Bangle bracelets are again commanding attention

You can't really say that bangle bracelets are back since they never completely went away, but this season they're a full-fledged fashion trend. The way to wear them is in stacks, so get used to hearing that jingle-jangle or clickety-clack they make as a cluster shimmies up and down the arm.

The sound they make depends on the materials they're made of, and right now anything goes, says Kim Renk, co-founder and co-designer of jewelry company Sequin. "There's something sexy about the jingle. It's like the bell of a woman calling your attention," Renk said.

There are bangles to be found in all price ranges, from Candie's kelly green ribbon bangle for $16 at Kohl's to the $625 Frank Gehry Tube bangle made of sterling silver and ebony wood for Tiffany & Co.

Bangles made their biggest splash in the 1960s as the kitschy complement to mod miniskirts and then resurfaced in the '80s -- like today, another period that borrows from the '60s.

What makes a bracelet a bangle is that it's circular, stiff and without links, says Silvio Hidalgo, president and designer of Florida-based jeweler Hidalgo, which claims enamel and diamond jewelry as its specialty.

A clasp is optional, he explains, but bracelets without clasps will move a lot more on the arm. A bangle with a clasp can be narrower and tends to have a more oval shape. Bangles with a clasp also tend to be more expensive, he adds.

The trend right now is to wear a mix of widths at the same time, though Hidalgo says he personally likes the look of a single bracelet type in a variety of colors.

Renk, wearing a slew of thin turquoise-and-silver bangles with a turquoise-and-silver python-print dress, says you can never wear too many bracelets.

But her sister and business partner says that if you go past the elbow, you've gone too far.

Gemesis Signs Up Teen Golfer Morgan Pressel

Golfer Morgan Pressel

Lab diamond maker Gemesis has signed teen professional golfer Morgan Pressel to a multi-year endorsement contract.

According to Gemesis CEO Stephen Lux, “[Pressel’s] youthful style and elegance fits right in with the Gemesis corporate image.”

Florida native Pressel said in a press release that she is a big fan of technology and diamonds, and therefore the endorsement deal was “a perfect match”. She won the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship soon after turning pro.

At the age of 18, Pressel is the youngest woman ever to win an LPGA major when she recently won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Gemesis is the leading producer of cultured diamonds.

Tiffany Diamond Shines at Smithsonian

Light flashes across the 82 facets of the Tiffany Diamond, highlighting the brilliance of the giant gem at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

One of the world's largest yellow diamonds, the stone is on loan from Tiffany & Co., from Wednesday through Sept. 23. It joins such famed jewels as the Hope Diamond, Hooker Emerald and Oppenheimer Diamond.

The Tiffany Diamond weighs 128.54 carats and is in a cushion cut. Perched on it is a gem-encrusted bird known as the 'Bird on a Rock,' designed in the early 1960's by Jean Schlumberger. The bird is gold and platinum with white and yellow diamonds accented by a ruby eye.

Million-Dollar Backgammon Set among Items to be Auctioned at ICA Congress

A Burmese ruby, a tsavorite from Africa, and a diamond-studded backgammon set are some of the items to be put up for sale at the “Magnificent Jewels Auction” sponsored by Tzoffey’s 1818 Auction. The auction will be held May 9 during the International Colored Stone Association Congress in Dubai.

The ICA Congress will bring together leading gemstone industry figures from more than 42 countries, creating a one-of-a-kind market for the most desirable items in the trade, says Avner Sofiov, Tzoffey’s owner and president. “This is a unique gathering of the most important leaders in the world of gemstones, in the exciting, rising venue of Dubai,” he says. “We couldn’t have chosen a better location to hold our 19th international auction.”

Important gemstones to be offered at the auction include a cushion-shaped, unheated ruby from Burma and a 23.23 ct. tsavorite known as the “Green King of Africa.”

