January 2006 Archives
On-Line Sales Surge This Holiday Season.
National Jeweler reports that Online sales for the 2005 holiday season surged 25 percent, reaching $18.11 billion, according to new data from comScore Networks.
This year's holiday sales spike for online, non-travel spending from Nov. 1 through Dec. 25 eclipsed the $14.5 billion seen in holiday sales during the same period of 2004, according to comScore, which tracks online consumer behavior.
"We're seeing another terrific holiday season for online spending," comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a release issued Thursday. "The growth of 25 percent we're now seeing, versus a year ago, is slightly ahead of our initial forecast of 24 percent growth, reflecting the aggressive price discounting offered by online merchants late in the season and cnsumers' increased confidence in expedited shipping."
Apparel and accessories was the second most-popular product category by dollar sales for online holiday sales this year, as well as being the second-fastest growing product category. According to comScore's report, the apparel and accessories category saw $3 billion in online sales this year, marking a 37 percent increase over last year.
The other two most popular product categories for online holiday sales were computer hardware and consumer electronics. The sports and fitness category saw the greatest sales growth this season over last year, according to comScore, rising 49 percent over 2004.
According to comScore, the five retail Web sites which saw the greatest number of total visits during the holiday season (Nov. 1-Dec. 25) were, in descending order: eBay, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Apple Computer, Inc. and Target. As with last year, the weeks of Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 saw the greatest dollar amount of holiday online retail sales, with more than $3 million spent during each of those weeks.
Walmart Has Shaky Holiday Season
The Associated Press reports this morning that Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which made a big push this holiday season to woo customers with aggressive discounts and marketing, estimated that its December sales will meet only the low end of its forecast.
The world's largest retailer said Saturday that sales at stores open for at least a year, known as same-store sales, are expected to be up 2.2 percent in December. The forecast was for a 2 percent to 4 percent gain. Same-store sales are considered the best indicator of a retailers' health.
The company said that general merchandise sales outpaced demand for food.
Wal-Mart, which stumbled during the holiday 2004 shopping season, came out with a holiday campaign two weeks earlier than last year. The retailer had a solid start to the season, but like many merchants, struggled with shoppers delaying their purchases longer than last year.
Wal-Mart, whose gift card sales beat expectations this season, is counting on a big sales boost in January from gift card redemptions. Gift card sales are recorded only when customers redeem them.
To entice customers with the newfound money to splurge on regular-priced goods, Wal-Mart rushed in new spring assortments and new outerwear for the day after Christmas. Meanwhile, it pushed discounted holiday goods to the back corner.
Wal-Mart and many other major retailers are expected to announce their final December results this Thursday.
Gold Surging!
Gold advanced as investors bought the precious metal on expectations price gains will extend into this year and on demand from Asian jewelers.
The precious metal last year had its fifth annual increase in 2005 after reaching a 24-year high of $541 an ounce on Dec. 12 as investors diversified from stocks, bonds and currencies amid concern inflation may rise crimp returns. Jewelry demand is ``at its highest ever,'' the World Gold Council said Dec. 8.
``The overall trend continues to remain bullish. A few people seem to have gone long on gold and pushed prices up,'' Si Kannan, an analyst at Sharekhan Commodities Pvt., said by phone from Mumbai today.
Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $8.60, or 1.7 percent, to $520.60 an ounce. That's the biggest intraday percentage gain since Dec. 28. It traded at $520.26 at 2:44 p.m. Singapore time.
The bullion may rise to $600 an ounce by mid-year, when Indian farmers cash in their crops and buy gold, Gavin Wendt, a resources analyst at Fat Prophets Fund Management in Sydney, said by phone today.
Commodity prices, led by energy and metals, reached a 25- year high in early September as pension funds, hedge funds and investors poured more money into raw materials. The Reuters- Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities gained 17 percent in 2005, and the energy-weighted Goldman Sachs Commodity Index gained 39 percent.
Gold for delivery in February rose as much as $3.30, or 0.6 percent, to $522.20 an ounce in after-hours trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $522 at 2:44 p.m. Singapore time.
This morning Gold is surging and rose to its highest in three weeks on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2006 in the key bullion trading cities of Singapore and Hong Kong, extending year-end gains as investors poured money into precious metals.
Spot gold rose to $519.40, its highest since December 13, on fund buying. It later eased to $519.00/519.75 in afternoon trade, but was still higher than $517.20/518.00 late in New York on Friday when the metal rose around $1.5 an ounce.
With Gold Prices Soaring, Gold producers Must be Cleaning Up! Right? Wrong!
The London Financial Times has an interesting report today on the Gold producing companies.
The price of gold has doubled over the past five years, so it stands to reason that companies that dig the precious metal out of the ground must be laughing all the way to the bank.
They are not. Even with gold at more than $500 an ounce, “the margins are not great”, says Bruce Alway, a senior analyst at GFMS, a London-based research group.
That paradox helps explain Barrick Gold’s pursuit of its Vancouver-based rival Placer Dome, and a drive throughout the industry to grow in ways that improve profitability and replenish reserves.
Placer agreed to an improved $10.4bill offer last week, setting the stage for Barrick to overtake Newmont Mining of Denver as the world’s largest gold producer.
While Barrick CE Greg Wilkins exudes confidence on the gold price, he says that the challenges facing the industry “are only going to get harder, not easier”.
Wilkins says building a new mine costs at least $500m, with most projects now in the pipeline running at $1billion-$1.5billion.
Regulatory approvals have become more complex and time-consuming. Environmental safeguards are more costly.
“We need to have a company that has the strength, breadth and scale to capitalise on the opportunities,” Wilkins says.
