The allure of little gems Some architects are moving away from large
Hiring big-name architects has become as commonplace in the world of fine jewellery as it has in fashion. Prada signed up Rem Koolhaas to design its New York “epicentre”, Giorgio Armani commissioned Tadao Ando for his Armani Theatre in Milan, and Hermes called upon Renzo Piano for its glass tower in Tokyo. valentines jewelry and Partners was asked to design New York and London stores for Asprey, Jean Nouvel was responsible for the Cartier Foundation in Paris, and Antonio Citterio is just completing his second hotel, in Bali, for Bulgari Hotels and Resorts. Finally, this week, a project three years in the making between Tiffany and world-renowned architect Frank Gehry was unveiled in Bond Street.
However rather than designing a building or a new store concept, Gehry has created a new line of jewellery. While he is by no means the first architect to work in fine jewellery – Canadian Nathalie Jean has moved from skyscrapers to cuffs, and France’s Andree Putman works with Christofle – the Gehry-Tiffany collaboration marks the first time an architect of his status and one of the world’s leading jewellers have linked up. The result, a 150-piece collection, is a significant launch – perhaps even the foundation of a new kind of cross-cultural partnership.
Gehry is best known for projects on a grander scale, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Like many architects Gehry never expected to be designing jewellery. However, he says it is “something I have always been intrigued with. Where I want to go is to do things I have never been thinking about.” So when Tiffany came calling, he responded.
Describing the process as “challenging,” which is “all part of the creative process, designing is never easy”, Gehry also says he was impressed by Tiffany’s ability to take his sketches and forms and turn them into jewellery. There was no original brief. Jon King, Tiffany’s senior vice-president of merchandising, says it “trusted him as an artist”. The company did not want to impose “rules or boundaries” so Gehry could be free of “all the baggage and limitations” held by jewellery designers.
Gehry’s outsider perspective resulted in a collection crafted from an interesting and original mix of valentines day jewelry, including black gold, silver that is both polished and oxidized, rutilated quartz, nephrite black jade, brown-banded agate and snow-white cachalong. He also used wood, a material already existing within his own design vocabulary but one that was completely new for Tiffany. Now Australian Amaretto, African Ebony and Bubinga and the exotic sounding Bloodwood from Latin America are all represented in Gehry’s cuffs and rings.
Those more familiar with Gehry’s architectural work will recognise some themes in the line, which is divided into six collections. Irregular folds that crease and never meet, for example, feature in a group called Fold, while in Torque, rings, bracelets and cuffs are twisted (or torqued). As with Gehry’s buildings, they don’t appear to have conventional profiles.
Similarly, the jewellery work of Jean and Putman conducts a kind of dialogue with their larger-scale buildings. Jean, for example, who trained as an architect in Montreal before moving to live and work in Milan, first tried her hand at skyscrapers, then store interiors, before finally establishing her own practice. She continued to design interiors as well as a series of screens and vases for Design Gallery Milan and Da Driade. She saw her projects get “smaller and smaller” and began to feel detached from her work with buildings – “you don’t build, you draw and direct” – until, dreaming of making something with her own hands, she ended up working on jewellery.
One day she was “just playing, just folding paper” and she made a necklace of folded paper. She then applied gold leaf and wore it, getting a positive response from retailer and gallery owner Carla Sozzani, of Milan’s Corso Como 10, for whom Jean had designed an exhibition of Jean Prouve furniture. Encouraged by some interest from Vogue, she enrolled in night classes and started to make real jewellery. Her work is now produced in limited editions and sold at Corso Como 10. It also graces the permanent collection of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, sitting next to Cartier and Lalique no less.
For her part, Andree Putman, the grand dame of French design, has worked on everything from museums to hotels, restaurants and the interior of the French Concorde. After completing the successful Vertigo range of silver tableware for Christofle, she reluctantly begun to design jewellery for the French silversmiths. Elegant and valentine’s day jewelry gifts like all her work, a sensuous silver ring forms the basis of the collection. Still, she says, it was “an accident”. She was playing with some elastic cords pressed together with a ring and, voila, the 925 jewellery collection was born. Later she was “encouraged to develop it more as it became a bestseller”.
Though none of these architects ever expected to design jewellery, each has shown a remarkable talent in the field. Ultimately, it is in the tension between their designers’ creative vision and the engineering realities that the power of their jewellery lies.
