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A tale of three stones

After whirlwind trips to Vicenza and New York for the VicenzaOro First show and the JA New York Winter Show, I’m slowly starting to digest all the things I saw.

In Vicenza, as to be expected since it’s the Italian specialty, there was no end in sight to the number of amazing gold designs. (I recommend checking out the designers that are part of the Gold Expressions program for a well-curated showcase of what’s new.) And, after a night of pre-show people watching at a First gala event, I knew I would be seeing pearls in a big way what with all the posh women decked out in the oversized organic gems.

But among the most interesting of trends in Vicenza was the bounty of designs in onyx and white agate. The Italians, it seems, are currently fascinated by the stones. Among the booths for smaller Italian companies, I couldn’t walk by more than three manufacturers without seeing the stones in some form or other, but most usually carved into a single flower set onto a ring.

On the other side of the Atlantic, designers in the States seem to be having a fling with turquoise—and I’m loving it. The vivid color is like no other. And while turquoise might bring to mind thoughts of inexpensive tchotckes picked up on trips to the Southwest (jaunts like that are how I put together my own jewelry collection anyway), designers at JA New York proved that turquoise cleans up quite nicely. Need evidence? Check out these diamond-studded designs from Emily & Ashley (top) and Angelique de Paris (left, with white agate and coral at the center). And for a bit of red-carpet glamour, don’t forget about Eva Mendes at the recent Golden Globes. Her vintage turquoise necklace from Van Cleef & Arpels was the night’s most buzzed-about adornment.

Sending out an SOS

As I mentioned in my first post when I returned from Africa (aptly titled "Back from Africa"), one experience I had there that really touched me was visiting the SOS Children's Village in Botswana. According to information from SOS, an international organization that operates 1,600 villages in 132 countries, there are a total of three children's villages in the African nation of Botswana. They are: Tlokweng, Francistown and Serowe. On my trip, we spent the better part of a morning at Tlokweng, visiting with the children and families there.

Here's how the children's villages' concept, which was started by a man named Hermann Gmeiner after World War II, works: Each house in the village is run by a "Mother" and an "Aunt." In Botswana, these are women who voluntarily leave their own families in nearby towns and villages to help run households of up to 12 children. They receive a monthly allowance, which they allocate to keep the house running and take care of the children, just like any good mother would.

The children stay in the house until the age of 14 or 15. At that age, they are moved to the youth houses and prepared for the transition to the outside world, where many go on to lead productive, independent lives.

The idea behind the SOS Village is that it gives orphaned or abandoned children the chance to live with other children, who essentially become their brothers and sisters, and know what it's like to be part of a regular family, with routines and rituals. (Natural sibilings that enter SOS' care are kept together in the same house.)

The village, as a whole, functions just like any neighborhood. There is a kindergarten for pre-school-aged children, which also is open to the surrounding community.

Neighbors in the village get to know each other, and look after each other's children. Overseeing the whole operation is a village "Father," who, along with other male employees, serves as a father figure for the children.

In Botswana, you coudn't help but smile as you followed the winding walkway that led from house to house. Each house was painted a different bright, pastel color. Children were everywhere, clamoring to hold your hand, to be picked up, hugged. They also love having their pictures taken—check out the adorable girl I met on the playground at SOS (right).

At it turns out, they also like to take pictures themselves. This is me (left), as photographed by one of the little boys I met at SOS. I had to literally pry the camera out of his hands when it came time to say good-bye.

At one house, I took some time to talk to the mother. Here is a woman who left her own family—I believe she told me she had raised two children of her own—to raise another dozen kids that she doesn't know and isn't related to.

She lives in a very simple house and shares a bedroom with the other woman of the house, the aunt, not to mention the fact that the house also belongs to a dozen small children. She told us that she finds the energy to raise 12 kids "in her heart."

I guess that's the only place you could find the energy to exhibit such selfless behavior.

For more information, or if you would like to donate to the SOS Children's Village in Botswana, please visit www.sos-childrensvillages.org or call the SOS National Coordination Office in Botswana at (267) 3953 220. Donations of clothing, food stuff, books, toys and sporting equipment are welcome.

You can also sponsor a child, sponsor a village or sponsor a specific house or project.