But strength requires more than sheer size. Even the industry’s giants are struggling to lift profits at a pace close to the gold price.
Newmont reported virtually unchanged third-quarter earnings. Profit at AngloGold Ashanti, the number-two producer, were almost 40% lower in the first nine months, measured in US dollars.
The same inflationary pressures that have helped lift the gold price are also pushing up costs. Newmont blamed a shortage of underground labour and higher diesel and other commodity prices for a 24% jump in third-quarter costs at its Nevada operations.
“There’s a limit to what you can achieve by synergies,” says Alway. “You’ve still got to drive trucks and shift soil.”
The strength of the Australian, Canadian and South African currencies has eroded margins of mines in those countries, eating into local currency revenues.
Hedging, popular when gold was in the doldrums in the 1990s, has now become a drag on profits.
According to GFMS, Barrick and Placer combined would have the largest hedge book in the industry, accounting for about 40% of the global hedged position. Both companies have significantly reduced their positions this year.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of mergers and acquisitions is the ability to replenish reserves, a crucial measure of a gold producer’s long-term growth prospects. As one executive puts it: “The bigger you get, the more you need to replenish reserves.”
Barrick mined 5-million ounces last year, but expanded its reserves by only 3-million ounces. While Placer has increased reserves 60% over the past five years, Barrick’s reserves have expanded only 8%.
The soaring gold price has fuelled a global exploration boom.
Metals Economics Group, a Nova Scotia-based consultancy, estimates that spending on gold exploration has trebled in the past three years, with gold making up 47% of the $4,9bn spent on mineral exploration this year.
But Jason Goulden, a Metal Economics analyst, notes that “when you take over a junior exploration company without proven resources, you’re taking over a fair amount of risk”.
By acquiring Placer, Barrick will boost its reserves from 89-million to 150-million ounces. As Barrick sees it, the Vancouver company will give it “an unrivalled pipeline” of projects on four continents and exploration holdings in 16 states.
Given the importance of reserve replenishment, one of the toughest decisions facing Barrick will be whether or not to hold on to Placer’s 50% stake in the South Deep mine in SA. South Deep accounts for a 10th of Placer’s proven reserves and more than a half of its ”probable” reserves.
Barrick’s founder and chairman, Peter Munk, has been lukewarm towards investing in SA. South Deep has barely broken even this year due to high costs and lower-than-expected output.
Some analysts believe that South Deep’s performance could be enhanced by merging it with Gold Fields’ adjoining Kloof mine. South Deep’s shareholder “could sell the reserves to someone who could do a better job at developing them”, says one industry executive.
Wilkins says that Barrick needs time to consider its options: “We’ll be approaching that with an open mind,” he said.
What Will Happen To Zales?
The Dallas Morning News reports that Zales, the largest United States jewelry chain's stock price has fallen more than 12 percent since Thanksgiving, as Wall Street expresses concerns about the Irving, TX-based company's shrinking market share.
The company has lowered sales and profit expectations in recent months and has admitted that it has lost market share to Kay Jewelers.
Since reaching its split-adjusted high of $34.50 in July, Zale stock has fallen more than 25 percent, closing December 27 at $25.28, down 47-cents.
After disappointing results for Christmas 2004, the company shuffled management at Zales Jewelers, which makes up 45 percent of Zale Corp.'s sales. But a year later, the chain is still stumbling.
In a shift in direction, Zales is getting away from its "price-driven strategy" and emphasizing "a more style and quality image," said David Sternblitz, Zale vice president and treasurer.
The chain is buying basic jewelry directly from overseas sources, bypassing traditional wholesalers in the United States. And it has hedged against rising gold prices in recent months, he said December 23.
Zales is advertising for the first time in The New York Times Sunday magazine and has ditched its longtime television commercials for image ads. It's also using more direct mail and fewer newspaper inserts, Mr. Sternbiltz said.
The many moving parts have put Wall Street on guard. In November, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock.
Analysts say major competitor Kay Jewelers and department stores such as J.C. Penney Co., and Federated Department Stores Inc., which operates Macy's and Bloomingdale's, are luring away Zales' traditional customers.
In a note issued last week, Goldman downgraded Zale stock because of "extensive internal merchandising and marketing repositionings during the critical holiday season, which accounts for 100 percent of earnings."
Penney's jewelry offerings were "more contemporary and fashion-forward," the report said. "Zales continues to bleed market share to Kay, as demonstrated by the annual same-store sales trends since 2003."
Kay Jewelers and off-mall chain Jared are both owned by London-based Signet Group and operated by its subsidiary, Sterling Jewelers Inc., based in Akron, Ohio.
"We've experienced an erosion in market share to our next largest competitor over the past three years, and that's why we're repositioning Zales," Sternblitz said.
"We have been visiting Zales stores across malls over the past few weeks in search of positive evidence that management has been executing its brand repositioning efforts well. We have come up empty," wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Adrianne Shapira.
The week before Christmas, Zales stores put up "Lowest Prices of the Season" banners in an attempt to meet sales targets.
Sternblitz said that the company estimates comparable store sales to increase 2 percent to 3 percent. It plans to announce combined November-December results on January 5, when chain stores are scheduled to report December sales.
In addition to its flagship Zales Jewelers division, Zale owns Gordon's Jewelers, Bailey Banks & Biddle Fine Jewelers and other chains.
Zale expects to report fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.05 to $2.08 a share, excluding a one-time gain.
Changing Landscape in Retail Jewelry
Investment fund Newcastle Partners LP has filed a lawsuit against Whitehall Jewellers Inc., claiming the jewelry chain is trying to stymie Newcastle's takeover efforts.