Fashion Jewelry Trade Association
Fashion Jewelry Trade Association (FJTA)
Michael Gale, 401-301-6194
Fashion valentines jewelry Trade Association (FJTA) Executive Director Michael Gale issued the following statement:
“The top priority of FJTA member companies is the safety of consumers. Our members not only comply with new lead standards and other new safety regulations contained in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), many also have been voluntarily testing for other metals like cadmium.
“Safety is always our number one concern. Children’s jewelry made by our members meets federal lead limits, and test reports from our members to date indicate that children’s jewelry does not contain levels of cadmium that could cause health risks. We are continuing to investigate and are in contact with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and retail customers and look forward to analyzing data for the jewelry tested by Ashland University for the story published in the Associated Press earlier this week. FJTA has not been provided this data to date.
“We are also pleased to announce the formation of a FJTA Safety Task Force to work with the CPSC, consumer and industry groups on jewelry safety issues, including developing a standard for all metals in children’s jewelry, including cadmium and nickel.”
The Fashion Jewelry Trade Association, based in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, represents producers, suppliers and retailers of fashion jewelry. Its 200+ members strongly support safe jewelry for all consumers and advocate the adoption of risk-based standards that assure safety and maintain business competitiveness.
Millionaire.com Announces the Valentine’s Weekend Great Gatsby’s Auction Business & News Editors
Millionaire.com (OTC BB:MLRE) announced today a major auction to be held on Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 12, 13, 14, 1999, at The Great Gatsby’s Auction House in Atlanta. The highlight of this auction is undoubtedly the contents and garden statuary of Richmond Hill, the Savannah, Ga., plantation retreat of America’s premier industrialist, Henry Ford. Italian limestone statues, urns, gazebos, a fountain with Neptune, wrought iron gates and a life-size carved Carrara 19th c. marble group, The Lovers, signed E. Gazzeri, Roma, will be sold on Saturday afternoon. Contents of the house, some 400 lots ranging from art glass bibelots to chandeliers and furniture, will be sold Sunday, Feb. 14, after 2:00 p.m., at no reserve! Several gilded bronzes and ostrich egg table garniture sets and two Italian baroque giltwood pedestals from the estate of Wm. Randolph Hearst will also be offered. The property of other famous names includes a painting from the collection of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, and a highboy in book-matched flame mahogany from the estate of Kodak founder, George Eastman.
Great paintings are brilliant features of this auction. Two Lovers and the Moon, signed Marc valentines gifts Chagall (1887 Russia-1985 France) is the star attraction. Oil on canvas, 16″ x 10″, painted in 1930, it comes from the estate of movie mogul Otto Preminger and has been published in authoritative works on Chagall. It was included in the 70th anniversary retrospective of the artist’s career organized by the Pasadena Museum (now the Norton Simon), and they have graciously sent us a copy of the catalog from their archives. It is estimated to bring $500,000-$750,000. A large oil on canvas (87″hx46″w), A Lady in Riding Attire, is Joseph Enneking (American 1841-1916) will be offered as well as a collection of 4 pastoral landscapes by New York artist George Riecke (1848-1924) and a collection of 10 outstanding oils by Philadelphian Charles Wilson Knapp (1822-1900). Over 100 outstanding investment quality oil on canvas works will be offered both European & American.
Sensational American Civil War artifacts will excite specialists. Foremost is the autograph book of Charles A. Munger. Munger, a clerk in the war office, set out to get the autographs of everyone of importance in all three branches of the Union government, a task at which he succeeded admirably. President Lincoln signed, as did Vice President, later, President Johnson, the Cabinet, many of the Generals, including Sherman and Custer, the Supreme Court, the major Senators and Congressmen, diplomats, and other influential persons of the day. An exceptional prize for any serious collector. Equally exciting is a period portrait in original form of Gen. Robert E. Lee, C.S.A., an oil on canvas, oval 23″hx19″w, with impeccable provenance. Reputedly painted from life in Richmond during the last days of the war and originally pendant to a portrait of Stonewall Jackson, the painting is by an as yet unidentified artist, though the Virginia Historical Society has written us that it resembles a portrait in their possession by W. B. Cox. Among the other objects on offer will be a Union blue uniform, a photograph of Gen. Lee, a campaign desk of Gen. Mead’s, $500.00 Confederate bond with coupons, correspondence from the Atlanta campaign, and sketches of occupied Nashville.
