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October 25, 2009

Super Bell CEO Lo Huang Forms New Global Jewelry Coalition

Filed under: cufflinks — Tags: — admin @ 7:56 pm

La Vie Premium announced today that it has formed an expanding tiffany jewelry industry coalition of leading manufacturers, distributors, prestigious designers and globally recognized consumer brands. Jewelry categories will include diamonds, gold, platinum, silver, colored gemstones, bridal and watches.

“I have decided to take a leadership role by beginning to gather the finest of our industry to work with me on this project,” said Lo Huang, Super Bell CEO and La Vie Premium spokesperson. “The La Vie Group is being formed in reaction to the sweeping changes occurring in our industry. More than ever we recognize that there is strength in numbers and dynamic change is needed now!”

Lo Huang is a world recognized fine jewelry industry pacesetter who has built Super Bell, a successful manufacturing and distribution powerhouse, servicing over 4,000 independent retail doors worldwide as well as providing e-commerce solutions, in-stock programs and marketing support.

“My vision is to selectively search for new supply relationships, brands and designers to align with our group and collectively lead the industry in a positive direction,” added Mr. Huang. “There is market share to capture and opportunities to create together.”

La Vie Premium is inviting retailers to visit the La Vie Salon at the Hong Kong bracelets International Jewellery Show, March 4-8, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Hall 1, Room 203. La Vie will preview its collection in North America at the JCK International Jewelry Show in Las Vegas, May 30-June 2, Level 1, Booth 45001. La Vie Premium will officially launch the La Vie Collection to the worldwide jewelry market in the new Premier Pavilion, September 23-27 at the Hong Kong Jewellery and Watch Show.

ABOUT LA VIE PREMIUM

La Vie Premium’s strategic alliance of companies and brands, with sales and marketing offices worldwide, utilizes the latest manufacturing, communications, and information technologies to create an efficient supply chain that easily adapts to the ever-changing business climate and consumer product demands. For more information, contact Mr. Rose at The La Vie Group at +973.906.3618 or email lr@thelaviegroup.com.

ABOUT LO HUANG

Lo Huang is the CEO and Chairman of Super Bell Jewelry based in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Huang was born in Calcutta, India to poor Chinese immigrants and began his jewelry career with his wife in the United States in 1987. They opened a small retail booth located in the heart of the Los Angeles cufflinks Jewelry District on Hill Street. After expanding to 3 retail locations, he created a wholesale operation called Super Bell Jewelry in 1992 and launched to the trade that same year at the JCK Las Vegas Jewelry Show. Today, the Super Bell Jewelry team consists of hundreds of employees, servicing thousands of retailers around the globe. Mr. Huang is an avid golfer, musician and a staunch supporter of major jewelry industry groups and charities. Lo Huang is the passionate creator of the La Vie brand and the trademark: “Life is Beautiful…say La Vie!”

October 23, 2009

CHILDREN’S JEWELRY CRAFT KITS RECALLED BY ACTION PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL DUE TO RISK OF LEAD EXPOSURE

Filed under: earrings,pendants — Tags: , — admin @ 8:02 pm

The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued tiffany the following press release:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of product: Abalone and Venetian Carnevale Necklace Craft Kits

Units: About 2,900 in the United States and 36 in Canada

Importer: Action Products International Inc., of Ocala, Fla.

Hazard: The lobster clasps in both craft kits contain high levels of lead. The Abalone Necklace’s pendants also contains high levels of lead. Lead can be toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recall includes the children’s jewelry craft kits “Abalone Necklace” (item #67117) and “Venetian Carnevale Necklace” (item #67118). Both kits contain components to assemble necklaces including charms, beads, wire and clasps. The kit’s name, model number, and “Curiosity Kits” are printed on the product’s packaging.

Sold at: Various retailers in the U.S. and Canada from June 2007 through April 2009 for about $6.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled earrings children’s craft necklaces away from children and contact Action Products International to arrange for the necklace’s return and to receive a free replacement. Shipping will be free for consumer returns.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Action Products International at (800) 772-2846 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.APII.com.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.

October 22, 2009

Enterprise man designs fine fashion jewelry

Filed under: bangles — Tags: — admin @ 8:18 pm

Fine fashion buy tiffany jewelry design is how Andrew Tessier describes what he does in New York City.

It’s a dream come true for the former Enterprise High School mascot, “Mr. Wildcat,” Tessier said during a trip home to visit his parents.

Andrew Hamilton Crawford is the name of the New York City-based jewelry design company created by Tessier and Waycross, Ga., native Chad Crawford. The two are based in New York City, Tessier said. Crawford’s background is in fine jewelry, and Tessier started his career in costume design.

