21% increase in demand for jewellery boosts Dubai's retail jewellery event

This diversity in attendance has influenced the organiser to unveil a brand new three-show format this year that promises to have something for everyone. Besides the high-end Areeq Dubai and a trade specific show Jewellery Trade Dubai, Dubai International Jewellery Week 2007 will also feature an exclusive retail event designed to cater to every aspect of the jewellery retail industry - Jewellery Collections Dubai.

Jewellery Collections Dubai will be held from the 11 - 15 December at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and promises to be Dubai's jewellery retail event of the year, with companies from across the globe coming together under one roof to showcase their latest creations.

The strategic position of the two other jewellery events, Areeq Dubai and Jewellery Trade Dubai, alongside the retail event, will provide traders with tremendous synergy and benefits exclusive to Dubai International Jewellery Week.

Mr. Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of Jewellery Collections Dubai commented,

'Having all the big names of the retail jewellery industry under one roof is Jewellery Collections Dubai's greatest appeal, making it the number one event in the UAE. Support from key industry associations and brands has been tremendous and we are looking forward to the best edition yet.'

With retail gold jewellery sales in Dubai in excess of AED 6 billion a year and rising, it makes perfect business sense to have a focused event such as Jewellery Collections Dubai Previous editions of the Dubai Jewellery Event have seen a tremendous increase in the number of retail exhibitors and related visitors, providing an exclusive platform like Jewellery Collections Dubai will only further attract a targeted audience.

According to Mr. Tawhid Abdullah, Chairman of the Dubai Gold and Jewellers Group (DGJG), 'This is the world's fastest growing jewellery market and the foundations are strong enough for it to double its retail space in the next four years.'

The World Gold Council reported a 21% increase in demand for jewellery in the first quarter of this year alone, with buying trends largely boosted by an increasing per capita income that ranks amongst the highest in the world.
The show's ever-growing long time popularity has seen exhibitors returning year after year.

Samra, for instance, has been a constant participant in the Dubai Jewellery over the years, and has witnessed the growing support from the national and international visitors at the fair. Samra will be presenting its Winter 2007 collections at Jewellery Collections Dubai and according to Mr. Samer Abou Samra, Assistant Managing Director, 'The show will be the perfect platform to introduce our Winter 2007 collection, as it gives us a great opportunity to meet with our retail and international trade customers and ensure that they are the first to see the new collection.'

Karim Merchant, Managing Director of Pure Gold Jewellers said, 'Pure Gold Jewellers is honoured to be able to participate in this year's Dubai International Jewellery Week. Pure Gold Jewellers is a major player in the region's local and international jewellery retailing. It is now one of the fastest growing jewellery houses in the UAE catering to customers in neighboring GCC countries in Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.'

'We have been working very hard to develop wonderful new product features to our existing brands and we are enthusiastic to finally unveil our new creations to the public. Our latest inspirations for our Pure Diamonds, Mosaico, Oystra, and Pure Sparkle brands will highlight striking white and gold jewellery beautifully adorned with rare-cut diamonds, freshwater pearls, and precious stones available in a variety of exquisite colors, carats, and shapes. We are positive that our participation in this show will further reinstate our commitment to deliver the best and only the best to our loyal customers in the region," Mr. Merchant added.

As well as a comprehensive collection of renowned exhibitors, Jewellery Collections Dubai will feature informative seminars regarding the latest trends, the 4 C's and much more. Leading jewellers displaying their latest collections include Al Masood, Amwaj, Damas, Dhamani, Forever Jovial, Pure Gold, Rosyblue, Samra, Thamina and Mahalatti.

Jewellery Collections Dubai will be held from the 11 -15 of December at Halls 5-8 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre with an exclusive ladies only viewing on the 13 December between 12pm - 4pm. Entry is free and all visitors will be entered into a free prize draw to win air tickets to a select shopping destination. Visitors under the age of 16 will not be permitted entry.
Source: ameinfo

Translating feelings into jewelry

Designer Barbara Giles creates her jewelry in Catonsville.

At her in-home studio in Catonsville, jewelry artist Barbara Giles creates deceptively simple pieces of stone-and-metal, which she sells online (barbaragiles jewelry.com) and from elegant small display cases in local boutiques, such as Art and Artisan on Main Street in Ellicott City.

They are beautiful pieces meant to be worn -- smoothly polished cut opal; softly colored sea glass connected with sterling silver; magnificent jade petals in pinks and oranges; amazing lasso necklaces of crocheted sterling silver perfect for twisting, tucking and tying.

