• Industry Analysis: Whitehall Ruling Cheers Suppliers
• From Gems & Gemology: A Rare Yellow Trapiche Sapphire
• New GIA Scholarship Honors Industry Leader Irving Getz
• GIA's New York Career Fair Draws Strong Crowd
• "Balboa Park Carousel Egg" Finds Nest at GIA
• Summer 2008 Loupe Available
• GIA Students Get Real-World Look at CAD Casting
• From GIA Education: A Lesson in Casting
• Find a GIA Lab Class in a City Near You

Industry Analysis: Whitehall Ruling Cheers Suppliers

Exhibitors at the New York Jewelers of America (JA) Show found some sorely needed relief in the decision of a Delaware bankruptcy court judge to block the imminent sale of merchandise left on memo with Whitehall Jewelers.

As recently as February, Whitehall operated 373 stores in 39 states. This month, it sought to include diamond and gold jewelry worth some $63 million that was consigned to the company, in a liquidation sale scheduled for July 29. Exhibitors at the JA show, a number of whom (claimed to have) lost memo goods to creditors in previous bankruptcies, were watching this case closely because of the size of the liquidation.

According to court documents, 124 companies left memo goods with Whitehall under a Vendor Trading Agreement that spelled out the terms of the consignment and protected their merchandise with a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing. Under normal circumstances, goods left with a retailer become part of the bankruptcy estate and can be sold to satisfy debts. A UCC filing can, however, secure the supplier's ownership interests in the event of bankruptcy.

On June 24, Whitehall, which had been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, sought the court's permission to liquidate all of its assets, including all inventory. The companies that had left memo goods with the firm filed an objection, and on July 15 Whitehall amended its petition to specifically include memo goods in the planned sale. Whitehall claimed that the UCC filings were performed incorrectly or that the suppliers failed to refile their forms after the firm changed its name from "Whitehall Jewellers" to "Whitehall Jewelers" earlier this year. Whitehall argued that these factors rendered the UCC forms invalid.

Bankruptcy court judge Kevin Gross blocked the sale, saying Whitehall had failed to present any convincing evidence that the UCC forms were filed incorrectly; he dismissed the name-change claim on the grounds that the firm still continued to trade under its original name.

Exhibitors at the JA Show said worries about potential retail bankruptcies have crippled already-soft demand.

A number of them, particularly diamond companies, said they are now rejecting requests for memo deals they would have accepted last year.

"Payments are slow in general. But when we have to worry about never being paid, that's when [memo] stops," said one diamond jewelry manufacturer.

Business at the JA Show generally met exhibitors' low expectations. They reported that traffic was way down, in keeping with this year's business conditions, and a number of dealers -- including a substantial bloc of foreign firms -- declined to participate.

One major diamond wholesaler and manufacturer said business overall was down more than 20% for the year, but added that there was still sufficient sales volume for vendors to sustain operations, provided they have not accumulated too much debt or too much high-priced inventory.

Retailers who did attend the show were generally filling in staple goods or shopping for specific pieces for which they had orders. Otherwise, they were very cautious.

Many exhibitors, however, were even more cautious. Besides the bankruptcy concerns noted above, they said payments were becoming ever slower. Some complained that their own credit standings could be jeopardized by clients who have not paid them in months, leaving them without the funds to pay their own suppliers.

As in previous shows, demand was still strong at the very high end. Diamond dealers noted that top-quality 5-plus ct stones continued to be extremely scarce, with manufacturers refusing offers for prices 20% over the rates listed in the Rapaport Diamond Report. Typically stones trade for substantial discounts from the report.

"There's no way anyone can make a profit [reselling these stones] at such prices," said one veteran dealer of large goods. "So the market is almost at a standstill despite the fact that there is demand."

The one bright spot at the show was designer jewelry -- high-end, one-of-a-kind pieces featuring colored diamonds or top colored gems or cultured pearls.