A self-proclaimed Army brat, Tessier is the son of Larry and Jeannie, both educators who retired to Enterprise after a military career.

After graduating from Enterprise High School, where he performed with the school’s show choir, the Encores, and on the football field as the school’s mascot, Tessier attended Troy University. He later transferred to Auburn, where he graduated with a major in theater with costume design as his focus.

“I changed focus when I moved into retail,” Tessier said, “but design is design and it is what I love to do.”

The combination of Crawford’s fine jewelry background and Tessier’s background bangles in design “created a perfect fit,” Tessier said.

All their jewelry is made from sterling silver or 18-karat gold vermeil often incorporating resin in primary colors.

Recently, the Andrew Hamilton Crawford jewelry collection has gained both national and international attention for its unique line of resin jewelry, Tessier said.

“Unlike glass or enamel pieces, our resin pieces are known for their durability and vivid colors,” he added tapping a bracelet on the table top.

“Fun designs, along with sophisticated everyday pieces” is what makes their jewelry accessible to every woman, no matter what her personal style, said Tessier. Among the avenues for their collection are regularly scheduled trunk shows at Henri Bendels on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Tessier said.

The nearest their collections are available locally is Atlanta, although Tessier has a trunk show planned at his parents’ Enterprise home on Oct. 26.

Even though much of their collection focuses on higher end jewelry, there is no limit to design inspiration, said Tessier.

“We brainstorm, and we bounce ideas off of each other,” he added, noting that the first draft rings of a design is often sketched in colored pencils.

There is no telling where inspiration for a new piece will come from, Tessier said, picking up a golden damask cuff bracelet.

“This, for instance, was inspired by wallpaper.”

October 21, 2009

JEWELRY DESIGNER WINS MAJOR NATIONAL AWARD

Filed under: bracelets,cufflinks — Tags: , — admin @ 11:08 pm

Feature Editor The first entry of Valerie Woodward-Naifeh in a Tiffany and co jewelry design contest won her an award in the 1991 Diamonds Today Awards, considered the top diamond jewelry design competition in the United States. The contest was sponsored by the Diamond Information Center of New York City.

Woodward-Naifeh operates a shop for Ann Garrett Designer Jewelry of Tulsa, which specializes in custom designed jewelry in Balliet’s, 50 Penn Place. She has operated the Oklahoma City shop and custom designed jewelry for it for three and a half years.

Her winning original design in the “Beyond Nature” competition to interpret nature was a whelk shell brooch of 18-carat gold, black onyx, mother-of-pearl and 29 diamonds weighing four and a quarter karats. The brooch is about three and one-half inches long and has been appraised at $24,000.

It is one of 30 winning designs chosen from more than 500 entries for equal awards in the contest collection appraised at more than $1 million. She was one of 23 designers and diamond jewelry manufacturers winning positions in the collection, which will be displayed in 10 major U.S. cities for a year. It is presently on display in Miami, Fla.

She found herself in the company of some of the top jewelry designers in the world when accepting the award at The Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center in New York City Jan. 30, she said. Her award was a Baccarat crystal diamond from Tiffany’s engraved with her name. It is now on display in her shop.

“Although I had been designing jewelry about six and a half years, I actually had never entered a contest before,” she said.

Winning the award also has led to new job offers, which she said she found professionally rings flattering.

Her design was chosen from a drawing. After being notified she was a winner, the piece was partially crafted in the Orient and completed in Tulsa, she said.

“It is for sale, and there are actually some people that are actually interested in it. We are able to reproduce it, so we can sell it more than once, but I’d only be willing to produce a limited amount since it is an award-winning piece,” she said.

She plans to display it in her shop after it is returned from the display tour and before it is sold, she said.

“I just got a call from a lady at the Diamond Information Center. She wanted some details in terms of turn-around time. If someone wanted to buy the piece before year’s end, we’d have to make a duplicate, and that would take about eight weeks,” she said.

Woodward-Naifeh is a native of Tulsa and graduate of the University of Tulsa. She began her bracelets jewelry designing career as an apprentice with Ann Garrett Designer Jewelry in Tulsa six years ago.

The jewelry shop in Balliet’s occupies about 600 square feet. It is operated by Woodward-Naifeh and an assistant, Beverly Dahnke.

“About 30 to 40 percent of the pieces we sell are designed by myself and Ann Garrett, and the remainder are personally selected by us from other designers. We run an average volume of about $300,000 a year in the shop,” she said.

