burdened diamond dealers welcome supply cut

The head of a diamond trading group said a downturn in the United States, the world's top consumer, may compound his members debt burden, and as such he welcomed a move by De Beers to trim supply in the coming months. Avi Paz, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday he was concerned about the debt burden in the diamond industry.
"The banks are nervous, the banks are looking at every diamond dealer, and looking at the debt and how they are covered," he said by telephone from Israel.
"I call on my colleagues to be careful, to have liquidity."
A rough estimate of total debt in the diamond industry was $12 billion to $15 billion, but so far there had been only isolated problems, he added.
The Belgium-based federation is an umbrella organisation representing 26 member bourses that trade in rough and polished diamonds and precious stones.
Paz issued a statement last week asking diamond producers to reduce supply during the current economic turmoil to stabilise the sector.
He welcomed a move by diamond giant De Beers, which controls around 40 percent of the market, to reduce the amount of unpolished gems at its next two sales due to reduced demand.
"This is a very important statement, it will assure the diamond industry worldwide."
"BE CAREFUL"
He said De Beers "sightholders" -- tightly screened clients -- had an obligation to buy the unpolished diamonds on offer at periodic sales.
In the current economic climate, however, they might find it difficult to sell all the processed material to jewellery makers and end up with increased debt burdens.
Diamond prices, which have surged in recent years on tight supply and buoyant demand, have recently been hit by the global credit crisis.
Until now mass-market jewellery using small diamonds have been hardest hit by the downturn in the United States, the biggest consumer of diamond jewellery, accounting for half of the total market.
But recently, even prices of large, high-quality stones that appeal to the very wealthy have declined.
A lot of diamonds were still being sold in the United States and the product should appeal to people wanting a safe haven investment, Paz said.
But he urged those in the industry to be cautious about developments in the future. "I'm worried, I think people should be careful about next year... they should take steps to be liquid and not over-buy in polished and in rough (diamonds)."
De Beers, 45 percent owned by mining group Anglo American Plc, said in August it had boosted rough diamond prices by around 16 percent so far in 2008 due to strong demand.
But it said in July it was cautious about developments in the second half due to a downturn in the United States.

Warm Up for Fall With Hot New Jewelry From World Jewels

The weather may be turning cool, but fashionistas can still stay warm with hot new jewelry from World Jewels, the leading online jewelry store. World Jewels adds the hottest new jewelry designs to their site each week, including diamond rings, diamond engagement rings, diamond stud earrings and more.
As temperatures start to drop, many may find they have to cover up, but jewelry lovers can still shine with diamond jewelry. The biggest trends in jewelry this fall are just that -- big! Statement jewelry is all the rage. Rings with thicker bands and big gems and stones are in, and the same goes for necklaces with large pendants and chunky bracelets.

"World Jewels has all of the current trends in jewelry as well as classic diamond rings, engagement rings and more," said Allen Rashtian, owner of World Jewels. "We want you to be completely happy with our jewelry, so we offer a 30 day return policy and free ground shipping on all jewelry orders with insurance at no additional cost."

The newest jewelry designs added to WorldJewels.com can be viewed on their Hot Items and Specials pages.

To speak with a trained professional waiting to answer any questions or help find that perfect jewelry gift call 888-967-5353 or visit www.worldjewels.com.

About World Jewels:

Located in beautiful Los Angeles, California, World Jewels purchases and imports the highest quality diamonds, gold and silver from around the world. World Jewels specializes in semi-mounts for engagement rings, solitaire rings, wedding bands and sets, bracelets, earrings, necklaces and pendants. They also carry a wide selection of precious gem stones in different sizes and shapes, loose or set in 14k/18k gold or platinum mountings. World Jewels is one of the only online jewelry stores that manufacture their own jewelry in 14k gold, 18k gold and platinum. You can find new jewelry designs added to the "Hot Items" and "Specials" sections each week on WorldJewels.com.

White Gold & Black Pearl Pendant

White gold orbit pendant set with diamonds and a black pearl.

Most of Ofiesh's work incorporates moving elements. With the flick of a hinge, a ring becomes a pendant. Or among the artist's patented Orbit Collection, a band of brilliant diamonds set in platinum spins around a simple gold bead or an elegant ring.

All of the artist's work is designed, forged, and formed by hand. Since Ofiesh is a self-taught goldsmith, he uses tools in non-traditional ways, and his methods are often unconventional by jewelry standards. He is as creative in his approach to design as he is open-minded about how to make things work.

Ofiesh took workshops along the way with noted metal workers Heikki Seppa and Ronald Pearson. He also studied gem-setting at the Revere Academy in the mid 1980s. But mostly he continued to work on his own moving from silver to gold, refining techniques, and developing his interest in jewelry that moves.

Ofiesh travels around the country exhibiting at prestigious craft shows such as the American Craft Enterprises fairs in Baltimore, San Francisco and St. Paul. Over the years he has received numerous awards at these shows.

