Watch design and distribution company Movado Group Inc. reported strong increases in both sales and income in the second quarter. 

Michelle Graff

Statistics for the months of January through July show that the U.S. demand for Swiss watches is down slightly year-to-date. 

Michelle Graff

Citing growth in the Hispanic and Latino markets for jewelry, the International Gemological Institute (IGI) announced the addition of Spanish-English and Portuguese-English diamond grading reports to its offerings. 

Michelle Graff

Grading laboratory EGL Asia now is issuing reports for lab-grown diamonds, citing an increasing demand for synthetics in the Asian market. 

Michelle Graff

Women are familiar with all the guides and suggestions available on anything that has to do with their general appearance: from the most flattering bathing suit for their body shape to the best shade of shadow for their eye color to the most complementary cut for their face shape and hair type.

Michelle Graff

The Analytical Gemology & Jewelry Laboratory (AG&J), the same lab that reported the discovery of a parcel of 243 undisclosed lab-grown yellow melee diamonds, is warning the industry that it recently found synthetic brown melee mixed in a batch submitted as natural. 

Michelle Graff

Recently, news surfaced that Mahair Borhanjoo, vice president of global sightholder sales for De Beers, has opted not to relocate when the company completes the move of its sales activities from London to Gaborone, Botswana this year.

Michelle Graff

The Couture Press Preview took place at the Midtown Loft & Terrace last week, and the smaller-scale, more intimate setting gave me an opportunity to catch up with designers I know well and better get to know brands who are newer blips on my radar.

Affluent Americans are expected to increase the amount they spend on fine jewelry and watches over the next eight months, and jewelers catering to this high-end clientele could reap the benefits with the right store atmosphere and sales techniques. 

Next year is the 30th anniversary of the American Gem Trade Association’s (AGTA) Spectrum Awards, which recognize the skills of jewelry designers and lapidaries in the United States and Canada who are working with colored gemstones.

Michelle Graff

Six months into 2013, statistics from the Jewelers Security Alliance (JSA) show that the number of crimes against the jewelry industry has dropped, though the number of homicides is up and kidnappings and home invasions remain a threat. 

Michelle Graff

I have done less reporting this year than I did last year on the Kimberley Process because news, as they taught me at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, is the new, the different, the unusual--the “man bites dog” aphorism.

Michelle Graff

Industry professionals got the inside scoop on jewelry trends for the fall season at an educational seminar held Monday afternoon at the JA New York Summer Show.

Color and diamonds have been the main theme of celebrity jewelry as of late, with the stars accessorizing with rubies, colored Keshi pearls, diamonds and other gemstones set in drop earrings as well as full-finger and cocktail rings.

Fresh off its participation in career fair that was part of Africa Education Week, the Gemological Institute of America announced that it’s collaborating with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory to provide libraries for elementary students in South Africa. 

Michelle Graff

He’s baaack.

Michelle Graff

On Saturday, July 13, I returned from a two-week whirlwind vacation to sad news: my grandmother, Anna E. (Rothart) Graff, had died.

Michelle Graff

The device is different but the methods are familiar. A new survey from Shop.org shows that retailers are shifting their focus--and their marketing dollars--to mobile, but are using well-known methods in doing so: email and paid search.

Michelle Graff

 The Swiss competition authority, Weko, has ruled that it is too early for Swatch Group to cut supplies of Nivarox assortments to third-party companies, a ruling that is a victory for smaller watchmakers anxious about procuring all the parts needed to build watches.

Michelle Graff

“It reflects poorly on everyone,” one industry player told me this week in discussing (one of) the latest reports to emerge that cast the diamond industry in a bad light.

Michelle Graff

Summer is here and the stars have been keeping it classy at their red carpet events, appearances and premieres. Though color in jewelry is still a major trend, many celebrities have been toning it down lately with elegant white diamond necklaces and earrings or simple gold hoops (with a twist).

If you’re looking to check out a movie that relates to our industry--and could possibly serve as a warning against oversharing on social media --The Bling Ring opened in theaters last Friday, a crime-drama film based on true events.

I often find myself in a circumstance difficult to describe with a single word. It’s not serendipity, exactly, but it goes something like this: there will be, for example, a country or person that I’ve never really much thought to and about which I know little. Then, all of the sudden, this certain country or person will come up multiple times in the span of a few days.

Michelle Graff

I recently came across the work of Corrado Giuspino, an Italian designer who launched his first collection in 2008.

The last of the checks in the De Beers class-action lawsuit settlement should go out in the next couple of weeks, and the case--which began more than 10 years ago and initially was settled in 2008--should be closed by year’s end. 

Michelle Graff