Diamonds in the news: De Beers to raise rough diamond prices 5%.

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De Beers Diamond Trading Company (De Beers) announced yesterday that it would raise its prices for rough diamonds at the next sight by 5%. The price hike will probably have an adverse effect on Israel's diamond industry.
Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (IsDMA) chairman Moti Ganz told "Globes" that De Beers' price hike would cause losses to diamond merchants until prices for polished diamonds could be raised in 2-3 months, and even force some diamond merchants out of business altogether.
Industry sources believe that Israeli diamond merchants are liable to be stuck with inventories of polished diamonds from new purchases that are more expensive than polished diamonds purchased from the earlier, cheaper, deliveries. The result will reduce the profitability of diamond transactions, and possibly drive polishers out of business. At this stage, no diamond polishing is expected to take place during the Passover holiday next month.

Beyonce To Play Pink Panther Diamond Thief.

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Beyonce Knowles is the unlikely favourite to take the role of the chief suspect in the new Pink Panther movie.
The Destiny's Child superstar is in negotiations with MGM studio chiefs to play a diamond thief in the comedy movie remake, which will star Steve Martin and Jean Reno.

Jewelry in the news: The Best Jewelry Cleaners.

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What to do when your jewelry loses its luster? New jewelry-cleaning appliances promise to bring back the sparkle -- fast. Are they worth it?
The Good Housekeeping Institute experts put three new cleaners to the test using tarnished jewelry supplied by New York jeweler Michael Toback. They then compared the cleaning results to a homemade method (soaking each item in ammonia and water, followed by a warm-water rinse and a dip in rubbing alcohol).

Diamonds in the news: Diamond exploration heats up again.

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There's another diamond exploration rush in the Northwest Territories and this time it's very near the Yukon border.
Ottawa handed out more than 600 prospecting permits in the N.W.T. this year. New results from Diamondex Resources in the western Arctic spurred on a scramble for permits in the past two months.
Geologist Scott Casselman is in the Whitehorse office of Aurora Geosciences, which handles mining contracts across the North. He knows all about the latest exploration action.

Diamonds in the news: Diamond products face price hikes.

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"Because of great demand for diamonds all over the world, the raw material providers raised prices while cutting supply, which created a dilemma for most Chinese diamond processing companies whose profit margins have been further lowered and are short of raw materials," said China Diamond Manufacturers' Association Chairman Guo Zhiyue.

Jewelry in the news: Stuart Weitzman Diamond Shoes Worn by Academy Award Performer Alison Krauss.

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The stiletto sandal on a 4 ½ - inch invisible heel is covered with more than 500 dazzling diamonds set in pure platinum giving the illusion that there is no shoe, just diamonds twinkling on the foot. Nestled among the clear classic diamonds is an extraordinarily rare colored diamond. Never seen before, this diamond, which is amaretto in color and approximately 5 karats, is being specially cut and polished for the Weitzman shoes. With the rare colored diamond valued at well over $1 million and the shoes adorned with an additional 55 karats of clear diamonds, this pair of shoes will likely sell for $2 million or more.

Jewelry in the news: Baubles, Bangles and Bling Bling: A World of Jewelry .

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On Wednesday, February 18, The Newark Museum opens Baubles, Bangles and Bling Bling: A World of Jewelry, an exhibition that explores the complex social and cultural meanings of jewelry, both for the people who wear it and for those who admire it. Curators from three different departments have mined the Museum’s diverse collections and solicited significant loans from private collections for a comprehensive presentation and comparison of personal adornment across cultures and throughout time. More than three hundred spectacular objects, from the beaded necklaces of ancient Egyptians to the flashy, large-scale bling bling popularized by today’s hip-hop stars, will be on view through Sunday, May 9, 2004.

Diamonds in the news: Huge Diamond among Dresden Treasures.

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The Green Vault's most famous gem is the 41-carat green diamond, so colored, it's believed, because of prolonged exposure to radioactivity centuries ago. It was purchased by Prince Elector August III in 1742 for the enormous sum of $150,000.
"This is a sister jewel, if you will, to what most of us Americans know as the Hope Diamond that is in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History," says Jack Kyle, the Jackson exhibition's executive director.
If emeralds are your green gem of choice, there's a hand-carved moor presenting a platter full of the green jewels. He and a similar companion should feel right at home in Jackson.

Jewelry in the news: LVMH Announces a 30% Increase in Income for Year.

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"Margins for Louis Vuitton topped 45 percent - a record level, even if we invested a lot of money in publicity," Olivier Labesse, a spokesman for the conglomerate in Paris, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. Last year, Louis Vuitton, the 150-year-old luggage company, featured the actress Jennifer Lopez in its global ad campaign in very formalized poses, swinging one of the company's handbags with a stiff arm, as a male model appeared, apparently under her spell. (Despite the ad's success, the company announced last month that Ms. Lopez would not be part of its new campaign.)
All sectors except watches and jewelry showed increased profits. The watches division was dragged down by losses at Ebel, the Swiss watchmaker, that LVMH purchased at the height of the company's acquisition fervor of the late 1990's. Late last year, Ebel was sold to Movado for substantially less than was paid for it.
The operating loss at the watches and jewelry division widened to 48 million euros, or $59 million, from 13 million euros in 2002. Mr. Labesse said the company was "confident that we can reach the break-even point" for the watches and jewelry division in 2004.

Jewelry in the news: Wind of nature blows at HK international jewelry show.

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As people facing more and more pressure in the modern society, returning to nature has become a dream to many people. Nature has also become a theme of the Hong Kong International Jewelry Show 2004, which opened here on Tuesday.
From leaves, flowers, animals and other wonders of the nature comes the designers' inspiration.
Designer Lee Sang Mee, a winner of major jewelry design awards in the Republic of Korea, is constantly inspired by nature's beauty and harmony. He uses all his talents to design these splendid pieces and then create them by setting little color-stonemelees with so much care that the pieces are vibrant and alive.