'Gentleman's mining'

When I first heard that my trip to Africa would include a visit to one of De Beers' mines, my first thought was that it was sure to be a dark, dirty and claustrophobic, albeit interesting, experience. I was right about everything but the claustrophobia.

Finsch Mine was dark and, in parts, dusty. The experience was interesting. But the underground shafts of the mines themselves were huge. We were not crawling around in a tunnel like we were filming the fifth Indiana Jones movie. I was relieved but, at the same time, a touch disappointed. I didn't get to live out any fantasies of pulling a Harrison Ford-like stunt deep in the bowels of an underground mine.

But I digress.

The No. 1 rule of the mine that was stressed to us, and illustrated on signs posted around mine property, was safety first. A sign on mine grounds illustrated how high a priority De Beers makes mine safety (shown left). It read that as of February 2008, there had not been a lost-time injury at the mine since Oct. 16, 2007. Non-lost-time injuries for the first two months of the year numbered 48, according to the sign.

After donning what felt like a ton of gear and descending into the mine (shown right), we were taken on a tour of Block 4 of the Finsch Mine, located in South Africa's Northern Cape province. The tunnels were much wider, and the ceilings much higher, than I had envisioned. It was its own little underground world, with offices that had computers and telephones. As a child of the 1980s, I dare say it reminded me of the HBO show Fraggle Rock. But there were no Fraggles, Doozers, and none of the workers were eating the infrastructure, at least that I saw. (If you didn't grow up in the 1980s watching Fraggle Rock, you won't get this reference.)

And, to everybody's disappointment, diamonds weren't embedded in the walls. Instead, there were just piles of what looked like a light gray, powdery rock: kimberlite. Huge trucks were used to haul the kimberlite out of the mine. After that, this seemingly innocuous rock has a long journey of being shifted, sorted and sifted to extract the rough diamonds.

I never realized how much went into actually getting the diamonds out of the ground until I visited Finsch.

During our visit, one Finsch employee who accompanied us underground told our group that diamond mining is "gentleman's mining," meaning it is cleaner and safer than other kinds of mining, such as gold mining.

Though I can't speak first-hand about the experience of visiting a gold or platinum mine, I can say I was impressed with the operation at Finsch.

I now see how diamond mining has earned itself this nickname.

Back from Africa

Today is my first day back at work after spending nine wonderful days in Africa. The trip, courtesy of JWT's Diamond Information Center (De Beers), was a first-class, well-organized and well-run operation. Kudos to those employees of the DIC because they showed our tour group—composed of two stylists, a diamantaire, three journalists and a retailer—as much as a group could possibly see in a week, and more.

We visited the new diamond-sorting facility in Botswana, went down into the Finsch Mine, visited an orphanage for children in Botswana and learned about Debswana's (De Beers' partnership with the government of Botswana) efforts to combat the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among its workforce.

Each of these experiences is worthy of a blog entry all its own. But, for now, I'll just share my general thoughts on Africa.

Each morning, for the first part of my trip, I would leave my top-tier hotel in Johannesburg and visit some of the poorest sections of South Africa. I came from a place where I had more than I could ever need: food, water, entertainment, etc., only to visit those who have less than anybody should ever have to live with.

I found myself feeling, at first, pity. But the more people I met—from all walks of life and all income levels—the more this old cliché started to ring true: Money can't buy happiness. And, in Africa, it isn't needed to. The people I met in Africa were some of the warmest, happiest people I'd met anywhere. They were more than happy to welcome you into their homes, their place of business and to feed you, and to tell you all you would want to know about their lives and their struggles. All of this was done with a smile on their face.

I wonder if they didn't pity us: a group of Westerners cranky from the travel, irritated because our Blackberries didn't work 24/7. I wonder if they perceived that we don't understand what's important in life—family, community and a sense of belonging—and that we were foolish and frivolous.

At one stop on our whirlwind trip, a woman at the African Children's Feeding Scheme remarked to one of the members of our all-women troupe that she could tell we were Americans because we carried expensive handbags. I don't know that to be true, but it made me wonder how we are seen in the eyes of people in other countries, and situations, like those I witnessed in Africa.

At another stop on our tour, we visited the S.O.S. children's orphanage in Botswana. There, another one of the women in my group—all of whom were wonderful—asked one of the women who worked there how she had the energy to do what she did: namely, leave her family to work in a house where she was the mother to 11 orphans.

