Articles and News

What’s Hot for Holiday? Google Knows!

Mountain View, CA—And they’re off! Santa hasn’t yet come down Broadway but the holiday shopping season already has begun.

In what seems to be a reversing trend of waiting till the last minute, consumers waiting to begin shopping for gifts fall into the minority, according to a new article by Online Media Daily.

73% of people have already started holiday researching and shopping, 51% have already made a holiday buy, and 76% have yet to complete making the purchases on their holiday shopping list, says the article.

Like anything else one might want to know, if you want to know what’s hot for the holidays, Google has the answer. Searches for 3D TVs, flip camcorders, and kids’ computers all rose significantly this year over last.

Google also will tell you that consumers still are feeling frugal. They want bargains. Searches for such deals as “bogo” (buy one, get one free), and “free shipping” are up about 10% year-over-year.

Breuning announces the release of a new brochure for its popular Silver Branded Collection. Designed with consumers in mind, the brochures can be used as point-of-purchase support material. Available in early January, request your copies now by emailing Breuningnews@breuning.us or calling 1-866-872-2842.

The cover of Breuning’s new silver brochure

Erica Courtney is now designing her new “Drop Dead Gorgeous” zultanite collection, which will be previewed this holiday season and unveiled at the 2011 Centurion show. A ring from the collection is shown here:

Designing environmentally responsible jewelry has been and continues to be Courtney’s main focus, as she is committed to environmentally friendly processes and materials and ethical sourcing of gemstones.

In 2008 her “red carpet” collection was designed entirely around tanzanite, a gem found only in Tanzania, Africa. Courtney personally has visited schools and villages around the mine and gives back to the community by supplying students with school supplies.  She works with the nonprofit Tanzanite Foundation, an industry-supported organization dedicated to not only the protection and promotion of tanzanite, but also to making a difference in the lives of those living in Tanzania by providing the community with a fresh water supply, food supply, schools, medical clinics, and sponsoring projects to regenerate the local economy.

Courtney also uses cultured pearls in about 30% of her signature pieces. Pearls do not require mining or chemical leaching, remaining harmless to the environment. Most importantly, however, high-quality pearls require clean, nutrient-rich waters, sustaining water quality for all living creatures in the environment. Pearl oysters not only preserve the water quality, but also cleanse the water by removing nitrogen and heavy metals from polluted waters.

Her new zultanite collection focuses on this 100% natural gem that has no treatments or enhancements. There is only one deposit, in the Anatolia Mountains in Turkey.  Courtney, who visited the mine in October, emphasizes the positive impact the gem has had on the lives of its miners and the surrounding community.

For example, she says, its underground operations minimally impact the surface, meaning fewer trees are felled than at a typical gem mine. The mining company is paying for 10 new trees to be planted for every tree felled. The workers are reportedly paid above the average salary for miners in their region and are all fully insured and housed and fed onsite and wherever possible. The mine also has helped to support a local community center that provides free housing to the poor, donates food twice a year to more than 100 homes in villages surrounding the mine, and provides supplies to local village schools. For more information visit the web site or email.