In a lawsuit filed January 4, in the Southern District of New York, the Newcastle said Whitehall's directors and Prentice Capital Management LP have conspired to rig a proxy fight over a proposed change in the company's charter that would allow the board to issue more shares and transfer control of the company to Prentice.
In October, Whitehall announced it had reached an agreement with Prentice to restructure its debt and improve its financial condition. Under the agreement, it would receive a $30 million bridge loan and issue $50 million in secured convertible notes in exchange for giving Prentice control of 87 percent of its common stock.
Shareholders are set to vote on the changes in Whitehall's corporate charter on Jan. 19.
Newcastle, which said it's the second largest independent shareholder of Whitehall, has made several tender offers for the company since the financing package was announced. Its latest offer was $1.50 a share.
A Whitehall spokesman wasn't immediately available to comment late Thursday. Whitehall shares rose 1 cent, at $1.24 in morning trading Friday on the OTC Bulletin Board.
In its complaint, Newcastle alleges that Whitehall's directors would remain in place under Prentice's proposal and that they have implemented a variety of measures intended to stack the deck in favor of Prentice, including waiving "poison pill" protections for Prentice, but not Newcastle.
The lawsuit also claims that Prentice has contacted selected shareholders who own significant blocks of the company's stock and offered to purchase their shares at a substantial premium to the market price on the condition they cast their proxy vote in favor of Whitehall's management.
Earlier Thursday, Whitehall asked its shareholders to take no action on the Newcastle proposal. The company said the board would disclose its position on the revised offer at a later time after reviewing the offer's terms.
The company said that its board has previously determined that it cannot consider any proposal without a firm commitment for refinancing the company's outstanding debt and meeting its future financial needs. Newcastle has failed to demonstrate its ability to do so, the company said.
Gold Keeps On Truckin'!
Gold futures finished Monday above $550 an ounce for the first time since early 1981, as weakness in the dollar helped spark investment demand for the metal.
"Gold continues to rally on continued U.S. dollar weakness, a trend I expect to continue over the next week," said Matthew Parry, an economist at Moody's Economy.com.
He added that he remains "reasonably bullish on gold over the medium term," forecasting that gold is headed for the $575 mark on further expectations for a lower dollar.
Gold for February delivery climbed as high as $551.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an intraday level not see since March 1981. It closed at $550.50, up $9.30, or 1.6%, at its highest closing level since January 1981, according to weekly charts.
Prices have since pulled back slightly in after-hours electronic trading, falling as low as $548.60.
Overall, "gold bulls have been out in force across most of [Monday's] trade activity, driving the yellow metal to its highest level in a quarter century amid speculation of Asian Central Bank purchases, fund/investor portfolio diversification and concerns over the spread of bird flu," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, in a Monday report.
Looking ahead, "the path of least resistance in gold is still pointing upward," said Nell Sloane, an analyst at NSFutures.com, in daily commentary. "The gold market continues to climb as long as the global economy is positively positioned."
But "certainly at some price point above the current market, gold will need some type of increased inflationary threat or a sharply lower dollar to extend to the upside," she warned.
Gold futures racked up gains of more than $22 an ounce last week, finding support from a weaker dollar and China's announcement that it will diversify its holdings of foreign reserves.
Although Chinese authorities didn't provide a timetable for any change -- nor specify that it would increase its emphasis on gold as a reserve -- "it comes at a time when there appears to be a strong consensus for further gains in gold prices over a medium- to longer-term view," said research firm Action Economics.
"Forecasts for rising demand in major emerging countries in 2006, coupled with constrained supply, underpin the longer-term outlook," Action added.
Analysts at Dundee Securities also expects gold to benefit from a weaker dollar.
The dollar has come under pressure in the past week from expectations that the Federal Reserve is approaching the end of its rate-raising cycle. At the same time, high energy prices have stoked inflation fears, bolstering demand for gold. See Currencies.
"We expect continuing record U.S. budget and trade deficits to weigh on the greenback," said P. Mark Smith, analyst with Dundee. "The greenback could weaken further and faster if Greenspan's replacement takes the chair and eliminates rate hikes or reduces rates."
Ben Bernanke is scheduled to take over as chairman of the Fed from Alan Greenspan at the end of January.
As gold prices rise, investment and jewelry demand is likely to grow, according to Smith. Meanwhile, the supply picture is weak with few discoveries despite record exploration spending.
"This implies future mine-supply declines, which could accelerate if producers take advantage of the price rise to process lower grades at constant throughput rates, thereby reducing gold production," he said.
Dundee expects gold to breach the $600-an-ounce level next year. Along these lines, the research firm raised its 2006 price target to $540 an ounce from $500 an ounce.
The company also raised its target for silver to $9 an ounce in 2006 and said that it expects the metal to breach $10 an ounce next year.
March silver closed up 11 cents at $9.283 an ounce, well above the contract's intraday low of $9.015. April platinum finished up $13.70 at $1,018.30 an ounce, its highest close since mid-December, and March palladium tacked on $7.20 to end at $280.60 an ounce.
Look for jewelers to significantly increase their prices for gold and platinum jewelry within the coming month.
Awesome Diamond Enagagement Ring Experience & Testimonial From Our Exceldiamonds Customer!
Here is a beautiful testimonial that a recent customer of ous sent us a link to. He originally posted this on his personal blog which you can see at www.russmann.com. I am taking the liberty of cutting and pasting this testimonial in it's entirety here on diamond views. In addition to Russ' positive experience with buying our Exceldiamonds-SuperbCert Super-Ideal Hearts and Arrows ideal cut diamond diamond engagement ring online, is his informative information regarding his overall diamond shopping experience. For you consumers first starting out on this journey, there is much to learn from Russ' shopping experiences. Read on.