Unable to land a prep school teaching job, Ofiesh, an English literature graduate from the University of Virginia, traveled to the small town of Chatham, Virginia, in 1973 to try to sell some of the silver jewelry he made as a hobby. He made $400 in one weekend, and that small commercial success sparked the beginnings of a 30-year career as a jewelry designer.

Indian Brides Replace Traditional Gold Jewelry as Prices Rise

Ashima Lahiri will say her wedding vows in December wearing fake earrings, necklaces and bangles that cost a tenth of the price of gold, breaking a millennia-old Indian tradition that brides wear the precious metal.

``Gold is too hot now,'' says the 25-year-old fashion designer from Kolkata, eastern India, who'll spend 15,000 rupees ($305) on her bridal set instead of 160,000 rupees for a real one. ``You can't touch it.''

Lahiri's not alone. Indian families, the world's biggest buyers of gold, are canceling purchases before the peak wedding season because prices have touched a record high in India, putting traditional bridal sets out of reach. That's spurred sales of gold-plated, silver and brass gem-encrusted jewelry, designed to match the bride's wedding saris.

``People are not willing to be victims of high gold prices and are instead going for glittering imitations,'' said Roli Malhotra, head of marketing at Sia Lifestyles Pvt Ltd., a 24-outlet chain of fashion jewelry stores based in Mumbai. ``Sales of imitation bridal sets are on the rise.''

Bullion, considered an investment haven, has weathered a global rout in commodities that has sent the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index down 18 percent this month, the biggest fall in at least 52 years. In India, gold has gained 14 percent this year, reversing a 6 percent decline in the global spot rate, because a 20 percent slump in the Indian rupee against the dollar to a record low has driven up the cost of importing the metal.

`Double Whammy'

``It's a double whammy for Indian buyers and retail demand has been a casualty,'' said Bharath K. Rekapalli, director of Global Financial Markets, a trading and research firm, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

Demand traditionally spikes in the second-half of the year, spurred by Diwali, the Festival of Light, which is considered an auspicious time to buy the precious metal by India's majority Hindu religion. Brides also buy more gold and relatives offer bridal sets as gifts for the trousseau as Indians prefer to get married in winter to avoid the monsoon rains and summer heat.

``Gold prices have put a cap on the number of sets I can buy for my daughter,'' said Rekha Makhija, 52, who will buy two instead of three collections for her daughter's wedding in January. ``While I plan to give her a few of my jewelry sets, it will be nice to buy something fashionable and trendy.''

The yellow metal is considered the best gift by relatives because it insures the bride leaves her family with her own property, said Ravi Jalan, director of New Delhi-based Jalan Commodities.

Family Vaults

Households in India have 15,000 tons locked away in family vaults, almost double the reserves held by the U.S. Federal Reserve, according to consultant McKinsey & Co. That's worth about $376 billion at current prices after gold has gained for seven straight years.

The increase is crippling Bipin Zaveri, 52, and his family's D.P. Zaveri showroom in Mumbai's 141-year-old gold bazaar.

``Many of us will be out of business if prices continue to prevail at current rates,'' he said. ``We don't expect customers to rush back just because it's wedding season.''

Indian families buy gold when prices decline and not necessarily when their daughters are getting married, said Zaveri, surrounded by glittering chains and rings in a showroom devoid of customers.

Changing trends have also reduced jewelry sales, Ramesh, who only uses one name, of R. Kothari & Co. Jewellers in Mumbai said. His revenue has dropped by almost 50 percent in the past two years, he said in an interview.

Chunky Jewelry

``No one wants chunky jewelry anymore and even if they do buy something heavy it's usually a gold set studded with precious gems or diamond,'' said Ramesh, pointing to a wall-mounted display-case with necklaces. ``Everything seems to be going against us.''

India's bullion demand was 769.2 tons of in 2007, less than the 1,000 tons estimated by the World Gold Council, as more families chose to rework their mother's or grandparent's bridal collections instead of paying for new gold.

``Every home in India has enough gold so if there is a wedding all they have to do is melt old jewelry and make new sets,'' said Daman Prakash Rathod, director at MNC Bullion Ltd., the biggest bullion dealer in southern India.

For bride Lahiri, she'd rather wear imitation jewelry on her big day than melt and destroy her great grandmother's necklace.

``Gold is considered a family heirloom and passed through generations, so why would I ever sell my family treasure?'' said Lahiri, who was in Mumbai to plan her wedding with her fiancée and friends. A gold bridal set her mother has given her doesn't match her wedding outfit, so she'll wear imitations.

``Everybody will notice how coordinated my clothes and jewelry are, and not really bother whether those earrings are fake or real,'' she said.

Inspired by the classical

MODERN creations with an old world aura - that's how best to describe Temple St Clair jewellery. Inspired by European Renaissance aesthetics, they may be old world but they're certainly the hot rocks of this age - recognised as timeless modern classics.

Temple St Clair jewellery made its debut in Barneys New York in the late 1980s, setting the tone for the iconic department store's fine jewellery section. From there, a hobby and a means to support an interest in travel and research became a business for American designer Temple St Clair Carr who has crafted it further ever since.

