Scenes from JCK 2011

[John P]

Thanks to Erika and Andrey for asking me to get this "traditional" thread started once again.

WOW. What a week. There was much new afoot at JCK, including a completely new venue and a delightful meet-and-greet on the strip with some prominent Pricescope consumer-contributors.

The event was staged at the far end of the strip at Mandalay Bay. This is a dramatic change from prior years at the Sands Expo which is adjacent to the Venetian. Much discussion took place about these new digs. It will be interesting to hear opinions about the move south.

 

[John P]

In the first days of the 2011 show diamantaires, gemologists, sellers and buyers from all around the world wandered wide-eyed through the convention area with heads all a-swivel, seeking the new locations of their destinations. JCK anticipated this and provided dozens of friendly "greeters" - armed with clipboards and PDAs to give answers - spaced regularly from the convention floor all the way to the casino and parking areas.

 

[John P]

Inside the new places were familiar faces. One of the great pleasures of the JCK show is the opportunity to catch up with old colleagues and friends...

(Yours truly with Jonathan W.)

 

[John P]

Another great aspect of JCK is the many opportunities to make new friends.

(Jim Summa with Erika from Pricescope)

 

[John P]

There's much to discuss involving the state of the industry, new ideas and innovations, current research, products and of course the buffet of bling.

I'll have to decompress and try to compose descriptions in the next days. Meanwhile I hope others will post their stories and photos as well. If there are any questions, fire away!

(Rapaport State Of The Industry breakfast)

 

[Dreamer_D]

Inside the new places were familiar faces. One of the great pleasures of the JCK show is the opportunity to catch up with old colleagues and friends...

(Yours truly with Jonathan W.)

You two look so cute in your matching outfits!

I would love to see more photos and hear more stories!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

ha! That was the first thing I thought, too, Dreamer! Gosh, John and Jon are dressed exactly alike!

Oh how fun! I should have gone!!!!

 

[coati]

Thanks for starting the thread John! What a week indeed. The hustle and bustle of the show and the sheer scale of the new Mandalay Bay venue was stunning to say the least. I took a ton of jewelry pics, and I had the opportunity of meeting some incredible jewelry designers, so stay tuned for the series of blogs from JCK Luxury and Couture 2011. (Gurhan says hello to the Pricescope community! )

Here are a couple of pics from the show. (some of you have already seen these on fb!) I had a few Elizabeth Taylor moments at JCK Luxury-they really could've just rolled out a cot, so I could sleep in the booths surrounded by jewels! Exquisite pieces and rare gemstones abounded at JCK Luxury and Couture.

There were three main jewelry shows in Vegas over the weekend.
1) JCK, which is divided into JCK main, JCK Luxury, the AGTA Gemfair, the watch show, and the Elite Enclave (Mandalay Bay)
2) Couture, which is where you find designers like Gurhan, Irene Neuwirth, and Erica Courtney (Wynne)
3) The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show (Paris)

I didn't have time to make it over to the antique show, but I got some great pics at JCK Luxury and Couture.

42.36 carat Ceylon Sapphire from Jack Abraham.


24.72 carat Muzo emerald from Richard Krementz


More to come--looking forward to John's coverage of the Rapaport breakfast. I'll be discussing Rapaport's Fair Trade conference as well.

Cheers!

 

[coati]

Ran into Clark McEwen at the Rio Tinto booth-he is Global Marketing Manager at Rio Tinto Diamonds. Mr. McEwen has contributed to PS synthetic diamond discussions, and he graciously let me snap a picture of his synthetic yellow diamond ring.

 

[coati]

Argyle pink diamond necklace at the Rio Tinto booth. The limited edition necklaces were auctioned to raise money for the schools of indigenous Australians. The Argyle diamond mine produces more than 90% of the world's pink diamonds.

 

[Amys Bling]

Looks like it was a great time, would love to see more pics!!!

 

[coati]

Deco style sapphire and diamond bracelet from Nabil Mouzannar

 

[coati]

Martin Rapaport and Andrey of Pricescope at the Rapaport Breakfast

 

[coati]

Mike Asscher of the Royal Asscher Diamond Company and Reena Ahluwalia, designer of Royal Asscher's Shining Stars collection, which was launched at JCK. Live from JCK 2011 - Royal Asscher

 

[Dreamer_D]

Mike Asscher of the Royal Asscher Diamond Company and Reena Ahluwalia, designer of Royal Asscher's Shining Stars collection, which was launched at JCK. Live from JCK 2011 - Royal Asscher

Are those diamond rings in front of them... or ring pops?? They look huge!

 

[coati]

Those rings are from the Stars of Africa and Shining Stars collections. They are floating diamond rings. Fluid-filled colorless sapphire domes hold several carats of diamonds. If you click on the blog link, you can see them up close. My favorite was the 2 carat pink diamond floating ring.

eta: I'll post a close-up from the blog.

 

[coati]

Here ya go: The rings below (with the exception of my own!) are from Royal Asscher's Shining Stars collection, which features floating diamond rings. The ring on the far right holds 2 carats of pink diamonds. Mike and Reena were most gracious giving my husband and I an informative tour of Asscher family history. I have some video that I have yet to edit. Special thanks to Royal Asscher!