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Russ & His Bride!!
January 11, 2006
Are You In the Market for A Diamond Ring?
My Story of Buying an Engagement Ring
Are you in the market for a diamond ring, an engagement ring, or jewelry? Do you care about acquiring the highest quality product for a fair price? Do you want to make the best impression possible with your gift? This is the story of my four month journey learning the ins and outs of the retail diamond market, the custom jewelry market, and the jewelry appraisal market! Perhaps a short read will help you accomplish your goals in your own purchase.
If you’re looking to buy diamonds for any occasion, or other jewelry, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into, and once you know, it’s easy to see who you can trust. Don’t just blindly hand over your two months salary, or whatever your budget is, to anyone and hope they give you something worth the money – get an education!
In May of 2005 I decided it was time to propose to the most beautiful woman on the planet, and started shopping for an engagement ring. See her picture to the left – I told you she is beautiful! I’m Italian, so before laying down the dough for something I like to know that I’m getting a good value, and not just being played like a schnook. What I found in the diamond retail market is a huge variance and not a lot of help for the little guy.
Diamond education is actually harder to come by than you might expect. If you go to the mall (affectionately known as the maul in the industry) I guarantee the salespeople will not educate you about diamonds. The few who appear to be educating you are very slanted toward pushing their products, so what you get for an “education” is nothing but a bluff. One maul store tried to sell very poor quality rocks with their “proprietary” cut that was really nothing special, but it gave them justification for inflating the price on very cheap rocks. There are four main factors to consider with a diamond: Carat Weight, Color, Clarity, and Cut. To that I personally add Commission, Commodity Value, and Cost, because as a man I want to get the best value for my commodity, while at the same time valuing the emotion involved.
Buying a diamond involves a lot of trade-offs, and each person wants something different when it comes to carat, color, clarity, cut, and cost. Taking those five “C’s,” pick 4 and we’ll talk.
Carat Weight
Carat weight is easy to understand – the bigger the diamond, the more carat weight it has. For an engagement ring, your woman will look at it several times a day for the rest of her life, some estimate a million views in her lifetime, and let’s face it, size matters. I personally decided to get a 1 carat stone. A one carat stone where I come from is basically ridiculously enormous, but the effect I was going for was to really pamper my lady and communicate that she’s ridiculously special to me.
Color
Color is easy to understand as well. The scale goes from D which is completely colorless and for normal jewelry ranges to about J, which has a noticeable yellow tint when you look at it carefully. I wanted to go with something in the GHI color category, because these are colorless to the naked eye, but some color can be seen under magnification. Since my lady wouldn’t be putting her ring under magnification or using special equipment most of the time, I thought that was a reasonable trade-off.
Clarity
Clarity has to do with inclusions. Inclusions is an industry word which simply means natural imperfections in the stone. A stone graded as IF is “Internally Flawless” and has no imperfections. VVS1 is Very Very Slightly Included Level 1, VVS2 is slightly more inclusions, VS1 has more, etc. VS2 is the lowest grade at which you definitely cannot see any inclusions with the naked eye. SI1 is the highest grade at which it is possible to see an inclusion, but it’s definitely visible under 10X magnification. I chose to shop between VS1 and SI1 for clarity. At the SI1 end of the scale I was a little nervous, and since that’s where I ended up buying, let me explain why.
Cut
The cut is the only human-regulated part of the diamond. A diamond cutter gets a raw diamond stone from the mines and has to figure out how to make a masterpiece out of a chunk of carbon atoms. The important factor in the cut is how the cut affects light return. When your lady looks at her ring, and when her mom looks at it, will they see something dull and un-amusing, or will it shock them with its brilliance and sparkle? Thankfully, there is science involved in the cut which helps in locating a well cut stone. You can find information about table percentage, pavilion depth, polish, and symmetry anywhere on the net, but I’d like to share some things which really made a difference to my decision. The crown and pavilion angles are not commonly reported on a diamond, but they have an important impact on the light return of a stone. A picture says 1000 words:
When a diamond cutter decides to go the extra mile, he can create an “Ideal Cut” diamond, with proportions within very exacting limits which should cause the maximum light return possible. When you start shopping for Ideal Cut diamonds, some things become apparent. The discount stores rarely deal in Ideal Cuts. The healthy wealthy stores like Tiffany’s and Co. do not deal in Ideal Cuts. Depending on where you live, local retailers are not dealing in Ideal Cut stones. This leaves the consumer to surf the net and try to find a needle in a haystack of options.
For the amount of money I was spending on an engagement ring, I didn’t want to be disappointed by the light return. It would seem little consolation to me to know my stone rates high in color, clarity, carat weight, and cost if when someone saw her left hand they didn’t see “WOW.” Incidentally, when they do see “WOW” people tend to want to know about the other factors. Even though there is a bit of a premium on Ideal Cut stones, because they take about twice as long for a diamond cutter to produce as a non-ideal stone, I chose to maximize on the cut.
Cost
Everyone is working with some type of budget. When you decide what you’re going to spend, and which parts of the other 4 “C’s” equation are important to you, it starts coming down to nickels and dimes. Should I buy a D color, VVS2 clarity, ½ carat stone, or for the same price should I buy an I color, SI1 full 1 carat stone? Each person must answer this question for himself, and that’s why you need the knowledge. There are a few sites on the web that sell diamonds from a list of available diamonds in the country. They don’t carry the stones in stock, and they’re all selling from the same list. These sites include bluenile.com and dirtcheapdiamonds.com. You can find some smokin’ deals on these sites, but there is a very important drawback to consider.