In the mid-price range, a number of designers creatively evaded sharply higher prices for precious metals and diamonds by mixing small diamonds or colored stones with low-cost materials such as agate, lapis or, in one case, gold-coated drusy quartz.

Additionally, the popularity of the earth tones -- brown, orange and yellow -- gives designers the opportunity to create bolder pieces from inexpensive materials such as dyed "chocolate" cultured pearls, citrine, amber and tiger's-eye quartz.

Russell Shor
Senior Industry Analyst

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This 40.57 ct yellow sapphire exhibits the trapiche growth phenomenon. Photo by Jian Xin (Jae) Liao.

From Gems & Gemology: A Rare Yellow Trapiche Sapphire

Donna Beaton of the GIA Laboratory in New York submitted the following entry to Gems & Gemology's (G&G) Lab Notes section.

The 40.57 ct transparent-to-semitransparent yellow oval tablet shown here was submitted to the GIA Laboratory in New York as a "star sapphire." Standard gemological testing identified it as a natural sapphire. What caught our eye immediately, though, was that the starlike appearance was not asterism, but rather a "trapiche" pattern -- a fixed, reflective six-armed star with associated color zoning.

While trapiche patterns are common in emeralds, they are less common in corundum, and are typically restricted to ruby. Trapiche sapphire is considerably rarer, and most is blue to gray; an extensive literature search with the help of staff members at GIA's Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center did not reveal any published accounts of yellow trapiche sapphire.

Exposure to long-wave UV radiation caused this stone to fluoresce weak-to-medium orange in the triangular growth sectors, while the "arms" fluoresced weak orange or were inert; the short-wave reaction was weaker. Fluorescent chromium lines at approximately 680 nanometers and an absorption line at 450 nanometers in the desk-model spectroscope indicated the presence of trace amounts of chromium and iron, respectively.

A small core area parallel to the c-axis formed the center of the star formation. Reflected light best revealed the inclusions. The triangular growth sectors had a yellow bodycolor and were less included -- with mostly fluid remnant "fingerprints," two-phase inclusions and reflective films -- than the radiating spokes. The arms were nearly colorless and to the unaided eye appeared to contain abundant "needles." With magnification, these needles could be resolved into narrow ribbons of reflective thin-film inclusions in planes that were approximately perpendicular to the core or c-axis. Metallic, small dark, or irregular transparent crystals were present in both the arms and triangular growth sectors.

These differences in inclusions, color and growth structure suggested that the sapphire crystallized from its core outward, with the sectors and arms probably growing concurrently but at different rates. Note that the definition of trapiche varies, with some referring to it as skeletal growth resulting in inclusions trapped in the arms of the star, or the arms being composed of a different material than the host. Other definitions include preferential exsolution of inclusions in the dendritic and growth sectors, or structure- and growth-related chemical variations that result in color-causing mechanisms differentiating the arms.

Although many of the reported trapiche corundums -- rubies in particular -- have arms composed of distinct mineral phases, this stone was composed primarily of corundum throughout. Even so, the GIA Lab categorized this sapphire as trapiche due to its distinct core, inclusion pattern and growth structure. It is the first yellow trapiche sapphire we have seen.

For more information on this and other gem materials seen at the GIA Laboratory, read the Lab Notes section in every issue of G&G. To subscribe, click here or contact Circulation Coordinator Debbie Ortiz by calling toll-free (800) 421-7250, ext. 7142. From outside the U.S. and Canada, dial (760) 603-4000, ext. 7142.

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Irving Getz. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Getz.

New GIA Scholarship Honors Industry Leader Irving Getz

The Irving Getz Scholarship, which was created by the Getz family to honor his memory and his many contributions to the jewelry industry, will be available to GIA students in 2009. The scholarship can be applied to any GIA course or program including Lab classes or courses taken on campus or through Distance Education.

