Z Trends focuses on Floral Jewelry

Zales has released its newest "Z Trends" feature on its website, with this month's focus on flowers. Everything's coming up roses, daisies, gardenias, and more at Zales in fine jewelry that is pretty and fashionable for Summer 2008.

Whether bright and bold or distinctly feminine, Zales.com's Z Trends has plenty of options to help customers cultivate one of the season's freshest trends.

"Flower jewelry has made a huge splash this summer," said Steve Larkin, Sr. Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce at Zale. "It's a pretty look that is easy to wear and complements every woman's fashion."

Dozens of pendants, bracelets, brooches and rings seem to come right from the hothouse but in sterling silver and gold, and are accented with diamonds, pearls, opals and a rainbow of colored gemstones.

Clustered diamonds in the shape of flowers adorn stud earrings and lariat pendants. Citrine and garnets are used in a dramatic drop necklace.

Multi-colored birthstone blossoms wrap around a wrist in a pretty bracelet. Amethyst and diamonds create a sensation set in yellow gold. In total over 150 items available at Zales.com are inspired by this budding trend.

Each Z Trends column explores one of the season's hottest looks in fashion and fine jewelry, providing the site's visitors with the most current trend information and allows them to shop for the look that suits them best all within the same website.

Z Trends will be updated monthly, and all of the merchandise offered is available on the zales.com website. Floral-inspired pieces range from $19 to over $5000.

"Some of the flower jewelry on Zales.com costs no more than an arrangement you'd get from a florist," adds Larkin. "The difference is these flowers will last the rest of her life."

Zales Premiers Fashion-Forward Column on Website

Zales Jewelers recently introduced a new fashion-forward feature on its website, http://www.zales.com/. The new “Z Trends” column will focus on the season’s ‘in’ looks, each month, from both the runway and the red carpet and everywhere in between.

The column will also give site visitors regularly updated news and information about the selection of fine jewelry and accessories available at Zales.com.

The first column, which premiered this week, highlights the latest trends for pearls, the oldest precious gem, according to the firm. Pearls, says Zales, are showing up everywhere this season from traditional stud earrings to diamond jewelry enhanced by the pearls.

The latest color trends in pearls, which include chocolate, brown, khaki and pink, are also featured in this month’s column, including an assortment of rings, pendants, necklaces and earrings featuring the stone.

"The Z Trends feature is a great new resource for busy consumers who want to keep up with the latest styles and trends in fine jewelry," said Steve Larkin, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Zale Corporation.

Z Trends will be updated monthly, and all merchandise offered will be available on the website.

Phu Quoc pearls may not be what they seem

At the Dinh Cau night market, where tourists often meander after a day at the beach, pearls are sold at same booths as souvenirs and toys for only a few hundred-thousand dong.

Dozens of stalls at the Ham Ninh Market sell pearl earrings for VND10,000 (US$0.6) apiece alongside snacks and drinks.

One pearl necklace costs VND300,000 ($18) while another that looks nearly identical costs VND3 million ($180).

Market vendor Hong Dao said the latter was made of real Phu Quoc pearls, worth much more than the Chinese pearls used to make the cheaper necklace.

Khong Thi Thanh Truc, a partner in a Japanese-Vietnamese pearl company, said Phu Quoc pearls are 10 times more expensive than Chinese pearls.

Vo Van Doi, a pearl trader in An Thoi Town, said he had just sold a 12-millimeter pearl to a foreigner for VND15 million ($903).

Doi said it was not easy to find genuine Phu Quoc pearls because fakes have flooded the market.

He explained that fake pearls were easy to make but could be discovered by rubbing two pearls together.

Fake pearls would loose their enamel this way, he said.

Doi also said that putting a flame to pearls was an easy way to tell a fake as imitation pearls would shrink or be deformed by high heat.

But few shop owners would allow their pearls to be tested that way, he said.

A veteran trader on the island, Doi said the local pearl market is more complicated than ever as shops don’t provide credible evidence of the origins of their pearls.

And the fake pearls are everywhere, he said.

Even fishmongers and motorbike drivers often approach Doi with cheap fake pearls, asking him to sell them to tourists for a commission.

As an established trader, Doi said he always refuses such offers.

And it is not only fake pearls or Chinese imports that are hindering the island’s reputation, but even some Phu Quoc pearl companies now sell lower-quality freshwater pearls as opposed to those taken from seawater oysters.

Phu Quoc is located some 115 km off the coast of Rach Gia, capital of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

The Fifth China International Gold, Jewelry & Gem Fair, Guangzhou

The Fifth China International Gold, Jewelry & Gem Fair, Guangzhou will be held from 13 to 16 June 2008 at Guangzhou Jinhan Exhibition Centre in Guangzhou. This year's fair would have the highest level of government support and the greatest numbers of exhibitors and kinds of exhibits, accommodating more than 500 booths. According to a survey there would be over 250 exhibitors participating, coming from China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and US. With great support from local government and industry associations, the scale of the Fair is expanding further.

