Blood Diamond film not a threat

NEW YORK - The movie, Blood Diamond, which is to be released in the United States on Friday, will have little or no impact on the diamond industry, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals Energy and Water Resources, Mr Kago Moshashane, said the movie is actually more about the role of mercenaries in fuelling civil strife than conflict diamonds.
Mr Moshashane said the title, Blood Diamond, is only a catch phrase and not so much about the susbstance.
Mr Moshashane, who attended a sneak preview of the movie, said in an interview that the picture, based on atrocities that took place in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, mainly tells a story about the greed of mercenaries who in the pursuit of a large diamond sell weapons to both warring parties.
He said he was confident that consumers would continue buying diamonds as the movie did not portray diamonds as inherently bad and responsible for conflict.
In my own opinion the movie mentions diamonds but it is really about a historical event, he added.
Mr Moshashane said the diamond industry has been jittery about the impact of the movie on the sales of diamonds, especially since it is December when consumers buy engagement rings and other jewellery.
Though there is still concern, Mr Moshashane said he was relieved that the movie will not taint the whole industry.
Meanwhile, Mr Moshashane, who chairs the Kimberly Process, an organisation meant to keep conflict diamonds out of the market, said though the process is progressing well, their work was made difficult by some unscrupoulus diamond dealers and traders.
These people, he said, buy illigitimate diamonds, mix them with certified gems and then present them to the markets. However, he said any licensed dealer found to be engaged in such business will be banne.
Also, he said some countries, which are not part of the Kimberly Process, were used as conduits for conflict diamonds.
To stop them, Mr Moshashane, said they were banking on the UN to take action, as those countries are members of the world body. BOPA

Oprah discusses 'Blood Diamond' today

On today's The Oprah Winfrey Show, Blood Diamond Director Ed Zwick and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou had a fairly diamond-industry-positive discussion on conflict diamonds with host Oprah Winfrey.

The episode, which was taped earlier, offered viewers information on the film and the issue, and gave airtime to how the diamond industry has addressed conflict diamonds. Winfrey didn't editorialize while praising the actors and the film, but she addressed her audience directly in a segment on what the diamond industry has done since the events depicted in the film.

"Sources say that the flow of conflict diamonds has been slowed to just one percent of the diamonds that are now in the marketplace, and it's important for everybody watching to know that the sale of conflict-free diamonds, a majority of all diamonds, is actually saving many African countries," she said before introducing a clip that highlighted the importance of diamonds to the economic health of countries such as Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and even Sierra Leone today.

While the message was clearly that conflict diamonds are bad, none of Winfrey's guests were critical of the diamond industry. DiCaprio told Winfrey that even though the movie highlights a different issue, it relates to his personal beliefs on the environment. "It was very symbolic of what we do as consumers," he told the talk show host. "When we buy something, it is a vote. We're in essence endorsing that product or that company or that corporation and how they do business.

"Neither DiCaprio, Hounsou or Zwick went so far as to tell consumers to vote against diamonds."You're not telling people to stop buying diamonds?" Winfrey asked Zwick, to which he responded, "Not at all."The episode made mention of the Kimberley Process, though not all the information was accurate. It stated that today 47 countries meet the requirements, when at this point it's 71."This is a wonderful circumstance in which the public was able, by virtue of their awareness, to create something that has changed the world," Zwick told Winfrey. "You can sit there when you walk into a diamond dealer, to a jeweler, and you can say, 'I want to see a warranty. I want to see a certificate.'

And you can make a difference that will affect thousands of lives."The show also talked about the impact of civil war on Sierra Leone in the 1990s and featured music from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, a group of musicians who found each other in a refugee camp in the Republic of Guinea. The group—with help from the United Nations—has performed for other refugees at camps and recorded their first album, "Living Like a Refugee."

They have been featured in a documentary titled Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars and their song "Ankala" is in Blood Diamond.In addition to featuring the topic, Oprah.com also provides additional information on conflict diamonds, including links to Amnesty International, the World Diamond Council's Diamondfacts.org Web site and the Kimberley Process Web site.