She replied that she found the energy "in her heart."

I don't know what she thought of us, but I do know that when I left Africa, it had me questioning what kind of heart I have.

And I would guess I'm not alone.

Running away for Valentine’s Day

With Valentine's Day falling on a Thursday, it's the perfect opportunity for brand-new and well-seasoned lovers to escape to a romantic hideaway for an extended weekend.

So what type of jewelry should a vacation-bound cupid shop for to make himself or herself look extra enticing? Or even better, to spring on his or her Valentine at a ski resort or sunny, sexy locale?

Crystal pendants in sterling silver, gold-filled earrings with coral beads (see photo), titanium cuff links or stainless steel bracelets are on-trend and travel well.

Don't go flashy. The shinier the bauble the more likely it is to be lifted and pocketed, especially if luggage is going to be checked at the airport instead of carried on the airplane. And gift-wrapping jewelry before traveling could be a waste of time because the paper gets torn and tossed if the luggage needs to be searched.

Stashing bling in a jewelry roll that can be easily added to carry-on luggage is best. Instead of one lined in satin, suede or fur, try scaling down. Jewelry rolls with clear, plastic zip compartments make it easy for airport or hotel security to view what's inside if they need to. Not to mention, thieves might underestimate the value of jewelry placed in a budget-friendly roll.

In addition to passing these tips on to customers, jewelers may want to add a few travel-friendly jewelry rolls to their inventory.

Reykjavik: Cold but cool

It's nearly 10 a.m. in Reykjavik and daybreak is minutes away. At 64 degrees north latitude, Iceland's exotic capital city is a rather unusual place to be in January, when gale-force winds blow the snow and hail sideways, but given my years-long desire to visit, I couldn't pass up an invitation that landed in my in-box in November.

Piaget, the Swiss watch and jewelry brand owned by Compagnie Financière Richemont, was planning a collection themed "From Paris to New York," a jeweled paean to the iconic landmarks of the two cities. In a clever promotion, the brand decided to stage its pre-SIHH (the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie show in Geneva) global press preview in a city that is literally halfway in-between.

"Thematic collections like this are becoming a highlight for the brand," said Philippe Leopold-Metzger, Piaget's worldwide president, before unveiling a series of high-intensity jewels and watches inspired by Manhattan's Chrysler Building and Statue of Liberty and Paris' Eiffel Tower and Grande Roue (ferris wheel), such as the Polo Tourbillon Relatif shown left in a profile view.

The extravagance with which Piaget introduced this collection—a proposition that involved flying 120 journalists from around the world to Iceland, notorious for being one of the world's most expensive cities—suggests that in the run-up to this year's watch fairs, the pressure to woo the media has become all the more intense.

Jaunts such as this one became de riguer for the major Swiss brands a few years ago, when it became clear that collectors were looking to editorial to help them understand the widening world of haute horlogerie. Now, hardly a month passes without another brand staging some far-flung, luxe adventure in the hopes of impressing upon the media a sense of its brand ideology, not to mention its largesse.

Grab Bag R’ Us

From Victoria's Secret undies to UGG boots, products in American stores are being snapped up by foreign travelers visiting the United States. Some of this season's markdowns aren't even enticing enough to lure Americans out of their homes, so people aren't flying around the globe simply to catch a holiday sale. Europeans, Canadians and the Japanese are embarking on shopping excursions to the United States to take advantage of our weak dollar.

Breitbart.com explains, "The iPod Nano costs about 210 euros in Europe. At the rate of $1.43 for one euro, that makes it about $85 more expensive than the $215 price in New York, tax included."

The influx of foreign shoppers who need to get their great deals home has caused luggage sales to soar. FAO Schwarz is selling duffel bags right at the counter. As a matter of fact, many retailers are actively pursuing and accommodating their new customer base. Taubman Centers, which owns four shopping centers in the Detroit area, sent limousines stocked with eggnog and store coupons to chauffeur shoppers from Canada.

Lord & Taylor in New York City advertised its holiday windows as a tourist destination on 3,600 taxi TV screens. West Acres Shopping Center in Fargo, N.D., is running radio spots in Winnipeg, Canada. Brookstone in Tysons Corner, Va., has added items with built-in electricity converters for European and Asian customers.