Ms Carr's eponymous jewellery is now distributed through over 100 retailers in the US, and leading stores in a few countries, such as Harrods in London as well as Isetan in Japan. There are plans to roll out more points of sale in Asia by late next year, but the American designer was in town a couple of weeks ago to present her jewellery in an exclusive jewellery showcase, Zenith Affair, held at the Raffles Hotel.

Making jewellery is something she 'fell into', she explains, when studying Italian Renaissance art and history in Florence. 'I was very deep into 14th and 15th century Italy and looking at all the art and architectural details and then reading the great literature of the centuries, and I wanted a piece of jewellery (that reflected that). Italy is famous for its jewellery but nothing appealed to me. It was all quite commercial.'

So she decided to design her own, seeking out Florentine goldsmiths. 'The goldsmith guild in Florence has been and largely remains a man's world, so it was quite something for them to be approached by a woman,' records Ms Carr, in a new coffeetable book on her jewellery, published by Harper Collins.

One piece she sketched that was made by the goldsmith led to another, and yet another, and Ms Carr ended up staying in Florence for close to 12 years, designing jewellery that she would sell in small, private shows in America whenever she returned. The jewellery was spotted by a Barneys' scout in Italy and the rest is history.

'My early collection of jewellery designs were very historically-based inspirations then,' she says, as she studied goldwork of ancient Etruscans and early Greeks, and had incorporated a lot of tiny gold beading and granulation work into her 22-karat gold designs, featuring coloured cabuchon gemstones.

These days, her jewellery is much more contemporary, made with 18-karat gold, for example. Besides designs which still hint at ancient and classical worlds, egg-shaped rock crystals are another signature Temple St Clair design. Her latest Fall/Winter collection features serpents and dragonflies; while butterflies featured in the Spring collection.

For Spring 2009, the mermaid will be the central theme - what mermaids might wear, such as a crystal amulet with a 'netting' of royal blue moonstones and blue sapphires and diamond-studded starfish. She's already designing the Spring 2010 collection, disclosing that it'll be Matisse-inspired.

Asked to describe the Temple St Clair brand, Ms Carr says it's a young heritage brand, much like Bulgari and Cartier when they first started out, with individual designers at the helm. And yes, she already has fans who buy her jewellery as collectibles.

'People are looking for unique, special things, not only stylish, but made in fine way' - that, she reckons, is the appeal of her jewellery.

For the accidental designer, jewellery gives her the luxury of being both an artist and an academic, says Ms Carr, because she is constantly researching themes and ideas. Many factors have coincided to bring her interests and passions together in a career in jewellery, she notes in her book's foreword; but then again, it's a rare artist who is able to make art - in her case jewellery - that is collected as timeless pieces.

Italian Jewellery Awards to take place in Amalfi

The Italian Jewellery Awards, taking place 15 November 2008 in Amalfi, Italy announces the following five finalists to its selected judges:

• Sarah Ho; the devoted founder of SHO Fine Jewellery, aged 29 and qualified as Goldsmith & Gemmologist from the HRD Institute of Gemmology in Antwerp, Belgium. Sarah has integrated fashion into her jewellery by carrying seasonal trends, ensuring SHO designs stays fresh and exciting.

• Marisa Hodern, is one of the three jewellery designers behind Missoma; a mother and daughter team, all sharing a passion for modern and contemporary jewellery design. Specialising in 18ct gold vermeil jewellery with precious and semi-precious stones, Missoma has become known for its unique designs and instantly recognisable vibrant colours! Loved by style icons such as Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johanssen, Missoma has attracted a loyal and ever-growing fan-base in the UK and abroad, and is stocked in over 15 countries worldwide including department stores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Liberty.

• Anthony Roussel, graduated as jewellery designer from London Metropolitan University in 2007. Although he is trained in metalwork, his real love for materials is found in wood. By combining an ancient organic material with new digital design tools, he has caught the attention of key international galleries and collectors.

• Ornella Iannuzzi, Ornella established her business after graduating from the Royal College of Art in June 2007. Ornella pays homage to nature through the jewellery using only materials from sustainable sources, exploring vulnerability and the impact of that man has had on the environment.

Today she is working with different online galleries such as “Things we love” or “Object Fetish”- based in the USA. Her latest collections were featured in the press both nationally and internationally such as in the Retail Jeweller, Jewellery Focus, Jewellery In Britain, J-Dex, Goldsmith or Dreams magazine. Furthermore, she was shortlisted last July for the UK Jewellery Award, in both categories “Young Designer of the Year” & “Jewellery Designer of the Year”.

• Zinzi Coetzee 27 & Ursula Horton 26; founders and designers of Francesca Sibylla Augusta. Zinzi and Ursula graduated together at Central St Martin in 2005 and from London College of Fashion in 2007. Working with fine and precious materials, mixing traditional hand craftsmanship with modern technology, Francesca Sibylla Augusta offers pieces that are perfect and unique.

To uphold the multidimensional standards, The Italian Jewellery Awards has chosen Italian and British judges, all with significant field expertise, to evaluate the jewellery and design presented.