a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into its accounting policies, and a decision last month to place its chief financial officer on administrative leave.
Signet changed its name from Ratners in 1993 after its then boss, Gerald Ratner, made one of most famous gaffes in British corporate history by describing one of the company’s products as “total crap.”
The Daily Telegraph newspaper said on Monday that Ratner was interested in buying back H. Samuel if it became available. Ratner was not immediately available for comment.
Last week Signet shares hit a three-year low at 91 pence. Based on Monday’s 98.75 pence close, Signet was worth 1.7 billion pounds ($3.13 billion).
(Additional reporting by Dan Lalor in London and Martinne Geller in New York)
June 13th, 2006
Adler’s Celebrates New Orleans with Fleur de Lys Collection of Fine Jewelry and Gifts – Opens New Baton Rouge Location
[Press Release] PR Web
Adler’s Jewelry New Orleans celebrates New Orleans with the Fleur de Lys collection of fine jewelry and gifts. Adler’s looks forward to the future as Coleman E. Adler & Sons opens its New Baton Rouge location.
New Orleans, LA (PRWEB) June 12, 2006 — http://www.adlersjewelry.com – Adler’s Jewelry, a leading purveyor of fine jewelry and gifts in the New Orleans and Gulf South Region, today announced the opening of their new Baton Rouge location.
Adler’s Jewelry lost one New Orleans location to fire, and recently resumed operations in the newly renovated Historic Canal Street location, which suffered damage during Hurricane Katrina.
“Hurricane Katrina certainly interrupted our efforts to open in Baton Rouge,†says Mildred Adler, a member of the fourth generation of the Adler Family.
While re-building, Adler’s sought a fresh new array of Fleur De Lys Fine Jewelry & Gifts combining their findings with the most popular Adler’s Exclusive Fleur de Lys favorites to create the Fleur de Lys Collection.
The Fleur de Lys is a popular symbol of New Orleans, Louisiana commonly seen in New Orleans art & architecture, and is a centerpiece of the official New Orleans flag. The Fleur de Lys collection is comprised of Fine Jewelry, Silver, Ceramics, Glassware, Picture Frames, Notepaper, Pens and More.
As well as offering a comprehensive array of the world’s finest luxury items, Adler’s also offers a completely unique selection of exclusive items designed and manufactured by Adler’s.
“We are thrilled, after years of planning and hard work, to be opening Adler’s Baton Rouge,†said Adler. “We have long maintained a large customer base in Baton Rouge whom we want to accommodate. The recent influx of New Orleaninans in Baton Rouge, is serendipitousâ€.
The new Baton Rouge store located at 7445 Corporate Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70809 will officially open this June.
To celebrate the opening of their new Baton Rouge location, Adler’s will be offering a free gift with every website purchase in the month of June and each customer will be automatically entered to win a $250 Adler’s gift card.
To view Adler’s Jewelry’s “Fleur de Lys†collection, please visit: http://www.adlersjewelry.com/shop.aspx?cid=6&scid=77
About Adler’s Jewelry
Adler’s Jewelry has been a leading provider of fine jewelry in New Orleans the Gulf South for over 100 years. Adler’s Jewelry specializes Exclusive Luxury Fine Jewelry and Gifts, designing and creating unique New Orleans Gifts, Mardi Gras Jewelry and Ornaments, and many other Gifts and Christmas Ornaments as well as the “Fleur de Lys†collection.
http://www.adlersjewelry.com
June 13th, 2006
Brazil’s Jewelry Exports +41% in First Quarter ‘06
Diamonds.net, NY
(Rapaport…BNamericas) Exports from Brazil’s jewelry industry are expected to reach $1 billion in 2006, Natália Salomão, marketing and communications manager of the country’s gems and jewelry trade association IBGM told BNamericas.
Exports include uncut and cut gems. “By comparison exports last year came in at $834 million,” Salomão said.
In the first four months of 2006 jewelry exports came in at $335 million, up 41 percent year-over-year, Salomão said
“The increase is the result of work developed with Brazil’s export promotion agency Apex since 1999 to increase exports,” she said. Additional boosting efforts involved more participation in international trades fairs plus publishing magazine advertisements and performing marketing
initiatives in the trade press.
