Archive for November, 2006
Vegas Welcomes World Jewelry Center
Jewelry Weblog, CA
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman led an impressive array of distinguished officials and guests at a special event held here on Oct. 25, as plans for the World Jewelry Center (WJC) were announced by Probity International Corporation and the city. The WJC will be a focal point of the Las Vegas master-planned Union Park community, part of a major downtown revitalization effort
“We were thrilled with the warm and supportive red-carpet treatment extended by everyone, most notably Mayor Goodman, whose visionary leadership is transforming Las Vegas, as well as Nevada Governor-elect Jim Gibbons and his wife, Dawn, and the many city and county officials who attended the event,” said Bill Boyajian, WJC managing director and former president of the Gemological Institute of America.
Goodman presented a proclamation to Probity International Corporation President and CEO Robert Zarnegin and Boyajian, designating Oct. 25, 2006 as “World Jewelry Center Day” in Las Vegas. Goodman also gave Zarnegin and Boyajian a key to the city. “Probity International Corporation is one of the key partners who share the same goals and visions for the Downtown Las Vegas transformation,” said Goodman.
November 30th, 2006
U.S. Ambassador to Model Jewelry
Chosun Ilbo, South Korea
U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow will be transformed into a jewelry model for a day as part of the Jewelry for Men exhibition opening at the Lock Museum in Daehangro, Seoul.He will be sporting cufflinks made by his wife Lisa, who is a dab hand at metal crafts, and is expected to walk around naturally toting his briefcase. Vershbow reportedly wears his wife’s cufflinks and belts every day
Prof. Jeon Yong-il of Kookmin University, an organizer of the exhibition, says there will be other models apart from the ambassador showcasing designs, and the format will be for all the models to naturally mingle with the other visitors.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
November 29th, 2006
Newly Launched Jewelry Site Targets Both Shopper and Crafter
ClickPress (press release), UK
Very Designer is a new kind of jewelry site for both women who love to buy jewelry and those who love to make jewelry.
[ClickPress, Mon Nov 27 2006] A newly launched jewelry site, Very Designer, offers jewelry lovers a new kind of shopping experience. This revolutionary site gives women an option to choose if they want to make their own jewelry or have it made for them. For women who don¡¯t have the time or inclination to craft their own jewelry, Very Designer¡¯s bead kits can be purchased already made for them. And for those who find satisfaction in making their own creations, Very Designer pre-packages all the pieces in neat bead kits.
¡°Very Designer¡¯s site should dispel any preconceptions about beading, says Amy Xu, creator of Very Designer. ¡°Our bead kits are fashion forward and very wearable. People will no longer think of beading as just a hobby for kids and aging adults. With Very Designer¡¯s bead kits, beading is now a hip activity.¡±
Another big plus from Very Designer is finding matching pairs of jewelry. So, for instance, a customer could order a matching necklace and earrings set as a bead kit or as pre-made pieces. ¡°Being able to find matching sets of jewelry is a solution for any woman who is looking for just the right blend of accessories to complete their entire look,¡± says Amy Xu. ¡°Or if the customer prefers, they can buy the pieces individually.¡±
Very Designer also produces a newsletter. The site¡¯s newsletter service makes it easier to track what¡¯s hot and what¡¯s not in the world of jewelry. The free newsletter is generated weekly, informing shoppers of the new style for the week. If customers make a purchase of any product belonging to the style of the week, they will receive a 10% discount off their purchase.
Very Designer also offers a Learn to Bead section that can teach anyone with a desire to start beading all the basic techniques. Video tutorials are even included.
All of Very Designer¡¯s products are independently designed and made, which is an integral part of their business objective. Completed pieces are made in the USA and not mass manufactured. Shoppers enjoy free shipping on any order over $100 and a hassle-free return policy guarantee. For more information, please visit http://www.verydesigner.com.
November 28th, 2006
Gold Jewelry Demand Declines in Middle East
Khalil Hanware & K.S. Ramkumar, Arab News
Arab News, Saudi Arabia
JEDDAH, 27 November 2006 — Gold demand in Saudi Arabia fell by nine percent reaching 33.9 tons due to high and volatile world gold prices as well as the restraining impact of the stock market slump since the first half of 2006. The slump highly affected both consumer sentiments and the purchasing power of individuals, especially middle-income consumers, the Dubai-based regional office of the World Gold Council (WGC) said yesterday, in its report on gold demand in the Middle East and worldwide for the third quarter of 2006.
