JCK Shows A Hint Of Whats To Come From Christian Tse

If you were at the JCK show in Las Vegas this year and didn't stop by the Christian Tse booth, here's your chance to see just two of the incredible pieces he had on hand. Take it from us, this is just a hint of whats to come. Since the show, Christian has been finishing up even more knock-out pieces and you should be seeing them in the pages of your favorite publications in the next few months.

Jewelers Mutual Listed As A Top 50 Insurance Company

The Ward Group has just released its list of the top 50 insurance companies and Jewelers Mutual has made the list for the third time. Previously listed in 2005 and 2006, Jewelers Mutual has made a return to the list for 2011.

Criteria that insurance companies must meet to be considered for Ward’s 50 include surplus and premiums of at least $50 million for each of the five years analyzed, net income and adjusted net income in at least four of the last five years, and compound annual growth in premiums between 10 percent and 40 percent.

Jewelers Mutual, founded in 1913, specializes exclusively in jewelry insurance in the U.S. and Canada, covering manufacturers, repair businesses, craftsmen, custom designers, retailers, artisans, appraisers, wholesalers, bench jewelers and individuals.

National Jeweler article covering Ward Group's top 50 Insurance Companies

JCK article covering Ward Group's top 50 Insurance Companies.

Ostbye's 2011 JCK Booth: Bursting At The Seams

JCK was certainly a different show this year. With a venue change over to the Mandalay Bay at the opposite end of the strip, almost everything we knew about the show was turned upside down. Midwest jewelry manufacturer Ostbye took full advantage of the venue change and upbeat feelings at the show. Ostbye boldly debuted many additions to existing collections as well as some brand new product seen for the first time at JCK.

Ostbye's Diva Diamonds has been a popular staple for many retailers across the country so Ostbye decided to expand the line by adding Diva Diamonds. This collection caught attention with their cute pink boxes and wonderful little designs.

Ostbye's Amore & Baci line of bead and charm jewelry recently released these awesome watches featuring removable faces and a strong rubber strap. Visitors to the book marveled at the versatility of these watches and were drawn to them by their bold colors.

Ostbye recently became the US distributor for Brosway the Italian fine jewelry company. As this was a last minute development, Brosway stayed in the booth they had reserved in Vicenzaoro (Italian Club) section of the show. Brosway's fun fashion pieces are a great addition to the Ostbye lineup and proved quite popular with guests (and us).

Every time we dropped by Ostbye's booth the showcase counters were jam packed with people browsing and asking questions. The sales team all donned matching shirts making it easy for visitors to know they were talking to the professional team at Ostbye. And best of all, every member of the Ostbye team is an all around nice person that's fun to be around. Evidence of their personable attitude was seen in the countless customers we saw who arrived with big smiles on their faces upon seeing Ostbye's booth.

Overall, this was a great show for Ostbye and a great show for those of us who wanted to see their ever increasing line up of jewelry collections.

Zultanite Wows Jewelry Designers & Buyers

This past week the jewelry world descended on Las Vegas for the annual pilgrimage to this industry's largest US trade shows. JCK and Couture are so big they need their own giant sized convention and ballroom spaces to showcase the jewelry from thousands of exhibitors. Often, these shows are marked by a handful of stories buzzing around the conventions floors. This year, Zultanite was a huge topic of discussion helped in large part by a 96 carat Zultanite stone called the Sultan's Shield. This incredible stone is the center piece of Stephen's latest suite of jewelry featuring Zultanite stones.

To debut this collection, Stephen Webster and Zultanite teamed up to throw a fantastic party at Haze nightclub in the Aria. The Band of Skulls was on hand to provide a rockin' welcome to this amazing suite of jewels. Around 250 guests snacked on delicious food, drank custom Zultanite cocktails, and marveled at Stephen's creation.