Two pair of Tiffany windows, The Annunciation & The Ascension and Easter Sunrise, originally installed c. 1924 in the Church of the Resurrection in Oswego, N. Y., and listed in J. Alastair Duncan’s authoritative book Tiffany Windows, will be offered for sale. Both pair show the dramatic light effects that Tiffany could achieve by careful glass selection and a minimum of painting, mostly limited to faces, in the contrast to the other artists of his day who relied heavily on enameling.
Outstanding museum quality 19th century furniture will feature prominently in this auction. Two pieces are from Florence in the 19th c. Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now Italy. The first is a monumental walnut sideboard, 126″dx115″h signed Barbetti-1887. The backboard displays a vivacious scene of putti enjoying a drinking party, all cared en valentines jewelry. Agniolo Barbetti was the first important carver to turn away from the Empire style toward the Italian Renaissance for inspiration. The school he established for woodcarvers is not only responsible for the astonishing flowering of that craft in Tuscany in 19th c., but the quality of the work also insured the spread of this new Renaissance revival style through Europe and America. A cushion mirror 37″h by 28″w also by Barbetti will also be sold. Another Florentine piece to be offered is a palace style console and mirror in carved and gilded wood, with a top of Rouge royal marble (Mirror 94″h x 58″w, console 38.5″h x 60″w), that is a riot of acanthus leaf swirls and attributed by its quality and resemblance to works in the Palazzo Borghese to Francesco Morini. Museum worthy as well is a French 19th c. cabinet de maitrissc made by Charles Foulonneau in 1878. Carved all over in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles, it is inset with ivory inlays, and inside there are miniatures in tempera on gold leaf grounds, truly a virtuoso showpiece. Don’t miss two French Napoleon III armoire-sided walnut cabinets in Henry II style fitted out with glass shelves as vitrines. Rare rouge royal marble columns are mounted with finest quality bronzes befitting pieces made for the great Universal Exhibition in Paris at which the Eiffel Tower made its debut. Romantics will swoon over a grand 19th c. carved and painted Venetian bedroom set of 18 pieces. Accomplished carvings are augmented by large porcelain plaque inserts that are works of art in themselves.
At Gatsby’s there is always so much to choose from: a Qing Dynasty bed; malachite, marquetry, and pietra dum tables and commodes; 19th c. bedroom and dining room sets; a French provincial oak biblioteque; period parlor sets; cabinets by Herter, Horner, Alexander Roux, Pottier & Stymus, and other great American names; grand pianos by Steinway, Bechstein, or Mason & Hamlin; carved & gilded mirrors; mantels of stone, of marble, of wood; lamps by Pairpoint and Tiffany; antique and new chandeliers in all styles and sizes, some by Baccarat & Waterford; leather bound books, a huge Edo period Japanese temple embroidery; collector and classic cars; rugs; collectibles and objects d’art; clocks; executive and ladies’ desks; statues in bronze and marble; acres of handcarved stone, marble and bronze garden statuary; fountains large and small, urns, wells, benches, columns; wrought iron gates of palatial proportion; saloon bars; pub bars; inlaid and bronze mounted pool tables; taxidermy animals; even juke boxes. In short, everything you can imagine for the finest homes and gardens. Builders and architects will love the architectural items to be sold, including the display cases from an Edwardian jewelry store from Minnesota (44′ of wall units, 82′ of glass sounters), 100sq. ft. of hand painted 19th c. tile from Naples, a mahogany barber shop wall, and several paneled rooms (one, from a Belgian chateau, has mantel 22.5′ tall and 126″w, with 80′ of oak paneling and 4 ornate entry ways!).
All this and much more will be Feb. 12, 13, 14, and as always, there will be round-the-clock gourmet food and drink, and an exciting atmosphere. Call for your free catalogue, 770-457-1903, or visit our web site, www.gatsbys.com for more details. Hotels are scarce in Atlanta that weekend because of trade show, but we have reserved great rooms nearby at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia. Call and mention Great Gatsby’s to get a special rate, 1-800-544-0055, or call us. We will run a convenient auction shuttle service from the hotel. We are the only major auction house where you can preview during the auction, and don’t forget: our 100,000 sq. ft. showroom sells wholesale to dealers, designers, and the public, 10-6 daily, Monday- Saturday, year-round between auctions.
Millionaire.com is a multidimensional company, focusing on the Internet and supported by traditional media, earrings to establish it as a leading source of luxury products and services for the affluent. The Company’s strategy combines four proven approaches: offering products/services and other revenue-generating opportunities through a dynamic Internet site, through Millionaire magazine, through a retail and auction gallery, and through regional and niche auction galleries who will utilize the company’s diverse media outlets as a clearing house.
