March 2009 Archives
Ritani 'Endless Love' Inspired Engagement Ring
Here are some pictures of an engagement ring we just completed and which is inspired by the Ritani 'Endless Love' Engagement Ring Collection.
The stones in the bezel, are yellow Sapphires.
We feature our Ritani inspired engagement ring on our website, here.
Robbins Bros. Jewelers Goes Chap 11.
California-based jewelry chain Robbins Bros. Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, making it the latest major jewelry retailer to fall prey to the economic crisis.
According to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the 16-store Azusa, Calif.-based chain, known as an engagement ring destination, will be broken up into two parts and sold.
Barring any higher bids coming in during the Chapter 11 process, Robbins Bros. Corp. will sell the California stores to Robbins Bros. Jewelry--essentially to itself, according to court papers, which also say that the latter can purchase the stores, "free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy code."
Robbins Bros., which expanded rapidly in the past few years, saw its financial condition begin to deteriorate in 2007, becoming progressively worse through 2008, court documents state.
According to its bankruptcy filing, Robbins Bros. felt the pinch of reduced spending by consumers, was riddled with debt from its expansion and had liquidity issues, making it difficult to stock up on merchandise and limiting the chain's ability to advertise, court documents state.
The chain saw sales decrease about 3 percent last year--from $106.9 million in 2007 to $103.7 million in 2008--while losses more than doubled, increasing from $2.8 million in 2007 to $6.4 million in 2008. The company's books show assets of $66 million, but liabilities of $77 million, according to court documents.
Among its top unsecured creditors, the chain lists in court documents some notable diamond and jewelry companies, including Leo Schachter Diamonds LLC based in New York (owed $2.71 million), Leo Schachter Ltd. in Ramat Gan, Israel (owed $1.82 million), Moshe and Namdar (USA) Inc. (owed $1.4 million), R and R Grosbard (owed $597,851) and Simon G. Jewelry Inc. (owed $554,455).
Funny Place To Put An Engagement Ring
Londons The Daily Mail reports that Reed Harris placed his girlfriend's engagement ring in a milkshake and planned to film her delight when she found it. The couple, from Farmington, New Mexico, eventually ended up at hospital where an x-ray confirmed what had happened.
Mr Harris then got down on one knee, presented his girlfriend with a copy of the scan and proposed. Luckily for him, she accepted.
'I felt nothing at all,' Miss Whipple said. 'I was racing my friends, so there was no way I was going to lose that competition.'
She said she thought Mr Harris was joking when he told her she had swallowed the ring he had placed in the milkshake.Unfortunately, Kaitlin Whipple, 20, managed to swallow the diamond band whole as she raced friends to finish their dessert at a Wendy's diner.
'I couldn't believe it,' she said. 'I kept waiting for him to get down and propose.' Two days later, the ring finally reappeared.
'It arrived this morning and I have never been so excited about my bodily functions,' Miss Whipple, who is a student, wrote on her blog.
'Haha. It's so beautiful and I love it. It was definitely well worth the wait.'
Despite the drama, Mr Harris defended his decision to put the ring in the milkshake. 'It's not that small a ring,' he said.
The couple are now planning to marry in June.
Guys, next time you go out to eat, put your jewelry away in a safe place.
Blue Nile Stock: Buy It Or Sell It?
Is the question that Stock Analyst Zachary Scheidt asks and answers here:
Will Buying Blue Nile Stock Make You Feel Blue?
Put Your Best Face On Your Diamond.
Gemory LLC has invented and announced a new photographic technology called DiamondPure which permanently embeds high-resolution gray scale photographs on any size diamond.
Your picture is invisible to the naked eye, and your face is viewable using GemmaView, Gemory's proprietary, portable viewing device.
Gemory guarantees that the photograph does not interfere with the diamond's brilliance and beauty.
This is really neat!
Engagement Rings For Our Military Heroes.
With the Obama's Administration recent proposal to take away our Military Personnel Health Benefits and make them pay for their health insurance, it is heart-warming to report this story which appeared today on DelawareOnline.com.
Engagement Rings Gratitude for our Brave Military Heroes
We salute our Military and thank them for their selfless Service to our Country.
Tiffany Reports Big Loss
According to a company release, worldwide sales declined of 3 percent while same-store sales slid 9 percent.
In the fourth quarter, sales fell 20 percent to $841.2 million, while same-store sales fell 23 percent.
In the USA, full-year sales were down 10 percent to $1.59 billion while fourth-quarter sales dropped 29 percent to $458.9 million.
This included a 16 percent drop in U.S. same-store sales for the year, and a precipitous 33 percent decline in same-store U.S. sales in the fourth quarter.
In this economy, The Blue Box is blue.