Over at John Buechner's booth in JCK, Luxury Brand Group got a first look at the completed Zultanite necklace and ring. In this picture you can actually see how the mixed light is creating several different colors to reflect out of the Zultanite stones. These pieces are fantastic.

Also at JCK, Gavin Linsell, Marketing Director for Zultanite, presented the Mine To Market story of Zultanite with in-depth explanations of the stone's unique physical properties. Of particular interest to the attendees are the ethical and sustainable methods of mining Zultanite along with its absolute rarity. Jewelry designer Evelyn H was gracious enough to come to the presentation and bring along her fantastic men's ring featuring a 12 carat Zultanite stone. Guests were given the opportunity to get an up close look at the piece and see first hand how changing light conditions elicit the color changing properties of Zultanite.

In just under a year, Zultanite has become a favorite stone of top designers like Christian Tse, Rhonda Faber Green, Erica Courtney and Daniel Gibbings. All featured Zultanite jewelry at their booths at Couture and JCK this year. Pictured above are Christian Tse's fantastic Zultanite earrings, ring, and prismatic watches. Each watch contains many specially cut Zultanite baguettes for the face.

For more information on Zultanite please visit their website or contact us by email. You can also post up comments on this post below.

JCK: Ostbye Pendant Among Top 15 Platinum Designs

Ostbye's 'Branch Dressing' platinum pendant was named one of the top 15 platinum designs by JCK this week on their website. This design features .10 cts tw of diamonds set in a stunning branch design platinum pendant. In addition to the great design is the price! Just $1,560 retail. With metal prices being what they are, this amazing fashion statement is priced extremely well.

Las Vegas Show Season... Here Again

The Las Vegas trade show season is upon us! Now, we've been to the trade shows in other industries but aside from the common side themes (hunting for softer carpet, free food and finding a trash can) the jewelry industry really does pull out all the stops.

Luxury Brand Group will be at several of the big shows in Las Vegas this year and we'll be tweeting live from the show floor! Follow us at Twitter.com/LuxuryBrandPR

Some highlights for you to consider should you be going to the shows are:

Couture:
Charriol & DeLatori in the Montrachet Ballroom

Zultanite Designers

• Daniel Gibbings - Salon 623
• Erica Courtney - Salon 120
• Rhonda Faber Green - Salon 513A
• Stephen Webster - Salon 126

JCK:

Christian Tse in the Design Center at booth S10919

Ostbye in the Plumb Club at booth 725

Speaking Engagement by Gavin Linsell of Zultanite - Beautiful, Ethical, Natural & Rare: The Mine To Market Story Of Zultanite.

Sunday June 5th, 11:15AM. Tradewinds CD, sponsored by Rio Tinto

You can send us tweets to connect with us during the show as well. We'll be posting pictures and updates from the show floor so please keep in touch and stay tuned.

Ostbye's All Over JCK: May 2011

Ostbye is ALL OVER the May 2011 JCK issue. Above you'll see a 14k white gold rhodolite garnet and diamond ring along with a quote from Ostbye's man in charge, Craig MacBean.

The Ostbye Men's collection is also feature in the product showcase section of the issue. The Men's collection has been really popular with its entry price point of $35.

And finally, check out this lovely platinum pendant from Ostbye with an attractive "entry level platinum" price point of $1560.

For more information please visit the Ostbye website.

JCK: Making Kate Middleton's Earring Look Your Own

Kate Middleton's Wedding Earrings: Make The Look Your Own

Prince William and Kate Middleton were married last week amidst huge fanfare and an outpouring of happiness around the world. Second only to the wedding itself was the fashion! Large hats, great gowns, military uniforms, and of course, Kate's earrings.

Rather than copy Kate's style exactly, why not take inspiration from those earrings and seek out some great pieces that look different?

Above you can see Charriol's fabulous 18-karat gold and stainless steel earrings. This pair features a great cable twist in its design making it a really unique piece.