Service
There’s a world of difference in buying a stone that has all the mathematical proportions correct from a list, and buying from an experienced jeweler who has the rocks in stock and can provide extremely detailed information on light return, as well as the mathematical proportions. In my shopping experience, I did not find this service with list sellers, I did not find this service with Costco’s wholesale jewelry program, and I did not find it with Tiffany’s and Co. Where I found this level of personal service and support is ExcelDiamonds.com with Barry (Baruch) Gutwein.
Barry took the time to help me understand the parts of the diamond market that were more confusing to me and make recommendations based on my needs and desires. For each of his SuperbCert branded Super-Ideal Cut diamonds, he takes the time to provide all this information:
GIA grading report
MegaScope report
BrillianceScope report
Actual Hearts and Arrows photo
Actual ImageScope photo
Actual Inclusion photo
Additional diamond photos
Many sites will show photos of a “similar” stone, which isn’t what you’re buying! Don’t be fooled by this, be very careful as to what you’re looking at in the picture. Once you finally settle on a stone, make sure you put it into something beautiful. Take time to pay attention to the setting.
Setting
Tiffany’s and Co. invented the classic diamond solitaire setting that is the epitome of elegant style in engagement rings. The classic knife-edge ring in platinum is very beautiful and does an amazing job of setting the stone in a way to maximize the effect of all that light return. Unfortunately, Tiffany’s sells mandatory blue boxes with each ring, and those blue boxes apparently cost as much to produce as the diamond and setting put together. I found that a frugal shopper could spend about ½ the dollars to get a perfect stone and setting without the blue box. Not all replicas are created equally, however. For the setting that I like, cheap replicas are available everywhere, but they’re not custom created for the stone, the basket in which the diamond sits is sized to be approximately fitting, then it is molded to hold the stone. It’s also soldered to the shank in most cases, rather than the whole thing being one complete piece of metal. I chose to spend about three times as much as the cheap replicas in order to have one that looks perfectly like the original, and is made 100% custom from start to finish. That choice paid off very well. Barry at ExcelDiamonds.com happens to carry what I consider to be the absolute best in Tiffany-style settings.
Wrap-Up
To wrap it all up, with all that information and research, which took about 4 months of speaking to salespeople, visiting different locations including Tiffany’s in Portland, and several local shops, this is what I purchased for my beloved:
Carat : 1.03
Cut : Super Ideal, H&A
Clarity : SI1
Color : H
GIA Specifications
Measurements : 6.54 - 6.58 x 4
Depth : 61%
Table : 55%
Girdle : Thin to Medium, Faceted
Culet : None
Polish : Excellent
Symmetry : Excellent
Clarity Characteristics : Crystal, Cloud, Needle
Fluorescence : Medium blue
MegaScope Specifications
Crown Angle : 34.3
Crown Height : 14.6%
Pavil. Angle : 41%
Pavil. Depth : 43.3%
Pictures are included at the end of this article.
In the end, I purchased from Barry at Superb Cert, and didn’t go to either Tiffany’s or Costco. Here’s why:
Tiffany's:
I found someone on diamondtalk.com who pointed out via PM that no one knows she's wearing a Tiffany unless she tells them. When they see it, it's pretty, but the ring should speak for itself. Since I could get a lot more brilliance and bang for my buck elsewhere...
And my (now wife) isn't the type of gal to care about the brand name. She does care about the quality, and if she knows a certain brand is quality she likes that, but in the end, she'd rather have something awesome that isn't a brand than something less awesome that is a brand.
Costco:
For the undereducated buyer, Costco is probably a good choice. However, once I settled on wanting a specific setting, Costco can't help. The Tiffany classic e-ring setting is the classiest ring I've seen, and Costco's version of it misses the boat. Their rocks are decent, but in the end I wanted the most brilliance for the buck and decided an ideal cut was necessary.
The Winner: SuperbCert - Barry and Judah Gutwein
Their Tiffany setting is 100% perfect. In fact, it's more perfect than the original. The prongs that hold on the rock are chevron'd at the top, whereas the originals are just flat. It adds to the look and class. My wife and I visited Chicago for our honeymoon, and went to the Tiffany's there. She compared her ring to what they have in the case and was honestly more impressed with hers than what Tiffany's was selling. SuperbCert's ideal cut stones are a little more expensive than the "diamond list" retailers like Blue Nile etc. However, I am comfortable paying that little extra to get full disclosure on the exact rock I'm purchasing online. With the others, you get specs but no light analysis, inclusion map, etc. Also, they're hand picked by Barry and Judah specifically as excellent light performers. I understand it is possible to get a 0-0-0 that is still not actually looking good under light conditions.
They were able to work with me on price point and Barry was the absolute best pre-sales service to work with. No one else even came close.
I really recommend getting a thorough education on diamonds before buying. If you don't have time for that, I believe you can trust Barry to shoot you straight.
The Proposal, and Why Light Return is Important
This is the part of the story I’m sure you’ve been waiting for. How did the proposal go? Did she like it? Did her mom like it? Is she the envy of all her friends, enemies, and coworkers?
To propose I decided to recreate our first date as closely as possible. I kept track of what I wore that day and dressed the same. I picked her up at the same time, and had the same music playing in the car. I wasn’t able to use the same car as our first date (I had borrowed a Porsche Boxter, but my friend has since sold it), but we did take a nice car. I took her to the same restaurant and on the same after dinner drive to a view spot for a romantic setting to sit and talk.
