Archive for September, 2006
Jewelry Demand Aids Gold
TheStreet.co
By Simon Constable
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
9/28/2006 3:33 PM EDT
Gold added to Wednesday’s gains Thursday, buoyed by robust jewelry demand.
Contracts for December delivery of bullion closed up $7.60 at $610.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“We’re moving into the wedding season for India,” says Kona Haque, senior commodities economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. “I don’t think higher prices will affect demand in India; it’s quite price-inelastic.”
Elsewhere, the Commerce Department revised its estimate of second-quarter U.S. economic growth down to 2.6% from 2.9%. That compares with first-quarter growth of 5.6%
The news didn’t weigh too much on investors and the greenback rallied modestly in response, possibly dampening activity in the yellow metal.
The dollar was recently buying 117.882 yen up from 117.50 yen late Wednesday, and was gaining modestly vs. the euro, which was trading at $1.2700 compared to $1.2703 previously.
The price of bullion and the U.S. currency tend to move inversely. That relationship has many metal market observers hopeful that the Federal Reserve will react to lower economic growth by lowering short-term interest rates in the future. Such a move would likely weaken the U.S. dollar and boost bullion prices.
Not everyone, however, is so convinced that the Fed will have the flexibility to loosen monetary policy.
“We continue to believe the bond market is making a bum bet on the potential for Fed rate cuts next year,” writes Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners, who believes that underlying inflation will remain a problem for policy makers.
That may still be good news for gold bulls as bullion is often purchased as a hedge against inflation.
Meanwhile, technical analysts note that the recent strength will need to be sustained for a while before a more significant rally can take place.
“We are just observing a bounce from deeply oversold conditions in the metals markets,” says Peter Spina, a technical analyst with GoldSeek.com. “We need to see gains extended before one can become bullish in the short term.”
Among the miners, Golden Star Resources (GSS - commentary - Cramer’s Take) was gaining, up 0.9%, while Gold Fields (GFI - commentary - Cramer’s Take) was falling, off 0.6%. The Amex Gold Bugs Index, which tracks a basket of unhedged gold miners was higher by a whisker.
The exchange-traded funds that hold gold bullion, iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU - commentary - Cramer’s Take) and streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD - commentary - Cramer’s Take), were up 0.5% mid-afternoon.
Other news shows that price volatility isn’t shaking investors out of the precious metals patch yet, with flows into specialty precious metals funds totaling $610 million in July, according to new data released by Boston-based Financial Research Corporation. That compares favorably with June and May, which saw net inflows of $407 million and $495 million, respectively.
The major beneficiaries in July were streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD - commentary - Cramer’s Take), receiving $260 million, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV - commentary - Cramer’s Take) taking in $105 million.
In base metals, copper was softer with Comex December contacts tumbling 5.9 cents to close at $3.428 a pound. The outlook, however, looks likely to remain firm in the medium term.
“For copper, there is still a tight supply situation,” says EIU’s Haque.
U.S. miner Phelps Dodge (PD - commentary - Cramer’s Take) was losing slightly, 0.3% lower.
In the ferrous metals sector, U.S. Steel (X - commentary - Cramer’s Take) was melting on reports of a softening steel market by World Steel Dynamics, a New Jersey-based specialty consulting company, off 1.9% recently.
Mittal Steel (MT - commentary - Cramer’s Take) was, however, rising 1.8% following company confirmation that it will divest Dofasco unit, or failing that cut certain U.S. operations to satisfy a Department of Justice consent decree.
Also rising in steel were shares of Nucor (NUE - commentary - Cramer’s Take) following news that the company would build a 45,000 ton capacity “metal building systems and components” plant in Brigham City, Utah. The stock was up 0.8%, after morning weakness.
September 29th, 2006
Ex-jewelry executive gets prison term for bank fraud
September 27, 2006, 6:18 PM EDT/Newsday, NY
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ The former president of a jewelry manufacturer was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on Wednesday for a fraud that cost Fleet Bank $15.76 million, federal prosecutors said.