Certain statements and information included in this release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. SEQN: BW1474
Fashion Refinancing Back In Vogue
And Charming Shoppes Inc. and Quiksilver Inc. were right on trend Monday with new bank agreements worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as was Limited Brands Inc., which extended the early tender date in its offer to buy back nearly $300 million in debt.
Even in the case of Kellwood Co., which had a $140 million debt exchange which threatened the firm’s solvency last month, fashion companies have generally been able to borrow enough money to pay down prior obligations and begin the debt cycle anew.
It’s a marked change from last fall when credit markets screeched to a halt and an indication that investors and banks see the signs of stability in the economy as the real deal.
What it is is a bet that maybe in the next 18 months we’ll see a turnaround, said tiffany Co, Fitch Ratings debt analyst. People are kind of surprised in general that the market has been so receptive to new issuances [of debt] and nobody really can pinpoint the main reason for it.
That the economy has not turned out to be as bad as some feared is likely part of it, said Co.
The U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 1 percent in the second quarter, a much slower decline than the first quarter’s 6.4 percent free fall, according to the government’s most-recent gross domestic product calculations. Stock markets have been more bullish, with retail stocks up 61.4 percent since their March 6 lows. The S&P Retail Index marched up 1.6 percent, or 5.57 points, to 360.20 Monday and the S&P 500 closed above 1,000, at 1,002.63, up 1.5 percent, marking its first four-digit close since Nov. 4. (For more on stocks, see page 14.)
It seems like [credit markets] are being more rational than they had been through the credit boom or the credit crisis.
Margaret Taylor, debt analyst at Moody’s Investors Service
Taking advantage of the refinancing window that’s opened hasn’t been without its costs, however.
It seems like [credit markets] are being more rational than they had been through the credit boom or the credit crisis, said Margaret Taylor, debt analyst at Moody’s Investors Service.
Taylor said the apparel world seems to have divided into two kinds of companies when it comes to refinancing: those that have to pay higher prices to refinance and those that have to both pay higher prices and accept tougher terms.
She noted companies finding easier refinancing in the bank market include industry leaders or solid brand names or companies where there’s a comfort level that they will survive the recession.
Neiman Marcus Inc. was able to trade on its standing in the luxury sector and refinance its $600 paloma picasso credit agreement last month. On the other hand, Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. had to refinance with tougher terms and ultimately filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by Golden Gate Capital.
On Monday, Charming Shoppes said it had been granted a three-year secured revolving $225 million credit facility, which replaced a $375 million facility due next July.
We are pleased to have proactively and successfully addressed the maturity of our revolving credit facility, said Jim Fogarty, president and chief executive officer. Maintaining strong liquidity our revolver availability and our cash position is a critical priority for us, and even more critical in today’s funding environment.
Quiksilver inked a deal with its banks to consolidate its uncommitted lines of credit into a new four-year committed facility including 170 million euros, or $242.5 million at current exchange, in term loans; a 40 million euro, or $57.1 million, letter of credit facility, and a 58 million euro, or $82.7 million, revolving line of credit.
Limited extended the early tender date on its offer to buy back $294.6 million in debt due 2012 to Aug. 5 from July 31. Limited is using the proceeds of a recent offering of notes maturing in 2019 to buy back the debt.
Carol Levenson, director of research at Gimme Credit, said the debt coming due in 2019 is slightly more expensive, with a coupon of 8.5 percent versus a coupon of 6.125 percent on the 2012 debt.
But on such a small amount the additional interest expense is immaterial given the meaningful increase in frank gehry flexibility the refinancing will accomplish, she said.
In other debt buyback news, embattled lender CIT Group Inc. amended its tender offer so investors holding $1 billion in bonds coming due this month could sell them back to the company for 87.5 cents on the dollar instead of the 82.5 cents previously offered. The company said about 65 percent of the notes have already been tendered, enough to make the tender successful under revised terms.
Scaasi Hits The Airwaves With Jewelry
Fifty years after Diana Vreeland urged Arnold Scaasi to add jewelry to his repertoire, the designer is back at it with a new collection for HSN.
During an interview last week in his art-laden Beekman Place apartment in Manhattan, Scaasi disappeared momentarily to dig up a photocopy of the telegram the legendary editor sent decades back praising his jewelry. This time around HSN came knocking after learning that Scaasi had done jewelry, the designer said.