"Jewelry is subjective, obviously," says Kevin E. Smith, owner of Bella Sorpresa, a new lingerie boutique on Charles Street that clamored to sell Giles' pieces after seeing her work in another shop in Federal Hill. "But hers is art."

To prove that point, Giles will be taking her penchant for simplicity up a notch -- and focusing more on metalwork -- at the Maryland State Arts Council's m'Art show, to be held Dec. 6-8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel, 700 Aliceanna St., second floor.

IN HER WORDS // For the m'Art event I am considering using a lot of the same design elements I am already incorporating into my jewelry. I will be adding brooches, cufflinks and larger pieces to the collection. [Also,] I will be concentrating more on the sterling, the pearls and some beautiful little diamonds.

THE CONCEPT // The concept is to let the surfaces of the metals show in all their glory. Some of the elements I am making are little modern sculptures. A few of the pieces can stand alone, or be layered for a more gypsy or talisman look. I'm also very much into lariats for necklaces: no hooks, no clasps. Simple is my motto.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION // I have pieces which force the wearer to be involved. The necklace length is adjustable, as are the elements; they slide on a nylon coated steel cable. I want the wearer to decide where she wants the elements to hang in relation to each other. I guess this is what you'd call audience participation.

HER INSPIRATION // Everything inspires me: I'm a sponge. Music, art, fashion, nature, the materials themselves. They all inspire. From the time I started making art, originally as an illustrator, my goal has been to translate my feelings into a work of art. I hope these pieces communicate a peaceful, quiet, Zen-like energy.

THE TECHNIQUE // For these pieces the techniques are pretty basic. Each marquis shape is made from two equal lengths of silver, which I curve and solder at the ends. I file the edges -- a lot -- and then solder onto the piece whatever is appropriate, like a post or a ring, so that it may be used as an earring or part of a bracelet. The piece then gets cleaned and tumbled and polished. Unless I am putting patterns on my metal, the process is pretty much across the board. Shaping, sawing, soldering.

LOCAL MATERIALS // I find most of my materials right here in Baltimore. Terra Firma in Pikesville is one of my second homes. I have searched and found wholesale jewelry suppliers for other raw materials. They are all over the country.

JEWELRY AS ART // I approach jewelry as I do any of the art I've made. I am not a planner; I am all about process and feeling. I start with a vague vision, more like how it would feel to wear a certain piece, and I go from there [to] how can I get my materials to represent this feeling. I plan minute to minute: How do I connect this piece to the other? What weight chain works with what weight metal, etc.? I work instinctually with metal as I did with my painting. I add, I take away until something feels and looks right to me. I consider the act of creation to be an art -- when you are making something with the intention of transporting yourself or others to another place of feeling or energy. ... When we work to perfect something, we are all making art.
Source: baltimoresun

Jewelry designer refashions heirlooms

Imagine the contents of your grandmother's jewelry box spilled out, restrung in playful combinations -- and resurfacing in runway shows and exclusive boutiques, and on the necks and arms of Cate Blanchett and Ashley Judd, environmentalist Majora Carter, even the Seattle punk band Blood Brothers.

That pretty much traces the career of Lisa Salzer, the New York designer who founded the Lulu Frost jewelry line after graduating from Dartmouth three years ago. Salzer, who studied art history and studio art, takes vintage pieces and resurrects them, using charms, stones and pieces of chain from older jewelry, and sometimes combining them with more unusual objects . Her pieces include watches without hands, the metal tags from crystal bar sets, hinges from old doors, vintage keys and -- most famously -- room numbers from old hotels.

"I bought all the room numbers," said Salzer of the Plaza Hotel's 1907 bronze fixtures. She used them as pendants, hanging from whimsical vintage chains, in her spring 2006 collection. They caused a sensation and sold out quickly. (Salzer makes replicas, available for $300, at www.lulufrost.com.)

She went on to collaborate with designers, such as Alexander Wang, creating earrings made of fluorescent plastic disks and vintage brass chains for his fall '07 collection, and Chris Benz, collaborating on his spring '08 show.

Among her inspirations are Alber Elbaz of Lanvin and Consuelo Castiglione of Marni -- but no one more than her own grandmother, Elizabeth Frost.

"I like to combine decades," said Salzer, 24, of her vision for her designs, as well as the company she named for her grandmother, who was an estate jewelry buyer. "It's like collage."

No surprise then that Salzer says some of her most satisfying work is when she is commissioned to create custom pieces out of family heirlooms.