"This scholarship is a true representation of Irving's high standards of obtaining the most advanced gemological education and also of his simple love for jewelry," said his daughter-in-law, Jennifer Boin Getz. "He was always on this great quest for finding the finest gems and jewels, and he enjoyed the excitement of the market. He frequently carried a piece of jewelry around with him to share his adoration for anything that was fine and faceted."

Irving Getz died at the age of 84 on May 27 in Miami, Florida. He began his long and successful career in the gem and jewelry industry in his father's jewelry store in downtown Miami, after serving in the military. Getz played a pivotal role in developing Mayor's Jewelers into a chain of fine retail stores throughout southern Florida.

He prided himself on bringing one-of-a-kind pieces to his customers and was known to go from vendor to vendor until he found exactly what he was looking for. He served as Mayor's chairman until 1995 when his son, Samuel, took over the business. The chain was sold three years later.

Getz was also president of Jewelers of America, a board member of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, a member of the New York Diamond Dealers Club, and the first inductee into the National Jeweler's Hall of Fame. He always emphasized the importance of gem and jewelry knowledge to his staff and funded GIA education for many of his employees throughout the years.

"GIA is honored to have such an influential individual represented with this scholarship, which will support our students through education," said Bev Berthoty, manager of Institute Relations. "The Irving Getz Scholarship will not only provide financial assistance to well-deserving students, but his story of success will be an inspiration to many."

Joan Getz said her husband would have been honored by the scholarship's creation. "Irving lived and breathed jewelry, and I know that through this scholarship he would be very proud that his legacy and spirit will help students foster and strengthen their education and knowledge."

For more information about the Irving Getz Scholarship or to make a donation, please contact Bev Berthoty, manager of Institute Relations, at (760) 603-4120 or bev.berthoty@gia.edu.

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From left, Steven Lagos, Susan Jacques, Rahul Kadakia, Ann Arnold and Ralph Destino listen to remarks during GIA's New York Jewelry Career Fair. Photo by Rob Klein.

Lise Kesslin, senior human resources representative, and Rachel Bach, human resources representative, both with Iridesse (right), speak with unidentified particpants at GIA's New York Jewelry Career Fair. More than 800 people attended the event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Photo by Rob Klein.

GIA's New York Career Fair Draws Strong Crowd

More than 800 people turned out for GIA's annual New York Jewelry Career Fair last week to take advantage of a premier opportunity to make connections and land a job in the industry.

The day long event, held at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, featured a lineup of speakers, workshops and seminars that were well attended throughout the day, said Laura Simanton, GIA senior public relations manager. Recruiters from 40 companies, including Tiffany & Co., Hamilton Jewelers, Fortunoff, Zale Corporation and Shah Diamonds gathered to seek out qualified applicants.

GIA President Donna Baker welcomed participants and told them "you don't have to be born into the jewelry profession to be successful." Baker, who has a background in law and education, used herself as an example, saying she was welcomed into the jewelry industry "with open arms." She said GIA co-founded and continues to host Career Fair in response to an urgent need for highly skilled professionals who will perpetuate the industry.

Whitney Sielaff, editorial director for the National Jeweler Network, urged those interested in a jewelry career to read and learn everything they can about jewelry. He also noted that the companies at the fair "are always looking for good people."

"Everyone starts talking about jobs when the economy is tough," Sielaff said. "But so are employers. Employers see times like these as opportunities, and no matter how tough things are, you need to have good employees."

Kathryn Kimmel, GIA's vice president and chief marketing officer, who also founded Career Fair 18 years ago with The Jewelers 24 Karat Club of Southern California, noted the wide range of recruiters at the fair and the 23 industry leaders who conducted one-on-one coaching sessions.

In addition to coaching and recruiting opportunities, the fair featured workshops, including "Working to Win," "Moving from Dream to Reality," "Jewelry Design: One Passion, Many Paths," "Marketing Yourself for Success" and a session focused on immigration law.

