According to the sources, two jewelers recently were named as the best in small business in their respective areas. In a press release, it was mentioned that Susan Eisen from Texas jewelry won the Small Business Administration (SBA) 2009 Small Businessperson of the Year award for the El Paso district.

Susan Eisen is the owner of Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry in El Paso, Texas. She received this award in front of a crowd of small business owners and other community leaders last month at the Wyndham Hotel.

Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry and Watches was chosen by the SBA committee due to its financial success and its contribution on the whole to the jewelry industry and small businesses.

Susan Eisen who is a resident of El Paso started her first jewelry store in 1980 and now owns a store on North Mesa Road, where she does custom jewelry designing, repairs and appraising of jewelry and fine art. She is also a certified member of International Society of Appraisers and a senior member and master of gemologist appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers. This prestigious title is held by only 42 people in the country.

Eisen, who is a graduate gemologist wrote a book in 2008 on jewelry and added a special gallery in her store which features El Paso artists and handmade crafts.

Besides, the Charlottesville (Va.) Regional Chamber of Commerce selected Tuel Jewelers as the recipient of the 2009 Chamber Small Businesspersons Award, according to local news reports.

Watchmaker and jeweler Roy P. Tuel first owned a watch repair shop in 1945, Tuel Jewelers later expanded over the years and it became a full-service jewelry store. The store is now owned by the Loose family. The award was received by Mary Loose DeViney, her sister Frieda Loose-Wagner and mother and storeowner, Frances Loose.

A lawsuit which was filed against the former owners of bankrupt diamond company M. Fabrikant and Sons was approved by the federal judge and proposed settlement. With the hearing the year-long battle over the family’s assets came to an end.

According to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein approved the proposed settlement on June 16.

In the settlement it dictates that Matthew, Theresa, Charles, Marjorie and Susan Fortgang and a long list of affiliate defendants make a cash payment of $8.05 million to lenders and creditors, known as the "shared assets trust" (SAT). it also states that the SAT will receive any and all amounts remaining in the Fortgangs' $5.5 million insurance policy, net of the $1 million the insurance company is contributing to the $8.05 million settlement.

Besides, any defendants with a claim against the General Unsecured Creditors (GUC) Trust and/or De Beers in the antitrust case will assign those claims to the SAT. it is also mentioned in the settlement that the SAT is entitled to 40 percent of recoveries obtained by the GUC Trust, but it is not permitted to share in any other distributions by the GUC Trust, including the $5 million the SAT will be distributing to the GUC Trust.

$201.5 million originally sought by the SAT, when it filed a suit in June 2008, claiming that the Fortgangs diverted funds before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for M. Fabrikant and Sons, potentially cheating them out of millions. SAT received $8 million settlement pales in comparison to the amount received in 2008.

The case took a dramatic turn when Fabrikant started last summer and the judge authorized U.S. marshals to enter the Fortgang’s residences on Park and Fifth avenues in Manhattan by force if they need to seize their assets.

After the start took place, the attorneys for the Fortgangs immediately battled back and the plaintiffs in the case eventually withdrew their request for the seizure of assets. At the end of the case, the court documents show, the SAT decided that this settlement was the best option. They went through all the aggressive legal defenses which were built up by the Fortgangs and the fact that the family’s assets resulted as worth less than what they originally believed it to be.

A joint venture between De Beers and the government of Namibia, an African nation, has resulted in the opening of mines which were operated by Namdeb. Very soon the trucks are scheduled to start rolling over again in that region.

Namdeb had stopped its production at all its six mines, including its Mining Area No.1, Bogenfels, Elizabeth Bay, Douglas Bay, Orange River and Atlantic 1--for a three-month period as of April 1, reason being the impact of the global economic crisis on the diamond industry. All this resulted in the "production interruption."

The shutdown was just not limited to closure of mines; it extended to all Namdeb operations, excluding the hospitals, school and the Oranjemund Town Management Co., however all the employees were still receiving their normal salaries during this period, a release issued about the stoppage stated.

De Beers’ spokeswoman, Lynette Gould said that Namdeb still is due to go back to work July 1, as originally planned. A similar shutdown was done by De Beers at its mines in the neighboring country of Botswana, which was a joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana, namely Debswana.

The country experienced four such similar shut downs earlier this year for a period of 50 days.

During the last few weeks on April, De Beers announced that it was restarting three of the four mines in Botswana and the fourth mine at Damtshaa will remain closed for the rest of the year.

