Tiffany’s – Page 2 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Tiffany, Macy’s Among Retailers Closing US Stores

A growing number of US retailers, including Tiffany & Co., are temporarily shuttering all locations across North America in an effort to stem the coronavirus spread.

“Effective immediately, we’re temporarily closing all Tiffany stores in the US and Canada, as well as many other locations globally, to protect our teams, clients and communities,” the jeweler said in an Instagram post Tuesday. “Now more than ever it is time for us to take care of the ones we love.”

Macy’s closed all its stores nationwide as of close of business Tuesday, including its Bloomingdale’s department-store chain. However, all its brands will continue to operate via online sites and mobile apps, it noted.

“The health and safety of our customers, colleagues and communities is our utmost priority,” Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette said Tuesday. “We will work with government and health officials to assess when we will reopen.”

J.C. Penney followed suit Wednesday, shutting all stores and business offices in the country, noting operations were currently slated to resume April 2.

Nordstrom has also announced it will suspend operations at all its North American stores, yet the company has limited the closure to a two-week period, it said. During that time it will offer curbside pickup for online orders. Meanwhile, Saks department store has shut its New York and Philadelphia locations, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, Pandora will not only close its US-based stores, but will shut locations in Italy, Spain, Germany and France, among others. It has also encouraged its franchisees and multi-branded partners in affected markets to cease operations voluntarily.

Signet Jewelers has not declared official plans to close any stores, but said it would follow the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees and customers,” David Bouffard, Signet’s vice president of corporate affairs, told Rapaport News Wednesday.

Signet shares were down 35% since start of trading on Wednesday, March 11, while Macy’s dropped 29% and Tiffany slipped 11%.

Source: Diamonds.net

Tiffany Launches Men’s Pop-Up Store

Tiffany & Co. has opened a one-month holiday pop-up shop in New York featuring its men’s collection.

The store, which will be open from December 6 to January 6, will carry items from the jeweler’s Tiffany Men’s collection, including accessories, barware, home objects and games, the company said last week. The retailer will also offer custom Tiffany basketballs created by Spalding.

“This holiday season, we wanted to offer our New York customers a truly unique shopping experience,” said Tiffany chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff.

Tiffany will also showcase six of the world’s most recognized sports trophies at the pop-up, the first time they have all been featured in one location, it noted. Those include the NFL Vince Lombardi Trophy, NBA Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, and Major League Baseball Commissioner’s Trophy.

Tiffany is offering its own take on an Indian Scout motorcycle and a Blatt Billiards table, both in distinctive Tiffany blue, and in collaboration with the owners of those brands. Those items can be purchased from the jeweler’s Very, Very Tiffany Holiday gift catalog, with the motorcycle selling for $35,000, while the pool table costs $95,000, according to the jeweler’s website.

Once the pop-up has closed, the location will serve as Tiffany’s two-year home while its Fifth Avenue Flagship undergoes renovations, the company added.

Source: Diamonds.net

3ct. Blue Diamond to Lead Phillips Sale

Phillips will feature a blue diamond ring by Tiffany & Co. at its upcoming New York Jewels auction, expecting it to fetch up to $2.5 million.

The cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut, 3.02-carat, fancy-intense-blue, VS2-clarity diamond ring will lead the December 9 sale, the auction house said Wednesday.

An assortment of colorless diamonds will also go under the hammer, including an emerald-cut, 11.34-carat, D-color, VVS2-clarity, type IIa diamond ring by Harry Winston. The piece, which is flanked by two triangle-shaped diamonds weighing a total of 1.45 carats, has a presale estimate of $500,000 to $800,000. A 1925 Art Deco ring by Spaulding & Co., featuring a modified marquise brilliant-cut, 7.69-carat, D-color, VS2-clarity, type IIa diamond, will go under the hammer for $150,000 to $250,00, while a cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut, 13.05-carat diamond ring is estimated at $80,000 to $120,00.