But it is the full backgammon set, decorated with black, white and fancy colored diamonds, that should spark the greatest interest, Tzoffey said. Auction items will be available for viewing throughout the week at the Congress venue, the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel & Suites, located in Dubai’s business district.

The 12th bi-annual ICA Congress will be held in Dubai May 5-9. The first Congress held in the region, the gathering will focus on the Gulf’s business opportunities for the worldwide gemstone, diamond and jewelry industries.

Tzoffey's 1818, with its slogan "Action in Auction,” has long been an international brand in the auction world, primarily targeting the diamond community, high-end jewelry producers and gem, and diamond collectors worldwide.

A Month’s Salary Spent on Diamond Engagement Ring in U.S.

Below is a research study that was done by the International Diamond Exchange.

Young men spend an average of one month’s salary on the engagement ring for their betrothed, based on recently released figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Diamond Information Center.

The typical first-time groom in American is 27.1 years old and earns about $38,500 annually, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Diamond Information Center (DIC) recently reported that the average ticket for a diamond engagement ring (DER) in the U.S. was $3,200 in 2006. This average ticket is almost exactly one-twelfth of the average wage for a young single American male.

Depending on your source, jewelers typically recommend that a groom should spend at least two months’ salary on a diamond engagement ring, though recently some jewelers have upped that recommendation to three months’ salary.

The following graph illustrates the recent trend in the average ticket for a diamond engagement ring in the U.S. market, according to statistics provided by the Diamond Information Center.

Source: DIC

Diamond Engagement Ring Average Ticket Jumps in 2006

During 2006, the average amount an American shopper spent on a diamond engagement ring jumped by more than 16 percent to $3,200 from the prior year’s $2,750. While research conducted by IDEX Online Research confirms that the average ticket for a diamond engagement ring rose, some of the increase in value reported by the Diamond Information Center is due to a change in research methodology. In prior years, the DIC sampled consumer spending via postal surveys. However, in 2005, it began conversion to internet sampling, and in 2006, virtually all of its results came from a sample of U.S. households conducted via the internet. While roughly two-thirds of all U.S. households have internet access from their homes, the one-third of the households who do not have internet access are generally lower income consumers. Though the DIC researchers apparently made allowances for this sampling disparity, it appears that the results may be biased to reflect the spending by higher income households. This may, in part, explain the jump in some of the DIC’s reported figures.

The percentage change in the average ticket for a diamond engagement ring in the U.S. market is illustrated by the following graph.

Source: DIC

Source: DIC

While the overall average ticket for the diamond engagement ring market showed significant growth in 2006, not all merchants registered gains. Tiffany & Co., the world-renowned jeweler, said its average diamond engagement ring ticket was $10,400 in 2006, flat with 2005.

Blue Nile’s estimated average ticket for diamond engagement rings fell slightly to $5,600 in 2006 from $5,700 in 2005, largely due to the company’s strategy to cut prices of its diamond jewelry in an effort to boost sales and leverage expenses.

Engagement Ring Market Grows

Last year, diamond engagement ring sales were $6.2 billion in the U.S., up 8 percent from the prior year according to the DIC. This represented about 17.6 percent of total diamond jewelry sales. This was up slightly from the prior year’s 17.2 percent of sales, based on restated numbers. The DIC also restated the size of the diamond engagement ring market, based on its new research methodology. In the past, it had estimated that diamond engagement rings were slightly fewer than 15 percent of total diamond jewelry sales; its new research shows that diamond engagement ring sales are really closer to 17-18 percent of diamond jewelry sales.

The table on the left summarizes new and restated numbers for the U.S. diamond market and the diamond engagement ring market.

More Brides Receive A Diamond Engagement Ring

Diamond engagement ring penetration continues to rise. While the DIC did not formally release diamond engagement ring penetration for 2006, IDEX Online Research estimates that 84 percent of all brides-to-be received a diamond engagement ring, up from 83 percent in the prior year. Historically, just over 80 percent of all brides-to-be – or about four of five brides – received a diamond engagement ring.