"People will go through their drawers and bring me things, from their heirlooms to a lost earring," she said. "I get an insight into someone's family history."

Salzer now mostly sources her pieces from dealers and estate sales, but she started in flea markets and still routinely canvasses them for treasures. She's quick to point out that if you don't have an old box of heirlooms, you can use costume jewelry, metal chains, trinkets found in yard sales, even hardware stores.

"And they make the greatest gifts," Salzer points out.

A few lengths of vintage chain, a solitary earring, a brooch from a different era, a mysterious brass key: You have everything you need to reinvent an heirloom from a past generation.
Source: redding

Randolph jewelry sale benefits sick orphans

The multi-colored, beaded necklaces and bracelets on display at Paul Michael Creative Designs might not seem too out of the ordinary upon first glance, but the jewelry has a history.

The hands that pieced them together are those of HIV-stricken orphans from Ethiopia, and sales of these items will go directly to helping them.

"It's all local material," said Jim Miller, a former Sparta resident who's been actively fundraising for Ethiopian orphans for close to eight years, and who visits the impoverished country yearly.

"There are different designs of the Orthodox cross," he said Tuesday when the jewelry first went on display at the Paul Michael gift shop on Route 10.

"Ethiopia has more cross designs than any other country," he said.

Miller began raising money for Ethiopian orphans more than seven years ago through Sparta Crop Walk. Since then he became the co-founder of Orphans and Vulnerable Children's Programs of Medhen, which supports the Medhen Social Center, an organization located in a leprosy colony outside the country's capitol, Addis Ababa. It's run by Sister Senkenesh G. Miriam, who supports more than 400 orphans who are placed in foster families.

Miller's efforts caught the eyes of a few township women who began contributing money toward Miller's cause and earlier this year founded the Medhen Orphan Relief Effort, a nonprofit group that has raised more than $11,000 to help the children between 2 and 18 years of age.

Township residents Barbara Zecca, Maureen Strenk, Deirdre McGregor and Adele Leeds, among others, received the jewelry from Africa and were able to get the pieces displayed at Paul Michael's after the shop owner learned of the children's plight.

"I think it's beautiful," Paul Michael Giordano said during an interview at his store. "Definitely all of the bracelets are very appealing, and the crosses are definitely all appealing."

Some of the necklaces are made of large brown beads and other trinkets, some with large, diverse metal cross designs. Some of the wrist bracelets are made of small green, yellow and red beads, all of which represent Ethiopia's flag colors.

"I love it -- I wear it all the time as you can see," Zecca said, pointing to a necklace she was wearing while at the store.

They range in prices from $10 to $40, and will be on display during a Holiday Open House on Nov. 15 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Giordano said that in addition to the jewelry sales benefiting MORE, he will also donate 20 percent of anything else people purchase to the charity.

"It's very tough for them," Giordano said said of the orphans.

Miller said, "There are no safety nets to catch these children that are in extreme circumstances of need."

Ethiopia had some 720,000 AIDS orphans in 2003, according to the 2004 Children on the Brink report, published by UNICEF. The report estimates 12.3 million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also estimates that the orphan population will increase in the next decade as more HIV-positive parents become ill and die from AIDS.

It takes $120 a year to help care for a single orphan, Miller said, adding that the children come from "the poorest of the poor" in Africa.
Source: dailyrecord

UES jewelry store murder suspect arrested

There's been an arrest in the murder of woman at a jewelry store on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Police have arrested a former store employee - a man they say had recently been fired.

Eyewitness News reporter Anthony Johnson reports from the Upper East Side with more.

Police made quick work in this case.

David Andrango, 29-year-old, kept his head low on his chest as he was being lead out of the 19th precinct by officers after being charged with murder of 52-year-old Sandra Rodriquez.

In Andrango's Queens neighborhood residents say the suspect usually stayed away from trouble.

"He was a nice guy. He always says hello," said a neighbor. "I don't know why he would do that."

Rodriquez was found in a backroom of the store after family members begged the police to check on her whereabouts for a second time.

On closer inspection officers discovered her lifeless body. The 52-year-old's throat had been slashed and some of the jewelry was stolen.

Police believe Rodriguez may have known her attacker because there were no signs of forced entry. Apparently Andrango was buzzed into the jewelry store.

Family members were on the scene shortly after the crime understandably shaken by this murder, a murder which many here on the eastside still find hard to believe.

"It's surprising to see something happen like this between Madison and Park Avenues," said UES resident John Burger.