And no one is more surprised than Scaasi. “Suddenly, at my age, I have a new job? valentines gifts!” he said.
While he continues to design made-to-order pieces for select clients and routinely flies back from Palm Beach, Fla., where he winters, for fittings, Scaasi has no intention to go whole hog back into fashion: “I love working, but I don’t want to work as intensely as I worked before. I do know that I don’t want to do that anymore, thank you.
“You know how everyone keeps saying women will be shopping in their closets? Well, this gives them something to wear with that old dress,” he said, holding up a $95 crystal-encrusted necklace and noting how it could be worn with a cocktail dress, evening gown or jeans and a T-shirt. “The whole idea of this is it’s amusing. You should have fun with it.”
Never one to mince words, Scaasi will no doubt have some fun when he appears on HSN at 1 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Dec. 5 for a pre-holiday blast. On-air pitches are also planned for before Valentine’s Day, as well as ones in April, and May or June. About 20 pieces ranging from $18 to $95 will be featured on each program.
Having once sold a collection of fitted $200 dresses on QVC, the designer is not flummoxed about his televised spiel even though his last one was eight years ago. “I’m going to tell them what I told you,” he said. “For $35, you can buy the pearls and for $25 you can buy the [matching] earrings. Women will buy something to tiffany bangles themselves up and to wear with that old dress to make it look new.”
All of the baubles were inspired by the more than 100 designs he produced from 1958 to 1963 — the last time he made jewelry. After Vreeland encouraged him to expand upon a compact butterfly-inspired collection of jewelry, he started working with Jacques Jewelry in 1958. The designer had a change of heart about the endeavor after reviewing his year-end sales with his accountant in 1963. When the numbers guy ran through sales for his ready-to-wear, couture, children’s clothing and furs, but neglected to mention the jewelry business, Scaasi asked, “What about the jewelry?” He was dismayed to learn that category only broke even. The fact that he was getting loads of press for those designs and was not losing money made it viable to the accountant, but Scaasi didn’t share that view.
“That’s ridiculous. Here I am spending every Saturday at the jewelers’ putting stones in plastertine, and I wasn’t making any money from it,” Scaasi said, adding he bowed out of that business in late 1963 and tipped off his friend Kenneth Jay Lane to the availability of the 125-person factory.
But next month’s debut was too inviting to pass up, given HSN’s reach. Holding a bracelet with tiffany rings pearls and crystals, he said, “It’s exactly what everyone is showing today.”
Credit: THOMAS IANNACCONE; By Rosemary Feitelberg
International glitz and glamour on show at dubai international jewellery week
Buyers are rushing to the Dubai International Jewellery Week, the valentines day jewelry and most popular event of its kind in the region, in search of spectacular international designs and bespoke jewellery pieces. “Dubai International Jewellery Week offers the widest variety of trend-setting and good value jewellery pieces from all over the world,” said Trixee Loh, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of the show which closes on Saturday (7 November 2009) and is open to both consumers and trade. “Visitors are coming to discover the latest fashions & individual designs and purchase some of the most exquisite and creative designs on the market today.”Dubai International Jewellery Week show visitors can buy everything from diamonds and pearls, to platinum and gold as well as the many options in-between with more than 300 companies from 27 countries taking part.Sushil Jain, Partner in Dialmaz of New Delhi, India, said: “We have been coming every year and I can honestly say this year has been busier for us. What we are finding both here and in the rest of the world is a shift towards value-based jewellery in the current climate.”"It certainly seems that this region has not been hit as bad as others as far as our industry is concerned, but people are looking for bargains,” said Kingston Lue, Sales Director of New Concept Jewellery, part of a 50-company strong delegation from Hong Kong taking part in the show.The show is the only event of its kind in the Middle East with three elements under one roof Jewellery Trade Dubai, Jewellery Collections Dubai and Areeq Dubai. The show is also the venue (7 November 2009) for announcing the winners of the first-ever Jewellery Design Competition. The judges include distinguished jewellery designers, Shaikha Fatima Al Qassimi and Dubai-based Lebanese designer Nadine Kanso, famous for her Bil Arabi silver rings line as well as photography.