Although gold jewelry demand in the Kingdom decreased by 10 percent reaching 31.6 tons, gold retail investment demand (gold coins and bars) increased by five percent reaching 2.3 tons. Moreover, back-to-school season had a negative effect on gold demand as it requires considerable budgets from consumers. “Still, future outlook of gold demand in Saudi Arabia is more positive due to the coming Haj period that will increase the gold sales among pilgrims as well as the possibility of reducing gold jewelry customs tariff in Saudi Arabia from the existing 12 percent to five percent as is the case now in all other GCC countries,†the report said.
Quarter three was a quarter of transition. Consumer demand (gold jewelry and gold retail investment) was subdued at the beginning of the quarter with the market battered by the volatile price movements of the previous 10 months, as consumers in the price sensitive markets of Asia and the Middle East have clearly accepted $570 to $600 per ounce as an acceptable price range. However, demand appears constrained at prices above $600.
In total, worldwide gold demand fell by three percent in Q3 this year compared to the same period last year, reaching 817 tons. However, in dollar terms Q3 demand was 37 percent higher than a year earlier. In September 2006, total demand reached $62 billion, the first time it has pushed through the $60 billion level. As for gold jewelry demand, it fell by four percent in terms of tonnage (592 tons) and increased by 36 percent in dollar value, setting a new record at $11.8 billion. It is worth mentioning that total world gold supply declined by 11 percent in Q3 this year as a result of substantial quantity of de-hedging and also lower central bank sales under the Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA). During the CBGA year ended Sept. 26, there were over 100 tons less than the 500-ton limit.
In its report, according to figures compiled by Gold Fields Mineral Services (GFMS) in London for the WGC, the report showed a decrease in demand in the Middle East-Gulf region for gold jewelry by eight percent in tonnage terms compared to the earlier year. This decrease in demand is justified normally as a predictable reaction to a volatile gold price especially in Asia and in the Middle East along with other local and regional factors such as the war in Lebanon.
In the UAE, the demand was stable due to high tourist numbers in Q3 as compared to the same quarter last year and in spite of the increase in living cost, especially in Dubai. Gold jewelry demand was down by less than one percent, especially 22K gold jewelry that is preferable to Indians, while net retail investment (gold coins and bars) was up by five percent. Total demand reached 22.9 tons, which is equivalent to the demand in the same quarter of 2005.
As for other Gulf States (Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar), which had less promotion for gold and jewelry, total gold demand declined by nine percent reaching 12 tons.
In Egypt and Turkey, there was a slight recovery of gold jewelry demand. It was a remarkable recovery of demand in Turkey from 43 percent in Q1 2006 to a 10 percent fall in Q3 2006. The net retail investment increased two percent in Q3 in Turkey. As for Egypt, total gold demand fell by 16 percent — 15 percent in jewelry and 60 percent in retail investment. This was due to a rise in the gold price, which was possibly stronger in Egypt due to the depreciation in the Egyptian pound in 2003 and 2004, although the number of tourists was higher in quarter three this year and the Egyptian economy was reviving.
Moaz Barakat, managing director of WGC in the Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan, said: “World gold price volatility has affected the demand as anticipated in the beginning of this quarter, however, demand has increased toward the end of Q3 supported by price stability and consumers have become comfortable with the range of $570 to $600 per ounce.â€
Barakat added: “The positive effect of the marketing and promotional campaigns held by the WGC and its partners from the gold traders in several countries in the region has been very much apparent on gold jewelry demand, especially with the stability of world gold prices. This is very much similar to the council’s role in increasing world retail investment demand through the gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs) launched by the council in several world stock markets.â€
As for the first three highest gold demand countries worldwide, the situation varied. While demand on gold jewelry fell by eight percent reaching 77.5 tons in the US due to consumer spending on luxury goods remaining strong as before and in spite of high gold prices, gold demand in China rose by three percent reaching 71.7 tons, especially because of the increase in demand of traditional K-Gold — 18-carat gold jewelry often with Italian-inspired designs, which was promoted in China and was 10 percent higher in sales than Q3 2005.
In India, the first in the world in gold demand, consumer demand rose by 16 percent reaching 164.8 tons in Q3, higher than in Q3 2005. At the same time, retail investment demand increased in India by 31 percent compared to Q3 2005.
Finally, gold demand for industrial use increased by five percent in terms of weight, 49 percent higher in dollar terms. As dental demand fell by five percent, the drop resulting from lower demand in Japan and Germany, an increase by nine percent (79.1 tons) for electronics demand set a new quarterly tonnage record.
