RAPAPORT... The Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC), a division of MVI Marketing Ltd.,  published results from it tracking study re-launched this month entitled: When Will You Purchase Again? The study was out in the field from April 16 to 21, 2010, and was completed by 787 JCOC U.S. based panelists. The initial such study was deployed in May 2009 with the goal of monitoring the purchas...

Press Release: Members of the jewelry industry are mobilizing behind a new nonprofit with a global perspective, with key players planning to attend the first Jewelers That Care Awards ceremony at the JCK Las Vegas Show on Saturday, June 5, at the Venetian Hotel. Leading Jewelry Industry marketing and branding expert, public speaker and presenter Diane Warga-Arias will be masters of ceremony. Jewe...

RAPAPORT... PRESS RELEASE, April 28, 2010- The annual Rapaport Conference at JCK Las Vegas will be held on Sunday, June 6, 2010 at the JCK Las Vegas Jewelry Show. Registration is free and open to all interested participants. Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group, will present The Diamond Decade: New Opportunities at the breakfast session. His address will focus on the future decade and...

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) latest Distance Education Quarterly magazine is available online. This recent issue features several multi-media components that emphasize the importance of knowing diamond basics "and beyond." Flash videos and media culled from GIA's eLearning course materials discuss Fair Trade and how to break into the industry and offer an...

RAPAPORT... Global Witness warned Zimbabwe that it must not resume diamond exports from the Marange diamond fields without prior permission from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). The nongovernmental organization  made this statement following yesterday's High Court decision approving the sale of diamonds from the Marange. “What has been taking place in Marange is uncon...

RAPAPORT... Platinum Guild International (PGI) USA introduced a new complimentary training program to educate sales associates on how to turn customer preferences for platinum into platinum sales. The online sales training program, titled "She prefers platinum,"  was designed to help sales associates speak to what appeals to  today’s bridal consumer.  Platinum Guild suggested ...

(RAPAPORT) Dominion Post: John P. Kuehn Jewelers of Morgantown, West Virginia has been selling necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings that glitter with diamonds, sapphires or rubies for 34 years. But now, owner John Kuehn is closing up shop. Kuehn, 68, said he's shutting down the store because business has been "terrible" for the past two years. "I've been putting more money into the busin...

RAPAPORT... Peregrine Diamonds  is proceeding with a $3.5 million  exploration program at its Nanuq diamond project, located north of Rankin Inlet in  Nunavut, Canada. The program will include approximately 2,000 meters of core drilling on high-priority kimberlite targets, ground geophysics, prospecting and kimberlite-indicator mineral sampling. Brooke Clements, Peregrin...

(RAPAPORT) World News Connection: The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says the controversial diamond mine in Chiadzwa in the Manicaland Province must be nationalized. ZCTU chairman Lovemore Matombo said that no single individual or company should be allowed to exploit the diamonds that are now at the center of a row between African Consolidated Resources (ACR), which claims to own th...

(RAPAPORT) Times of India:  A diamond broker has been arrested for masterminding the Rs 4 crore theft of a diamond unit in Opera House about two weeks ago. The accused, Ramesh Mutha, whose alias is "Jain," 36, allegedly prepared duplicates of the firm's keys and stole the diamonds, police said, adding that Rs 2.65 crore worth of precious stones had been recovered from him. Jai...

RAPAPORT... Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) has introduced a new "artisan" membership category that provides a cost-effective way for smaller jewelry makers to utilize the association's informational benefits. Artisan membership is available for $95 to companies that are not engaged in mass production and have three or fewer employees. Periodicals published at t...

(RAPAPORT) Concord Times: Three paramount chiefs in the Kono district of Sierra Leone have signed a new agreement with Obtala Resources, a public liability mining company, to create the first-ever community mining scheme, which will ensure that miners participate in the running of diamond mines. The three chiefs, PC Aiah D. Bona III of Nimikor, PC Sheku Ahmed Fasuluku III of Sandor and PC George ...

RAPAPORT... The Luxury Institute reported the top-rated luxury watch brands, based on its 2010 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey. This survey found that high-net-worth U.S. consumers, or those with weighted average household incomes of $845,000 and average investable assets of $16.6 million, rated Blancpain the “Best of the Best” among 33 luxury watch brands. Vacheron Constant...

RAPAPORT... The Dubai Pearl Exchange, a subsidiary of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC),  will honor the 11 students selected as finalists for its Pearl Essence initiative during the seventh Dubai City of Gold Conference 2010, to be held on May 2, 2010. One of the 11 designers will receive the program's top prize: a month-long internship with Stephen Webster i...

(RAPAPORT) AFP:  The Zimbabwe High Court has approved the sale of diamonds from a field plagued by human rights abuses, as Harare moved to defy the Kimberley Process (KP), the country's state-run media reported on Tuesday. The sale of 300,000 carats of diamonds from the eastern Marange fields was blocked earlier this year by the KP after it found that Zimbabwe had failed to comply with inter...

RAPAPORT... Elections were held at the diamond bourses in Belgium and South Africa earlier this month, with both diamond exchanges electing officers and a board of directors to new terms in office. During the general assembly of Vrije Diamanthandel NV in Belgium, the board of directors reconfirmed Julien Drybooms as president, Paul Sternberg as vice president and secretary and Sim...

RAPAPORT... U.S. chain-store sales rose 5.5 percent this past week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. There was little change on a week-to-week basis, however. “Sales continued to improve over the latest week, helped by robust customer traffic, especially at discounters, department and apparel stores,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's...

(RAPAPORT) Toronto Star:  They're big, bold and brilliant — just as diamonds should be — and among the good things that grow in Ontario. But these carats didn't come from the fruit belt. Each of the 100 jaw-dropping gems was mined, cut and polished to perfection in northern Ontario. Definitely any girl's best friend forever, they were unveiled Monday at Birks' bling boutique on Blo...

RAPAPORT... ShopNBC appointed Scott Garozzo as its director of jewelry. Garozzo previously served as the senior vice president of merchandising and product development for Simmons Jewelry Co. Prior to that, he held jewelry merchandising positions at QVC and Lord & Taylor. Garozzo was also granted inducement stock options that took effect on his first day of employment with ShopNBC, ...

RAPAPORT... Lazare Kaplan International (LKI) received a deficiency letter from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on behalf of NYSE Amex regarding the company's failure to file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period that ended on February 28, 2010. On April 14, LKI had filed a notification with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that these results woul...