Craig Johnson, president of retail consultant Customer Growth Partners, told The Wall Street Journal that it's not just the jet-setting upper class visiting the "Land of the Spree" for luxury goods. The lower and middle class are coming over too. One shopper from Stockholm was stocking up on lotions, perfumes and shampoos.

With reduced-rate airfares and discounted goods, many shoppers feel it's worth the trip. If you've ever traveled to a foreign country for the sole purpose of shopping, share your experience.

A rakhi for the rest of us?

For all of India's exoticism—the rickshaws, the smell of curry from the streetside food vendors, the women sweeping down the streets in colorful saris—it also has certain qualities that remind me of the good old U.S. of A.

During my recent visit there for the India International Jewellery Show, I saw some of these similarities firsthand. There's an entrepreneurial spirit among its business people, a palpable energy when you walk down the streets of Mumbai (much like there is in New York), and even an obsession with celebrities, courtesy of Bollywood, the country's very successful film industry.

But there's one thing Indian jewelers enjoy that American jewelers do not: festivals. In India, every festival is not just a chance to celebrate, but an occasion on which to wear your very best jewelry, in mass quantity. And—this part is a symphony to any jeweler's ears—who wants to be caught dead in the same bangles or earrings they wore to the last festival?

The granddaddy of all Indian festivals is Diwali or the festival of lights, a religious and cultural festival that is probably the closest approximation to Christmas or Hanukkah here in the United States.

This is a major holiday, a celebration of family and of life itself, that brings in great sales for jewelers. Many of the retailers attending the late August show were buying for Diwali. And although that holiday doesn't happen until Nov. 9, I was able to bear witness to no fewer than two festivals during my 10-day stay in late August-early September.

One was the Festival of Rakhi, a celebration in which Indian brothers and sisters exchange bracelets made of sacred thread, similar to friendship bracelets sometimes seen here in the United States. Upping the ante this year, Surat jewelers were selling 18-karat gold bracelets with diamonds, bling bracelets that seemed the ideal status symbol for India's rising middle class.

The second festival I witnessed, which had less to do with jewelry as far as I could tell, was celebrated in part by people forming human pyramids. I thought the Indian colleague who told me about the latter was joking until I saw a group of men practicing the formation of these pyramids in a courtyard right outside of my hotel. [Who knew? The only U.S. equivalent I can think of is the opening scene from that 1970s family sitcom Eight Is Enough.]

But getting back to the festivals, these are major opportunities for jewelers doing business on the other side of the world. India has recently adopted Valentine's Day, so why not start a celebration of siblings here? Rakhi, anyone?

The mysteries of Tucson

When it comes to attending jewelry shows, there are diversions aplenty for those looking for a change of scenery when the workday is done and the Palm Pilot winks up at you with a rare open time slot.

New York has Broadway. Vegas has casinos. Basel has sidewalk cafes. And Tucson has, well, meteorites. And fossils. And grinning, crystal Buddhas.

If you’ve been there, maybe you, too have wandered over from the industry-only gem shows to the quirky open-to-the-public gem and mineral shows in and around the Tucson Convention Center. If you haven’t, you should. It’s like a weird and wacky carnival has dropped down onto the desert landscape.

A labyrinth of outdoor tents and hotel rooms are the temporary home to a patchwork of merchandise from all over the world. Some of the displays are eerily beautiful, such as the illuminated crystal balls that filled one showroom, or the rows of pottery—bowls, wine glasses and even mortar and pestles—carved out of onyx in another.

Others may make you scratch your head, such as the bathroom vanity made out of slabs of rock with fossils on either side of the opening for the sink, or an amethyst geode of roughly the same girth and height as an NFL linebacker.

Those are the goods that make me wonder just how far the vendors traveled, how they got this heavy cargo to Tucson, and just who, exactly, is going to buy a meteorite and for what purpose?

But I’m afraid if I start playing the reporter at these public shows, the magic could vanish. Those Nepalese singing bowls for meditational yoga could turn out to be overstock from Pier One. The guy wearing an African dashiki shirt selling delicately crafted beaded bracelets will tell me he’s from Jersey. And the woman selling meteorites and the guy hawking fossils may have just bought them on eBay.

So when I make the annual pilgrimage to Tucson for the gem shows, I’m going to continue to wander over to these public shows and soak in the sometimes kooky displays, without my notebook. Some mysteries are better left unsolved.