Articles and News
Brand News From Uneek, Rahaminov, Ritani, GemFind, Pandora, Blue Nile, More May 13, 2015 (0 comments)
Rob Phillips Joins Uneek By Benjamin Javaheri; Bridal Catalog Launches
Los Angeles, CA—Uneek Fine Jewelry Collections, by Benjamin Javaheri, announces the appointment of Rob Phillips (left) as regional sales manager for the Midwest states.
Industry veteran Phillips has been instrumental in building fine jewelry brands. His passion, knowledge and decades of industry experience make him the ideal candidate to help retailers grow their business and partnership with Uneek or facilitate new relationships, says Javaheri.
Phillips can be reached at: (847) 380-0794, email rob@uneekjewelry.com. Phillips also will be with Uneek in Booth # LUX1325 at the upcoming LUXURY/JCK Show in Las Vegas.
Separately, Uneek has released a new 24-page bridal catalog featuring seven of the brand’s top bridal and engagement collections. The brand has a celebrity following, such as actress Angie Everhart, who wore Uneek to her beach wedding late last year.
The catalog has been months in the making to ensure that the finished product is compelling enough to attract jewelry stores’ walk-in brides-to-be. The catalog release coincides with the brand’s intensified ad campaign of full-page ads in the national editions of The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings. The catalog not only complements the look and feel of the national ads but also harmonizes with today’s wedding magazines’ overall themes. Featured are curated photographs from Uneek designer Benjamin Javaheri’s own wedding to his wife, Natalie, to demonstrate that Uneek’s design aesthetic comes from a deeply personal place and inspire brides looking to real-life love stories for inspiration.
Each collection tells a story to help the bride-to-be discover the style that best suits her. The inside back cover holds a little pull-out describing Uneek’s custom-design service as well.
The catalog will be distributed by the end of May, in time for the shows in Las Vegas. Brides-to-be will be able to pick up their copies from Uneek authorized retail partners beginning in June. For information, call (888) BE-UNEEK, or email info@uneekjewelry.com
Rahaminov Welcomes Third Generation
Los Angeles, CA—Rahaminov Diamonds has officially become a third-generation company. Nicol and Melanie Goldfiner, daughters of Amir and Tamara Rahaminov Goldfiner, joined the company this year. Nicol was a psychology major at UC Davis and immediately moved to Israel after graduation, training extensively for three years in the family offices on all aspects of the diamond industry. She also started designing small jewelry pieces on her own. Recently married to her college sweetheart, she now lives in downtown Los Angeles.
Melanie will graduate from UCLA with an economics degree this spring. She recently studied abroad in Italy, providing a rich cultural insight as well as a connection to her Italian heritage. This fall she will attend GIA in Carlsbad.
Nicol and Melanie Goldfiner
Both will be at the Rahaminov booth (Lux 921) at the JCK Luxury Show in Las Vegas.
GemFind Launches Retail Locator Facebook App, Pushes Online Brand Traffic To Store
Newport Beach, CA—GemFind announces the Retail Locator Facebook App, the newest addition to its extensive offering of responsive tools for jewelers and jewelry manufacturers.
Local retailers are seamlessly featured alongside jewelry vendor collections with the app, promoting collections while boosting retailer relationships with direct customer leads through Facebook.
“With Facebook influencing purchase decisions more now than ever, we recognize the value of jewelry manufacturers reaching their consumers and retailers online. Retail Locator is the necessary driver to turn online interest into retailer sales,” said Alex Fetanat, CEO of GemFind.
In addition to the Retail Locator App, GemFind offers Diamond Link, Ring Builder, Stud Builder, Pendant Builder, and social product network JewelCloud. The GemFind network includes manufacturers and designers such as Tacori, Hearts on Fire, Simon G., Gem Platinum, Martin Flyer, Endless Jewelry, KC Designs, Stuller, and many more fine brands and jewelry manufacturers.
The app is added to a manufacturer’s brand Facebook page quickly and easily, even if they are new to the GemFind network. For more information, visit www.gemfind.com or call (800) 373-4373.
