RAPAPORT...
The Aurora Butterfly of Peace diamond collection is on exhibit through September 7, 2009 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science as part of its “Nature of Diamonds” show. The abstract design, conceived and designed over a 12-year period by Alan Bronstein, consists of 240 natural color diamonds from Australia, Russia and Africa with a combined weight of 167 carats.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) announced that its vault is now open to local and international banks, corporations, high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and DMCC members. Located in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers free-zone community, the vault is intended for short- and long-term storage of precious metals and other high-value products and offers drop-off facilities for small consignments.
In other company news, Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the DMCC, was awarded the Onur Ödülü, or Award of Honor, by the Turkish Jewellery Association (JTR) at the 2009 Congress of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) in recognition of the DMCC’s contributions to global jewelry trade.
The Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies (IDI) unveiled the third stage of its “Together Works” strategic marketing plan, which is being rolled out throughout 2009. “Call Asia” is a call center that will contact several thousand Asian diamond buyers every week to inquire about their diamond needs. This information will be instantly uploaded to the IDI internet portal and at the same time, Israeli diamond suppliers will be notified by text message.
IDI also introduced Reflections, a magazine that will be distributed to over 10,000 retailers in the U.S., free of charge. Reflections may also be accessed through IDI’s portal site, www.israelidiamond.co.il/Reflections.html.
In addition, IDI launched a Russian version of the Israeli Diamond Industry Portal, a business-to-business (B2B) website with 7,500 registered users in 125 countries.
Simon Golub & Sons obtained the exclusive right to import and distribute U.K.-based Hot Diamonds brands in the U.S. Inventory and operations will be handled out of Simon Golub & Sons’ home office in Seattle, Washington. Tom Hart was appointed vice president of Hot Diamonds brands in the U.S.
Hoover & Strong launched custom services for casting called “We Make It Happen.” Mid- to high-volume customers who order the company’s custom services at www.hooverandstrong.com will receive free shipping on their first order. Hoover & Strong can cast, finish and set designs.
Octahedron kicked off its third-generation Swim jewelry software minicomputer, which the company claims is the smallest PC in the world. The minicomputer has an average power output of just 26 watts, runs at a quiet 26 decibels and is composed entirely of green materials. This makes it up to six times more efficient than a standard PC, according to Octahedron. For more information, visit www.getswim.com.
American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), now officially reopened and fully operational, has released its first official tariff list. The list offers consumers and jewelers a breakdown of the laboratory’s various service costs, courtesy of a simplified fee structure.
International Diamond Laboratories is now the fourth laboratory in the world to have introduced grading services for tanzanite in accordance with the Tanzanite Quality Scale™ (TQS) by the Tanzanite Foundation. The firm offers tanzanite certificates to clients in Dubai, Antwerp and the U.K.
The Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) member grant program awarded a total of $14,000 to 28 members across the country to support ongoing education for women in the jewelry, watch and related industries. The WJA also announced that it will hold its annual Awards for Excellence gala on July 27, 2009 in New York City. In addition, the WJA invited female jewelry designers to submit entries for its “DIVA Gives Back” design competition, which will support the work of the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.).
The Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association (IDCA) selected its honorees for 2009. The group chose Fred Meyer Jewelers as “Retailer of the Year,” citing the jeweler’s recent growth, which has seen it become the third-largest chain in the U.S. IDCA granted its “Pioneer Award” to Navratan Kothari, chairman of the KGK Group. Vasantbhai Sanghavi and Chandrakant Sanghavi, the chairman and director of Sanghavi Exports, respectively, together earned IDCA’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
The Antwerp Diamond Bourse established an official website, www.diamondbourseantwerp.com. It enables its members to post demand lists, view demands in different formats and remain updated on activities conducted by the board of directors.
Simcha Lustig, former chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies (IDI), passed away at age 72. Lustig belonged to one of the founding families of the Israeli diamond industry and served as Israel’s representative on a multinational marketing committee established by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC). In 2008, Lustig was recognized for his many contributions to the industry with the Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary Award. — The Israel Diamond Exchange (www.isde.co.il) contributed to this report.
The London Diamond Bourse & Club shortened its name to the London Diamond Bourse. Freddy Hager, London Diamond Bourse president, explained that members and their clients generally refer to the exchange as the London Diamond Bourse.
Finlay Enterprises promoted Karin Knudsen to executive vice president of merchandising and marketing for Finlay Jewelry. She replaces Leslie A. Philip, who retired. Finlay also announced that Joseph M. Melvin, executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) plans to retire on June 30, 2009.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) welcomed Steven Relyea and Paul Kreutz to its board of governors at its first of two annual board meetings this year. Relyea is the vice chancellor for business affairs at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and serves on the boards of directors of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of San Diego and Internet 2. Kreutz has acted as legal counsel for a number of venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital and TA Associates.
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company’s board of directors appointed Darwin Copeman, as the company’s new president and chief executive officer (CEO). Copeman previously served as president and CEO of Cameron Insurance Companies in Missouri.
Diamond manufacturer Rosy Blue launched www.RosyBlueOnline.com, a business to business (B2B) website in beta that will offer a broad range of certified stones from 0.25 carats and up to members of the trade, including retailers, according to a company statement. The full website will provide real-time inventory information for Rosy Blue’s entire affiliate network in a variety of languages, identifying the location of a given stone and automatically creating separate orders for each location to enable direct — and faster — shipping.
Gemfields Resources appointed Adrian Banks as product director to manage the company’s rough supply chain, including grading, quality assurance, trading and sales systems. Banks spent a decade working at TanzaniteOne.
Elan Luxury Collections hired Joe Stenger to its sales and marketing force to represent Kathy Ireland Jewelry, which debuted at the JCK Las Vegas Show. Barry Wielert joined the sales team of the division. Stenger has over thirty years of experience selling branded jewelry, including at A. Jaffe and ArtCarved. Wielert has worked with both Scott Kay and A. Jaffe.
Richard S. Fields joined Unique Settings of New York® as chief strategic officer (CSO). Fields previously held leadership positions at The Monet Group, Hearts on Fire and Charles & Colvard.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - June 2009. To subscribe click here.