 |
Suncoast Gem Laboratories Newsletter |
 |
|
|
|
Dear Tom,
2007 was a very eventful year for us. We finally
completed the update of our website, we moved into
our new home and had a 5% increase in business.
Overall, it was a very good year.
With a new year beginning I always set my goals for
the upcoming year on January 1, and try to get started
right away accomplishing them. Business wise, we
want to get more of our clients in our data base to
receive our email newsletter so we can make more
people aware of all of the services we offer. If you
know another person that would like to stay informed
of the things currently happening in the gems and
jewelry world, please let us know so we can add them
to the list.
I want to take this time to thank all of you from the
bottom of my heart for all of your referrals. If it weren't
for our friends and clients we would not be in
business today. If you have a friend that needs
anything done jewelry wise, please give them our
name. You can be sure we will give them the same
personal and professional service that we have come
to be known for and will offer them the best possible
value for all their jewelry needs.
Tom and Donna Seguin
|
|
SuncoastGemLab.com Updated |
|
We have finally finished the web site. We went live
with the new site last September but it was not really
finished. Since then we have added the searchable
diamond data base, titled Loose Diamonds,
with over
30,000 diamonds to choose from. We have also
added our Diamond Jewelry Gallery with over
8,000
jewelry styled to choose from.
In addition to those, we have added our Wedding
Resources page that has a wedding checklist
and a
list of local resources for planning your wedding
including everything from Florists to Tuxedo Rentals,
and Wedding Planners to Reception locations.
Another great part of our site is the Diamond
Education page that has over 20 pages of
technical
information about diamonds. I can't tell you how many
people come in to our office totally confused after
going to a few retail jewelry stores and spending
some time on the Internet getting different stories at
every stop. We have tried to put the info into layman
terms so that it is not so confusing but we encourage
our clients to call and set up a time to come in and
spend some time with us to clarify those things that
they may not understand.
Lastly, I have to mention the Links page
where we
have links to many industry web sites such as the
American Gem Trade Assoc., The
Gemological
Institute of America, the Platinum Guild,
the World
Gold Council to name but a few. These are the
organizations that represent the different segments of
our industry and are the watchdog groups so if you
need any info on gems and jewelry topics, you are
sure to find it on out site. We are very proud of our site
so take a look and if you know someone that has a
jewelry need, please let them know about us.
|
|
Gems In The Desert/Tucson Sparkles |
|
One Saturday, February 2nd, I will be heading out to
Tucson, AZ for the Gem Show. The Tucson show is
the largest colored gemstone show in the world. It is
where all of the various professional gemological
organizations have their annual meetings. This year
I will be attending the National Association of
Jewelry
Appraisers 2 day conference and the
Accredited
Gemologist Association 1 day conference and of
course I will be squeezing in some time at the
American Gem Trade Association show for
some
shopping.
Some of the topics that will be covered at the
conferences will be; Has Ruby Undergone
Cosmetic
Surgery?, A Constructive Approach to
Investment
Scam Appraisals, Gem Testing Accessories and
Techniques, New Treatments and Detection
Techniques and The Impact of New Technology
on
Grading Fluorescent Diamonds. There are more but
they are too numerous to list.
The reason for the trip is two fold. I will be completing
24 hours of continuing education as required by the
American Society of Appraisers Master
Gemologist
Appraiser program and will be shopping the
market
for price comparison for my appraisal work and for
possible purchases of colored gemstone for my
clients. Oh, and lastly I will be going rock
climbing for a day. If you want me to look into any
colored stones for you while I am there, let me know.
|
|
Tiffany-EBay Case Goes to Court |
|
The Tiffany vs. eBay counterfeit suit has gone
to trial,
and if eBay loses it could open the door for more suits
and possibly hurt eBay as a business, some experts
say.
Tiffany is suing the auction site for hosting counterfeit
merchandise. It says when it conducted a test buy, it
found that 73 percent of the products listed
as "Tiffany"
were counterfeit. In its first day in court, Tiffany's
lawyer
charged that eBay "turned a blind eye" to counterfeiting.
EBay responded that it already spends $10 million a
year tracking down counterfeits through its VeRO
program. It has argued that it needs the help of the
copyright owners in detecting fakes.
This is the first major trial on this question in
the
United States, and it's being watched closely by
lawyers like Brian Brokate, of law firm Gibney, Anthony
& Flaherty, general counsel to Rolex. Rolex has
successfully sued eBay over this issue in Germany.
|
|
Valentines Day Is Just Around the Corner |
|
What do you think 90% of the women would like to get
for Valentines Day? That's right! Jewelry.
Donna has been restocking the cases since the
Holidays and we are ready for the holiday. At
Christmas, we had a great selection of jewelry by
the
Italian Designer, Shoshana, and this week she
will be
back to meet with Donna so they can add more of her
line to what we have left. She has very unusual,
colored gemstone jewelry combined with
diamonds.
In addition to that we still have all of the things that
women want to have in their jewelry wardrobe.
Diamond stud earrings, diamond tennis
bracelets,
diamond necklaces, Past, Present, Future
rings,
Diamond Journey jewelry, pearls, and colored
gemstone jewelry. Make this Valentines Day the
best
she could ever ask for with a gift that will last
forever.
A piece of jewelry from Suncoast Gem Lab!
|
|
De Beers Diamond Lawsuit Could Entitle You to Substantial Refunds |
|
By now many of you may have heard about the class
action lawsuit against DeBeers. I have copied and
pasted the first two paragraphs into this article with a
link at the bottom to take you to the rest of the article.
We have it from the head of the Jewelers Vigilance
Committee that the amounts will not be that
substantial. The article says up to 30% of your
purchase price but that depends on the number of
people that put in claims. We would encourage you to
fill out the claim form and here is a link to take you to
the site.
https://diamondsclassaction.com/Notice.htm
However, don't think the refund will pay for your next
European vacation. If you need any help with
purchase history of diamond jewelry that you got at
Suncoast Gem Lab, give us a call. Good Luck!
The DeBeers diamond company is settling a $295
million class action lawsuit over price fixing
through
manipulation and monopolization. The judgment
entered as a result of the settlement may provide
refunds of up to 30% to De Beers' customers who
purchased a diamond for personal use - covering
resellers separately - between 01-01-1994 and 03-31-
2006. To claim your refund, it is vital that you make
your claim known by 05-19-2008.
De Beers has been in the diamond business
since
1888 when it was founded to permit for a variety of
mining efforts in Africa and later on in other countries
as well. Over the years the company was
subjected to
much criticism, but price fixing had not be associated
with the company until 2004, when a $10 million
fine
was levied against De Beers for price fixing and
conspiring with General Electric Company to
manipulate the pricing of industrial diamonds
| Quick Links... |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
