Red carpet ripped out from jewelry designers

February 05, 2007

By Beth Braverman

Hollywood, Calif.—George Clooney and Julia Roberts were not the only losers at the 65th Golden Globe Awards. Also among the disappointed were fashion houses, makeup artists, hotels and—of course—jewelry designers.

The Globes appeared a lot less golden this year, as organizers did away with the red carpet and the traditional black-tie trappings. The annual ceremony, which kicks off Hollywood's awards season, has served in the past as a harbinger of jewelry and fashion trends for the Academy Awards and the rest of the year.

"The Golden Globes give such exposure to jewelry designers," says Helena Krodel, associate director of media for the Jewelry Information Center. "A good picture of a celebrity wearing a designer's jewelry will appear not only in coverage of the event but also throughout the year in trend reports and in dos and don'ts lists.

Without the Globes, jewelry companies are
placing product at smaller events. Sarah Michelle Gellar
wore 18-karat yellow gold rose-cut diamond earrings
and bangles by Amrapali of Jaipur to a movie premiere on Jan. 15.

"Savvy to this significance, Platinum Guild International (PGI) has, for the past five years, hosted a suite to outfit celebrities with millions of dollars in borrowed jewels for the bash.

In early January, PGI decided to cancel the suite because many actors had said they would not cross picket lines to attend the Golden Globes. A few days later, NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced plans to downsize the Golden Globes from a three-hour, glitz-filled TV event that draws more than a thousand celebrities and media moguls to a Golden Globe Awards Winners Special hosted by Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell.

In the absence of the red carpet, celebrity presenters, audience members and the actual handing out of awards, Bush and O'Dell were reduced to delivering the names of the winners as if they were a couple of news anchors. Normally fantastic fodder for the juggernaut of celebrity media, this year's event received little coverage.

"From the [perspective of the] jewelry industry, it is really a shame," says Michael O'Connor, PGI's senior vice president of marketing communication and public relations. "We had 42 designers [who would have shown in the suite] who literally had the red carpet pulled out from under them. They have lost the consumer brand awareness and celebrity placement that they normally get."

Besides garnering press play for stars and for platinum, the PGI awards suite provides stylists and their famous clients access to lesser-known jewelry designers.The writers' strike began on Nov. 5 when scribes walked off the job after failing to arrive at an agreement with studios regarding, among other things, their right to digital distribution profits.

"Even the big houses rely so heavily on public relations and the red carpet at these events," Krodel says. "This is one of the only chances for the really big pieces to get exposure.

These sapphire and diamond earrings

in platinum by Oscar Heyman

exemplify the type of blockbuster-level

jewelry Hollywood stars might have

worn on the red carpet at the Golden Globes.

"The People's Choice Awards, typically less important for jewelry designers, also cancelled its red carpet and traditional format when it aired on Jan. 16. The Screen Actors Guild Awards proceeded as planned on Jan. 27, thanks to its union ties and included a red carpet. But it was barely a blip on the ratings radar, with just 6.1 million viewers compared with the nearly 40 million who watched last year's Academy Awards.

At press time, writers had not yet announced whether or not they would picket the more influential Academy Awards, set for Feb. 24, which could lead to a similar scaling down of the ceremony.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed, because the Golden Globes are important, but the monster is the Oscars," says Chris Aire, a jewelry designer and red-carpet regular. "If the Oscars still happen, I think we'll be OK."

At press time, writers had agreed not to picket the Grammy Awards, scheduled for Feb. 10.However, Aire and other designers have also begun looking at other opportunities for product placement to make up for the lost Globes red carpet. Aire has jewelry appearing in three upcoming movies and plans to bulk up his advertising this year.


These rose-cut diamond earrings by
Amrapali of Jaipur would likely
have made the red carpet at the Globes.

Bochic, the New York-based designer-jewelry firm, saw its star soar last year after Angelina Jolie wore its vintage-style necklace and earrings to the Golden Globes, and that alone seems to have prevented a case of red-carpet withdrawal this year.