Kate rings true for Owen

OWEN Wilson is planning to propose to Kate Hudson, it has been claimed.
The comic actor - who has grown increasingly close to his You, Me and Dupree co-star since she split from husband Chris Robinson - was allegedly seen shopping for engagement rings with his mother at the Harry Winston diamond store in Dallas on Friday.

A source told the New York Post newspaper: "They were looking at a huge, pear-shaped, flawless diamond engagement ring."

Owen, 38, and Kate, 27, met on the set of the romantic comedy earlier this year and the actress - who has a two-year-old son Ryder - announced her split from rocker husband Robinson shortly after.

Though both stars have vehemently denied they began a relationship either before the split or after, they have been seen dining together frequently and Owen has visited the Almost Famous actress at her home.
A representative for the actor has denied he was looking for an engagement ring, saying: "Owen's mother was looking for jewellery for herself."

What work? 60 million shop online today

Washington—If Santa only knew. Instead of knocking out items on their work to-do lists, employees may well be holiday shopping at their desks today, a new survey suggests.With Black Friday now over, the holiday shopping frenzy has moved online with "Cyber Monday" expected to draw 60.7 million consumers shopping from home or work today, according to a Shop.org survey conducted this weekend by Big Research.

Today, expected to be one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, starts the holiday season in earnest for online retailers. "While traditional retailers used Black Friday promotions to pack the stores this weekend, online retailers are using Cyber Monday to debut holiday merchandise and offer virtual door-busters," said Scott Silverman, Shop.org executive director, in a press release issued on Monday.

"On Cyber Monday, consumers will find specials ranging from percentages off entire Web sites to specific savings on big-ticket items."Free shipping is also expected to be a big draw, with 83 percent of online retailers planning to offer some kind of free-shipping promotion during the holiday season, according to the Shop.org/Shopzilla eHoliday Mood Study.Shop.org's own Web site, Cybermonday.com, has already received tens of thousands of visitors, the group says.

The site showcases more than 400 retailers featuring special promotions to encourage shoppers to point and click their way through the holiday shopping season. Coincidentally, a recent Big Research survey also found that 61 million people plan to shop online from work during the holiday season. "Shoppers who fought the crowds at the mall all weekend will find a welcome reprieve online on Cyber Monday," said Phil Rist, vice president of strategy for Big Research.

"Consumers who couldn't find what they were looking for in the stores will be flooding Web sites on Cyber Monday to shop for holiday gifts, research products and compare prices."Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, is the network for online retailers with 600 members, including the 10 largest U.S. retailers and 70 percent of the top online retailers as ranked by Internet Retailer.

New York—Some independent jewelers saw green on Black Friday, but others worried they may end up in the red if sales don't pick up as the holiday season progresses. "Friday started off very slowly in the morning," says Evan James Deutsch, owner of Evan James Ltd., in Brattleboro, Vt. "I think everyone had a Thanksgiving hangover. But it really picked up in the afternoon."Store sales increased 20 percent on Black Friday this year, compared with last year, Deutsch says, fueled by diamond stud earring and products priced between $300-$500.

The favorable sales continued through the rest of the weekend, and Deutsch has a positive outlook for the next few weeks."We had a great first weekend," he says. "We're very optimistic about the rest of the year."Steven Duvarney, owner of Duvarney Jewelers in Fitchburg, Mass., has a somewhat more cautious outlook about the holiday season, following average sales over the weekend.

"Black Friday was typical of what we would normally see on Friday and Saturday," he says. "For us, as a downtown store, most of the action takes place in the last two to three weeks of the season, so it's hard to get a feel yet for how sales will be. But so far, we are on par with last year."A disintegrating local economy made sales "lousy" at Leonard's Jewelers in Mount Airy, N.C., says owner Walter Leonard, citing the recent closure of two textile plants that employed local residents.

"There was a lot of traffic, but sales for us were down," he says. "I'm afraid it might be like this for the rest of the year. I hope it's not like this, but I think it might be."In the South Central region, retailers say they found either strong traffic or strong sales, but not both. Kelly Newton of Newton's Jewelers in Fort Smith, Ark., says he saw a number of new faces in the store over the holiday weekend."Saturday was quite busy, with more people looking, but not buying—more people we hadn't seen," he says.

