Hello, Happy New Year, and welcome to the first Thank theGembank.com newsletter for 2016. The festive season is over for another year – or 9 months really as it all kicks off again in September doesn’t it? But no rest is to be had for those in the jewellery industry, with so many marriage proposals over Christmas happy couples will already be pressing their noses upon your window to stare longingly at the engagement rings therein.
There have already been a few Jewellery Heists, Mayfair jewellers smash and grab
Four men targeted the Avery Row jewellers in Mayfair at about 10:15am, armed with machetes and hammers and pickaxes and smashed their way into the high-end jewellers. Two of the gang remained outside to intimidate and threaten passers-by.
The BBC has reported that about £500,000 worth of watches and jewellery was taken, and that one man had been arrested. The value of good taken however, has not been corroborated by the police who have stated that they are yet to find out the exact value of items stolen.
Eyewitness Sean McGarton, described the incident to the BBC saying:
“Four guys pulled up on two scooters… and they basically smashed their way into the building. Two of them remained smashing inside the building, while another two, stood at each side of the building waving their weapons. One was waving a knife, the other was waving the sledgehammer – warning people not to come by. It was all over within a minute.”
Jewellers raided in Clarendon Centre burglary
Four others fixed a steel wire at both ends of Queen Street to stop vehicles going down the street.
Thames Valley Police said they stole an unknown quantity of what were believed to be watches in the raid at 03:45am. They were captured on CCTV. Police said some of them were holding umbrellas to hide from the cameras.
Detective Inspector Paul Miller said he believed witnesses may have taken video footage of the incident.
“We would like to speak to anyone that may have witnessed this incident or seen anything suspicious in the area at this time. We believe there may be some people who took video footage of the burglary and I would ask that they make contact with the police.
In a bid to apprehend the thieves the CCTV footage has now been released, to see the footage click here, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
england-oxfordshire-35243669
Meanwhile on the other side of the pond….
Lone female Robber Strikes again
On Monday the lone female bandit has struck what is suspected to be her sixth jewellery store. Dressed in what can be described as running attire – a tracksuit and white headband and running trainers. The FBI describes her as The FBI describes the woman as a white female in her late 20s or early 30s and approximately 5’8” tall and 130 pounds. These robberies have gained quite a tally, with estimates totalling more that $4 million at retail
According to the Jewelers’ Security Alliance, the female armed robbery suspect entered a jewelry store in Mebane, N.C. at 10:30 a.m. Monday, ordered a male and a female employee into the back room, and restrained them with zip ties. She then proceeded to empty the store’s showcases.
The Jeweler’s Security Alliance President John J. Kennedy has stated that in his 23 years with the organization, he has never seen a woman commit an armed jewellery store robbery by herself.
However, she may not be doing all of this alone. Authorities are starting to suspect that she has a male accomplice who doesn’t enter the store itself and they commutate via earpieces.
The JSA is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the armed female robber. The alliance’s reward hotline is 800-325-1883.
World’s Biggest Blue Sapphire Found
The world’s biggest blue star sapphire — weighing in at 1,404.49 carats — has been found in a mine in Sri Lanka. Gemologists in Colombo say the gem is worth at least $100 million, but could sell for up to $175 million.
Star sapphires get their name from the six-pointed star-shaped reflection that appears on their surface when they are polished. According to local media, the gem was discovered last August in Ratnapura, a town in southern Sri Lanka known as the “City of Gems.” The current owner, who refused to be identified, said that the sapphire was “destined to be a priceless museum piece” and that the stone is so big it “cannot set in any kind of jewellery. The moment I saw it, I decided to buy. I suspected that it might be the world’s largest blue star sapphire. So I took a risk and bought it.”
He is said to have called the gem “The Star of Adam,” in line with the Muslim belief that the Prophet Adam came to Sri Lanka when God banished him from the Garden of Eden.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said the country’s gem exports had increased by 135%, from $70 million in 2010 to $165 million in 2014. The surge in demand may have been sparked by interest in the Duchess of Cambridge’s engagement ring, formerly owned by Princess Diana, which features a large Ceylon Blue sapphire. The National Gem and Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka said the royal ring had increased sales and demand for Sri Lankan sapphires around the world.
Kate Middleton ‘withdraws sale’ of souvenir replica of engagement ring
A copy of the Duchess of Cambridge’s £1 million sapphire and diamond engagement ring has been excluded from a new collection of replica Royal jewellery going on sale to the public after it was reportedly vetoed by Kate Middleton.
The instantly recognisable ring was expected to be the centrepiece of the collection but despite being manufactured, the replicas have vanished from the ‘Princess Diana jewellery collection’. The replica was expected to be sold online and at the Historic Royal Palaces gift shop at William and Kate’s official residence, Kensington Palace. But, news of its withdrawal for the souvenir collection has left the replica ring’s manufacturer baffled, particularly since the replicas of the ring’s matching earrings and necklace, will still be made available for £14.99 and £29.99 respectively.