"Red-carpet events are a fixture right through the year in Hollywood, and because we have the Bochic collection in our public relations showroom year-round, we are known to celebrities and their stylists as a source for red-carpet jewelry," says Ginnina D'Orazio of D'Orazio and Associates, which handles publicity for Bochic as well as for other red-carpet brands such as Le Vian and Hellmuth. "In addition, we provide jewelry for many editorial shoots with celebrities throughout the year, so in many ways, it's simply business as usual."




Globe trends that struck out

If the Golden Globes had aired, you would have seen these trends, experts say:

Shorter earrings: Shoulder dusters get brushed aside this year for shorter drop earrings and larger cluster-style earrings that lie on the lobe.

Brooches: Pins have popped back into fashion's forefront, especially flower- and starburst-themed brooches.

Colors: Large, smooth gemstones—particularly in pink, blue and green hues—accent colorful gowns that stars are choosing lately. Cocktail rings remain a red-carpet favorite.

Yellow gold: While platinum remains a hands-down favorite at Hollywood's most dressed-up events, risk-taking, fashion-forward celebrities have made the move to rich, yellow gold designs.
Bold pendants: Shorter earrings put the emphasis on the neck, where big, vintage-feeling medallions look just right this season.


Editor's note: This story first appeared in the February 2008 issue of National Jeweler.

Gold Prices Rise As Dollar Falls

By LAUREN VILLAGRAN
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Gold prices jumped Thursday as the euro climbed to a fresh peak against the U.S. dollar amid concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy.

Elsewhere, commodities prices finished mixed.

"The dollar and oil took turns propelling bullion values throughout the day," said Jon Nadler, an analyst with Kitco Bullion Dealers, in a client note.

August gold rose as high as $671 an ounce in intraday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, then ended the session up $6.20 at $668.30 an ounce.
Gold found support in a declining U.S. dollar, as investors sought a so-called safer haven for their funds. The euro bought $1.379 in late trading.

September silver picked up 20.5 cents to close at $13.18 an ounce.

Energy prices shed some weight as several refineries restarted operations, raising expectations for increased gasoline output. Inventories of gasoline showed larger-than-expected growth last week, according to a Wednesday report from the Energy Information Administration.

Light, sweet crude oil initially leaped more than $1, then eased to close down 6 cents at $72.50 a barrel. Gasoline prices shed 4 cents to settle at $2.2663 a gallon.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, traders of wheat, corn and soybeans responded to dry weather patterns in parts of the Midwest and a report on world supply and demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Forecasts for dry conditions in the western Corn Belt bolstered corn prices as the crop enters its crucial pollination stage. December corn added 9.6 cents to close at $3.65 a bushel.

The USDA on Thursday cut its production estimate for hard, red winter wheat , the wheat used in cereals and bakery goods , by 7 percent and raised its forecast for price to farmers to an all-time record of $5.10 a bushel. The agency also boosted its estimates for corn production 22 percent to 12.84 billion bushels, up from 10.54 billion a year ago.

"The reality of these numbers was already incorporated into the market," said DTN analyst Gary Wilhelmi.

Wheat prices edged 0.4 cent lower to close at $6.214 a bushel. Soybeans gained 18.6 cents to finish at $9.414 a bushel.

Overseas, industrial metals ended the session mostly lower, with declines in copper, aluminum and tin on the London Metal Exchange. Lead finished flat while zinc notched a 2 percent gain. September copper slipped 4.05 cents to close at $3.581 a pound on the Nymex.

July 12, 2007 5:35 PM

Tiffany & Co. Reportedly Speculated To Be Takeover Target - Update

RTT News reports:

[TIF]6/26/2007 12:45:55 AM Monday, jewelry and specialty retail stores operator Tiffany & Co. Inc. (TIF) is once again reportedly speculated to be a takeover target.

Reports suggested that either France-based luxury goods conglomerate LMVH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA is interested in acquiring Tiffany or shareholder Nelson Peltz intends to increase his stake in the company. The company's stock gained more than 3% in Monday's regular trading session.

LMVH is the parent company of around 60 sub-companies that each manage a small number of prestigious brands. The group was formed after mergers brought together champagne producer Moet et Chandon and Hennessy, a manufacturer of cognac, a type of French distilled wine. In 1987, they merged with fashion house Louis Vuitton to form the current group. The group is partly owned by Christian Dior group and operates around 1,500 stores worldwide.