As for Black Friday, Newton says it was as busy, if not busier than last year, with top sellers including diamond solitaire earrings and engagement rings, diamond stud earrings and Rolex watches.When asked what he thought was driving traffic into the 92-year-old store, Newton says he was unsure, though he'd love to know the answer."We don't run specials, we're not a monster advertiser—we've just been around a long time," he says.Jeff Fox of Barnes Jewelry also says Black Friday was a busy day for his Amarillo, Texas store."Traffic was incredibly good on Friday, but as far as buying, not as strong," he says.

However, Fox says combined sales from the weekend were up 15 percent from last year. Regarding best sellers, Fox says jewelry across the board sold well."Probably the strongest thing, ironically, was diamond and color fashions—rubies and sapphires," he says. In San Antonio, Texas, Aaron Penaloza of C. Aaron Penaloza Jewelers says his store saw very light traffic but good sales. Penaloza attributes the light traffic to the store's neighborhood strip-center location."A lot of our customers go out of town for the holidays, and when they do shop [at holiday time], they go to the malls," he says. Despite light traffic, the retailer came away from the holiday weekend making a number of key sales, including a carat-and-a-half Asscher-cut diamond for a custom pendant and a pair of Kwiat diamond earrings, bought by a Hurricane Katrina victim from Louisiana.

"She saw them last year, but didn't think she could spend money on diamonds," Penaloza says.After having her home rebuilt this year, she returned, remembering the starburst-patterned earrings she saw in the store the year before. All in all, Penaloza has high hopes for this year's holiday sales."We had a phenomenal November last year and expect to do even better this year," he says.With an unseasonably warm holiday weekend in the Cleveland area, Chad Schreibman, co-owner of Alson Jewelers, says business was good, but potential shoppers may have decided to enjoy the sunny weather—which reached the high sixties—versus getting a jump on holiday gifts.He says the store was up about 7 percent for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but that he had hoped for an even stronger start to the season.

"Sales were good actually, but I was hoping to have a little bit more traffic," he says. "I think the weather may have kept a few people from shopping."Overall, he's encouraged by growth of 12 percent through the first 11 months of the year."We never really look at this weekend as a tracker because I don't think in our industry it's as big a deal [compared to the big-box retailers]," he says. "Our month has been great and that's a better barometer as opposed to the big Black Friday weekend."Designers such as David Yurman and Roberto Coin were among his best sellers for the weekend.

At Anshus Jewelers in Menomonie, Wis., owner John Anshus says sales saw a spurt, but that the store and area tend to build as the season goes along. "It's doing well for us, but we get a slow start and it accelerates as it continues, right up through Christmas," he says.Early shoppers snatched up pendants and earrings in everything from gemstones to diamonds, he says.As with last season, the circle pendants look to be popular again, and he anticipates that Journey diamond jewelry will start gaining traction in the coming weeks."It takes a while for the more rural population to get moving," he says.In the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash., Alvin Goldfarb Jewelers had a surprisingly strong Black Friday, according to owner Steven Goldfarb."I was surprised—we did well.

I thought it would be slow because that's sort of a big-box electronics day, but we had very nice steady business, and we were probably up 10 percent on Saturday," he says.He said he sold a little bit of everything, mostly in the $1,000 to $2,500 range. "It feels like people want to get their shopping done earlier," he says.Also seeing what he called a surprisingly good Black Friday was James C. Jessop, owner of George Carter Jessop Jeweler in downtown San Diego.

"We had more people in, both looking as well as we closed more sales than we usually see that day after Thanksgiving," he says. "It's generally not a strong day for us, so it was a pleasant surprise."He attributes this success in part to better planning and also to the store's location, since clients who want to shop without the mall headaches can turn to the by-appointment jeweler.Business was slower—with more browsers than buyers—at Gleim Jewelers in Palo Alto, Calif.

"The last couple of days, the traffic was mostly people looking but not quite ready to commit. Hopefully that turns into a sale," says Richard T. Velayo, store manager.He says vendor trunk shows and a watch event the store has scheduled for the next two weeks will hopefully encourage people to buy."It's been slow. I'd say clients are still on the cautious side," Velayo added.
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