A large percentage of requests for special designs in the Balliet’s shop are for diamond pieces, she said.

After winning her first contest, she said she intends to continue designing entries for other contests.

She previously won another design award, but not for jewelry. That was first prize for a park bench design in the 1990 Environmental Design Awards cufflinks sponsored by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City, she said.

“I designed this bench, and then when they picked my design as the winner, I had to make this bench. It is still on display down at the Arts Council,” she said.

October 20, 2009

Tiffany Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend

Filed under: cufflinks,earrings — Tags: — admin @ 8:33 pm

The Board of Directors of Tiffany & Co buy tiffany. (NYSE: TIF) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 17 cents per share on its Common Stock. The dividend will be paid on April 10, 2009 to stockholders of record on March 20, 2009.

Company Description

Tiffany & Co. operates jewelry and specialty retail stores and manufactures products through rings its subsidiary corporations. Its principal subsidiary is Tiffany and Company. The Company operates TIFFANY & CO. retail stores and boutiques in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and engages in direct selling through Internet, catalog and business gift operations. Other operations include consolidated results from ventures operated under trademarks or trade names other than TIFFANY & CO. For additional information, please visit www.tiffany.com or call our shareholder information line at 800-TIF-0110.

October 19, 2009

Group Led by Management Will Take Jewelry Firm Private by Mid

Filed under: bracelets,cufflinks — Tags: , , — admin @ 7:02 pm

Avon Products Inc. agreed to sell its Tiffany and co. unit to an investor group led by William R. Chaney, Tiffany’s chairman, for $135.5 million.

The group, which also includes other members of Tiffany’s management and some international investors who weren’t identified, will take the prestigious jewelry concern private through a leveraged buyout.

The transaction is expected to be completed in mid-October. Mr. Chaney said he will be the largest single investor and Tiffany’s management, as a group, will hold the largest stake in Tiffany. Mr. Chaney wouldn’t elaborate.

Mr. Chaney said that current management would retain their positions.

The investor group is represented by Lehman Brothers, a unit of Shearson Lehman/American Express Inc., and Investcorp, an international investment banking concern based in Bahrain. In a leveraged buyout, a small group of investors takes a company private in a transaction that is financed largely by borrowing. Ultimately, the debt is paid with funds generated by the target company’s operations or by the sale of its assets.

The announcement ends Avon’s search for a buyer for Tiffany, which began in June. Avon had retained investment banker Morgan Stanley & Co. As reported, Avon said it wanted to sell Tiffany to concentrate on its beauty, health care and direct mail operations.

Analysts said Avon expected to sell Tiffany bracelets for $160 million or more, but most observers thought Avon wouldn’t receive more than $140 million for the 147-year-old jewelry concern.

Analysts said the sale isn’t expected to have a major impact on Avon’s bottom line. Avon acquired Tiffany in 1979 for stock then valued at about $105 million, and it has said that it invested about $53 million in the jewelry retailer.

Alice B. Longley, an analyst for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp., said the transaction would have nothing more than “a little psychological impact” on investors. “It helps Avon keep paying the dividend for the near term,” she said.

Avon said that Tiffany’s 1983 profit declined 16%, to $2.1 million from $2.5 million a year earlier. Sales were $125 million in 1983. In that year, Tiffany accounted for only about 1% of Avon’s profit and about 4% of its sales. Mr. Chaney said sales and profit would rise this year, but he wouldn’t elaborate.

Despite Tiffany’s financial picture, the company attracted interest domestically and overseas. Prospective buyers ranged from London-based Sears Holdings PLC, a British retailer with retail jewelry holdings in the U.S., to a New Jersey mail order company that offered a meager $16 million for Tiffany’s retail and catalog operations.

Avon has been criticized for steering Tiffany cufflinks toward a wider audience by expanding catalog operations and adding lower-priced merchandise. That strategy drew a mixed reaction, and in 1981 two longtime Tiffany executives, Walter Hoving and Henry “Harry” Platt, left the company. The new concept, observers said, never caught on with consumers and alienated many of Tiffany’s regular customers, who were offended by the mass-merchandising techniques.

It appears that Mr. Chaney will reverse that strategy. “We will focus on the more important offerings” and “on the consumer who wants the best,” Mr. Chaney said, adding that taking Tiffany private will allow the company to “focus all its time and attention on its business to be what it wants to be.”

Tiffany operates eight stores and plans to open another one in Boston next week. The company also operates production and distribution facilities in Newark and Parsippany, N.J.

In composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, Avon closed at $24.50 a share, down 12.5 cents.