IBGM is a non-profit organization founded in 1977 and represents the entire production chain of Brazil’s gems and jewelry industry.
Copyright ©2006 BNamericas.com
c 2006 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved.
June 13th, 2006
Shop at Home to Jewelry Box?
Multichannel News (subscription), NY
Jewelry Television is finalizing a deal to purchase some assets of Shop at Home, the home-shopping network that The E.W. Scripps Co. is pulling the plug on June 22, officials from both channels confirmed Monday.
Jewelry, based in Knoxville, Tenn., is most interested in Shop at Home assets such as satellite-uplink facilities, computer systems and Internet platforms. Nashville, Tenn.-based Shop at Home also owns TV stations with four broadcast studios that Jewelry is interested in as locations for promotional-video production.
The negotiations between Jewelry and Scripps were first reported by the local press in Knoxville. A final deal is reportedly imminent, with Jewelry saying it had already agreed to purchase the assets.
“It will be business as usual at Jewelry Television,” chief operating officer Joe Fields said in a prepared statement. “We have no plans to move staff to Nashville or interrupt Jewelry Television operations in any way. The acquisition of Shop at Home’s assets simply fits our growth strategy.â€
Scripps spokesman Tim Stautberg said Monday that his company was finalizing an agreement to sell “certain assets†to Jewelry.
Scripps — which acquired Shop at Home in two transactions valued at $285 million — had hoped to use the electronic retailing service in part, to sell products related to its cable networks, such as Food Network and Home & Garden Television.
But Shop at Home never secured adequate distribution to maximize that goal or to profitably push the sale of other merchandise on the channel. So Scripps put the network on the block, but the company said in May that it could not find a buyer and it was closing down the network.
Shop at Home lost $84 million during the past four years, according to Scripps.
National Jeweler magazine just released its “$100 Million Superseller†issue and Jewelry moved up five places from the No. 20 retailer of fine jewelry in the country to No. 15.
June 13th, 2006
Vershbow’s Art Gets Korean Touch
Korea Times, South Korea
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Artists traveling to a foreign country can seldom help allowing that country to influence their work. Such is the case with Lisa Vershbow, a metalsmith, sometimes better known as the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Seoul, Alexander Vershbow.
“New Korean influences, such as jade and bamboo leaves, are beginning to surface in my work,’’ she said last Wednesday during a presentation of her works before students and professors at the Sun Gallery in Insa-dong, Seoul, where her exhibition is being held.
Her exhibition features some 100 works, which sum up her four-year stay in Russia and seven-month experience in Korea. At the request of the gallery, she gave a one-hour lecture on the exhibition.
Her well-organized presentation was followed with lots of photo slides, helping the audience understand how she created her jewelry.
At the start she showed photos of Kyongbok Palace and Haein-sa Temple, Buddhist lanterns and kimchi, stressing their beautiful colors. Photos of various kinds of bamboo, and the Bamboo Museum in Kwangju followed.
“As I love leaves, I found bamboo, which is outside my studio,’’ she said to explain how bamboo became one of her main themes in jewelry art.
Then, several of her photos of bamboo leaves were shown to a resounding “a-ha,’’ from the audience, showing their appreciation.
“Color, form and mechanical connections have always interested me,’’ she said. “I like to make jewelry and objects that combine traditional jewelry-making techniques with a wide range of non-traditional materials.’’
Lisa prefers to work with industrial materials like anodized aluminum and plastics, combining them with silver, semi-precious stones and pearls, rather than the precious variety.
Her eyes flashed with pleasure as she remembered when she first found amber in Russia which she calls nature’s own plastic. “I always spend much time in warehouses and other shops for materials, and you know how I feel about the plastics (of amber),’’ she said.
Amber is one of the most important themes for her works in Russia not only because of its easy availability in Russia but also because it is very soft and easy to cut.
The most important thing about her jewelry art is that it is not a just art to look at but something to use in a daily life. “I try to create designs that will both amuse and please the wearer,’’ she stressed.
Her exhibition will run until June 15. The phone number of the Sun Gallery is (02) 734-0458.
June 12th, 2006
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