More Information on the Boutique

Dawkins, a jewelry designer and antique collector, sells his specialty jewelry out of the store that bears his name. Also in the store are antique home furnishings and mirrors

The location was described by realtor Prudential Douglas Elliman as "a coveted retail location situated just a stone's throw from Madison Avenue's Golden Mile."

The store previously served as the setting for the Oh Cult voodoo shop, visited by James Bond in the 1973 movie "Live and Let Die."
Source: go

Gallery offers art and jewelry

Husband and wife Gordon and Val Mustain will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Enchanted Earthworks Gallery tomorrow with an open house to display their personally made jewelry, as well as other pieces from local artists.

The Mustains will be showing off their wire-wrap jewelry and beads they collaborated on specifically for the show.

"By doing it together, we were able to create something that was more than just a little pendant with some beads with it," Val said.

"What really makes us different is that we have an enormous variety of things. We are not a standard jewelry shop and we don't carry even the kinds of things you'd get at a Zales."

Val believes there are added benefits to holding an open house.

"It's good for the community because anytime you have artists that are available to interact with the community, it broadens the community," she said.

"I don't think you have a community if you don't have artists."

Both Val and Gordon come from artistic backgrounds; Gordon has been a novelist since he was a teenager and Val was an art history major in college. They found themselves in the beginning stages of their present careers by an attraction to rocks.

"When we started, we really thought we might be a rock shop," Val said. "And after about six months we realized that all the people that were coming were either coming for small specimens or my husband's jewelry."

Enchanted Earthworks caters to more than just a jewelry store crowd, with displays of art surrounding the gallery.

"Everyone that does work (at the gallery) has a certain reverence for their art, a reverence for the medium in which they are working in, and a reverence for what everyone else is doing. And it comes through in the art," Val said.

The open house will be an opportunity for UA students to meet local Tucson artists.

"If you're interested in art at all, there will be 20 different artists here that you can meet, and if you want to talk about their art, you can."

Wood carver Ron Karulski will be displaying "Jenny," a wood coyote carving, and Lindianne Sarno will play the violin for over two and a half hours.
Source: arizona

Jewelry designer Christopher Walling at Contemporary Museum

Fresh from attending a ball at His Highness the Aga Khan's posh digs in Paris, New York jewelry designer Christopher Walling is at The Contemporary Museum today through Saturday to share his latest designs.

The new collection is inspired by Hawai'i — look for aquatic elements in the form of marine gems, opals, pearls and ocean colors. Sales of the one-of-a-kind pieces will benefit The Contemporary Museum

His work is included in the American Museum of Natural History's traveling show "Pearls," which is now on view at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, and have adorned such notables as Maya Angelou, Queen Noor of Jordan and Elizabeth Taylor.
Source: honoluluadvertiser

Jewels For The Jungle Auction

After all the huge jewelry auctions of rare stones and blockbuster designer pieces, Sotheby's "Jewels for the Jungle" auction offers a collection that is less pricey and quirkier than most. The auction, which takes place on December 4 in Amsterdam includes the jewelry you might expect at a Sotheby's auction but also features a private collection of animal figures and animal-inspired jewelry pieces that will be sold to benefit of the World Wildlife Fund. The selections are adorably quirky including a gold tree set with gemstone ornaments, and a diamond "Ram's Head" necklace by Cartier. The top lot is a small Buccellati seated monkey figurine that is estimated to sell for 6,000 to 8,000 euros.
Source: luxist

Cops: Teen sold stolen jewelry

An 18-year-old township man was arrested Monday after he allegedly sold stolen jewelry worth more than $10,000 to a store on Route 10, according to authorities.

A Grant Avenue resident reported the jewelry missing on Nov. 2, Detective Jack Ambrose said. When Denny Oh allegedly sold the jewelry to Crystal Jewelry the same day, he was identified as a suspect, Ambrose said.

Another person, a juvenile, could also be charged in connection with the crime, Ambrose said.

There were no signs of forced entry at the residence, indicating a familiar relationship between the thief and the owner of the jewelry, he said.

Bail has been set at $10,000, and Oh is being held at the Morris County Jail.
Source: dailyrecord

Bazaar to feature local jewelry artists

The Bead Cellar will host a holiday bazaar this weekend with beautiful hand-made jewelry from local artists.

Eight artists will have their work on display on Saturday and eight others will be there on Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. both days.

Refreshments will be offered as you shop for beautiful as well as affordable earrings, necklaces, pins, bracelets and more.

The Bead Cellar is located at 6305 Westfield Ave., Pennsauken.
Source: courierpostonline