October 18, 2009

Akron, Ohio-Based Jewelry Retailer Saw Stronger-than-Expected Holiday Sales

Filed under: bangles,bracelets — Tags: — admin @ 7:18 pm

There were some unexpectedly bright spots among Ohio retailers this holiday season.

One of the the most sparkling performances was that of Akron- based tiffany and co jewelry retailer Sterling Inc. and its London-based parent company Signet Group Plc. Signet shares, which trade on the London Exchange, posted their biggest gain in more than nine years after the owner of several mall jewelry chains, including Kay Jewelers and Osterman, said full-year earnings will increase and beat analysts’ forecasts due to stronger-than-expected holiday sales.

Signet, which competes with Zale Corp. and Tiffany & Co. in the United States, said pretax profit will rise from last year’s $293.8 million. Analysts had expected profit to be little changed after cutting their estimates last month.

The London retailer is gaining market share in the United States, where it has about 7 percent of the specialty jewelry market, 1 percent behind the market leader, Zale. Sales in U.S. stores open a year or more rose 4.7 percent in November through December, compared with gains of 1.3 percent at Zale and 1 percent at Tiffany bangle bracelets. Same- store sales are considered the best sign of a retailer’s health because they disregard store openings and closings.

“It’s a stunning U.S. performance and does show the strength of that business,” said John Baillie, a retail analyst at SG Securities.

The retailer’s sales benefited in part from increased spending on training, advertising and store upgrades, said Signet chief Terry Burman.

Hudson-based Jo-Ann Stores Inc., a leading national fabric and craft retailer, reported that December same-store sales increased 13 percent versus an 11 percent same-store sales increase in December of last year.

Year-to-date same-store sales increased 8.8 percent, versus a same-store sales increase of 5.5 percent for the same period last year.

The key drivers behind the strong December same-store sales performance were continued strength in Jo-Ann Stores’ core businesses, particularly sewing and home decorating, as well as heavy Christmas seasonal product sales late in the month, aided by end-of-season promotional pricing, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Jo-Ann Stores raised its earnings estimate for the full fiscal year by 15 cents per diluted share based on the strength of the December sales performance. The company now expects fiscal 2003 earnings per diluted share of $2.15 to $2.25. This revised guidance is predicated on a same-store sales growth assumption of 6 percent for the fourth quarter.

Columbus-based Big Lots said sales at stores open at least a year jumped 10.1 percent for the four weeks that ended on Dec. 28. Toys, holiday items and home furnishings led the growth, said the company, which reports sales for a different period than most retailers.

Overall sales were up 15.3 percent, the company said.

Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, based in the Columbus suburb of New Albany bangles, didn’t fare quite as well as many Ohio retailers. Same-store sales were flat for the five weeks that ended on Saturday, but overall sales were up 19 percent. Based on the results, the company is now saying earnings for the quarter will be higher than projected.

But girls clothing retailer Limited Too, also based in New Albany, said it expects earnings for the quarter to be below expectations because of weak sales that led to significant markdowns. It is expecting same-store sales to fall about 10 percent to 11 percent for the quarter.

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

October 16, 2009

Selling jewelry to raise cash is risky business

Filed under: bracelets,rings,tiffany — Tags: , — admin @ 7:22 pm

The American Society of Appraisers says people who need immediate cash should be cautious before selling their gold tiffany and co jewelry.

“If people don’t know what they have and approximately what it is worth, they have absolutely no idea if they are getting a fair value for their gold,” said Margaret Olsen, accredited senior appraiser of the society.

Some tips from Olsen’s group:

–Determine what a piece of jewelry is worth. That can be difficult, so deal with a reputable local jeweler or other business dealing in precious metals.

–Assess whether selling gold jewelry for scrap is the best option. Broken or mismatched rings jewelry pieces are the best candidates to be melted down, but many have more value when sold whole to an estate jeweler or buyer.

–Get appraisals for pieces from well-known designers for well-crafted antique pieces, or pieces with gemstones. Selling them for scrap may bring less than the pieces are worth. Have an important piece of jewelry appraised by someone accredited with a nationally recognized organization, such as the American Society of Appraisers, a graduate gemologist of the Gemological Institute of America or the Gemmological Association of Great Britain

–Look for a stamp that lists the karats. Twenty-four-karat gold is .999 pure; 18-karat gold is .750 pure; 14-karat is .583 pure and 10-karat is .417 pure.

–Find out current gold prices at Web sites such as www.kitco.com.

–The price quoted for gold is per troy ounce, which is 31.1 grams. Divide the daily price bracelets of gold by 31.1 grams and that is the price for a gram of 24-karat gold. If you have 18-, 14- or 10-karat gold, it will be worth less.

