Monthly Archives: March 2006

Engagement Ring Purchase onThe Internet: Is This A Good Deal?

Is the question being asked by a consumer this morning on Diamondtalk.com. He has seen a Princess Cut that is being listed on EIGHT different internet diamond websites at different prices!!
Discussion is here: Good Deal?

Here are the multiple listings for this one diamond:

Who really has this diamond?

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-stk no gd vg no 7.42×7.27×5.21 $6209 $13847*SP

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-stk no gd vg no 7.42×7.27×5.21 $6262 $13964SP

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-stk no gd vg no 7.42-7.27-5.21 $6276 $13996*

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-stk no gd vg no 7.42×7.27×5.21 $6291 $14029

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-stk no gd vg no 7.42×7.27×5.21 $6306 $14062*S

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-stk no gd vg no 7.42×7.27×5.21 $6308 $14066*SP

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-stk no gd vg no 7.42*7.27*5.21 $6339 $14136*S

2.23 I VS1 71.7% 72% GIA med-sl thk no gd vg no 7.42×7.27×5.21 $7198 $16051

This diamond is supplied by the manufacturer to many internet websites and is known as a “Virtual Diamond”.
Little if any information is provided save for a few numbers off the lab grading report and the price. You are buying blind.

We have blogged on this topic several times. Same Diamond Listed All Over The Internet?

Virtual Diamond (VD) databases do not give you the necessary information you need, e.g.; photo’s, Imagescopes, and light performance data such as provided by the Gemex Brilliancescope. As such, these lists are useless. Would you buy a Home this way? I doubt it. Why should your diamond purchase be any different. It’s also big money.

This is a big purchase not only because of the money, but even more so because of the emotion and psychology behind it. You need to get this right the first time. Work with Internet websites that give you comprehensive information.

Burmese Rubies? Make Sure They Are.

Rapaport News reports that several rubies between five to 10 carats, ranging from good to very good quality, were submitted to the Gubelin Gem Lab, under the pretext that they were from a “new Burmese mine.”

Gubelin Gem Lab concluded that the rubies were submitted by gem dealers as “Burmese rubies,” but advanced microscopic, chemical and spectral analyses, found that the gems were not consistent with known Burmese deposits but rather closer in property to those found in the Pamir mountain area of Tajikistan.

Daniel Nyfeler, managing director of Gubelin Gem Lab, told Rapaport News, “We recognized that the material is not matching the properties of the rubies from our reference collection of any of the known Burma mines.

“However, the properties of the stones we have seen from our clients well match the stones from the Murghab area in the Pamir mountains of Tajikistan.”

The rubies were purchased in Bangkok, Thailand, and Yangon, Myanmar, under the assumption that they were from Burma (also called Myanmar.) Lab results proved that gemological features of the rubies did not match those of Burmese deposits of Mogok, Namya Sek, and Mong Hsu, but rather were similar to rubies found in the Pamir mountain area in Tajikistan with gemological properties of marble-type ruby deposits

The gemstones submitted to the laboratory display a pinkish-red to red coloration, often combined with a faint bluish sheen. These characteristics are often displayed in rubies from other marble-type deposits such as Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Nyfeler added that one of the lab’s gemologists went to Asia last week to further investigate the matter, and inquired with dealers familiar with the trade routes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, China, and also with the market in Yangon “We are now having sufficient certainty that these stones are indeed of Tajik origin, and we are also writing the respective origin on our reports,” he said.

The findings were not the first time gemstones were sold from Burma as local finds, which would “achieve a higher price,” Nyfeler said. Certain labs have certified the lesser quality rubies as Burmese or from the New Burmese mine, he said.

Odimo.com In Financial trouble

Odimo.com, one of the Internet’s first diamond and jewelry websites is in deep financial trouble.

Online diamond retailer Odimo Incorporated alerted investors that the company requires additional financing to “continue its operations, meet its operational goals, and to pursue its long term strategy.”