 

[Rhino]

Great pix John. I didn't realize how much alike we dressed that day! LOL I just dl'd about 665 pix I took while in Vegas for this trip. I'll have the bulk on them I'll be uploading via our FB page but will upload some kewl select shots here. I also have video of our get together I'll post after I have the attendees view privately and edit accordingly that I'll post here too. What a great time it was.

 

[paulhung]

Me & Garry at the show He obviously dyed his hair to copy mine

 

[psadmin]

For those who like puzzles, I found this very cool ring. It was very well crafted.

You can see all the pieces with it here:


And here is a close up of it.

 

[Serg]

re:For those who like puzzles, I found this very cool ring. It was very well crafted.

They need to add same shape piece of puzzle with and without diamonds, gems

 

[Venice]

The puzzle piece ring would be great for those who promote autism awareness.

 

[diagem]

re:For those who like puzzles, I found this very cool ring. It was very well crafted.

They need to add same shape piece of puzzle with and without diamonds, gems

Good innovative thinking Serg (I like)..., would be a great challenge for Diamond cutting

 

[Serg]

re:For those who like puzzles, I found this very cool ring. It was very well crafted.

They need to add same shape piece of puzzle with and without diamonds, gems

Good innovative thinking Serg (I like)..., would be a great challenge for Diamond cutting

Yoram, I did suggest Nothing so complex .

just Piece of puzzle with and without diamond ( not diamond Piece of Puzzle
such Piece you can buy separately in several options, so you have several rings for different events instead one ring.

same idea as Pandora uses. http://www.pandora.net/fi-fi/explore/campaigns/spring/birthstone

 

[diagem]

re:For those who like puzzles, I found this very cool ring. It was very well crafted.

They need to add same shape piece of puzzle with and without diamonds, gems

Good innovative thinking Serg (I like)..., would be a great challenge for Diamond cutting

Yoram, I did suggest Nothing so complex .

just Piece of puzzle with and without diamond ( not diamond Piece of Puzzle
such Piece you can buy separately in several options, so you have several rings for different events instead one ring.

same idea as Pandora uses. http://www.pandora.net/fi-fi/explore/campaigns/spring/birthstone

Complex? , the only problem I forsee is the convex back/parts....., and finding the material suitable ofcourse
It would be a cool concept though.

 

[lasugar]

looks like fun

 

[Regular Guy]

I'll be discussing Rapaport's Fair Trade conference as well.

Cheers!

Erika, just a note that this discussion will be of interest. I hope it's either on a "to do" list, or if I've missed it, maybe you can direct me.

Regards,

Ira Z.

 

[coati]

I'll be discussing Rapaport's Fair Trade conference as well.

Cheers!

Erika, just a note that this discussion will be of interest. I hope it's either on a "to do" list, or if I've missed it, maybe you can direct me.

Regards,

Ira Z.

Hi Ira,
To-do list. I can give you a quick breakdown, as not much has changed since last year's talk. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2010-rapaport-fair-trade-jewelry-conference.144481/

Fair Trade Conference
The 2011 panel was much smaller, and there were very few folks in attendance, unfortunately. (Neil Beaty was there, and maybe he will chime in as well.)

Panel:
Martin Rapaport
Toby Pomeroy - Board Member, Alliance for Responsible Mining (he is a retailer - http://www.tobypomeroy.com/home/eco-gold/
Eric Braunwart - CEO, http://www.columbiagemhouse.com/ (he is doing some great work in colored stones)

Rapaport stressed consumer demand for Fair Trade products and called upon the industry for solutions. Ethical sourcing, the further development of Fair Trade gold, and certification concepts were on the table. Unlike KP or the Responsible Jewellery Council, which has its own chain-of-custody certification system, Fair Trade has a different set of parameters with focus on artisanal mining. If the goal is an ethical supply chain, then how can companies ensure products sourced in the open market are "ethical?" We're talking each and every component of a jewelry piece. Look at "Fair Trade Gold," for example. The gold might be deemed Fair Trade, but what about the alloys? Recycled metals present an option, but the Fair Trade movement in jewelry as a whole is only just beginning.

Just fyi, there were a few conferences on related topics: KP, Fair Trade, and Rap's State of the Diamond Industry-he touched on the topic there as well.

You can watch a video of Rap's State of the Diamond Industry. Here's a quick synopsis with link to video. Included is a video of Rapaport's trip to Sierra Leone. "Sierra Leone Diggers Speak"
https://www.pricescope.com/blog/video-rapaports-state-diamond-industry-2011

Here is a Kimberley Process news update with several linked articles.
https://www.pricescope.com/blog/kimberley-process-meeting-updates-kinshasa-drc

 

[coati]

Blog coverage of designer jewelry from JCK and Couture 2011 including Temple St. Clair, Gurhan, Yasuko Azuma, Anne Sportun, and Royal Asscher.

 

[Lula]

Blog coverage of designer jewelry from JCK and Couture 2011 including Temple St. Clair, Gurhan, Yasuko Azuma, Anne Sportun, and Royal Asscher.

These blog entries have been great -- I've read all of them!