"Working to Win" was moderated by GIA Chairman Ralph Destino and included panelists Ann Arnold, chief financial officer and vice president of Lieberfarb; Susan Jacques, president and chief executive of Borsheims; Rahul Kadakia, senior vice president and head of jewelry, Christie's Americas; and Steven Lagos, designer and chief executive, Lagos.

Kadakia told participants how he got his start at a GIA Career Fair 12 years ago. "I was sitting where you're sitting, but in California," he said. "I had my resumé, my G.G. from GIA, and went to Christie's," where he talked to the head of human resources. Kadakia said he landed an entry-level job at the prestigious auction house and rose through the ranks, learning along the way.

"There are lots of jobs out there, and the master key is the [Graduate Gemologist diploma] from GIA," Kadakia told the group. "Then, whether it's designing, training, wholesale or retail, be very passionate about what you do because that is a great way to make a sale, a transaction and a living."

West Coast employers, first-time jewelry job seekers and those looking to advance their career in the industry can attend the GIA Jewelry Career Fair Friday, Sept. 12 in Carlsbad, California.

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The miniaturized carousel in the "Balboa Park Carousel Egg" music box is an exact replica of the Balboa Park Carousel, which was built circa 1895 in San Diego, California. Photo by Kevin Schumacher.

From left: Elise Misiorowski, GIA Museum director, Jim Grahl, J. Grahl Design, and Christian Eric, a member of the music box fabrication team, stand with the intricate objet d' art after it was installed at GIA on July 25. Photo by Kevin Schumacher.

"Balboa Park Carousel Egg" Finds Nest at GIA

After 18 years of painstaking work, the "Balboa Park Carousel Egg" music box is finished and on display at GIA's Carlsbad campus.

Reminiscent of decorative eggs by Peter Carl Fabergé, but executed on a grander scale, the objet d'art weighs about 80 pounds and contains more than 4,000 parts consisting of detailed paintings, molded carousel animals, platinum, jewels and gold detailing. It was unveiled at GIA on July 25 and will be exhibited at the Institute for one year.

"It's a privilege to watch this come together," said GIA Museum Director Elise Misiorowski, as the music box was installed. Misiorowski first brought the piece, which was not then finished, to GIA in 2006 as part of the Institute's "Celebrating Excellence in Gems and Jewelry" exhibit. She brought it back this year, when it was complete.

The music box, which is topped by the carousel egg, plays a repertoire of 20 songs from the late 1890s -- after it is wound 34 times. The egg is an exact replica of the Balboa Park Carousel, which was built circa 1895 in San Diego, California. The piece was designed by Jim Grahl, of J. Grahl Design in Newport Beach, California, and commissioned by Dr. Barry Marfleet, the egg's owner. It was fabricated by a team of artists.

"It's absolutely incredible," said a somewhat breathless GIA student, Donna Formaneck, as she watched Grahl place the glass cover over the music box movement. Formaneck said the last time she saw something that "remotely reminded" her of the music box was in the 1938 version of the movie "A Christmas Carol," when Tiny Tim was gazing into a store window at a similar piece.

Memories like Formaneck's and the American ingenuity that leads to such creations, are exactly what Grahl hopes the music box symbolizes.

"Culturally, we used to be known as a country with clever people who think out of the box," Grahl said. "[GIA] can show [the music box] to the world and give them imagination to hone the skills they have."

The egg itself is made of spun sterling silver and 22K gold that was engine-turned and then enameled using a proprietary process of J. Grahl Design. Thousands of precious stones are set into the trappings of the carousel and animals. The 144 panels just under the canopy are hand-painted and each is about the size of a postage stamp.

The frieze above the canopy is a 22K gold lost-wax casting, and the band of stones just below it contains full-cut, pavé-set diamonds in platinum. The escutcheons covering the keyholes for winding the music box are lion's-head badges with a row of diamonds circling the surrounding oval frame. It also features bird's-eye maple, brass, bronze, carbon steel, diamond, lead crystal, platinum, stainless steel, sterling silver and various enamels.