As of now there is no proper news whether all six Namdeb mines would restart its production on July 1, or any of its mines would remain closed for the rest of the year.

Gould said that De Beers determined that it would reduce its overall rough diamond production by 40 percent in 2009 as a result of the global economic situations. She also added that it is up to the individual managers of Namdeb and Botswana to decide how and when to adjust the production levels in order to meet this goal.

A Michigan jeweler is announced guilty by the prosecutors in the federal court and said that the offender is found guilty of laundering more than $1.5 million for drug traffickers in under-the-table deals in which he accepted cash for pricey watches and jewelry.

Gary Yee, 33 from West Bloomfield Michigan operated Golden Sun Jewelry for eight years in the Advance Building in Southfield, Mich., pleaded guilty pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and agreed to the fine of $1 million.

In a release in press from the U.S. Department of Justice from the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit said, "[Court] records reveal that Gary Yee laundered more than $1.5 million in cash for narcotics traffickers, including a list of the most notorious dealers in the Detroit area, as well as criminals from as far away as Arizona."

In the press release, Yee’s criminal clients sought out Golden Sun Jewelers, where they bought items such as pricey diamond-encrusted watches for as much as $80,000 in cash. Yee had a reputation of not filing any necessary documents, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 8300, Cash Received in a Trade or Business. Retailers are meant to use these forms to report any cash transaction which involved money more than $10,000.

A sting operation was conduction in the early months of 2008 where Yee got arrested when undercover federal agents from the IRS criminal investigation division and the Drug Enforcement Administration, posed as marijuana dealers and made two separate purchases in cash one of $32,000 watch and a $40,000 watch from Yee in the back offices of Golden Sun Jewelers, the release said.

In both instances it was reported that Yee accepted the cash payments of over $10,000 while assuring the undercover agents that "no paperwork" would be filed, prosecutors said. A subsequent search of records showed that Golden Sun Jewelers failed to file the required IRS Form 8300s for the cash purchases of the watches.

"Defendants who deal in high-end goods like expensive jewelry, luxury cars, or real estate are prohibited by federal money laundering laws from shrouding the ill-gotten gains of narcotics dealers. Through aggressive prosecution, my office will continue to try to disrupt narcotics dealing profits by following dirty money wherever it leads and prosecuting those who traffic in it," U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg said in the release. Yee is set for sentencing on Oct. 29, at 2 p.m.

The Atlantic hurricane season being around the corner, the Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. is offering retailers a free Hurricane Preparedness Guide.

The guide can be downloaded from the Jewelers Mutual’s official Website, JewelersMutual.com. The handbook is a concise and an easy-to-understand manual which will help the retail jewelers with a complete business-continuity plan in the event of different types of natural disasters.

It is out of the personal experience that made the Jewelers Mutual come up with this idea. They say that its staff members and adjusters were on hand last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav and Ike as soon as entry was permitted to quickly handle claims and questions.

"Our claims team was in Louisiana within hours of Hurricane Gustav's landfall, personally visiting 125 of our policyholders. Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas were hit the hardest, but our policyholders were well prepared for this storm because they took precautions to heart, and many had disaster plans in place." Jewelers Mutual Claim Manager Don Elliott said in a media release.

Jewelers Mutual is a well know name and the largest specialty insurer for jewelry and jewelers in the United States and Canada. The staff at JM claims section assists the policyholders in filing claims and provides recommendations to protect the property from addition damages.

If you want to know more about Jewelers Mutual or want to download the handbook then the organization’s Website is JewelersMutual.com.

The Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies (IDI) teamed up with the rough-diamond giant De Beers for Israel’s first ever "Diamond Town Hall Meeting" which is an open discussion inviting people from the Israeli’s diamond industry to ask questions and exchange views with the management of De Beers.

Hundreds of other Israeli diamantaires attended the event which was hosted by IDI Chairman Moti Ganz on June 18 along with De Beers Group Managing Director Gareth Penny and Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) Managing Director Varda Shine. "This is an industry that is highly adaptive and adept at finding new ways to succeed. Innovation is part of the DNA of our industry," Shine said in his opening remarks. The meeting was moderated by the industry expert Chaim Even-Zohar.

Penny too took part and in the presentation delivered by him he described the current economic situation as contributing to "extraordinary times, which require extraordinary action." He said the diamond industry has shown resilience over the past 120 years and even after recession the diamond industry has experienced an immediate resurgence. He also pointed out the outlook for the industry and said that there have been early signs of recovery given that there is an increased demand for rough. In the future he sees the upcoming holiday season would be great than the last year, but it might take until 2010 holiday season to reach its former levels.

