Modern Jewelry Trends

If the first reports trickling in on holiday sales are accurate, the National Retail Federation’s estimate of 4 percent sales growth for the holiday season, the lowest since 2001, may have been too optimistic. The day after Christmas, some reports were that sales were flat. ShopperTrak and MasterCard Advisors have said that overall sales were up 3.6 percent, but excluding gas and auto purchases left a measly increase of only 2.4 percent. The International Council of Shopping Centers said Wednesday that same-store sales during the holidays would be “just below” projections for a 2.5 percent gain, although post-Christmas sales could erase that shortfall. Online sales, although still growing far faster than sales at stores, grew a bit less this year, up an estimated 19 percent this year to $26 billion. Online jewelry and watch sales, which grew a torrid 66 percent last year, may even have been down slightly this year, according to comScore.

In the grand tradition of our Million Dollar Bling video, today we celebrate the year’s top ten over-the-top diamond-encrusted objets. Extra points for functioning electronics, of course. (Planned Obsolescence + Forever = Cognitive Dissonance.) No diamond-covered phones or diamond pave USB drives allowed because they’re just too common these days.

10. Philips Diamond-Set Television Set: Yes, those are 2,250 diamonds on a TV! This is the winner in the sightholder category this year, despite stiff competition from a diamond ice cream cone, a diamond dress, and a diamond steering wheel, although it can’t compare to the diamond lost in a crash of a race car last year. This, no doubt, is exactly what De Beers had in mind when they developed Supplier of Choice.

9. Million Dollar Laptop by Luvaglio: You can’t show a million dollar laptop to just anyone, obviously, so the Luvaglio website is “by appointment only.” Sadly, I am unable to confirm that the laptop comes in pink for the ladies. But in the photo Engadget no doubt purloined, the diamonds are confined to the power button. May I suggest that this is perhaps a bit too discreet for anyone who wants a million-dollar laptop?

8. Diamond-Studded Computer Mouse: Actually the flower-pattern diamond mouse, priced at about $26,775 for “high net worth shoppers,” is pretty conservative for this company, aside from the price. Diamonds are confined to a flower pattern on the top of the old-fashioned bar of soap style mouse. Compare to the torso mouse. Or the chili pepper mouse, which is definitely my favorite.

7. 24k Gold and Diamond Widex Hearing Aid: The most unusual entry on the list is bling for the hard of hearing. I like the idea of proudly celebrating the hearing aid instead of trying to hide it but this might go a bit too far. The large diamond encrusted logo is an especially nice touch. Is that a gold and diamond banana behind your ear?

6. JooZoo Diamond-set Pet MP3 Player: What sets this apart from your dime-a-dozen diamond pave iPod shuffle players is that this diamond-covered mp3 player is designed for your dog. (That explains the amount of hair in the photo.) It’s supposed to calm your dog’s nerves to wear a gold and diamond pendant that plays music. It would make the dog more stressed out to be mugged, however, so it might be a wash.

5. Diamond and 18k Gold Gameboy: Dot matrix with stereo sound! 1989 is calling….The item points out the general problem with adorning electronics. I can imagine giving this as a gift and the recipient would think “what? why didn’t you set diamonds on a Nintendo DS or a Wii instead of this obsolete black and white fossil?” The pattern on the gold also says 1989 to me.

4. Million Dollar Lure: This one actually makes sense. Especially if you’re fishing in the fountain at The Bellagio or the canals of The Venetian.

3. Solitaire Kicks: These white and aqua patent leather Nike Air Force 1 sneakers with eight carats of champagne diamonds are priced at $50,000. I’m not sure the champagne diamonds go with the shiny aqua soles though. Apparently Big Boi of Outkast will show up if you promise to give him a pair.

2. Icepik Toothpick Sleeve: The site explains it best: “The first diamond encrusted toothpick sleeve, and we call it the Icepik. Each Icepik is hand crafted, and set in elegance beyond compare by our goldsmiths who have been in the industry for over 30 years. No Icepik will ever be the same due to this fact. All Icepiks are set on 18k gold to keep a better shine, and keep from tarnishing. You slide your average round toothpick into our patented round 18k gold cylinder, and there you have the start of a new look on life. Your wooden toothpick still sits in your mouth, but on the outside your toothpick looks like a piece of art. We suggest you get a Icepik if you are a person who likes to stand out beyond the rest.”

1. Damien Hirst’s “For the Love of God”: The world’s most expensive piece of art sold $100 million, even if he did have to buy it himself. Real teeth! Big diamonds! Bigger pretention! Because all art should aspire to a Guinness World Record.

For more diamond-covered fun, check out Wired’s Worst Diamond-Encrusted Gadgets of All Time.