Ritani Bricks-And-Clicks Model Featured In Venture Capital Article
Seattle, WA—TechCrunch.com recently ran a story on venture capitalist investment in wedding-service companies that embrace technology to generate sales. Ritani’s successful and unique clicks-and-bricks model is featured prominently as a way “to bring engagement ring shopping into the 21st century,” in the article, and a substantial portion of the article is dedicated to Ritani’s model. To read the entire article, click here.
Pandora Pulls Out Of 105 North American Stores
Copenhagen, Denmark—Bead jewelry powerhouse Pandora has pulled the plug on 105 retailers in North America, predominantly in the United States. According to a report in National Jeweler, the stores were unbranded, lower-performing dealers of the line. The beadmaker recently launched an e-commerce site and is focusing on branded retailers, both its own stores and retailers that push the brand. Read the full article here.
Alpina & Icelegacy 2015 Crossing Glacier N°2: The Stikine Icefield
Sawyer, AK--Polar legend Borge Ousland and young adventurer Vincent Colliard left Sunday to cross the Alaskan Stikine Icefield. It will be their second glacier crossing of the Alpina & Ice Legacy Project, a long-term expedition project to become the first Men to cross the 20 largest glaciers on earth. The project’s aim is to raise public awareness about the importance for mankind of preserving the ancestral ice, and to collect data for the scientific community.
The Alpina Horological Smartwatch will measure their body data during the crossing. The watch will measure the distance covered, their steps, calories burned and sleep profile during the entire crossing. The watch will also wake them up when their body is most ready for their effort.
Ousland and Colliard will walk and ski across the Stikine ice field, a distance of approximately 170 km. Total duration of the journey will be four weeks. They will use kayaks to reach the ice and will turn them into sleds for skiing. T
The Stikine Icefield is often cited as North America's version of Patagonia. The ice field is spectacular with many impressive spires, most famously Devil's Thumb.
The explorers were dropped off by a boat in Sawyer, in the Northern part of the ice field to begin the ascent up to the plateau and cross the glacier from North to South. They will exit the glacier in LeConte Bay and paddle back to the town of Petersburg, AK.
Glaciers are in fast decline due to rising temperatures, causing threat of long-term sea level rise. They are crucial as a fresh water source for millions of people worldwide. This is why glaciers need to be better known, considered and protected. The world needs to find technical and political solutions to the environmental crisis. This expedition will be an incubator to that process, a visual example and a window to what is happening. By supporting the IceLegacy project, Alpina Watches wants promote the protection of the glaciers, an environmental and climate issue that is dire yet little known, yet of enormous importance for the future of our planet.
The public can follow the expedition real time at: #icelegacyproject or www.icelegacy.com.
Blue Nile Taps Long Island For First Brick And Mortar Store
Seattle, WA—Jewelry e-tailer Blue Nile has confirmed its first brick and mortar store will be in the Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, NY. According to this report in National Jeweler, speculation was heavy that this would be the e-tailer’s first standalone physical location. Previously, it has experimented with a “try but don’t buy” boutique inside Nordstrom at the same mall, as well as in the flagship Nordstrom in downtown Seattle.
Like the Nordstrom boutiques, the new store will not sell merchandise directly, but rather will be a lab for customers to try on and order online.
National Jeweler also reported the e-tailer’s first-quarter sales ending April 5 fell short of expectations due to softness in the high-end sector. Total sales still grew over 2014; the first quarter posted a 3% increase over the same period a year ago.
CSARITE Contributed to Gem-A’s Educational Programs
London, UK—The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) received a generous contribution of Csarite faceted and rough gemstones for study in their prestigious educational programs. Milenyum Mining, Ltd. made the donation to expand students’ knowledge of the natural, single source gem, actively mined at only one global source deep in the Anatolia Mountains of Turkey. The donation consists of faceted gems, rough specimens and a selection of crystals to be used for refractive index testing.
“Europe and the UK are rapidly growing markets for Csarite,” explained Murat Akgun, president of Milenyum Mining Limited. “A contribution of Csarite gems of this magnitude enables Gem-A to share knowledge of this gem with their students and for those students to gain hands-on knowledge of this beautiful gem.”
Always natural and never enhanced, Csarite exhibits the rare gemological phenomenon of color change, exhibiting different colors under varying sources of light. Only about 40 – 50% of rough material is suitable for faceting; of that, 98% is lost in the cutting process.
Visit www.csarite.com for a list of authorized retailers and distributors.