November 27th, 2006
House of Taylor Jewelry Q3 Sales Shoot Up Eight-Fold
IDEX Online, Israel
(November 23, ‘06, 3:44 IDEX Online Staff Reporter)
House of Taylor Jewelry posted third quarter net sales of $12 million, eight times higher than the $1.3 million in the same period a year ago, and nearly five times more than the $2.5 million reported in the second quarter.
The jewelry company, whose principal shareholders include Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland, reported that January – September net sales rose sharply to $15.9 million from $3.2 million in the comparable prior-year period and exceeded the targeted $14 million threshold established for the nine months.
According to Jack Abramov, president and CEO, the company has established alliances with some of the world’s largest diamond mining and polishing companies. “Now, our customers can also depend on House of Taylor Jewelry to serve as a reliable, competitive and consistent source of fine polished diamonds in all shapes and sizes - one of the product categories most in demand year-round.â€
However, while the company’s loose diamond sales during the quarter produced $10.4 million the “competitive pricing in the loose diamond wholesale market†hurt margins compared to last year. Abramov said he believes that their diamond program will enhance brand awareness and result in increased jewelry sales, which traditionally carry higher margins.
The good sales helped the company narrow its loss from operations to $928,094 from $2.1 million in the preceding second quarter and from $997,498 a year ago. Including a loss on an adjustment of a warrant liability of $896,362 and interest expense of $1.4 million primarily related to the convertible notes, House of Taylor Jewelry sustained a third-quarter net loss of $3.1 million versus a net loss of $1.0 million a year earlier.
The net loss for the 2006 year-to-date period amounted to $5.5 million, including a gain on an adjustment of a warrant liability of $1.7 million and interest expense of $2.3 million principally related to the convertible notes. A year ago, the company posted a net loss of $1.9 million for the 2005 nine-month period, which included other income of $981,980.
House of Taylor Jewelry currently has relationships with 179 independent retail organizations, representing approximately 226 retail doors in major U.S. markets and abroad.
November 24th, 2006
Jewelry by Anij
The Willits News
Willits News, CA
SPECIAL FOR THE WILLITS NEWS
Handmade jewelry by Willits’ Andrea Lacedonia, owner and artist of Jewelry by Anij, is now available for sale in Ukiah.
Her “Squiggles,” “Ripple Hoops,” Ribbons” and “Garden Leaves” collections are now on display at the Dragon’s Lair at the corner of Perkins and South Main streets.
Known as Anij, Lacedonia is a former Mendocino Art Center artist-in-residence.
“I think of my jewelry as miniature wearable sculpture incorporating the organic structures and textures of nature, inspired by the rhythms of jazz,” Lacedonia says.
From 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, November 24 and 25, she will be showing jewelry and giving demonstrations of several of her techniques at the Dragon’s Lair, and taking orders for custom pieces for special holiday gifts.
Custom orders must be placed by December 15 for Christmas delivery.
Lacedonia also will be showing December 8 and 9 at the Willits Hoiiday Craft Fair.
November 23rd, 2006
House of Taylor Jewelry 3Q Loss Widens
Houston Chronicle, United States
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — House of Taylor Jewelry Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter loss widened as costs spiraled higher.
The company reported a loss of $3.1 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1 million, or 3 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.
Quarterly revenue totaled $12 million versus $1.3 million last year.
The cost of goods sold amounted to $11 million, nearly 17 times the same costs a year ago. Selling, shipping and general and administrative expenses took away another $1.9 million. Loss on a change in warrant liability and interest expense came to about $2.3 million.
House of Taylor Jewelry’s shareholders include entities owned by actress Elizabeth Taylor, model Kathy Ireland and members of the Abramov family. Its fine jewelry is sold under the Elizabeth, House of Taylor Jewelry and Kathy Ireland Jewelry brands.
Shares of House of Taylor Jewelry fell 14 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $2.57 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.
November 22nd, 2006
Newly Launched Jewelry Site Targets Both Shopper and Crafter press release
Press World (press release), Russia
A newly launched jewelry site, Very Designer, offers jewelry lovers a new kind of shopping experience. This revolutionary site gives women an option to choose if they want to make their own jewelry or have it made for them. For women who don’t have the time or inclination to craft their own jewelry, Very Designer’s bead kits can be purchased already made for them. And for those who find satisfaction in making their own creations, Very Designer pre-packages all the pieces in neat bead kits.
