Three New Tiffany Stores to Open by April 2007 in Japan

Tiffany & Co. plans to open two boutiques in recently renovated department stores in Tokyo's main commercial and luxury shopping areas, as well as one boutique in Hiroshima's premier department store by end of second quarter 2007.

On March 2, 2007 the jeweler will open a boutique in Tokyo's Seibu department store, 21-1 Udagawa-cho in Shibuya; another boutique will open in the Takashimaya store at 5-24-2 Sendagaya in Shinjuku in late April. In addition, a new Tiffany watch corner is expected to soon open within the new watch department on the store's remodeled 4th floor. Also, Hiroshima boutique, located in the Fukuya department store, 6-26 Ebisu-cho Naka-ku, will open in late April. The new boutiques bring the total number of Tiffany's Japan locations to 55.

"The newly designed stores offer Tiffany & Co. Japan wonderful new opportunities to delight our customers and make new friends," said Michael C. Christ, president of Tiffany & Co. Japan Inc. "The opportunity to join Seibu in their successful location in Shibuya will represent our first store in that vital Tokyo market. And the exciting new remodel of the Takashimaya Times Square in Shinjuku will be a perfect showcase for Tiffany design. Included in the new Shinjuku renovation will be the first exclusive Tiffany watch corner in Japan. Finally, it is a privilege to join the historic Fukuya Department Store in Hiroshima and the fine retail business they have built over the years."

Raymond Weil Sues Charlize Theron for Wearing Another Watch Brand

Swiss luxury watchmaker Raymond Weil has sued Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron Monday, Feb. 5, in the New York Supreme Court for allegedly wearing another brand.

Theron was promoted as the “new face” of Raymond Weil’s global watch marketing between October 2005 and December 2006 in an exclusive endorsement deal that required she wear only Raymond Weil watches for its duration, said the legal action.

However, the Geneva-based watchmaker’s breach of contract suit contends that Theron—who also had an endorsement deal with Dior perfume—was photographed wearing a Christian Dior watch at a March 2006 news conference at an Austin, Tex., film festival.

The suit doesn’t specify monetary damages.

According to published accounts, Raymond Weil spent some $20 million on the Theron global campaign, which was announced with some fanfare by Olivier Bernheim, Raymond Weil SA company president and chief executive officer, at the 2005 international BaselWorld watch fair in Switzerland. At that time, he called her “the new face” of Raymond Weil watches and the “the perfect ambassador for our timepieces, representing beauty, style, and perfection of function.”

Theron won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Monster (2003).

Montblanc Launches First Luxury Jewelry line in an Ice Palace

Montblanc launched its new diamond jewelry collection on Friday with a glittering celebrity gala and fashion show in a specially built ice palace in the French ski resort of Chamonix, at the foot of famous Mont Blanc mountain, between France and Italy.

The new diamond line is the first-time entry into high-end jewelry by Mont Blanc, a leading luxury products brand known for its fine pens and watches.

Some 200 international VIP guests partied together with Lutz Bethge and Wolff Heinrichsdorff, managing directors of Montblanc International, at "The Night of Stars” gala in ice palace built of 180 blocks of transparent ice. Among them were actresses Lucy Liu, Naomi Watts, Juliette Binoche and actor Christopher Lee. Together, they drank champagne, dined, and enjoyed the singing of British opera star Katherine Jenkins, a Montblanc brand ambassador.

A highlight was the catwalk show. Five top models—Naomi Campbell, Lily Collins (daughter of Phil Collins), Franziska Knuppe , Nieves Alvarez , and Mary Ma—presented both the new "Montblanc Diamond Jewelry Collection" and the exclusive "Montblanc is celebrating Red Carpet Moments" pieces. Naomi Campbell wore the most precious ensemble: the necklace and earrings "Etoile" (“Star”), worth almost $4 million.

LA Jeweler Launches Collection to Help SA AIDS Orphans

In an effort to raise awareness and generate widespread support for the millions of orphans in South Africa whose parents have died or are dying of AIDS, Mia & Kompany, a Los Angeles-based jewelry company, has designed a diamond jewelry collection whose proceeds will benefit a community-based child and youth care projects in the country.

The Isibindi Diamond Medallion Collection was inspired by the Isibindi community-based child and youth care projects in South Africa. Built upon principles of family preservation and the belief, “it takes a village to raise a child,” the goal of Isibindi is to create safe and caring communities for orphans in “child-headed homes”.

The National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW), a South African non-governmental organization (NGO) along with other local governmental support initiates Isibindi projects in key regions throughout South Africa.

“I was deeply touched by the Isibindi project because it provides hope to South African children deeply in need. It empowers orphans to courageously help themselves, as it teaches child orphans the necessary skills so that they may stay with their siblings and receive ongoing nurturing and care in their family home,” said Mia Koniver, creator and designer of Mia & Kompany. Up to 20 percent of the proceeds from the collection will benefit the projects.

The collection ranges in price from $190 to roughly $1,200 and includes a 14-karat gold or sterling silver 25mm or 10mm round medallion necklace on a 30-inch or 16-inch chain or black cord; a 14-karat gold or sterling silver Isibindi tag on a 20-inch chain or black cord; and a 14-karat gold 10mm round Isibindi medallion ring.

Each medallion is engraved with the words, “Isibindi” and “Dapperheid”, a Zulu and Afrikaans words that mean courage. A diamond is embedded on each side of the medallion.

The collection is available for sale now through April 30, 2007 at a variety of retailers such as miaandkompany.com, Kitson in Los Angeles, shopkitson.com and other retail locations in the U.S.

New Journey Print Campaign to Debut in February

The Diamond Trading Company (DTC), in conjunction with JWT, is launching a new print advertising campaign for the Journey Diamond Jewelry concept. The new campaign, to debut in February, will not only communicate the Journey concept but also highlight the various styles and designs that are currently available in the market, JWT announced.

Journey Diamond Jewelry is defined as a piece of jewelry containing diamonds of different sizes, arranged in a graduated pattern from smallest to largest. The piece must be exclusively diamond, with at least four stones and at least one stone being of significant size. The graduated stones represent how your love grows stronger over time making it a perfect gift of love.

There will be at least three executions of the new print campaign, entitled “Line.” The first will launch in February and will have two versions: one featuring the “S” curve pendant and one featuring a heart pendant.

Future executions will feature drop earrings and a circle pendant, as well as other designs and piece types. The ads will run in female-targeted publications such as InStyle, W, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Gourmet and Town & Country in 2007.

In addition to the new print campaign, the “Dandelions” TV commercial will continue to run in 2007 featuring the Journey “S” curve pendant. The adiamondisforever.com site has a Journey micro-site, which features a variety of designs.

To help the industry support Journey Diamond Jewelry, the Diamond Promotion Service (DPS) offers a variety of marketing materials that can be downloaded from dps.org, including 4-color photography, newspaper ad slicks, postcards and more. A new commercial program developed in conjunction with Spot Runner, a TV advertising agency provider is also available to jewelers. For under $1,500, an advertiser can personalize their own Journey commercial and create a targeted cable and/or broadcast media plan. The beauty of it is that it’s all created online at spotrunner.com/dps.

Additional offered aids include The Journey Roadmap package, an in-depth program that helps sales associates find success through selling Journey. In addition, dps.org features an interactive Journey Motif Guide to help retailers build their own Journey collections using the six most popular motifs: Hearts, Zig-Zags, Drops, Curves/Vines, Ladders, and Circles.