In February, a hedge fund run by billionaire financier Nelson Peltz, Trian Fund Management LP, revealed that it has bought a 5.54% stake in New York-based Tiffany to become the company's largest shareholder. According to the fund's filing with the SEC, it is seeking to help Tiffany improve its margins and earnings per share growth and address various operational and strategic issues, including optimizing global expansion opportunities and evaluating non-core businesses. The fund currently owns 7.5 million shares of the company. Trian Fund also noted that Tiffany's common stock was under valued and that it represented an attractive investment opportunity.

For the recent first quarter, Tiffany & Co. reported a 15% increase in net earnings to $49.66 million from $43.14 million a year ago. On a per share basis, earnings climbed 20% to $0.36, based on 139.72 million shares, from $0.30, based on 144.37 million shares, in the prior-year quarter. Net sales for the quarter grew 15% to $620.88 million from $539.24 million in the previous-year quarter.TIF closed Monday's regular trading session at $51.91, up $1.93 or 3.86% on a volume of 5.64 million shares.

Soap star appears in Caressa ads

"All My Children" star Leven Rambin is the new face of Caressa. She portrays Lily Montgomery on the show.












June 19, 2007

Belgium—Caressa, a designer-jewelry division of De Beers sightholder Taché, has tapped All My Children star Leven Rambin for its new advertising campaign.

"I am thrilled to be a part of this campaign," Rambin said in a statement. "The Caressa brand is synonymous with elegance and empowerment. It inspires me to achieve my dreams as my most beautiful self.

"In the ads, Caressa unveils two new collections, both inspired by women from the 18th or 19th centuries and aimed at modern female self-purchasers.

The Georgia Collection features a rose motif, and the Lady Brooke Collection features lace dripping with diamonds from a silk or satin and organza cord.

"Women today are not as simple as we pretend to be," Caressa Executive Vice President Kendra Bridel Weinman said in a statement. "We want to do it all—have a successful career, keep up with the fashion trends and have a loving relationship with our perfect family. We tried to capture this in our jewelry collections.

"Photographer Sergio Kurhajec, whose clients include Cosmopolitan, Glamour and GQ, shot the new campaign. The ads debuted in the May 2007 issues of Vogue and W magazines.

Bangle bracelets get glitzy update for spring

Set of 20 bangles in 18-karat gold with diamonds by Tous. Retail price available upon request.

May 01, 2007

By Beth Braverman

New York—With the focus on jewelry for the wrist expected to continue through spring and summer, retailers have reported an ever-increasing demand for stacks of bangle bracelets.

"I have definitely seen an increase in bangle sales over the past six months," says Tabby Back, owner of Old Mill Jewelers in Pound, Va. "I keep having to order more of them."

Back says he sells bangles individually, and he believes that consumers like them because they can mix and match styles for a personalized look. Selling bangles individually also allows for repeat sales and makes the look available to consumers who may only have the funds to purchase one or two bangles at a time.

While thin, yellow-gold bangles remain popular for everyday wear, diamond-encrusted pieces have emerged as an even hotter trend on the red carpet or for evening affairs.

Necks Still Bare in Cannes

Friday, May 25th, 2007

With wheel barrels of diamond and gemstone jewelry in Cannes during the festival from official jeweler Chopard, de Grisogono, and others, there is no shortage of glamorous necklaces available for celebrities to wear. But the stars are sticking to the dress for red carpet success recipe that began at the Oscars: bracelets and dangling earrings or hoops. Necks, once again, are mostly bare. Sharon Stone managed to look chic, relaxed, and almost casual in gold lame at the amFar Cinema Against AIDS benefit thanks to her H. Stern hoop earrings and Diane Von Furstenberg Sutra bracelet.

Although neutral colors, the strongest trend from awards season, are still strong, some stars have broken out bright colors to stunning effect, notably Angelina Jolie and Helen Mirren in sunshine yellow and Kerry Washington in emerald green. Washington bucked the trend in another way: she also wore a dramatic matching emerald necklace by Boucheron.

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