“Very Designer’s site should dispel any preconceptions about beading, says Amy Xu, creator of Very Designer. “Our bead kits are fashion forward and very wearable. People will no longer think of beading as just a hobby for kids and aging adults. With Very Designer’s bead kits, beading is now a hip activity.â€
Another big plus from Very Designer is finding matching pairs of jewelry. So, for instance, a customer could order a matching necklace and earrings set as a bead kit or as pre-made pieces. “Being able to find matching sets of jewelry is a solution for any woman who is looking for just the right blend of accessories to complete their entire look,†says Amy Xu. “Or if the customer prefers, they can buy the pieces individually.â€
Very Designer also produces a newsletter. The site’s newsletter service makes it easier to track what’s hot and what’s not in the world of jewelry. The free newsletter is generated weekly, informing shoppers of the new style for the week. If customers make a purchase of any product belonging to the style of the week, they will receive a 10% discount off their purchase.
Very Designer also offers a Learn to Bead section that can teach anyone with a desire to start beading all the basic techniques. Video tutorials are even included.
All of Very Designer’s products are independently designed and made, which is an integral part of their business objective. Completed pieces are made in the USA and not mass manufactured. Shoppers enjoy free shipping on any order over $100 and a hassle-free return policy guarantee. For more information, please visit http://www.verydesigner.com.
November 21st, 2006
Family-owned jewelry store to close after 46 years
Midland Daily News (subscription), MI
Their family came to Midland when the Ashman Circle really was a circle and the shopping area rivaled downtown. Now, the 46-year-old Robison’s Fine Jewelry store is closing at year’s end.
“It’s another one of the old things in Midland that are going away, which is sort of sad,” said Donna Weyer, 82, who eyed merchandise carefully Friday. Here is a place where a person can find older-style pieces, she said.
Robert Robison, a watch maker who’d worked at a Saginaw jewelry store, opened his Midland store on the Circle in 1960. At first, he only
repaired watches, but later expanded his business to include jewelry and gifts. Over the years, the store has had five locations
“As we grew, we moved,” said Tad Robison who, with brother Blake, operates the store. At one time, the Robisons had three side-by-side stores: a gift shop, jewelry store and flower shop.
“We had a cute little VW bug, white, that looked like a gift box” to deliver the crystal, flatware and fine china his family sold. Eventually, that business went away because shipping became costly and big-box stores took over the gift business, the brothers said. The current store isn’t big enough for gifts.
The two sons, their mother Theresa and their grandfather Harold Robison helped Robert in the store’s earlier days. Harold repaired electric razors until the Community Drug Store took over that business.
In the early days, the Circle had a boulevard running through it. At Christmas time, Blake and Tad helped hang decorations up and down the boulevard on lamp posts.
For two years now, the brothers have been working on plans to close the store.
“We saw a lot of things coming,” Tad said. “We saw the landscape change for the Mom-and-Pop stores.”
Those changes include big stores, TV shopping, the Internet and younger shoppers who prefer buying online instead of gazing into glass cases.
“Definitely the economic conditions right now are having an effect,” he added.
By lunchtime Friday, a steady stream of customers came through the door to look at bracelets and earrings, to get a finger sized for a ring and to have a stone tightened.
Diamonds have been a mainstay of the business, said Tad, who used his goldsmithing skills to create jewelry. Blake, a gemologist, appraises the value and quality of jewelry customers bring in. Jewelry is very personal for customers, Tad said, so the brothers were happy to give individualized treatment for the presentation of a rare gift such as an engagement ring.
“Sometimes we delivered engagement rings with a bouquet of flowers, sometimes a teddy bear,” he said. Sometimes, they put together successively smaller boxes, adding suspense as the recipient opened box after box.
Laura Chase stopped Friday and said she was “so sad!” about the store’s closing. She and her husband bought their rings at Robison’s for their wedding in 1975.
“I’ve always liked this store,” she said. “The people know what they’re doing when they talk about the stones, and they set their own rings.”
Tad said the brothers are planning a new business for their store location, but he wouldn’t say what it is other than that it won’t be retail.
“Actually, it’s going to be more of a career change for me and my brother,” he said.
November 20th, 2006
IDEX Online Research: September U.S. Retail Jewelry Sales Soar
IDEX Online, Israel
(November 16, ‘06, 8:24 Ken Gassman)
Americans went shopping in September. With much lower gasoline prices, consumers breathed a sigh of relief, and treated themselves with a visit to their favorite shopping mall.
In September, U.S. specialty jewelry sales soared by 11.3 percent over September 2005. Not only were jewelry sales strong, but most other categories – apparel, sporting goods, hobby, general merchandise drug stores, restaurants, even home supply stores – showed solid gains. We note, however, that comparisons were easy in September versus last year when several tropical stores inundated – and wiped out – much of the Gulf Coast area.