Grahl said he hopes the music box elevates people's perception of what jewelry can be, and that GIA can give the piece the exposure it needs to develop an identity people feel connected to. "Is it high art, fine art, an object of fantasy?" he asked. "The community will have to tell us."

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The Summer 2008 issue of The Loupe features the "Aurora Butterfly of Peace."

Summer 2008 Loupe Available

The Summer 2008 issue of The Loupe: GIA World News showcases the "Facets of GIA" exhibit in its cover story. The exhibit, which tells GIA's story with educational displays, rare gem specimens and dazzling pieces of jewelry, opened May 14 at the Institute's headquarters in Carlsbad, California. It will remain there through 2010.

The magazine's cover captures the exhibit's first central display, the "Aurora Butterfly of Peace." Robert Weldon's photography shows off the Butterfly's extraordinary fluorescence on a foldout cover, and several articles examine the science, passion and expertise that make the 240 fancy-colored diamonds in the Butterfly come alive for viewers.

The Summer issue also includes a look at the diamond mines of Sierra Leone. Through the photos and words of GIA Instructor Ric Taylor, you'll learn about the hardships endured by miners and the beauty that is also part of daily life in that country. The issue also touches on the struggling economy and offers retailers tips and strategies for a profitable fourth quarter. You'll find ideas for success from jewelers on the front lines, ways GIA can help you and tips for weathering uncertain times from GIA Senior Industry Analyst Russell Shor and Dr. Vilma Vallillee, an assistant professor in GIA's School of Business.

You'll also get a taste of a recent GIA alumni event in Las Vegas, an insider's look at a day in the life of students at the Carlsbad campus, and a chance to learn how alumna Sheryl Jones' career switch to jewelry design brought her the creative fulfillment she was longing for.

This issue of The Loupe also pays tribute to the late Dr. George S. Switzer, a former GIA education and research director and the curator who acquired the Hope Diamond for the Smithsonian, as well as two of Japan's pioneering gemologists.

To sign up for a free subscription to The Loupe: GIA World News, e-mail LoupeSub@gia.edu.

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GIA Students Get Real-World Look at CAD Casting

Parameters might not be the most exciting topic, but they could be the most important one if you're using computers to design or manufacture jewelry, said Jason Borgstahl, chief executive of Casting House, a premier caster of platinum and palladium.

Borgstahl presented "Creating Castable CAD: Formulas to Ensure Successful Model Reproduction" to students at the S. Tasaki Student Lecture and Graduation Hall at GIA in Carlsbad on July 9. CAD (computer-aided design) refers to software tools that assist jewelers and other design professionals in the creative process.

Attention to elements of your casting, such as the depth and width of relief work (recessed detail) and piercing, the height of raised detail, and the thickness of the metal can make the difference between the success and failure of your CAD casting, Borgstahl said.

Russ Hyder, manager of GIA's Jewelry Manufacturing Arts (JMA) department, noted that Borgstahl's presentation touched on an interest expressed by a number of students. "Just on a general basis, the students who are here in the JMA program would like to hear more from the manufacturing side of the trade," Hyder said.

Borgstahl used a bronze medallion with relief work as an example of a common depth-to-width ratio error: the designer chose to give all the characters the same depth, which caused the smaller letters to appear too narrow and deep. The rule of thumb for relief, he said, is to maintain a 1-to-1 or lower depth-to-width ratio. The parameter can change depending on metal density and viscosity and the leverage the incoming metal has on the casting, among other factors.

"If you take the time to learn these specific manufacturing parameters as they apply to CAD, you'll find there are fewer revisions, time delays and casting failures, and you'll be able to create usable, better models," Borgstahl said.

He added that the most common reason CAD projects fail or suffer delays has to do with a designer-manufacturer disconnect, such as:

• Incompatibility between design elements and conventional lost-wax casting
• Poor designer/service provider communication
• Failure to match a design with optimal manufacturing materials or metals
• Human error/machine malfunction

Borgstahl said that in piercing, leverage is everything, and a depth-to-width ratio of 4-to-1 or 5-to-1 is acceptable for most pieces. Lower ratios are required for extremely heavy pieces or when investment, the material that holds the wax during burn-out, is weakened by thermal expansion of a pattern.