In addition, there is a daily Asian Bridal Jewellery Fashion Show highlighting spectacular designs alongside beautiful, ornate jewellery by Dhamoni and Mahallati. Various workshops and educational activities are also taking place throughout the week which will provide exciting opportunities for industry professionals and consumers.Designer Mandi Kingsbury, a New Zealand native who splits her time between her home country and Dubai, will also be hosting a Jewellery-Making Workshop in support of multiple sclerosis (MS) Charity, ProtestMS. Loh added: “There is so much to see and do at the Dubai International Jewellery Week. Our exhibitors are finding an appreciative audience for well-priced products and the event is supporting business by helping to regain consumer silver bracelets with exclusive bargains and deals.”
Bank fraud criminal spent proceeds like “Monopoly money”
A Brisbane employee who stole almost $3 million from the Bank of Queensland (BOQ) and then spent it like “Monopoly money” on cars, jewellery and holidays has been sentenced to nine years’ jail.
Reecson (Reecson) Wentworth Denford, 24, of Ascot, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court on Tuesday to one count of fraud over a 20-month period totalling $2.935 million.
The court heard Denford illegally made hundreds of transactions between November 2006 and tiffany and co 2008 while working for EDS Pty Ltd, a company employed by BOQ for onsite accounting and computer services.
Prosecutor Julie Aylward told the court Denford discovered a loophole where he could make unchecked credit voucher transactions under $10,000 to a body corporate sinking fund looked after by his wife, then forward the money to his personal account.
She said he would then purchase depreciating items with the money, most of which lost half their value the moment they left the store.
Some of the more lavish purchases included a trip to the world’s only seven-star hotel, in Dubai, a $100,000 BMW, a $70,000 Mini Cooper, $450,000 worth of French champagne and $320,000 worth of jewellery.
From the $2.935 million, only an amount of $536,374 was valentines jewelry through the sale of his purchases, Ms Aylward said.
“It seems he has low self-esteem and the need to purchase friends was behind the spending,” she said.
“He really spent the proceeds as if it were Monopoly money.”
Defence lawyer Tim Ryan told the court his client was an intelligent young man who had identified a loophole with the hope of being promoted.
He said Denford made the initial transactions with the intention of showing his manager that valentines day jewelry loophole existed, but then succumbed to the temptation of wanting to impress his “much older” wife – who had now left him.
Mr Ryan told the court that when caught out, Denford had immediately accepted full responsibility for the fraud and had saved authorities a lot of money in helping recover some of the money spent.
However, Judge Kerry O’Brien noted BOQ was still $2.8 million out of pocket after additional costs spent on storage, legal fees and internal investigations into the fraud.
He sentenced Denford to nine years’ imprisonment, to be eligible for parole after three years.
New Jewellery Sales Down 9% Due to Recession and High Gold Prices
The rise in the price of gold and the recession are being blamed for a 9
per cent drop in new jewellery sales in the last 12 months.
http://www.froggybank.co.uk/, the UK’s leading cashback shopping website, has analysed the tiffany jewelry spending habits of its half a million members between November 2008 and 2009.
Not only are people buying less jewellery, but they are more likely to sell existing gold items to make some spare cash.
froggybank.co.uk’s marketing manager Nadeem Azam said: “While there are a number of factors affecting jewellery sales, the cost of gold is certainly having a major impact.
“Jewellery sales as a whole are down on last year, and the price of gold jewellery has contributed heavily to the figures.”
He added: “Families are still tightening their purse strings and therefore are unable to splash out on extravagant purchases such as jewellery.”
“On top of this, the cash-for-gold schemes are proving to be a very attractive option for people earrings to make money quickly on their excess gold jewellery – meaning they are less likely to buy more.”
Consumers log on to http://www.froggybank.co.uk/ before making online purchases, to earn cashback on everything they spend.
The network consists of 180 websites led by http://www.froggybank.co.uk/, the UK’s first and only green 100% cashback site.
It’s estimated there are more than 20 million online shoppers in the UK who are yet to discover cashback and get back up to 100% of the middleman’s fee on all their online shopping.
Shoppers log onto a cashback site before making online purchases from major retailers as normal.
The referral fee paid by the retailer to the cashback site is returned to the shopper.
froggybank.co.uk has committed to work with PURE the Clean Planet Trust, to offset one key rings million tons of carbon by 2012.
That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 180,000 average UK homes.
100% of the cashback paid by retailers can be turned into charitable donations that will support PURE. Shoppers can alternatively give the money to another charity, or keep some or all of it for themselves.
Keywords: Advertising, Marketing, V A C Media.
This article was prepared by Marketing Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, Marketing Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.