Odimo’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, and the company released its fourth-quarter and year-end results after the markets closed on March 30. Odimo owns www.diamond.com, www.ashford.com, and www.worldofwatches.com.

In its financial statement, Odimo states: “The company is currently implementing strategies that include: (i) reducing costs, (ii) seeking equity and debt financing, and (iii) exploring the sale of the company or certain assets. There is no assurance that the company will be able to successfully implement any of these strategies. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.”

During the year, and as part of cost-cutting measures, Odimo and SDG Marketing agreed to terminate their agreement, to which Odimo returned $3.7 million (and $700,000) in diamond inventories to satisfy payables.

Losses for the fourth-quarter at Odimo grew to $13.9 million from $1.7 million one year earlier. Sales fell 14 percent to $18.5 million.

For the fiscal year 2005, Odimo sales were flat at $52 million, and orders decreased during the year by almost 3 percent to 151,700. The average order value however increased 3.4 percent to $387. Gross profit was 24 percent of net sales, or $12.5 million, down from $15.1 million in 2004.

Loss from operations was $23.4 million, up from $12.5 million in 2004, inclusive of a $9.8 million non-cash charge to record the impairment of goodwill.

Loose Cushion Cut Diamond: What Is It?

The Cushion Cut is a generic name for the Old Mine Cut developed before the turn of the century; these days the name” cushion” is often used for colored stones cut in this shape.

A Cushion Cut is a square or squarish-rectangular cut with rounded corners and 58 brilliant-style facets that resemble a pillow shape, hence the name.

cushioncut1.jpg

A hundred years ago, when Cushion Cuts were first developed, diamonds were not cleaved into two pieces of rough, as they are today; they were ground down as a single stone and the resulting polished was lumpy and thick. Cushion Cuts have very thin girdles and bigger culets than today’s full-cut diamonds.

Designers are requesting Cushion Cuts with big culets, but, in general, the smaller the culet, the better the stone. Older Cushion Cuts return light in blocky patterns; newly cut ones return light in needlelike patterns.

MARKETS AND MARKETING
Cushion Cut diamonds are popular in matching pairs. They are especially being used in larger-carat earrings and also as a center stone in rings. Cushion Cuts first became popular again about ten years ago, and their popularity has increased as designers and antique dealers continue to use them.

Cushion Cuts offer a lot of weight at a moderate price. Larger Cushion Cut diamonds sell for about 30 percent less than full-cuts of the same weight, while smaller cuts sell for about the same. A 1-carat G/VS Cushion Cut stone will sell from $2,800 to $3,800. Two-carat and up stones sell in the $3,500 to $5,000 per carat range. The most popular sizes are .75 to 1.5 carats. The availability of 2-carats and up is a problem because of the high demand for larger stones, both by estate and antique dealers for replacement or repair and by manufacturers.

Look for good clarity and color. Because Cushion Cuts have very thin girdles, girdles on older ones are often chipped. Look for Cushion Cuts that are symmetrical; off-shape ones are difficult to use. Look for a medium culet that is not too heavy, unless you have a special reason to use this cut with a big culet. Pick a mounting that’s appropriate for the softer reflections and refractions of a Cushion Cut. Old Mine Cuts were traditionally set in yellow gold or silver with a patina or oxidation; therefore, they look better set in matte metals rather than highly polished ones.

More Women Are Buying Luxury Watches

Men’s fascination with watches has made timepieces crucial accessories for women who want to work in the “masters of the universe” business world. The watch is one of the first things that many men look at when introduced to someone new. They read it as an indicator of the kind of person they have in front of them.

As more women move up the ranks of business, and as their disposable income rises, the watch industry is racing to cater to their needs and desires. To succeed, brands must create luxury timepieces that express a woman’s personality and savoir faire to both men and women.

Read a great article today on this topic here

Loose Baguette Diamond: What Is It & What To Look For.

