AGTA's Essential Guide to Memo Transactions
from AGTA
In the jewelry industry, a “memo” transaction, also known as consignment, allows a party to hold a supplier’s product for a specified period of time while a buyer is sought. The holder of the product pays for it only if a sale is made; otherwise, at the end of the specified period, the product is returned to the supplier. More

Super Bling
from Jewelry Insider Blog
The most coveted piece of jewelry this time of year does not come from Paris Hilton's jewelry box or Tiffany's display window. Nope, it's the Super Bowl ring, symbolic of victory in the National Football League's annual overhyped, usually anti-climactic championship game. Some players wear them. Some store them. Some have even sold them. But for the most part, it's the only piece of jewelry guys have ever really dreamed about. More

U.S. Jewelry Sites Lose Market Share in 2008
from IDEX
U.S. e-commerce jewelry and watches websites were hard hit in 2008, declining some 12 percent year-over-year, and losing significant market share according to comScore. While retail e-commerce spending (excluding travel) grew 6 percent to $130.1 billion in 2008, jewelry e-tailers did not enjoy from the growth. Jewelry and watches was one of the worst performing categories in 2008. The only two categories that fared worse were the Computer Software (excluding PC Games) and Music, Movies & Video categories. More

Free Necklaces in Hard Fiscal Times
from The Ventura County Star
Hoping to spread some cheer, a jewelry store in downtown Ventura is giving away 100 necklaces to those who have lost jobs or homes. Fox Fine Jewelry is giving away sterling-silver heart-shaped necklaces. People must bring proof of a job or home loss, such as a letter of foreclosure or termination, along with identification. More

Christie’s Gives Details of Dubai Sale
from TradeArabia
Christie's announced the highlights of its upcoming sale in Dubai in April. The sale will include rare colored gemstones and exquisite natural pearls crafted into jewels by many of the world’s leading designers including Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels and Harry Winston alongside watches by Patek Philippe, Rolex and Franck Muller. More

Gemfields Scaling Down Kagem Mine
from Proactive Investors UK
Gemfields Resources PLC warned that is performance in the current year will be significantly lower than forecast during 2008 and is expecting to make a loss for the period to end-June 2009. It also plans to scale down operations at its key production asset, the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, all in response to deteriorating markets for diamonds and other gemstones. The shares took a hammering on the news, trading nearly 30 percent lower in early deals. More

Pink Diamond Treatment
from Rapaport News
Due to the rarity and the high cost of natural-color pink diamonds, there is great interest in methods to produce treated pink diamonds. The latest treatment method involves a complex three-step process: high-pressure/high-temperature (HPHT) annealing, followed by an irradiation with electrons and then a low-temperature annealing. The process can transform a natural light yellow or brown, type Ia nitrogen-rich diamond into a fancy color pink, red or purple diamond. Colored stones produced using this process became commercially available beginning in 2004. More

Red for Men on the Catwalk
from The Los Angeles Times
In a sea of suiting grays that flooded the runways of Milan and Paris, one-off pops of red bloomed like poppies. A pair of velvet slippers here, a jaunty riding cap there, puffer vests, pocket squares and cyclist jerseys. Among the bevy of burgundies, raft of rubies and multitude of maroons, mauves and magentas, we spotted hunting-jacket linings, screen-printed tromp l’oeil boutonnieres, pairs of pants, cardigan sweaters, car coats and a surprising number of suits. More

Yellow is Happy, Blue is the New Green
from The Detroit Free Press
Have you ever wondered why unrelated brands -- from KitchenAid to Martha Stewart -- are so in sync when it comes to color? Out of nowhere, it seems, turquoise mixers, cookware, even washers and dryers, appear in store displays. Members of the Color Marketing Group, an international nonprofit association of color design professionals, keep tabs on emerging color trends and forecast color directions 19 months in advance. Cues on developing trends may come from a Web site devoted to Aboriginal art, street fashion in Japan or worldwide economic conditions. More