Don’t be fooled by the graph below. It shows a dip in retail sales comparisons year-over-year. This dip is due entirely to a 9.3 percent plunge in gasoline station sales. Excluding that decline, core retail sales grew nearly 0.8 percent month-over-month, or in excess of 7 percent at an annualized basis. According to most forecasters, the nation is headed toward an economic slowdown, but someone apparently forgot to tell consumers.
In part, the strength in jewelry sales is related to relatively easy comparisons with last year. Jewelry demand dipped sharply in September 2005 due to several Gulf Coast hurricanes that nearly wiped out New Orleans and surrounding areas along the Gulf Coast. Americans rallied with aid, and that kept them out of the malls. Further, jewelry price inflation has helped boost reported sales. Retail prices of jewelry are up nearly 4 percent in the U.S. market in 2006, the largest increase since 1992.
Luxury Sales Strong
Along with jewelry, Americans’ demand for luxury goods remains robust. Both jewelry and other luxury goods sales rose sharply in September. For luxury goods, the sales gain was the largest gain in the past two years.
The graph below compares jewelry retail sales with retail sales of luxury goods.
Mall Jewelry Sales Lag
Jewelry sales among mall retailers continues to lag free-standing jewelers’ sales by a substantial margin. In part, this is related to strong sales at discount retailers, most of whom have shunned expensive mall locations for free-standing stores elsewhere in suburbia.
The graph below illustrates the disparity between mall jewelry sales (through August 2006) and specialty jewelry sales (through September 2006).
Outlook for Retail Sales: Some Slowing Possible
Most forecasters are calling for slowing retail sales over the next few months. Early predictions for the all-important holiday selling season suggest that this year’s retail sales gain will be more moderate than last year’s robust increase.
Declining energy prices will help support retail demand, especially for retailers catering to lower income consumers. However, most prognosticators believe that the weaker housing market will gradually take a toll on consumer demand because it will reduce the growth of household wealth. Further, record debt burdens, coupled with a non-existent savings rate, will put a damper on consumer exuberance in the malls.
The good news is that the consensus outlook calls for only a slowing economy, not a recession in 2007. Job gains are continuing, even though the pace has slowed. The current low unemployment has created upward wage pressure, meaning that consumers’ paychecks are growing rapidly.
IDEX Online Research’s Proprietary Jewelry Sales Forecast Hits New Peak
Forecasts of consumer spending in late 2006 and 2007 have a negative bias. When the negatives and positives are weighed, the scale tips toward a negative outlook. But consumers clearly don’t buy those forecasts.
For jewelry, the IDEX Online Forecast Model calls for jewelry sales to rise by about 8 percent for 2006. This is the largest gain this year, and is an increase from last month’s 7 percent increase that was predicted.
Qualitatively, we think that this mathematical model is too optimistic. However, the latest spending trends from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES), a government survey of spending in American homes, shows that jewelry sales jumped by more than 13 percent, year-over-year in September. For most of 2006, this indicator has been showing a jewelry sales gain in the low double digit range – +10 percent-12 percent. In other words, consumers are saying that they are spending heavily on jewelry versus the same period last year.
If we believe that consumers are telling the truth (when it comes to jewelry, they have been known to overstate its value on the CES form), then it would indicate that specialty jewelers are losing market share to other retailers such as Wal-Mart and department stores such as J.C. Penney. With specialty jewelry sales up 11.3 percent in September and total jewelry sales up 13.4 percent, simple math tells us that jewelry demand among non-specialty jewelers – discounters, traditional department stores, and others – jumped by more than 15 percent. That’s possible due to easy comparisons. That’s also a subject for analysis at year-end.
Based on the most recent numbers, it would appear that jewelry sales in America could reach $65 billion in 2006, more than 9 percent above 2005’s $59.4 billion. We had been forecasting about $63 billion in jewelry sales for 2006, a gain of just over 6 percent. As a result of inflation in the jewelry industry at retail, currently running near 4 percent — far above the level of the past fourteen years – it is possible that jewelry sales could show a large increase in 2006, but unit sales could show only a modest gain.
Further, if these sales trends in September continue, the IDEX Online holiday sales forecast for the U.S. jewelry industry could prove to be too low. We are currently predicting a gain of 3 percent-4 percent. Until we see October figures – due out in mid-December – we will not change our forecast. However, it is subject to revision as new data arrives.
The graph below summarizes the IDEX Online Research forecast for jewelry sales in the U.S. market in 2006.
November 17th, 2006
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