The Panyu government is giving the greatest of support to the Fair this year and the response of the region 's companies is vigorous. Such prominent companies as Sinoble, Waddy, KTL, Yuanjun, Legend, Luk Fook, Dai Sun, Henry Jewelry and Helix Diamonds will participate, displaying their fine jewelry at the Fair. An-Ge-More, together with some other gemstone companies, will exhibit good-quality loose gemstones at the gemstone pavilion. Besides, the participation of Conghua and Sihui will promote their characteristic jewelry industry to overseas buyers. "

China International Gold, Jewelry & Gem Fair, Guangzhou keeps side by side knowledge of market needs in every improvement in order to create business for the jewelry industry. Mr. Chan, Manager (China) of CMP Asia said, "Because of the unique potential of Guangzhou, which possesses a rich supply of jewelry raw materials and is recognized as the wholesaling hub for jewelry raw materials in China, the Fair attaches the same importance to both materials and finished products. Apart from glamorous finished jewelry, diverse raw materials, including diamonds, gemstones, pearls, jade and jadeite, silver, semi-precious stones, synthetic stones and cubic zirconia, will be showcased beneath the same roof in different sections, allowing buyers to purchase efficiently the products they need. "

Apart from the fabulous products displayed, the organizers will arrange a series of technical seminars. These will be presented with the professional expertise of China Gold Association, Jewelry News Asia Chinese Edition, International Colored Gemstone Association, TTF Studio, Guangdong Provincial Gem & Precious Metal Testing Centre and the Gemological Institute of America. The seminar organized by the Testing Centre will be open to the public, offering everyone a chance to learn about jewelry connoisseurship.

As for visitors, in addition to visitors of two visit programs and regular buyers, currently more than 500 local and overseas buyers from 45 countries and regions have pre-registered to visit the Fair via the Internet and by other means.

Jewelry Shanghai: Visitor Numbers Down but Quality Up

Jewelry Shanghai 2008 concluded Sunday after a weekend-long exhibition that started May 8 at the Shanghai New international Expo Center. On the last day of the show, hours before companies began packing up their booths, foot-traffic was light, mostly made up of members of the public, with a few trade members here and there.

Prominent designs included gold jewelry set with small size diamonds, with a good deal of jade, amber, pearls and precious stone pieces all around. Diamantaires noted good sales of SI+ / D-G goods.

Jane Kao of Taipei, Taiwan-based jewelry wholesale company Bennie Wang Jewelry, exhibiting for the first time at Jewelry Shanghai, remarked that the visitor numbers were much lower than she had expected and that most of the attendees she saw were consumers. The company sells its own designs to retailers, and, although Kao says that the industry members she did meet were interested, sales were “not good.”

“We are mostly here to promote our company and to test if people in Shanghai like our product. We are different from others who sell mass-produced items. Ours are all designed in-house, in small numbers. Nevertheless, I expected to see more people here.” Kao commented that a recent downturn in the Shanghai stock market, as well as overall concern about the economy kept people away.

Anna Tchapovshaia, of Botswana Diamonds, a brand manufactured by DTC Botswana Sightholder DIA Holdings and distributed in China by Trinity Diamond, echoed the sentiment, that most of the attendees they saw were consumers, not trade members. However, despite this she says that the brand is there almost purely for the PR opportunity, and “in terms of this, we’re happy with the show.”

Official visitor numbers were not made available from show organizers.

Raymond Cohen, sales executive of Antwerp-based DTC Sightholder Tache Company NV, emphasized that the relatively sparse crowds at the show didn’t faze him. “Numbers are down, definitely, but the quality of buyers is up,” he says.

Cohen also gave some advice to foreign companies exhibiting in China. “Chinese buyers want a large range of goods. I think a lot of companies come here with a very specific set of goods, that people here may or may not want, but you can’t do that.” When asked how the show is going for him, he said that it is going very well. “It’s simple,” Cohen says. “If you have the goods, it’s fine; if not, it’s not good.” He said most buyers had been interested in everything but SI goods.

Raj Impex Shanghai Limited is a company that has been selling in Shanghai for approximately two years now and that specializes in small goods below 0.30 carat. “Mac,” a sales executive, echoed the complaints of other exhibitors that people were simply not buying. Those that had been buying were mostly Chinese, Japanese and Korean buyers.

He stressed that the show is very small in comparison to others in the region, such as Hong Kong, but that the event is a good opportunity to meet and gain new customers from cities in the Shanghai area that may not come to Hong Kong.

Show organizers said that there were 400 exhibiting companies from China, Hong Kong, India, Belgium, Israel, Taiwan and others. Shanghai, they say, makes up 20 percent of the Chinese jewelry industry’s total sales and is an important distribution and consolidating center for the country’s industry.