The restaurant is called The Wine Cellar and is a wine bar with live jazz and blues every night. We got an out of the way table and ordered two flights of port, and something to snack on. The Wine Cellar is very dimly lit, and a candle on your table provides most of the lighting. At the right time, I got on my knee and presented her with the ring and a question.
It was at this point that the light return of a Super-Ideal Cut stone became very important. In the low lit club it showed brilliance and fire that was unbelievable. The size was noticed second, as it just shone so clearly. We left and took a walk, and under some fluorescent lights it returned so much white light that it was a bit surreal. The next day, in the sunshine, it was a driving hazard as it did its best to knock out the eyes of anyone on the road. Bottom line, it’s a hit!
And, she said yes. She’s quite impressed, and her mom is impressed, and her women friend just can’t help but to gawk and giggle over the deal. An unintended consequence of this is her unmarried friends’ boyfriends now have a lot of work cut out for them. I hear that at least one of them wants my help when he gets ready to go shopping.
What Now?
If you’re looking for a quality diamond, a quality setting, and a reasonable price for diamond jewelry, I seriously recommend that you give Barry at ExcelDiamonds.com a chance to help you find the best deal for your money. Barry is the type of guy who doesn’t hoard all the good stuff to himself, so he created a referral program to bless those who send business his way. When you contact Barry, please go to this page:
Refer A Diamond
Click the radio button next to this:
a new customer; I have been referred by a friend who has purchased from Excel Diamonds previously: Below please find my information. I have been referred to SuperbCert/Exceldiamonds prior to my purchase by the individual below.
For my information, please use this:
First Name: Russell
Last Name: Mann
E-mail Address: russell.mann@gmail.com
Best Contact Phone #: 208-773-6310
If you do contact Barry about a diamond, let me know, I’m interested to see what others experiences are at this!
For more pictures, see the rest of this article.
Appraisal
Once you have your ring, make sure you get it independently appraised. If you pay more than 1 large for it, you'll probably want some type of insurance for loss, theft, etc. 99% of the appraisers out there are connected with a jewlery retailer. It is not possible for these people to be truly objective about the value of any jewlery, as they have a stake in selling you something other than the appraisal. I found the only independent appraiser in Spokane, WA - Jan Jennings. Her company name is Master Jewelry Appraisal Services and she did a great job for us. Her phone is (509) 534-6555.
If you get an ideal-cut stone, make sure your appraiser includes this information on the appraisal, because that is what the insurance company will go off of if you need to make a claim. They will replace with like kind, so make sure the details of your cut and setting are well understood. Re-appraise every 5 years to make sure the value you're insuring is proper to the actual stone.
The New GIA Diamond Cut Grade Is Here.
GIA (Gemologocal Institute of America) the foremost diamond grading laboratory in the world has introduced as of January 3, 2006 their new Cut grade for round brilliant shape diamonds.
The New GIA Diamond Grading Report.
Based on fifteen years of meticulous research and over 70,000 human observations of diamonds of varying Cut qualities, GIA has been able to assess the 58 facets that comprise the most popular and most sold round brilliant shape diamond and define it's Cut quality along the lines of "Excellent", "Very Good", "Good", "Fair", and "Poor."
The graph below depicts the round diamond facets that GIA analyzed to arrive at their Cut Grade System.
Critical facets that comprise the round brilliant shape diamond. Maximizing a diamond's brilliance, dispersion, and scintillation depends on the correct facet size, facet angle, and facet alignment of all the 58 facets working in unison. GIA's Cut Grade distills all of this into an easy to understand Cut Grade.
Below are the measurements of various facets that go into determining the Cut Grade.
Inexpensive Jewlery High on Buy List.
Results from the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC) survey indicated that consumers favored staple items over expensive jewelry this holiday season. Holiday sales in 2005 appear to have fared slight better than in 2004.
Only 30 percent of respondents purchased jewelry this year. In a study conducted earlier in the holiday season, 30 percent of those interviewed said that they would purchase jewelry in the months from September to December. The JCOC concluded that most of the people who bought jewelry intended to do so before going shopping.
The JCOC study also found that most of the Christmas buying took place at large retailers and at low price points. Nearly half of JCOC panel members (46.9 percent) who purchased fine jewelry or watches this year bought from a department store, national jewelry chain store, or a mass discount store. Only 11 percent bought at independent fine jewelers.
More than half (56.7 percent) of jewelry purchasers this holiday season spent less than $200 on jewelry and watch gifts, while 33.5 percent spent below $100. Consumer preferences this holiday season included yellow gold, diamond jewelry, precious metal jewelry with no gemstones, earrings, necklaces and watches. According to the survey, 32.5 percent chose diamond jewelry for their holiday purchases.
Of the panel members, 35.4 percent spent more on fine jewelry and watch gifts compared with previous years, while 32.4 percent spent less. Among those who spent less, 30.1 percent said that jewelry was not in their budget, while 16.6 percent said they wanted to buy something different.
The JCOC also found missed opportunities for the industry. Less than 20 percent of respondents said they purchased fine jewelry for themselves this holiday. However, back in September, more than 40 percent indicated that they would make a self-purchase. The JCOC concluded that sought for products were not available for self-purchasers and that retailers need to be sure to include self-purchases in their sales efforts during the holiday.
Can - ANYTHING - Slow Down Gold & Platinum?
Both metals are surging. Gold closed trading on Friday at $556.40. Platinum at $1036.00.
Gold rose as high as $558 an ounce before edging to $557.10 -- still up $7.8 or 1.4 percent -- by 11:20 a.m. EST on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. The high mark was the loftiest price for benchmark futures since January 1981.