During the question-and-answer session one issue arose was the DTC rough supplying for non-sight holders, to which Penny confirmed that De Beers is still committed to support the non-sight holders through Diamdel, a part of the De Beers Group.

"This meeting is an additional step in IDI's broad-based efforts to support and promote the Israeli diamond industry during this difficult time. The event testifies to the importance and vitality of Israel as a world-class diamond center. There is no doubt that this meeting offers an important opportunity to raise issues and to receive answers to the questions regarding pertinent issues facing the industry at this time," Ganz said.

According to the latest reports from the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC), the bridal market which seemed to "recession-proof," is now starting to feel its effects of the current economic downturn.

In a report, "June Bridal Study," it showed that 71 percent of respondents will continue with their wedding or weddings they’re involved in despite the recession. However, only 13 percent of respondents said that their wedding was being postponed by 6 months or more due to the recession and 9 percent said their wedding was being postponed indefinitely.

Besides, almost half of the respondents said that despite the recession, their overall wedding budget would remain the same whereas 28 percent said that it would be lower.

The percentage varied when asked about the ring budgets for the wedding, a clear gender gap emerged in the JCOC’s research results. 36 percent of grooms plan to spend the same amount for the wedding ring despite the recession and 52 percent of brides felt the same thing.

Meanwhile, 36 percent of grooms said their ring budget is lower by fifteen percent or more due to the recession, while only 23 percent of brides thought the budget for the rings would be lowered that much. There were differences in opinion between the brides and grooms about the place where the wedding rings will be purchased.

46 percent of grooms said they will buy their rings from the national jewelry store chain such as Zales or Kay Jewelers and 36 percent said that they will buy from a local independent jewelry store and only 7 percent said that each will buy at an Internet-only retailer, a big-box store such as Wal-Mart or Target, or an established retailer's Web site.

With the brides, 14 percent of which will be involved in the selection and/or buying of the engagement and wedding rings, including how much they will be spending, according to the survey, 29 percent of them preferred independent jewelry store or national jewelry store chain, 23 percent preferred others, 13 percent preferred a big box store, 3 percent of them preferred membership retailers such as Costco or Sam’s Club and/or established retailer’s Website.
The study was conducted by JCOC from June 10-15, 2009. As of June 16, 362 JCOC Panel Members has completed the survey.

Jewelers of America (JA) have announced that they will be redefining its relationship with state and regional affiliate jewelers associations due to the current economic conditions.

In a media release they mentioned that after careful evaluation during an 18 month strategic review done last year. JA’s board of directors identified that their business model was not sustainable to cover its operating costs. JA has a history of producing and developing major services offered to the members, still it retains less than 20 percent of the annual dues paid by the member companies. The remitted balance of annual dues is then remitted back to the 39 affiliated associations by JA.

JA has come up with a new partnership model where it will no longer offer operational assistance to affiliate associations, such as due collection and database maintenance. Yet it will continue a positive and healthy ongoing relationship through other educational and marketing support, this was informed by the organization in a media release.

The current structure will end by Aug. 17, 2009 and under the current model JA members have joint membership with their local jewelry association and the national organizations. Going forward with the new model the members will elect to join or renew their membership with JA and/or their local association separately.

JA President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew A. Runci in release said, "While the current economic forecast has made it necessary to redefine the relationship Jewelers of America has with its affiliates, the association intends to continue a long-term connection with them through restructured agreements and future partnership opportunities."

This change in the operating structure is done in view with aligning the JA resources to provide positive benefits to its immediate members, the organization said in the release. It will continue its focus on benefits that best address the current concerns of its member companies and to identify direct delivery options at their best suitable convenience – in their stores, local events or online.

The association also has new benefits on the horizon which includes a new and spruce up user-friendly Web site which is all set to launch this fall. With this Web site in place its members can obtain lot of services online, including JA’s exclusive regulatory and legislative guidance materials and online educational offerings from GIA and other education partners.

With an effort to support the independent jewelers JA is strengthening its base in Washington, D.C., through legislative advocacy on key retail issues, like fairness in sales tax and group healthcare access. An important merger with the Jewelry Information Center (JIC) is also planned which brings lots of promises to give its members exciting offers to access the high-quality consumer marketing materials and traffic-building programs. With this partnership the JIC members will receive same access to JA benefits just like any other JA member as they will become JA members.