Bridal Jewelry News

25karats.com, one of the leading online diamond jewelers, is proud of contributing to Superstar’s New York concert on Friday night.

Ajda Pekkan, has taken the stage in NYC for TurkishNy.com’s 5th Anniversary, dazzled her fans on December 18, 2009 Friday night at Manhattan Center. The concert has placed in Hammerstein Ballroom where many world-famous singers have hosted for a decade. Before the concert, leading people representing Turkey successfully in business, politics, arts and sports in USA got their awards.

With the contribution of 25karats.com, Fenerbahce USA, Wirofon, Turkish Airlines and Turk of America; more than 2000 Turkish-American viewers fascinated with Turkish Diva’s live performance .

25karats.com’s successful CEO Hakan Aksu said “We’re proud to bring together Ajda Pekkan and her fans in NYC. We will continue contributing these kind of events to gather Turkish-American society.”

About 25karats.com:
25karats.com was established in 2008 by a team of experts with many years of experience in both jewelry industry and e-commerce with a simple goal of providing the best online jewelry shopping experience for their customers. Selling more than 3000 items including diamond engagement rings, wedding bands, men’s rings, diamond pendants and fashion rings, 25karats.com brings fine jewelry to the public at exceptional prices while raising the quality bar on the competition.

25karats has offices at the heart of Manhattan’s Diamond District, which allows for immediate access to some of the best resources in the jewelry industry, both locally and worldwide.

The movie “NINE”, starring an A-list cast including Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren, Stacy Ferguson and more, will be in theaters on Christmas Day.

Upcoming film NINE, based on the original Broadway production, won five Tony Awards including Best Musical. Nine tells the story of Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis), a world famous film director as he confronts an epic mid-life crisis with both creative and personal problems. He must balance the many women of his life, including his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume designer (Judi Dench), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), the whore from his youth (Fergie) and his mother (Sophia Loren).

Besides the A-list casting, the “NINE” musical worked with top other brand names for the production. Colleen Atwood, the Academy Award-winning costume designer, personalized a unique and different look for each of nine women in the musical. Chopard, Hollywood’s one of those leading celebrity jeweler, designed a new collection – Haute Joaillerie collection – including diamond rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings for the movie. According to Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, Artistic Director and Co-Chairman of Chopard, “Haute Joaillerie collection is tailor-made to reflect the style and personality of each character.”

Some of those charming diamond jewelry that Nicole Kidman sparkles in the movie is the 97.10 ctw bracelet with 320 ashoka diamonds and a pair of platinum earrings with 44 ascher and oval cut diamonds totaling 18.70 ctw. These jewelry items in the movie will definitely create a fascinating impact on jewelry lovers.

The Italian director Federico Fellini’s movie NINE with an all-star cast is expected to create a visual pleasure to its viewers.

Laurence Graff, the founder of Graff Diamonds, has been so involved in every aspect of diamonds from rough to the ring for decades. The success story of Graff, British billionaire celebrity jeweler, is so admired to show us what a determined and hard-working kid can do.

Graff, who was born in East London in 1939, grew-up in a single room apartment with his mom. Graff, the kid of a Romanian immigrant mom and a father left to fight in World War II, didn’t do well in school. Hence, his mom took him to a jeweler to make him a jeweler’s apprentice at age 14. From toilet cleaning, rubbing floors to remodeling and repairing jewelry, he gained such a good experience in diamond jewelry. After the bankruptcy of the company, he established a small repair and artistic jewelry business of his own with an older craftsman partner. At the age of 24, he decided to go to Far East to buy and sell diamonds. At this time period, he got very good connections including one of those princes of Brunei. When he came back to London, he went into jewelry retail business and his royal friends came to London to buy his jewelry.

Today, Graff is #462 at Forbes World’s Billionaires 2009 List and runs a polished diamond trading company in Antwerp, a real estate company in Luxembourg and a majority stake in a South African diamond wholesaler besides of his jewelry company, Graff Diamonds International.

UMA Thurman, the Kill Bill actress and Arpad “Arki” Busson, the Swiss financier representative broke up almost two months ago.

The couple engaged in 2008 with Arpad presenting the actress with an eight-carat diamond engagement ring surrounded by 20 smaller diamonds — which she is returning to him.

Thurman has two children with Ethan Hawke, her husband from 1998-2004. Busson is the father of Elle Macpherson’s two kids.

According to National Jeweler’s annual holiday weekend jewelry sales research, this year customers prefer classic diamond styles and spend between $100 and $400 average for holiday jewelry gifts.

Jewelry shoppers are sticking to the classics, since the classic pieces are timeless and be in style forever. That’s why classic solitaire engagement rings and diamond stud earrings are very popular and sold briskly. Moreover, De Beers’ Everlon Diamond Knot Collection, a diamond jewelry design intended to drive sales, is very hot and stirring up jewelry lovers interest in these sparkling pieces.

On the other hand, the increase on gold prices has a very bad impact on gold jewelry sales. Most customers choose to stay away from gold pieces and go for silver jewelry. The number of consumers selling gold or old jewelry for cash extended farther into this holiday season than it has in previous years. People are selling because they need money to buy gifts or pay their bills.

According to the results of the research, it seems like this year holiday sales has a slow start but there is a greater differentiation in terms of price-point sales. The middle range seems to have dropped significantly. Besides the sales of inexpensive pieces, some higher pieces are sold. While a customer is looking for a $250 diamond stud earrings, the other is spending $42,000 on diamond and pearl necklace.

Even the sales are still flat, the traffic to the stores and online jewelry stores increased. Jewelery stores are having a lot of traffic but not a lot of buyers so far.

Do you know that one in every two diamonds sold in the U.S. comes from Israel? Despite the size of the country, the Israel diamond industry is one of the world’s centers for diamond cutting and polishing.

Israel's Diamond Exchange

Israel’s diamond industry, leader in diamonds and security, is based at the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) in Ramat Gan. The Israeli model that many countries seek to adapt when setting up their own diamond trade centers, will be built in New York’s Diamond District and expected to be completed by 2011.

Avi Paz, the President of the IDE, states: “From India, from Turkey, and from other countries, people have come to learn from us how to organize secure compounds for diamond dealers. We teach them how to provide a commercial infrastructure for the diamond dealer from a security perspective and supporting services for the diamond dealers.”

The new building, which will give diamond retailers a safe working environment for trade, will be called as The International Gem Tower according to the executives from Extell, the building firm.

The Gem Tower will replace the hundreds of old and rundown buildings in the Diamond District on 47th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in Manhattan.

In the Israeli model, four buildings are connected using a system of bridges including a restaurant, the synagogue, a doctor and a barber. In New York, that particular model will be combined into one 34-story building. The estimated cost of the building is $750 million.

According to Assaf Levin,the spokesperson for the IDE: “So basically the unique thing is: it is like a big city totally disconnected from anything else. When you walk into the Israeli exchange you have everything. There is an exchange floor for polished and rough diamonds, there are banks working with the diamond industry, tax offices: Everything a diamond dealer needs. There is no need to walk out for even a restaurant, the synagogue, a doctor or a barber.”