–Ask an accredited appraiser or numismatist about gold coins and bars.

October 15, 2009

Fit Students Are Winners in Mjsa Vision Awards Jewelry Contest

Filed under: tiffany — Tags: , — admin @ 7:23 pm

Two tiffany and co Jewelry Design students from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) have won first and second place in the Vision Awards competition sponsored by Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA). This is the second consecutive year that FIT has taken top spots in the competition. Winners were announced at MJSA Expo New York.

Ahleum Chun, who won the first prize of $250, and Hyangmi Kim who won the second prize of $100, were selected from a field of 83 students from the U.S. and Europe. In 2008, FIT student Yumiko Kakiuchi, who has since graduated, won first prize for her design of a bracelet.

The student category is open to any student enrolled in an art, design, or jewelry-related program at a college, university, or proprietary technical school. All designs submitted must be new, original, not available for sale, and cannot have won any previous competitions.

Chun won first place for a ring with four interchangeable tops. Her unusual designs for the ring’s tops are based on interpretations of a bird, blossoms, a pond and rain, and waves meeting pebbles. Materials used were brass, copper, coral, crystal, gold plated wire, pearl, resin, shakudo, and silver.

Kim took second place for a necklace made of aluminum, wire, steel, nickel brass, and nickel. “My designs use the motif of nature,” she said. “I was inspired by raindrops in creating this necklace. While walking during a rain shower, it looked like the raindrops were dancing gracefully in the city. I tried to capture this idea and feeling.”

Both women are fourth-semester students who will receive an Associate in Applied Science degree in Jewelry Design from FIT at commencement on May 19.

“They beat students with more experience and training from bachelor’s and master’s degree jewelry design programs at leading international colleges,” said Michael Coan, chair of FIT’s Jewelry Design Department.

Both winners were born, raised, and educated in Seoul, South Korea. A passion for jewelry design brought them to New York and FIT.

FIT offers one and two-year programs in Jewelry Design leading to an AAS degree. “We teach the skills and techniques of jewelry design in the classic tradition, for both the industry and craftspeople,” Professor Coan said. Graduates work as designers, jewelers, and executives for such companies as Tiffany and Company and Harry Winston, and as assistants to such top designers as David Yurman and Judith Ripka.

Contact: Cheri Fein, Executive Director of Media Relations, 212/217-4718

October 14, 2009

ROWAN UNIVERSITY GALLERY HOSTS JEWELRY, METALWORK EXHIBIT

Filed under: earrings,pendants — Tags: , — admin @ 10:24 pm

The Rowan University Art Gallery brings the international juried exhibition, Decorative Resurgence, to tiffany Glassboro and hosts a reception welcoming the work on Thursday, April 23 from 4:30 – 6:30 pm in the Gallery. The exhibit is on display through May 29.

Curated by Rowan faculty member and artist Jill Baker Gower, the exhibit was juried by Gower and Jessica Calderwood, an assistant professor of Art at The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Gower gives a gallery talk as part of the April 23 reception, beginning at 4:30 pm. A closing reception is scheduled for May 24 from 12 – 3 pm.

Decorative Resurgence is an international exhibition focused on contemporary metalwork and pendants jewelry inspired by historical ornamentation and decoration, including works influenced by historical decorative metalwork, jewelry, functional and non-functional objects, architecture, textile patterns and/or processes. The selections encompass a wide variety of formats including jewelry, sculpture, functional and nonfunctional objects and vessels. A total of 72 artists from around the world are represented, bringing together artists working with similar influences and interests in the first exhibition of contemporary metalwork and jewelry held at the gallery.

“The work juried into the exhibition is not only exquisitely crafted, but also successfully re-contextualizes the chosen historical decorative influence into thoughtful and contemporary art as well as illustrates research and knowledge of the decorative inspiration,” Gower notes.

The exhibition coincides with the Society of North American Goldsmiths annual conference held in Philadelphia this May. A full color catalog accompanies the exhibition, funded by a grant from the Art Jewelry Forum of Mill Valley, CA.

Admission to the gallery and the reception is free and open to the public. Hours for this exhibit are: April 20 – May 1, earrings Monday – Friday, 11 am – 4 pm (with extended hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays until 6 pm); and by appointment from May 1 – 29. For information, call 856-256-4521 or visit www.rowan.edu/fpa/artgallery. Rowan University Art Gallery is located in Westby Hall on the campus of Rowan University, Route 322 in Glassboro, NJ.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.

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