Allen Bloom, who had headed Gold and Diamond Merchants, of Secaucus, was also ordered to repay the sum by U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson.
The same restitution order was issued last week to the company’s former chief financial officer, Phillip Capraro, whom Thompson sentenced to 16 months in prison.
Bloom, 47, of Marlboro, and Capraro, 51, of Highland Mills, N.Y., both pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
Bloom admitted that he and others overstated the company’s inventory and accounts receivable to Fleet Bank, which ultimately gave the company a credit line of more than $20 million, prosecutors said.
Capraro admitted that he falsified account records and submitted documents overstating collateral, prosecutors said.
The bank discovered the fraud in the summer of 2002.
September 28th, 2006
Permintaan Kerajinan Perak Meningkat
26 September 2006/kedaulatan Rakyat online
WONOSARI (KR) - Memasuki bulan Ramadan dan menjelang lebaran ini permintaan kerajinan perak meningkat. Kelompok perajin perak Mandaya Salaka di Desa Pampang Paliyan harus bekerja keras untuk memenuhi pesanan yang masuk. Hal ini disebabkan juga banyak perajin perak di wilayah Bantul yang menghilang akibat bencana gempa, sehingga sejumlah toko kerajinan perak yang berpusat di Kotagede memilih memesan dari Gunungkidul
Menjelang lebaran, setiap tahun pesanan semakin banyak. Sehingga untuk memenuhi pesanan jumlah perajin juga bertambah. Jika sebelumnya hanya ada 30 orang, sekarang menjadi 60 orang,†kata Ny Yatmiyati (45) salah seorang perajin perak, Minggu (24/9).
Kelompok perajin perak ini berdiri sejak 1998. Berbekal pengalaman kerja di Yogyakarta pada industri yang sama kemudian membentuk kelompok perajin perak. Berbagai jenis kerajinan perak mampu dihasilkan seperti cincin, bros, gelang, kalung hingga candi. Harganyapun bervariasi tergantung dari jenis, banyaknya bahan baku yang digunakan dan ongkos pembuatan. Untuk cincin berkisar Rp 30 ribu sedangkan bros Rp 35 ribu. Kalung berkisar Rp 30 ribu hingga Rp 50 ribu. Sedangkan untuk harga yang paling mahal pada bentuk candi. Selain proses pembuatan yang cukup lam, bahan baku yang digunakan juga tidak sedikit. Harga candi bisa mencapai Rp 4 juta hingga Rp 5 juta.Â
â€Bentuk candi memang paling mahal. Pengerjaannya saja bisa mencapai dua minggu. Karena bahan baku yang digunakan lumayan banyak sehingga harganya pun juga ikut naik,†tambahnya.
Hasil kerajinan perak ini sudah dipasarkan ke berbagai daerah. Bahkan juga sampai ke luar negeri karena diminati wisatawan mancanegara seperti Singapura, Australia, Filipina dan para wisman yang berkunjung ke Yogyakarta. Terlebih menjelang lebaran datang para perajin ini harus menyediakan stok yang cukup banyak. Karena telah menjadi langganan bagi para perantau yang akan pulang kampung.Â
â€Untunglah bencana gempa yang terjadi beberapa waktu yang lalu tak berpengaruh terhadap proses produksi,†imbuhnya.