Other notable items include a fancy-color diamond and gold necklace, featuring a pear modified brilliant-cut, 3.01-carat, fancy-blue-grey diamond, estimated at $250,000 to $450,000. A cut-cornered square step-cut, 16.23-carat, fancy-intense-yellow, VS1-clarity diamond ring by De Beers carries a presale estimate of $220,000 to $400,000.

Source: Diamonds.net

Botswana Diamonds digs up first stones at South African mine

Botswana Diamonds said Tuesday that it recovered the first diamonds from plant commissioning activities on its Marsfontein mine in Limpopo, South Africa.

The announcement comes only days after it received a mining permit for diamond-bearing gravels and residual unprocessed stockpiles around the operation.

Chairman John Teeling said the plant was very close to reaching full operations following the installation of an in-field screen, two rotary pans, grease and x-ray recovery system.

“I am delighted with the rapid progress the team has made on-site and it is noteworthy that the first diamonds were recovered within two weeks of the mining permit being granted,” Teeling said.

The Marsfontein mine was operated for two years in the late 1990s, with a payback of its entire development costs in less than four days. The mine’s grade was 172 carats per hundred tonnes, at a bottom cut-off of more than 1.2 mm, containing many fancy coloured diamonds.

The surrounding deposits in question were overlooked when the mine was closed.

Diamond miners are struggling across the board, especially those producing cheaper and smaller stones where there is an over-supply in the market.

Buyers, those that polish and cut diamonds for retailers, have been hit this year by lower prices and tighter credit, prompting them to delay purchases.

De Beers, the world’s top diamond producer by value, has responded by axing production — with a target of 31 million carats this year compared with 35.3 million in 2018.

It has also announced it would spend more on marketing. At the latest sale, the company increased the amount of stones buyers were allowed to reject in each lot purchased from 10% to 20%, according to people familiar with the auction.

Source: mining.com

Tiffany & Co. Will Now Share Where Its Diamonds Come From

The luxury jeweler is leading a new era of diamond transparency with its Diamond Source Initiative.

Always wanted to know where your diamonds come from? Now you’ll be able to with Tiffany & Co.’s new Diamond Source Initiative that champions an era of diamond transparency.

In an industry first, Tiffany will be the only global luxury jeweler to provide consumers with geographic sourcing information specific to their diamond as the brand believes that knowing provenance is critical to ensuring responsible sourcing.

“Tiffany & Co. has long been committed to diamond traceability and going above and beyond industry norms to promote the protection of the environment and human rights,” said Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer, Tiffany & Co. “A transparent journey of responsible sourcing reflects the many positive and far-reaching benefits along every step of the diamond supply chain.”

Building upon 20 years of investment in responsible sourcing, the Tiffany Diamond Source Initiative will allow the brand to trace each of its individually registered diamonds (0.18 carats and larger) by a unique serial number that’s etched by a laser and invisible to the naked eye.

The initiative has already been rolled out and today, provenance information is displayed alongside a selection of diamond rings in Tiffany stores around the world. In addition, geographic sourcing information for all individually registered diamonds will be made available to consumers via Tiffany & Co. sales professionals and customer service.

By the end of March 2019, Tiffany Diamond Certificates will also include provenance for individually sourced diamonds and in 2020, the brand will begin sharing the craftsman journey (such as cutting and polishing workshop location) of its diamonds as well.

Source: lofficielusa.com

Costco to Pay Tiffany $19M

Costco Wholesale Corporation ordered to pay Tiffany & Co. at least $19.35 million in damages after selling counterfeit diamond rings bearing the iconic jeweler’s name, a US federal judge ordered last week.

Costco to pay $11.1 million plus interest plus an addition to the $8.25 million in punitive damages that a jury awarded last October for Tiffany’s lost profit from the trademark infringement a US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain Said.

Evidence at the trial proved Costco had frequently reference Tiffany as a benchmark for style and quality, and placed rings labeled with the standalone word “Tiffany” next to branded luxury items.

The ruling sends a clear message to others who infringe the Tiffany mark.