JCK also featured Ostbye's sterling silver earrings from the Diva Diamonds collection. This pair also features two small diamonds to give them that extra bit of flash.

Royal Wedding, Royal Jewels, Erica Courtney Tiara On JCK

JCK gathered up some very regal jewelry pieces in a recent article inspired by the recent royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Check out this 5.0 cts. tw platinum and colorless diamond tiara by Erica Courtney. Definitely fit for a royal.

JCK Asks... Christian Tse!

If you haven't already received your latest copy of JCK, check out their "JCK Asks..." series in their latest issue featuring Christian Tse! This series has been a fun read for subscribers and gives an insight into jewelry designers not normally available. Questions ranging from the jewelry business to personal life are asked and Christian himself has some great answers. Check it out.

JCK: Zultanite Ready For Its Close-Up

The February 2011 issue of JCK has a great article about Zultanite's brand new marketing campaign, and popularity with designers and retailers alike. The color changing diaspore can be seen in the collections of top designers like Erica Courtney, Christian Tse and Daniel Gibbings, to name a few. Along with an article is a great picture of Erica Courtney's "Picture Frame" ring featuring a 17.32ct Zultanite stone!

JCK: Erica Courtney's Zultanite Expedition

JCK recently reported on jewelry designer Erica Courtney's visit to Turkey where the only Zultanite® mine in the world can be found.  Zultanite is a diaspore, or color-changing, stone that is making waves in the jewelry industry.  Read more on JCK's blog about Erica's Zultanite visit.

Popularity of Michelle Valadon Burlesque inspired jewelry continues

Michelle Valadon's collection of jewelry inspired by the movie Burlesque, staring Cher and Christina Aguilera, is popular in the press these days.  Check out JCK Online's article about jewelry that fits well with the movie where they talk about Michelle's pendant.

Luxury Brand Group and ChristianTse both featured in the September issue of JCK magazine

LBG and ChristianTse are both featured in the September issue of JCK magazine in the article titled "The Ice Storm" check it out!

Christian Tse featured in JCK magazine

Christian Tse's new Time Piece Collection featured for Best of Show 2010!

JCK features evelynH. Jewelry

JCK magazine features evelynH. Jewelry in June Issue!

Back to Blogging...

Dear Diary (aka LBG Blog),

I am so sorry I haven't written is so long. OMG, I need to fill you in on what's up. I like have so much to tell you... (Don't most diary entries seem to start something like that!?) Well, here's the 411 on Vegas!

The Las Vegas jewelry trade shows came and went as quicker than I could say "What happens in Vegas..." Almost like the "Hangover" but with more jewelry and less tigers.

Laurie Hudson, principal and Queen of LBG, (I guess that makes me the duchess!?) did a presentation on "Understanding How to Market to Generation X & Y Consumers." With over 60 jeweler professionals in attendance, Laurie filled the room with humor, interesting ideas & concepts, and of course, her infamous Laurie-isms!

Read what JCK Magazine had to say about it:

http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6661472.html?q=laurie+hudson

Although the JCK and Couture shows were noticeably lighter in exhibitors, advertisers, parties and overall people, it still was a great opportunity for LBG's designers to launch new collections and sell merchandise. Surprisingly, retailers were buying...conservatively, though. None-the-less they were still purchasing.

My feet have finally heeled from five long Vegas days of standing, booth-to-booth walking, heel-wearing and party and club dancing. I'm glad to be back, but it was great to see everyone!

More to come...

XOXO,

Jewelry Girl

Come see us at JCK!

And the winners are...

The Jewelers Choice Award winners were just announced in the JCK March issue and there are some amazing pieces! There were a couple of things that made me jump out of my socks! Seeing pieces like these refresh my love for jewelry! Keep it going designers!

LBG's Top Picks:

1st. Best Bridal Design- Michael M.

2nd. Best Earring Design- Supreme Jewelry

3rd. Colored Diamond Jewelry- Sylva & Cie