Para kelompok perajin ini juga mendapat kesempatan untuk memperoleh pelatihan di Kalimantan dari Dinas Perekonomian Propinsi. Sebanyak 5 perwakilan perajin mengikuti pembelajaran keterampilan membuat kerajinan perak jenis baru seperti kalung dan cincin yang dibuat dari batu. Hingga saat ini kelima perwakilan yang telah kembali baru melakukan pelatihan ke perajin agar juga memiliki kemampuan yang sama.Â
â€Lima perwakilan perajin yang memperoleh keterampilan kini sedang melatih anggota kelompok ini. Setelah semua mempunyai keahlian baru kita akan produksi serta menentukan harga untuk produk jenis baru tersebut,†tukasnya. (Ewi)-c.26 September 2006/kedaulatan Rakyat online
September 27th, 2006
Jackson native’s jewelry designs capture attention of magazine
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS
The Clarion-Ledger
Jewelry designer Laura James Gains, a Jackson native, will be featured in the November/December issue of Mississippi Magazine.
Gains is based in Charlotte, N.C. Her jewelry line, Laura James Jewelry, features handcrafted collections from trendy to vintage. James donates a percentage of annual proceeds to Mississippi victims of Hurricane Katrina, she said in a release.
“I enjoy the challenge of bringing ideas from the runway to women who don’t necessarily have access to the larger variety offered in fashion meccas like California, New York and Europe,†James said. “My wish is for everyone who appreciates design to have the option the to wear it.â€
Items in her collection cost $30-$300.
September 26th, 2006
Custom jewelry business to mark 15th anniversary
Sherrins’ store started after a family tragedy
Charlotte Observer, NC
MARTY MINCHIN
Anthony’s Custom Jewelry provides all of the perks of a family-run jewelry business.
Mark Sherrin, who started the business with wife Paula 15 years ago, designs, makes and repairs jewelry on site.
The Sherrins make plenty of time to talk to customers about what they want. A number of shoppers have become loyal customers.
“We have grown to love our customers,” Paula Sherrin said. “We’ve had prayer around the building here with customers from our store. We are here for our customers, and we tell them that.”
Mark Sherrin, 44, began his career as a jeweler working in jewelry stores around the area. He started as a jewelry polisher and later had a good job in a large jewelry store, Paula said.
The Sherrins’ lives were changed forever, however, when their son Nicholas, 7, was killed in a car accident.
Paula, 43, said she needed to be with her husband to weather the grief. They decided to start a jewelry business of their own.
“Physically, emotionally, I had to be with him,” Paula said. “For him to quit (his job) for me, it was pretty awesome.”
Their first store was a 400-square-foot space in Matthews, using Mark’s middle name, Anthony, in its name. Eight years ago the Sherrins moved to Indian Trail into a store three times that size.
“For the first two or three years it was like starting all over again,” Paula said. Customers from Matthews followed them to Indian Trail, and they’ve added many customers, mostly through word-of-mouth advertising.
Paula handles the business end of Anthony’s Custom Jewelry, and Mark does all of the designing and working with jewelry.
I asked Paula how it’s been working with her husband for 15 years.
“We get along great,” Paula said. “I can’t imagine never working without him. There are some times we don’t even speak to each other because he’s busy doing his thing and I’m doing mine.”
Paula said her husband had no experience in jewelry when he took his first job in the business, and he taught himself to design and make jewelry.
One of Mark’s specialties is sitting down with customers and working with them to design jewelry.
He also can melt and reshape gold and set stones into new pieces of jewelry. Paula said Mark mostly makes rings, earrings and pendants, and he also can craft bracelets.
When Anthony’s Custom Jewelry was in Matthews, Paula said she often took Mark’s original jewelry designs door-to-door to show people what her husband had made that day.
“They were just in awe that he did it,” Paula said.
One of Paula’s favorite pieces of jewelry is a gold nugget ring that Mark made her. The ring has hers, Mark’s and Nicholas’ teeth prints set into it.
“It’s very special and precious to me,” she said.
Mark and Paula hope to one day pass the business they’ve built onto someone in their family.
Their daughter, Kalin, 13, already spends a lot of time in the store.
“She’s a big help, and customers love her,” Paula said. “She gets the buzzer to let someone in. She helps write up orders and talks to her daddy about certain pieces.
