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February 23, 2009
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TOP STORIESJA to Fight Luxury Tax Bills in NY, Illinois De Beers 2008 Sales Up 1% U.S. Q4 Gold Jewelry Demand Down 35% More Layoffs at GIA Fossil Cuts Hundreds of Jobs, Top Execs’ Pay From Our BlogsStyle 360 by Jennifer Heebner Weekly Style Tweets A week's worth of tweets via Twitter: Jennifer ... posted a blog ht... Read On » Jewels on Jewels by Cynthia Sliwa Marketing Watch: Speaking Bespoke Jewelry If you create and sell your own custom jewelry designs, you will no doubt be interested in this tidbit from the February 2009 issue of Vogue magazine... Read On » Cutting Remarks by Rob Bates Diamond Shavings: Your Friday Web Roundup I'm posting this early today, as I am shortly going to be in transit, working on a ... Read On » Jewelry Technology Talk by Steven Adler CT Scanning for Jewelry Manufacturers . When the dust settles from this economic mess, the jewelers left standing will no ... Read On » Blue Nile Q4 Sales Down 23% JCK Las Vegas New Programs and Initiatives Zale Settles 'Love Rocks' Suit CIBJO 2009 Congress, May 3-5 in Istanbul Rio Tinto Names Cox as Diamond Business MD Thai Sustainable Growth Jewelry Initiative Amberif Design Awards AGS to Issue Royal Asscher Cut Diamond Reports KPS Capital Acquires Lenox Stuller Releases Color Stories 2009 AGTA GemFair Seminars on DVD Gems & Gemology Goes Online MJSA Publishes Resource Guide |
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Jewelers of America has initiated a letter writing and fundraising campaign to oppose the introduction of state luxury tax proposals on jewelry and watches—particularly in New York and Illinois. 
De Beers said Friday that 2008 rough diamond sales were relatively flat at $5.9 billion, "as buoyant demand translated into increased prices" for the first nine months of the year, followed by a significant slowdown in sales in the fourth quarter, “as a result of the onset of the global economic downturn and the subsequent liquidity squeeze in the key global cutting centers.” Total group sales for the year increased 1 percent to $6.9 billion. 
Deteriorating economic conditions in the United States produced mix results for gold demand, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends. Fourth quarter jewelry demand was down 35 percent as consumer spending plummeted. In stark contrast, demand for gold bars and coins rocketed by 370 percent in the fourth quarter, representing 35 tons of gold. 
The Gemological Institute of America on Wednesday laid off 9 percent of its staff—just two months after laying off 11 percent of its workforce. 
Fossil Inc., a leading mid-priced fashion brand watchmaker, is “selectively” laying off hundreds of employees here and overseas, to cut costs. It is reportedly eliminating up to 260 positions, or 4 percent of its approximately 6,000 employees. In addition, all executive officers and senior vice presidents are taking a pay cut, the company said Tuesday. 
Internet diamond and jewelry retailer Blue Nile Inc. reported Wednesday that net sales declined 23.4 percent to $85.8 million for its 14-week fourth quarter of 2008, compared to $111.9 million for the 13-week fourth quarter of 2007. Excluding sales from the additional week, sales for the period totaled $81.9 million. 
JCK Las Vegas will debut a series of new programs and initiatives designed to assist manufacturers and suppliers with their exhibiting costs while coordinating a variety of programs designed to help retailers purchase product for their stores, JCK Events said in a statement. 
Jewelry retailer Zale Corp. has settled a lawsuit filed earlier this week by a Texas-based jewelry designer who claimed that the national jewelry retailer was infringing on her trademark of “Love Rocks by JAGS.” 
CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has announced that its 2009 Congress will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, May 3-5. The event will be held in the historic Çiraðan Palace Kempinski on the banks of the Bosphorus, and it will be hosted by the Turkey Jewelry Association. 
Rio Tinto announced the appointment of Bruce Cox to the position of managing director of Rio Tinto Diamonds. 
The Thai Ministry of Commerce said it has joined forces with state agencies and industry bodies to encourage rough gems traders to abide to official regulations in their conduct of businesses. 
The Amberif Design Awards were unveiled Feb. 7 in Gdañsk, Poland, home of Amberif 2009, the 16th International Fair of Amber Jewellery and Gemstones, to be held Feb. 11-14. 
AGS Laboratories is set to introduce its Light Performance Diamond Quality Report for the Royal Asscher Cut diamond in the United States. Under the arrangement, AGS Laboratories will be the primary grader of Royal Asscher Cut diamonds in the U.S. 
Private equity firm KPS Capital Partners LP won an auction to buy substantially all the assets of the Lenox Group. The offer includes the Lenox, Dansk, and Gorham brands. It does not include Department 56, which is scheduled for a separate auction. 
Stuller, Inc. has released Color Stories 2009, a color trends book that highlights the manufacturer’s “color centric” approach to selling gemstones. 
The American Gem Trade Association recorded the GemFair Seminar Program in Tucson for the first time this year using technology that combines audio recording synched with the speaker’s PowerPoint presentation. 
Gems & Gemology, the quarterly journal of the Gemological Institute of America, is now available in electronic format at gia.metapress.com. 
The recently released MJSA Buyer's Resource Vol. 1 provides a critical approach to buying goods and services that will provide major savings for jewelry companies, according to its publisher, the Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America. 