Gold rallied as investors who are bullish on the market for 2006 increased their stakes before an early close on Friday and a market holiday on Monday.
"The funds are coming back to buy it to new highs on a weak dollar and strong euro," said James Quinn, a market commentator at AG Edwards & Sons, at the floor of the COMEX.
With the strength of the buying, gold prices were able to break past chart resistance at $550.50 and surpass Tuesday's quarter-century peak, at $553.10.
Money managers and investors have increased their exposure to gold and commodities as they diversify away from currencies, equities and bonds in hopes of boosting returns. Concerns about the economy, geopolitics and a weaker dollar in 2006 also have attracted investors to the precious metal.
"Spot metal also is very strong, and I think you have a very strong cash market with some physical activity," added Quinn.
Platinum Running Wild!
Up $15.00 this morning to $1052.00
Gold up another $5.00 to $561.55
Those of you planning on buying engagement rings or jewlery, time to buy is now before the retailers raise their prices.
BlueNile Execs Selling Their Stock.
Bluenile insiders have been selling their shares all the while promoting their company. The selling pattern has been constant and consistent, with Mark Vadon, BlueNile's CEO leading the way.
This selling activity is in stark contrast to a recent interview given by Vadon:
What do Bluenile insiders know that their general stockholders don't know?
Silver, Gold, Platinum continue Zooming UP!
Silver prices spiked to fresh 18-1/2-year highs in Europe on Wednesday as talk of setting up a new exchange-traded fund spurred fund buying, while platinum hit a new record high. Gold also picked up and moved closer to last week's 25-year high after consolidating in previous trading sessions, with the market tone remaining bullish on worries about inflation and economic growth, dealers said.
"I think there has been buying ahead of any solid news on whether or not the exchange-traded funds will be approved," said Yingxi Yu, precious metals analyst at Barclays Capital.
Spot silver
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a proposal to allow setting up of a silver exchange-traded fund (ETF), Barclays said in note.
Gold ETFs are already functioning and have generated good interest. These products, traded on some of the world's major stock exchanges, give investors a share of a bar of gold. Analysts say the five gold ETFs now hold 400 tonnes of gold.
"Silver has lagged gold this year so some sort of catch up was inevitable," said John Reade, analyst at UBS Investment Bank.
Base metals also raced higher during Wednesday London Metal Exchange (LME) pre-market trading, as relentless fund buying lifted the complex's star performers to fresh cycle highs. [nL25707291]
PLATINUM AT RECORD HIGHS
Platinum surged to its highest ever level of $1,054/1,058 an ounce from $1,047/1,051 in New York as positive fundamentals lifted fund buying.
Demand for the metal, mainly used in autocatalysts to filter out carbon monoxide and harmful particles from exhausts, has been growing because of tighter emission standards worldwide, dealers said.
Supplies of platinum are expected to rise in South Africa, the biggest producer, but a strong local currency has raised operating cost and threatened new projects, analysts said.
"Whilst the market is so incredibly bullish towards metals and speculators and investors are basically buying anything which is shiny, then I think platinum can keep grinding higher," Reade said.
Spot gold
Gold has risen nearly 10 percent since the start of 2006. Palladium
We have already been hit with price increases on our Gold and Platinum purchases and have had no choice but to raise the prices on our Gold and Platinum Gold diamond rings, wedding, rings, and engagement rings.
Vatche, for whom we are an Authorized Dealer will be significantly increasing their prices as of February 1, 2006.
Those of you interested in placing an order should do so now before the price increase.
Very Important Information When Considering a 'Modified Square Diamond'
First an overview:
1. Princess Cut diamonds have always been the 2nd most popular diamond
after round diamonds.
2. Princess Cut Diamonds have traditionally been popular as a result of their elegant square shape.
3. Princess Cut Diamonds have traditionally leaked light like a sieve from its 4 points (corners)
4. It is very difficult to harness and refract maximum brilliance from a traditionally cut (4 cornered) princess cut diamond.
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In todays market place with consumers becoming more savvy and insisting on only the finest cut diamonds, some manufacturers have dealt with the aforementioned facts by producing new fangled modified square diamonds with tapered corners, all of which look almost identical to one another save for hype and marketing. These modified square diamonds have more brilliance than traditional princess cut diamonds as a result of the tapered corners.
Our company chose instead not to reinvent the wheel but rather to stay with the timeless (un-altered) 4 cornered princess cut diamond and just figure out a way to maximize its light performance.
Here is an article we published on our website to introduce our Signature Princess Cut Diamonds:
http://www.exceldiamonds.com/education/diamonds/superbcert-princess-cut.php
Over time we have been asked again and again by customers searching for that perfect square diamond while trying not to compromise on beauty and brilliance, why it is that we chose to go this route instead of offering some of these modified square diamonds.
We argued that these new fangled 'princess cuts' while achieveing better light performance than the traditional princess cut diamond did not look anything like its elegant predecessor. Moreover we argued that the timeless allure and appeal (even in the face of sometimes blatant light leakage) of the traditional princess diamond has everything to do with its shape and facet structure. This is mitigated the minute the corners are lopped off.
It was our opinion that all of these funky modified squares that were being introduced everyday by the dozens (and often by the same manufacturer with slightly different marketing and different romantic names..) would have very limited staying power and would be "here today & gone tomorrow".
We wondered how a consumer would feel about buying into all the hype surrounding a certain modified square diamond being touted as the end all and be all in "square diamond look-alikes" only to see that "brand" become obsolete a short while later, replaced (perhaps even by the same Mfgr.) by a 'new generation' diamond...'better than the last'. Indeed history has proven us to be correct.