Maria Doulton looks at the state of the jewel trade
Picture this: a Caribbean island dotted with grass huts. Inside one of the huts, a group of Kanu women is sitting in a circle. Small children are at their side and the women are singing, gossiping and laughing while making precious jewellery using traditional techniques and designs. The gold they use is ecologically panned from their tribal lands and then hammered into gold butterflies, later to be sold in luxury stores in London and Japan, priced between 300 and 2,000. The profits go back to the Kanu community to build a new school. Welcome to one of jeweller/anthropologist Pippa Small’s projects to help indigenous communities in dire straits. In a perfect world, of course, all jewellery would be made like this, with all parties benefiting. But in fact, few corporations have the commitment and passion of Small to embark on such holistic projects D though that may be changing. According to Ledbury Research, a consultancy that studies trends among wealthy consumers, “Paying attention to corporate social responsibility issues makes good sense ethically and commercially, and is something that the jewellery sector will not be able to ignore.” Sensible but not quite so simple. While good work has been going on behind the scenes, the creation of a credible fair trade global luxury jewellery brand is still pie in the sky. The origin of raw materials is the main problem in creating an ethical jewellery brand, as the mining of gem stones such as sapphires, emeralds, rubies and spinels is not anywhere near a real level of surveillance. Moreover, the recyclable nature of gold makes it almost impossible to check initial sourcing. Interestingly, however, given the recent film Blood Diamond, it is actually the diamond industry that is leading the way in the process of self-regulation.
The single most important step taken in cleaning up the jewellery industry has been the Kimberley Process. Set up by the UN, non- government organisations, including Global Witness, the diamond industry and governments of diamond producing nations, it was adopted in 2002. Using a system of warranties, the Process aims to eliminate conflict diamonds from the market by certifying the origin of diamonds, exporting them from their country of origin in tamper- resistant packs with a government validated certificate stating they are not from a conflict zone. By 2004, the Kimberley Process was 99.8 per cent effective. But according to Global Witness, even one blood diamond is one too many, and the problem of smuggled stones remains. Some companies are working hard to improve their records. The De Beers Group, the world’s largest diamond mining company, has been working in recent years to become more involved in helping the communities where they work. In Botswana, for example, diamond revenues have provided a free education to every child up to the age of 13, according to a 2006 report from that country’s government. Then there’s Graff, the London-based jeweller and buyer of 60 per cent of the world’s yellow diamonds, which has invested in Botswana’s Diamond Technology Park, to be completed at the end of the year. The idea is for locals to be trained to sort, cut and polish diamonds and so keep more of the process and profit in the country. Finally, Tiffany’s has even been held up as an example by Global Witness as a “model of what major diamond jeweller retailers and manufacturers should do”, though their commitment to knowing the source of their materials is a mixture of good management and circumstance. When the company went public in the late 1980s, the increase in size meant that it made business sense to produce most of its jewellery internally via vertical integration, controlling every step of the process from mining to smelting. “So, we began to ask, “Where does this come from?’” says Linda Buckley, vice- president of media relations. “It looks like we were smarter than we are, but we needed to have answers and now follow a known-mine-of- origin strategy.” A number of smaller projects are following suit. Sabiha Foster, for example, designer and wife of architect Sir Norman Foster, has set up a scheme called “Diamonds for Humanity” that will produce and sell diamond jewellery with the aim of benefiting distressed communities worldwide. Foster hopes “eventually, the Diamonds for Humanity mark will become the seal of guarantee for source- certified, non-conflict diamonds.”
Similarly, US hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons is using his Phat brand and popular appeal to sell diamond jewellery to benefit communities in Africa’s diamond producing regions. Meanwhile, UK- based Cred Jewellery, “believe that jewellery should not only be judged by the beauty of the finished item, but also the impact that its creation has had on the people that mined the metal or gemstone and the environmentO and offer a “fair trade” range of wedding rings and other jewels, that, according to their website “you can wear with the knowledge that there has been no exploitation of any kind in its creation.” Spanish jeweller Chus Bur’s has taken another approach. Working in conjunction with artist Santiago Sierra, he has created a range of diamond studded, rapper- style, high-bling necklaces and rings that ostentatiously spell out two messages: “Diamond Traffic Kills” and “Gold Traffic Kills”. “I wanted to make insulting jewels,” says Burs from his Madrid workshop. “Not all diamonds and gold are corrupt, but I don’t have to keep quiet about the corruption that does exist. At least it gets people talking.”