The following graph illustrates the trend in engagement ring penetration among brides-to-be in the U.S. market. The trend line on the graph shows that diamond engagement penetration rates have risen over the past seventeen years.

Source: DIC

Nowata Man Finds Fame After Diamond Discovery

Tulsa World, NOWATA: A year after he made headlines coast to coast for his discovery of a large diamond in Arkansas, Marvin Culver believes he has become a victim of his own success.

Culver has been back to the Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, Ark., several times since March 12, 2006, when he discovered the 4.21-carat gem, which he named the "Okie Dokie Diamond."

Each time he has returned, he's felt crowded by throngs of diamond-hunters who flocked to the state park because of publicity generated by his and other big recent finds.

And, more recently, Culver, of No wata, was surprised that he had to pay full retail price at the park's gift shop for a postcard and kitchen magnet bearing a picture of his "Okie Dokie Diamond."

"In some ways, I'm a victim of my own success," joked Culver, who retired last May from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol after 33 years.

Despite those problems, the fame and celebrity treatment he received in the weeks after discovering the diamond - the biggest found at the park in six years - was more than he could have dreamed.

As soon as his find made headlines, Culver received a call from the "Today" show in New York so he could appear there.

He and his wife, Lyndall, along with nephew and niece Dylan and Christina McMahan - all of whom were with him when he found the gem - were flown to New York for two days.

They were treated to limousine rides and were put up in a lavish two-floor penthouse at the posh Hilton Hotel.

It was at his appearance at "Today" when Culver learned how much the flawless, yellow diamond was worth.

A gem expert from Sotheby's auction house was invited on the show and put the diamond's value at between $15,000 and $60,000.

"I didn't know there was such a thing as a yellow diamond," Culver said.

After his New York appearance, Culver went to appear on "Inside Edition" and the Travel Channel, along with interviews with other media outlets.

"We've even had calls from the media in Canada," he said.

"You couldn't have scripted a better story," he said of his adventure.

Culver remembers quite well the day he discovered the stone.

It was a Sunday, two days after Culver, an Enid native, turned 58.

"My wife and I had wanted to make that trip for 10 years, so we finally did it on my birthday weekend," he said.

So Culver packed his prospecting gear - his own sifting screens, a pick, shovel and a bucket - and headed to Murfreesboro, Ark., with his wife, nephew and niece.

Culver said he found the diamond, about the size of a peanut M & M, within the first hour, but thought nothing of it.

"I just slipped it into my pocket and continued looking for diamonds for another three hours," he said.

After his day was through, Culver had the stone weighed at the park. That's when he learned it was a genuine diamond and the biggest found there since 2000.

The next day, he started getting calls for interviews and TV appearances. That continued throughout the week and into the next week.

Culver sold the Okie Dokie in May to Jim Houran of Grapevine, Texas, who collects many of the stones found at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Culver said his sale prevents him from disclosing how much he was paid, but he did note that it was enough to buy a luxury car.

But Culver didn't buy a car.

He used some of the money to set up retirement accounts for his nephew and niece and paid some bills. The rest of it is in savings for a rainy day, he said.

The Okie Dokie's discovery wasn't the first time Culver has been lucky.

He and his wife regularly enter contests, and over the years they've won a new car and trips to Hawaii, Colorado, Florida and North Carolina.

There is no mistaking, though, that his most famous bit of luck was no bigger than a peanut M & M.

Copyright (c) 2007, Tulsa World, Okl

Zimbabwe Smuggling Estimated at $400M for Nine Months

Zimbabwe has lost at least $400 million in the past nine months through looting of diamonds and smuggling of the precious stones, national newspaper The Herald reported April 5, 2007.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's governor Gideon Gono told the newspaper the nation needs a robust system for mining and marketing diamonds to guarantee maximum benefits for the people of Zimbabwe.

Only a few benefit from diamond riches at present as backroom deals continue to be the norm despite governmental regulations Gono said.