“We’re hoping that someday she’ll take over our business, and it breaks our hearts to think about closing it. It’s something we talk to her about.”
The Sherrins’ niece and nephew, Jonathan McClellan, 14, and Ashley McClellan, 11, also have taken an interest in the business.
“(Jonathan) absolutely is amazed with his Uncle Mark and what he can do,” Paula said. “Ashley wants to be just like me someday.”
And while the next generation continues to learn the business, the Sherrins plan to keep serving their customers.
“We’re not all about selling (jewelry),” Paula Sherrin said. “We need to sell, but we’re just blessed. The Lord has taken care of us so much in the past 15 years.”
More Information
Anthony’s Custom Jewelry, owned by Mark and Paula Sherrin, will celebrate its 15th anniversary Oct. 23-28 with a sale and other events. The store, at 596 Indian Trail Road S. in Indian Trail, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.
Marty
Minchin
September 25th, 2006
Men steal cash, jewelry in Durham home invasion
9/21/2006 12:36 PM
By: Associated Press
News 14 Carolina, NC
DURHAM — A brazen daylight home invasion and robbery has residents of one Durham neighborhood shocked.
The News & Observer reports the robbery happened in the Wellington Forest neighborhood near the Southpoint Mall Wednesday afternoon.
Five or six armed men stormed into a home on Hardwick Drive waving pistols and shouting. Police say the intruders tied up everyone in the three-story, three-garage brick home, including a toddler.
The men made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry, but no one was injured. Police say there were no signs of forced entry and the men did not try to hide their faces.
September 22nd, 2006
Rare Earth sells gems and world of jewelry
Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, WA
By Susan Riemer
Sep 20 2006
Each stone has a story, Christine Manfredi says.
Cleopatra used ground lapis as eye shadow; Vikings were the first sailors to navigate on cloudy days with the help of iolite; Romans put amethyst in their alcohol, believing it would help keep them sober.
Manfredi, one of the co-owners of Rare Earth Gems and Jewelry enjoys passing on those stories to customers in the new store. The shop, tucked into the former office of O’Neill Escrow, sells gemstones, semi-precious and precious stones as well as agates and jaspers — earthy polished stones — in jewelry and as loose gems.
The store offers “a world view of jewelry,†according to Manfredi, who sells items from as far away as Bali, Tibet and Thailand, along with pieces made from her own gems. Most of the jewelry in the store is one of a kind, she says, so that when people purchase a piece there, it is truly their own.
The jewelry they sell would not be possible though, if it were not for the stones themselves.
Christine and her husband and partner in the business Charles Manfredi both came to love stones as children. Christine remembers hunting for turquoise in Arizona, and Charlie found morganite, which Christine says is a “big deal to find,†in California.
Their curiosity about gems grew from those early days, and now the couple has an enormous collection of both rare and common stones. They have not figured out how to display them at the store yet, but the stones are there for the asking.
The shop carries all the different gems in all their different colors. Sapphires, for example, are not just blue, as many people think, but come in all the colors of the rainbow. They also carry gems across the grading spectrum. “You can come in here and spend $5,†Christine says, “or you can spend thousands.†Prices at the store are also significantly lower than in other retail stores, the couple says. “We make a point of making gem stones and jewelry available to all people,†Christine says. “Gemstones are a timeless moment of the earth’s beauty that enhance the wearer’s beauty,†she adds.
Like the jewelry in the store, the gems come from all over the world: chrome diopside (brilliant green) from Russia, paraiba tourmaline (medium green and more rare than a flawless diamond) from Brazil, Burmese ruby (the world class ruby), originally from Burma, Ametrine (combination of amethyst and citrine) from Bolivia, and, for good measure stones from outer space — with Moldavite, from a meteor that crashed into what is now the Czech Republic 15 million years ago.