Art meets technology in the latest Roger Dubuis watch collection at Damas
Damas, the leading retailer of watches and jewellery in the Middle East, showcases the abundance of skill, creativity, dynamic momentum and excellence of Swiss watchmaker Roger Dubuis. Having reached its ‘adolescence’, Manufacture Roger Dubuis lay claim to numerous technical and stylistic achievements which can be largely credited to its founder Carlos Dias. Tawhid Abdullah, Managing Director of Damas, said: “The approach taken in Roger Dubuis’ new collection has infused modern techniques in the traditional art of watchmaking and has found spectacular new expression through these timepieces. Radiating an understated and decidedly urban aura of elegance, technique meets aesthetics in a sophisticated stage-setting.”Abdullah pointed out that since 2005, the brand has been consistently adding new models meeting the most demanding expectations of its customers. “All kinds of complications, from triple time-zone displays to minute repeaters and flying tourbillons, have found their place inside the precious case of Roger Dubuis watches, composing genuine symphonies of technical sophistication,” he added.
Recognisable even from a distance thanks to the sheer size and strength of its design, the latest model, flying Skeleton Tourbillon Kingsquare along with the movement number RD02SQ, is a majestic newcomer. The case, offered in two sizes, is composed of parts crafted from noble or resolutely technical materials such as gold, titanium, rubber, and sapphire crystal, in which various colours harmoniously combine to offer a wide and subtle array of identifying features. The model is cleverly curved to form three large horizontal facets that are echoed in the sapphire crystals both front and back. The rubber-moulded crown matches the strap. The case-back a metal frame inset with a facetted sapphire crystal is water resistance to 50 metres.
The ladies models in titanium, white gold and rose gold are combined with white rubber straps and have two versions the first one equipped with a mechanical self-winding movement driving hour and minute indications while the other one is the haute horlogerie jewellery version and is paved with diamonds on the bezel and between the lugs. Two rubies adorn the pinnacle of the entirely redesigned movement, and the other on the back, setting the perfect finishing touch to this unique watch. The brand intends to make only 28 of these stunning models in harmony with the brand’s enduring philosophy of exclusivity and uniqueness.
Another model in the same line is driven by a mechanical self-winding movement and indicates the hours and minutes, as well as small seconds at 6 o’clock. A third model features a mechanical hand-wound flying Tourbillon movement, hour and minute indications, power-reserve display, date window, appearing on white or black dials with large raised Roman numerals.
The Excalibur model is also an adornment dedicated to women looking for strong signature codes. Equipped with a flying tourbillon or a richly diamond-set case, the model now comes clothed in new guilloch-lacquered dials in tender almond green or sandy colours, or others in vivid pink or blue mother-of-pearl with matching straps.
A second line evokes lucky charm symbols highlighted by precious stones in which ladybirds, four-leaf clovers and dolphins play with a flying tourbillon. Finally, pastel-coloured dials with superposed hearts and arabesques, with or without small seconds indications, offer a third variation on this charming theme. A peerless and immediately identifiable model sculpted in gold, steel or titanium, Excalibur has a double tourbillon movement, the first of its kind within the Swiss watch industry.
The new Roger Dubuis timepieces are available at Damas Les Exclusives Boutiques conveniently located in Saks Fifth Avenue, Burjuman; Emirates Towers; Burj Al Arab; Mina A’ Salam, and Mall of the Emirates.
About Damas: The journey of Damas began in 1907, and today it has grown from a UAE based company into a global fashion and jewellery network spanning UK, Italy, Libya, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Maldives, India, Lebanon, and throughout the GCC countries with about 400 sales points worldwide. Damas houses internationally acclaimed jewellery and watch brands such as Tiffany & Co., Mikimoto, Daniel K, Gucci, Faberge, Carrera y Carrera, Paspaley, Pasquale Bruni, Roberto Coin, Fope, Chronoswiss, Parmigiani, Perrelet, Quinting, Montega, Frederique Constant, among many others. The innovative in-house collections include the majestic Bridal jewellery, exclusive jewellery brands such as Boudoor, Hayati, Riwaya, Jawaher, Farasha, Fairouz, Harmony, Farfasha, Al Manthura; watch brands Varotti and Aquamarin; and a wide range of other classic and contemporary jewellery and watch collections. Quality consciousness, inspirational leadership and international reputation have led Damas to win prestigious awards including the exclusive De Beers Award 2000, 2004 and 2007 for jewellery design.