Get ready for a ban on imports of Burmese gemstones. Both the House and the Senate have passed bills to close the loophole in the import ban for stones mined in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) that are cut and polished in another country.

The two bills differ, so they will have to be reconciled before being sent to President Bush for signing. He’ll no doubt do so quickly: First Lady Laura Bush has become one of the most vocal opponents of the regime in Myanmar.

The import ban will affect Burmese ruby, almost all the world’s jadeite, and some sapphire, spinel, and peridot.

On December 17, the House voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal, the United States’ highest civilian honor, to Burmese democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the only imprisoned recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. She has been under house arrest in Burma for 12 years. The award, which has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, is intended as a message to the Burmese junta led by General Than Shwe, who renamed the country Myanmar in 1989.

Retail sales in November were up 1.2 percent in November, according to the Commerce Department, double analysts’ estimates. The National Retail Federation says that November sales were up 5.1 percent, ahead of the NRF projected increase of 4 percent for the overall holiday season. Online shopping continues to grow dramatically: it’s up 18 percent so far. Other bright spots so are luxury, up 10.8 percent, and electronics, up 5.8 percent.

But, as you’ve no doubt heard, there are also many negative economic indicators for the holiday season. Spending on women’s apparel dropped nearly 6 percent during the first half of the Christmas season, compared with the same period last year, according to MasterCard Advisors, a division of the credit card company.

How is jewelry doing so far? According to Phil Rist of BIGresearch, 22.2 percent of consumers plan to buy jewelry this holiday season, down from 26.4 percent in 2006. There are rumors that sales at Sterling are down 7 percent so far this holiday season. The major has responded by cancelling orders around the globe, suppliers say. I can’t confirm these rumors, though: Sterling is scrupulous about never discussing sales ahead of corporate reports. A study of 2,104 people conducted by the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council, a division of MVI Marketing Ltd., in the last week of November 2007 showed Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend shopping season was down by as much as 4 percent. Only 16 percent of those surveyed purchased fine jewelry or watches as a gift over the Thanksgiving weekend, down from 20 percent in a similar study conducted in 2006. Some individual high-end retailers are doing well, however. I’ve heard reports of trunk shows with customers lining up to buy.
But remember, sales of gift cards are surging and they are not counted in holiday purchases until they are spent. According to Rist, 56 percent of consumers intend to spend $26 billion in gift cards this shopping season. When added to the expected increase of 4 percent overall, the retail numbers may not be as bad as media reports would have you believe.

The new list of international DTC sightholders has been announced and it’s official: 24 companies have been cut. No names have yet been announced, just numbers at this point. Rapaport is calling around to compile a list, available here. Rob Bates is also working the phones and reporting here. The official number from DTC is that there are 75 international sightholders, 18 fewer than the last contract period, and six of the 75 are new companies. The DTC also announced that there are 79 sightholders total when the Botswana and Namibia lists are included, which means there are four companies that are receiving sights in either Botswana or Namibia who aren’t on the international list. That’s where things get a bit complicated. Currently there are three companies on the Namibia DTC list who aren’t international DTC sightholders. That means one additional company on either the Namibia or Botswana list is not an international sightholder. The first of the new DTC sightholders to surface are Arslanian Cutting Works NWT of Canada and Dharmanandan Daimonds of India.

Many U.S sightholders made the new list, including Julius Klein, Lazare Kaplan, Louis Glick, Michael Werdiger, Premier Gem, and Stuller. Longtime U.S. sightholder Hasenfeld-Stein did not.

Jeweler Steve Quick has created the world’s most expensive Christmas tree. On display at Steve Quick Jewelers in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, the tree is made out of five solid pounds of 18k yellow gold and decorated with 250 carats of round brilliant and briolette diamonds. The platinum star on top, set with a 4.52 carat diamond, is detachable so the owner can wear it as a pendant.

Creating the tree was a lengthy process: just the wax carving, which created the needle detail, took weeks. The casting process required specialized equipment, which was purchased and specially modified for this project. The tree is made of reclaimed gold so even though it appears very yellow, it is actually quite “green”!

Suppliers Manak Jewels, United Gem Limited, Clark Jewelers, Chicago Gem Appraisers also contributed to the tree.

This “outrageous, over the top labor of love” benefits a good cause: it will be auctioned off on eBay beginning on December 17 with 100 percent of the profits going to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The tree is valued at $500,000. If that’s a bit over your holiday budget, Quick has also designed miniature versions of the Tree in sterling silver for $20, gold-plated for $25, and 14k gold for $195. All of the profits from the Mini-Trees will also be donated to the American Cancer Society.
“Our tree was created to bring hope and help to people battling cancer,” Quick says. “To us, helping others is priceless.”