Many stones are said to have specific healing properties to them, and the Manfredis can offer information in that regard, but mostly the stones are there for their own beauty and to be made into jewelry. “If you buy the stone and then have it set, you will save yourself a ton of money,†Christine says. To help in this regard, the Manfredis are looking to add a jeweler to the store to help with design and setting the stones.
The summer before last the Manfredis sold their gems and a few pieces of jewelry at the Farmers’ Market. The response was great. “Almost everyone has a personal connection to a stone of some kind,†Charlie says.
Last Halloween, Christine set up a table on the street and began selling jewelry — just a few pieces. The response over the months was tremendous, she says, and when the new space became available, Charlie rented it in an effort to get her out of the elements, and the business has expanded again. They had not intended to open until later in September, but people kept coming in, so they have been setting up shop while tending to customers — and telling stories about stones.
September 21st, 2006
New diamond jewelry web site launches
National Jeweler, NY
SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 - Seattle — As the Internet tide continues to rise, another wholesaler has jumped aboard the bandwagon. Marquise Gems Pvt. Ltd. announced today the launch of DiamondOcean.com, an Internet shopping site touting “below market” prices.
The site will offer a range of diamond jewelry directly to consumers. The selection includes loose diamonds, rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, bangles, charms, necklaces and gemstones.
Sections of the online store include “Bridal,” “For Men” and “Platinum Jewelry.”
The company says jewelry sold on the site is cost-effective and high quality, citing the advantages of direct procurement of diamond jewelry and the absence of “middlemen.”
The venture is the online offshoot of the Mumbai, India-based wholesaler.
September 20th, 2006
Asia’s international jewelry fair opens in HK
People’s Daily Online, China
The largest-ever edition of Asia’s international jewelry event, the 24th edition of the September Hong Kong Jewelry & Watch Fair, opened here Monday.
The September Hong Kong Jewelry & Watch Fair is Asia’s largest and one of the top three jewelry events in the world.
The 2006 edition is the largest in the Fair’s history, covering altogether 80,000 square meters of exhibition space and housing 5, 000 exhibition booths in both Hong Kong-AsiaWorld-Expo and Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The expo runs till Saturday.
According to the organizer of the event, an unprecedented number of buyers are expected to attend the Fair. Apart from regular visitors, over 11,000 buyers from around the world had preregistered as of 5 September 2006. A record-breaking number of over 2,500 exhibitors from 47 countries took part in the event.
The fair will feature a wide range of products, from fine finished jewelry, polished diamonds, gemstones, pearls, jewelry timepieces and packaging to jewelry-making tools and machinery.
Celine Lau, director of Jewellery Fairs for CMP Asia, which is the organizer of the expo, said that this year’s expo will mark a new milestone in the trade event industry.
Source: Xinhua
September 19th, 2006
Lawsuit Questions Attorney Handling Of Conservator’s Jewelry
posted September 17, 2006/The Chattanoogan, TN
A lawsuit has been filed against attorney Fred Hanzelik, questioning his handling of the jewelry of a conservator.
The suit was brought by Shawn Kay Krause and Patrick Christnacht against attorney Hanzelik in Circuit Court.
It says in 2003 there was a petition for a conservator for Ms. Krause by her sister and mother due to her physical and mental status.
The suit says attorney Hanzelik and the sister, Sheila Remillard, were named as conservators of the property.
It says attorney Hanzelik took possession of Ms. Krause’s jewelry. It says he provided no detailed written inventory and failed to place the jewelry in a secure place.
The suit says attorney Hanzelik resigned as conservator on June 13, 2005. It says on July 26, 2005, that Mr. Christnacht and Mel Young, certified public accountants, went to the Hanzelik office.
It says they were given jewelry that was in an unlocked cabinet. They placed it in a safety deposit box at First Tennessee Bank.
The complaint alleges that a quantity of jewelry owned by Ms. Krause was not among the items at the Hanzelik office.
The suit, filed by attorney Phil Lawrence, asks unspecified damages.
September 18th, 2006
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