A straight baguette is a relatively small, elongated diamond that usually is rectangular in shape. The cut is characterized by square corners with rows of step-cut or steplike facets parallel to the table. Baguettes do not conform to the Federal Trade Commission’s” 17 -facet” requirement for diamonds.

baguette1.jpg
Straight Baguette.

The name of the cut must proceed the word diamond. Baguettes today are most often employed as side stones, although they also can be the main shape in full-band rings or fashion rings. When used as side stones they serve to camouflage the shoulders of the center stone, masking it £rom the girdle to the culet. Baguettes can also be lined up to produce a continuous flow of diamonds on a ring, bracelet, brooch (i.e. circlet) or necklace.

Baguettes are usually channel-set, but sometimes prong set. Less-expensive baguettes are often channel-set into bracelets. Measured in millimeters more often than weight because their size must be precise for their function, typical sizes for today’s side baguettes are from 1.5 mm to 3 mm in length. For larger, more important pieces, designers and retailers may order straight baguettes of 2.7 mm to 4.7 mm, for example.

The word “baguette” is a French word for a long, narrow loaf of bread. This shape, beginning in costume jewelry, is a fashion outgrowth of the 1920s to mid-1930s. During that time, interest in functionalism in architecture and the Bauhaus movement influenced the applied arts and dominated contemporary design. In the Art Deco period, many stones were cut in strict, geometrical shapes, typified by the calibre technique or elongated baguette. In contemporary times, jewelry houses like Bulgari have sustained their use and passion for the baguette. Nicola Bulgari once exclaimed, “We flirt with the baguette.” The yield for a baguette from the diamond rough is 38 to 42 percent.

Baguettes are extraordinarily clear. If baguettes are to be used as side stones or as other matched pairs, they must be of similar quality, color and clarity to one another, and to the stone they are enhancing. The step-cut appearance is unforgiving and does not allow for little imperfections in the diamonds. Stay with VS clarity and higher. SI clarity must be examined to insure that the imperfection(s) are not eye-visible. A small chip is much more obvious on a baguette than on a heavily faceted diamond.

Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend, NOT Moissanite.

Shares of jewelry maker and sole source of moissanite Charles & Colvard Ltd., fell on March 27, a day after the company forecasted lower quarterly sales due to substantially lower orders from K&G Creations.

Shares dipped $1.73, or 12.8 percent, to $11.75. The stock price is down 27 percent so far this year, adjusted for stock splits.

In a company statement on March 26, Charles & Colvard said sales for first quarter fiscal year 2006 are expected to be between $7.5 million and $8.4 million, which is 25 percent to 33 percent lower than a year ago. The company expects K&G’s orders to slip due to lower orders from the 2005 merger of its customers, Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores Co.

Charles & Colvard’s board authorized the repurchase of up to one million common shares. Company shares have traded between $8.63 and $26.29 over the past year.

Silver Hits 23 Year High!

The price of silver shot to a 22-year high above $11 per ounce on Wednesday, as funds continued a recent buying spree on excitement over a proposed U.S. silver-backed security, trading sources said.

Gold raced to a seven-week peak on spillover interest from silver and other supportive factors, with the price holding just shy of last month’s 25 year peak near $575 an ounce.

“Silver’s still being driven by the expectations of the ETF (exchange-traded fund) and I think gold’s more following,” said David Rinehimer, head of futures research at Citigroup Global Markets in New York.

Spot silver bolted to $11.10/11.13 an ounce late in New York, versus Tuesday’s late quote at $10.84/10.87. On Wednesday, London bullion dealers fixed the daily spot reference rate at $10.8750.

Fund buying took the price up 2.7 percent, helping silver surpassing a short-term technical of $11, on hopes that an ETF that is expected to boost consumer and speculative demand will launch soon.

Silver has risen almost 8 percent since last Tuesday when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cleared the way for final approval of the first ETF to be backed by bullion.