A spokesman for manufacturers Bill Skinner Studio told Mail Online: “We do make the ring but they don’t want us to supply it to the gift shop.”
Royal sources believe that Kate herself may have banned the sale of the imitation because the real ring has such deep personal significance and sentimental value for her and her husband, Prince William.
A Palace source said: “I expect the feeling at Kensington Palace is that it’s rather naff to sell cheap copies of Diana’s engagement ring. One can hardly blame Kate for vetoing the idea of them selling a knock-off of the ring she wears every day.”
Festive Celebrity Engagements
New Year and Christmas is the most popular time of the year to get engaged, we waited with baited breath, and scoured Instagram for the celebrity engagement rocks.
And the prize goes to Tory Burch as she said yes to quite possibly one of the biggest engagement rings ever to be presented. She took to Instagram and casually made sure the rock was front and centre of an image of her kayaking on holiday over the festive season in the West Indies.
Skylar Astin and Anna Camp, star of Pitch Perfect and True Blood, also took to Instagram to show off their vintage style stunning $50 rose gold and white diamond engagement ring.
Hollywood Star Julia Stiles said yes to camera assistant Preston J Cook on Christmas Eve while on a private estate in Columbia. The ring is set in rose gold – cue huge fashion trend in 2016 for engagement rings.
De Beers under fire from the National Union of Mineworkers
THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is planning to march on De Beers Kimberley Mines headquarters nest week if their demands are not met, to protest against the group’s failure to consult the union about the sale of the mine.
The NUM said in a statement the failure to consult the union was typical of De Beers’s “bad legacy of extracting our country’s minerals and exploiting our people to the letter”.
De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), the local arm of the global De Beers Group, which is part of Anglo American, announced in early December it had sold Kimberley Mines, a tailings retreatment operation employing about 600 people, to Ekapa Mining and Petra Diamonds for R102m. De Beers had been evaluating options for the business, which was approaching the end of its life in 2018.
“There is nothing to write home about in terms of De Beers corporate social responsibility, beneficiation, providing and facilitating secondary economy, let alone transforming the industry,” it said.
The NUM said Kimberley Mines’ employees were entitled to shares in the company that should have been paid in March 2014, but the company was refusing to pay them.
Abel Madonsela, corporate affairs manager for De Beers Consolidated Mines in Kimberley, said all employees were briefed on the sale process at the outset and were kept informed. The sale of the business was intended to save jobs. Kimberley Mines would be transferred to the new owners as a going concern, including all employees.
Mr Madonsela said the shares due to employees arose from the DBCM empowerment transaction in 2006, in which employees participated. Employees who wished to sell their units, which were valued each year, were able to do so, and the process was under way, but had not been concluded yet.
January Birthstone – the garnet
Those who are born in the month of January, or have a special date to celebrate and remember this month have the beautiful Garnet as this month’s stone. Why lucky? Because garnet does not only come in beautiful red but is mined in a rainbow of colours so there is a hue to match any preference. When worn it symbolises a light heart, eternal friendship and trust, which also makes it the perfect gift for a friend. References to the gemstone dates back to 3100 B.C., when the Egyptians used garnets as inlays jewellery.
The King’s Jewellery goes under the hammer
A live auction of Elvis Presley’s jewellery will took place yesterday at the king’s mansion, Graceland, with online bids accepted and coordinated by online auction marketplace Invaluable.
Among the items auctioned is a ring is 18-karat yellow gold, rock crystal quartz and diamond flower-shaped ring that Elvis gave Linda Thompson.
The ring’s design is reminiscent of a classic Tiffany lamp, and it was perhaps inspired by the Belle Epoque. In 1988, Thompson decided to part with some of the jewellery gifted to her by Elvis at a Christie’s auction in New York.
Other lots include a gold Baume & Mercier watch gifted by Elvis to Armond Morales, a member of the band The Imperials, at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in 1969, estimated at $10,000 to $15,000, and a 1973 gold Omega TC1 digital watch with an inscription, gifted to musician and friend Charlie Hodge, estimated at $4,000 to $6,000.
Date for the Diary
SIHH Geneva, the international fair of fine watchmaking 18 – 22 January 2016
The SIHH has long been billed by people within the industry as the opening of the watch season, certainly from here it will be pretty clear which watch styles and colours will be in fashion for fine watches in the coming seasons. It is a private event, reserved exclusively for professionals in fine watchmaking who are invited by the exhibiting brands. SIHH was created to promote fine watches and to offer a privileged setting for an elite clientele to discuss the future of luxury products and especially watches in a changing European and international climate.
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