When creating raised detail, he said, the height-to-width ratio needs to be 1-to-1 or lower to be injected reliably; for metal spans, a thickness of 0.8 millimeters per square inch is highly castable.

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Photos A, B and D by Valerie Power/GIA. Photos C, E and F by Eric Welch/GIA.

From GIA Education: A Lesson in Casting

Casting is an ancient metal-forming technique that's been used to create jewelry for thousands of years. Beeswax was the original material used to form jewelry models, but today's jewelry manufacturers use specially designed waxes and high-tech plasters to fashion the mold in which the molten metal forms. The process is a complex alchemy that allows you to create designs with accuracy and integrity using a variety of metal alloys.

The meticulous steps involved in transforming jewelry designs from an idea on paper to a tangible piece of metal are taught throughout two weeks of GIA's 26-week Applied Jewelry Arts diploma program. Gavin Brott, a Jewelry Manufacturing Arts instructor, says students are thrilled to learn this exciting process.

"You take something that doesn't look like jewelry and follow the steps -- sprueing, investment, burn-out, melting the metal, casting -- and finally you see the end product," he says. He reviews those steps here:

1. You begin with a rubber mold of the piece you plan to cast, inject it with wax and let it harden.
2. After you remove the wax model, you need to "sprue it up." A sprue is a piece of wax -- one end attaches to the model and the other to a rubber base. It provides a passageway in the plaster for the wax to drain out and the molten metal to flow in.
3. Surround your sprued model with a flask sealed to the sprue base.
4. Now you're ready to "invest." First you need to mix the investment, which is specially designed plaster that provides a detailed impression or cavity into which molten metal is cast. Brott says preparing investment is "like mixing pancake batter - the consistency depends on the size and configuration of the model you're casting." Intricately detailed filigree requires thinner investment, while heavy jewelry pieces need thicker investment. Once you finish mixing, pour the investment into the flask, and wait about an hour for it to solidify. In the "burn-out cycle," you place the flask in the kiln for four to 12 hours to melt out the wax and make way for the molten alloy.
5. To prepare the alloy, pour metal casting grain into the crucible and apply a heat source until the metal looks shiny and glossy, like mercury.
   
   Now set the flask and the crucible of molten metal into the casting machine until their openings lock into place. Pull the casting machine arm to "throw" the molten metal into the flask as the centrifuge spins. Once it stops, remove the flask and quench it in water. The hot investment undergoes thermal shock and breaks up, dissipating almost entirely. Remove your piece from the flask and clean off any excess investment.
6. Use ultrasonic, steam and pickling to remove residue and oxidization. Cut off the sprue and insert the piece into the magnetic tumbler. Your piece is just a polishing away from being complete.

You'll also learn variations of these fundamental procedures, such as casting with stones in place, casting with platinum and casting multiple models simultaneously, throughout the GIA course.

Brott says the end comes too quickly for many. "Some students enjoy the process so much, you practically have to kick them out when it's over."

Find Applied Jewelry Arts program information on GIA's Web site.

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Students gain the practical experience needed to succeed in the jewelry industry in GIA's Lab classes. You can take a Lab class on its own or as a part of your GIA diploma program. These classes also provide the perfect opportunity for those already established in the trade to refresh important gemological skills. Lab classes are offered at each of GIA's campus locations and in various cities throughout the world.

Please note that GIA Los Angeles classes are available only through Nov. 14.

Space is limited. Enroll today.

GIA Lab classes offered through mid-September 2008 are:

Apply online, e-mail GIA Education or call (800) 421-7250, ext. 4001, for more information. Outside the U.S. or Canada, call (760) 603-4001. You can also download the complete Lab class schedule.

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