We pointed out that by definition, these diamond manufacturers would constantly be replacing these 'brands' with new modified squares and new marketing so as to stay fresh and current. To the consumer (and often even from a structural point of view) however, these diamonds would all look exactly the same. Again, history has proven this to be the case.
Finally, we questioned how it is that any authorized diamond seller for these brands could offer in good conscience a diamond lifetime upgrade on these stones given the fact that these diamonds would in all likelihood be replaced within a short period of time by a 'new generation' cut, or fade completely into oblivion. Certainly the manufacturer of these diamonds would not honor an upgrade policy created by any vendor for these diamonds???
For all of these reasons and more, we opted for a project of increasing light performance in traditional square diamonds. From this was born our SuperbCert Signature Princess Cut Diamonds.
Exactly 1 year ago we published an excellent case study that we conducted on this topic regarding the "Regent, Queen of Hearts, and Jubillee Diamonds manufactured by The Horowitz-Atlas Group in N.Y.C. This case study was published right here on our diamond blog. Here is the link:
http://www.diamondvues.com/archives/2005/01/ags_diamond_lab.html
These words were truly prophetic as just earlier today a thread was started on a different diamond forum entitled "NO MORE JUBILEE?" where a customer asks why it is that the Jubilee which was touted as the very best in modified square diamonds (and the best thing since sliced bread..), seems to have disappeared off the face of the diamond map with no way of purchasing one.
Here is the response by an authorized diamond vendor for this brand on that thread:
"Hi All,
Yea ... during the past few months getting certain Jubilee's has been akin to pulling teeth and to my knowledge the developer and manufacturer has not been cutting product. We temporarily pulled the shape from our stock until the developer finds a new source for cutting them. I am told he is seeking a new cutter for them. Once they are back in production we'll announce it via our site. The Square H&A's and Regents are the best alternatives at this time with no compromise in optics."
So now the square H&A's and the Regent Cut Diamond previously replaced by the Jubilee (The Regent Specifically) which was promoted as being better than... is "just as good" presumably because there are still some of these stones left in circulation.
This is why we have always advocated staying with traditional diamond shapes when it comes to purchasing a princess cut (square) diamond. You don't want to purchase something of this magnitude that will not withstand the tests of time.
We feel this is a very important topic for anyone who is seriously considering the purchase of a princess and/or modified princess cut diamond.
Knowledge is the power to buy informed, and fore-armed is fore-warned.
Judah
Gemprint Goes Major League! Bought By Collectors Universe.
Collectors Universe today bought the Gemprint company (www.gemprint.com). Gemprinting a diamond is a patented technology for the non-invasive diamond identification that works by digitally capturing the unique refractive light pattern (or "gemprint") of each diamond.
An increasing number of consumers are having their diamonds gemprinted to insure against loss or theft.
Gemprint Machine
The Gemprint patented technology is based on (i) the digital capture of the unique refractive light pattern for each diamond (the diamond's "fingerprint" or "gemprint") (ii) the database storage of such digital images, and (iii) the inquiry, matching and verification of a requested diamond's digital light refraction pattern to the registered database of diamonds. The current technology has been in use by Gemprint for nine years and during the
12 months ended on October 31, 2005, Gemprint has added digital "fingerprint"
images for over 30,000 diamonds to its database of unique digital images of
the refractive light patterns of individual diamonds. The aggregate number of
diamonds registered in the Gemprint database is now in excess of 500,000
diamonds.
Gemprints are admissable as evidence in Courts of Law and are made accessible to Law Enforcement Agencies worldwide.
Your Gemprinted diamond receives a 10% discount from your Insurance company. The fee to do the Gemprint ranges from $25-$75.00, depending on the dealer, which is a very modest amount to pay for added protection on a very big and important purchase.
We have been offering the Gemprint service to our customers for the past three years and believe that it provides excellent protection and reliable/veriable identification for your diamonds.
Use it.
Silver Hits 19 Year High!
New York precious metals advanced on speculator and fund buying Monday, with silver hitting a 19-year high on excitement over a proposed U.S. silver-backed investment and gold also extending its rally.
Dealers said positive technical factors and an absence of speculative liquidation in the complex, despite a firmer U.S. dollar during the session, supported prices.
Platinum also was well-bid, hitting another 26-year high, up $7.00 mid-day to $1074/OZ.
"Precious metals are up across the board on commodity-index buying," said a dealer at precious metals desk in New York.
"Silver's up, and it is all on rumors about the ETF, and as technical breakouts are continuing," he said. "The market looks great and it should hit $10 soon."
COMEX March silver climbed 18.5 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $9.79 an ounce by 10:17 a.m. EST, in a session range from $9.575 to $9.81, which put prices at their loftiest level since at least April 1987.
The market has been abuzz over Barclays Global Investors' plan to launch iShares Silver Trust, which on Wednesday appeared to move closer to approval after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a filing about its potential listing on the American Stock Exchange.
Each share would be worth 10 ounces of silver. The security would require the purchase of silver bullion to guarantee it.
UBS analyst John Reade also viewed silver as ripe for a trade above $10 an ounce in the near term, after it moved to the fore of the metals during the past week.
Reade said the odds of the SEC approving the ETF looked to have increased to 75 to 80 percent, from about 50 percent, and the silver markets -- spot, forwards and options -- were adjusting to that.
"But the timing on any further announcement is impossible to forecast, and there is a risk that the move higher (and tighter) in silver may run out of steam, if there is no fresh news on the ETF," Reade said in a daily note.
Timing in life is everything, ain't that right , Hunt Brothers?
