Krisan Govender, a media spokesperson for insurance firm Hollard, says that a quarter of those robbed are underinsured. Added to this, SA consumers are cutting back on insurance owing to high debt levels.

Former insurance broker Andre Snyman, CEO of SA’s largest debt-counselling organisation Consumer Assist, says this is a mistake: “They should rather discuss their policies with their broker.

“For example, many people are over-insured on their vehicles which are depreciating assets. Every year, you should decrease vehicle insurance to match your car book value and transfer that amount to bolster household insurance.”

Ken Lawrence, the general manager for technical claims at Mutual & Federal, advises consumers to get jewellery valuations redone once a year “and check the condition, ensure claws hold stones properly”.

Ian Furman of Jewellery Replacement Consultants in Rivonia, which specialises in replacing jewellery on behalf of insurance companies, says that from November to January the company receives an average of 20 to 50 claims a day, compared to 10 during the rest of the year.

Thieves are also shopping at this time. “There are 2 000 pawnbrokers in Johannesburg alone and it’s easy to get rid of jewellery. It carries none of the risks or difficulties of concealment that a stolen car does.”

Govender says it is important to understand that in today’s economic climate, “gold and platinum prices are changing on a daily basis and by high percentages. It is not uncommon in two years to have the value on an item of jewellery double or halve in price, and it is vital that the sum insured is up to date.

“If the price is going down, one is paying too much in premiums and if it has gone higher insurers will not pay out the full value of the item which causes disappointment at the claims stage. Valuations should be detailed, for example the cut, clarity and carat of a diamond is very important to assess the value.”

Insurers say they have noted a 30% decline in hijacking in recent years, but driveway robberies have leapt and jewellery now accounts for a third of all insurance claims – and November to January is the peak theft season.

Lawrence says: “Over the last 10 years we have noticed a 30% decline in hijacking and motor theft due to more effective policing, but we are seeing more claims with people followed from shopping centres and robbed.

“Driveways are where you are most vulnerable; ensure there are no bushes, adequate lighting at night and always carry a panic button; ensure the area is clean and tidy and be alert.

“When thieves go into a home, they target jewellery and electronic items – they sell easily. Clothes are too bulky.”

Although Govender says undetected fraud is high in the industry with regard to jewellery claims, Lawrence says his firm investigates 2% of claims, with 1.5% of those being fraudulent. “Christmas is a time of increased fraudulent claims – people want to buy someone something and don’t have the money, so they make a false claim.”

Lawrence recommends that jewellery items should be specified in an all-risks policy. “The valuation certificate and proof of purchase should be kept in a safe place, ideally in a safe bolted to the wall in an alarmed area; with very expensive jewellery keep it in a bank deposit box.”

Govender recommends that the broker has copies of evaluation certificates on file: ” Don’t keep them in the safe – they are often stolen along with the jewellery.”

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- Fin24.com

(Fin24, Nov 18 2008)

The country’s affluent black community, and women, have been driving recent local jewellery sales, an expert said on Friday.

“Black diamonds are driving South Africa’s recession-proof manufacturing jewellery market with many asking jewellers to discreetly visit them in their homes so that they are not seen walking into high-end stores and to prevent gossip about very expensive purchases,” said Ian Furman, managing director of Jewellery Replacement Consultants in Rivonia, Sandton.

Overall, however, the biggest buyers of jewellery regardless of race were career women aged 35 to 55.

“While a luxury car is a wealth and success symbol for a man, for women it’s jewellery,” Furman said.

obituary Globally, career women were driving a US$318-billion global jewellery market that was proving “recession proof.”

And with women making up a third of South Africa’s new dollar millionaires (there are more than 55 000 dollar millionaires in South Africa in total), according to the World Wealth Report produced by Merrill Lynch/Capgemini, they are providing a welcome bonanza for South Africa’s jewellery trade, especially discreet retailers and wholesalers, Furman said.

World-wide the biggest spenders on jewellery are women aged 35 to 44, followed by women aged 45 to 54.

According to a report from Global Jewellery Retailing, “the resilience of the luxury market results from increasing global wealth, passion investing and strong demand from emerging markets for branded jewellery and status symbol watches”.

The report added that global expenditure on jewellery and watches was expected to accelerate over the next five years, “recession be damned”, growing by 35 percent to $318-billion a year, with sales of luxury items doubling to around $94-billion a year.

South Africa, despite being the world’s largest producer of gem diamonds and platinum and one of the largest producers of gold, has no figures for jewellery sales or trends, but Jewellery Council of South Africa chief executive officer Lourens Mare estimated that the market was worth R2-billion, of which R600-million worth of jewellery was imported.

Last year, jewellers used 7.81 tons of gold in jewellery making.

GFMS Precious Metals Research and Consultancy, research director Neil Meader said that steel had become more fashionable than silver, while silver was more fashionable than gold, except white gold.

He added that the rapid escalation of jewellery as a “self-purchase”— women buying for themselves instead of waiting for a gift — has seen the market open to more materials.

“Among the top 20 jewellery advertisers in Italy in 2006, as an example, the three highest spenders (were from) the steel sector while the top two gold jewellery advertisers were in fourth and seventh place.”

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As the clientele of jewellery grows increasingly younger, diamonds are set to get some colourful best friends

Diamonds will continue to decorate the fingers and other appendages of the world’s rich for decades to come, but their coloured counterparts are gaining rapid prominence. In particular, the appetite for tanzanite, found only at the foothills of Tanzania’s Mt Kilimanjaro, has grown phenomenally.

Gemstone producer Gemfields, controlled by mining mogul Brian Gilbertson’s Pallinghurst Resources, reports that tanzanite prices have more than doubled in the past 10 years.

And former president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses Ernie Blom says there has been an increase in pricing of other gemstones, too, with certain rubies fetching higher prices per carat than diamonds.

“The coming to the world at large of coloured stones is a bit like the colour TV coming to the market. Once you’ve had a colour TV, you’ll never go back to black and white,” says Gilbertson’s son, Sean, who is CEO of Gemfields. He believes there is a “tidal wave of colour” headed for the global jewellery sector.

The reasons Gilbertson gives for these gemstones’ appeal is their versatility and the ease with which the fashion industry can incorporate their colours into creations.

His television analogy may hint at diamonds losing favour, but he stresses that this is not the case. It’s not about substitution or competition but complementing each other. For example, many jewellers use a combination of diamonds and coloured stones in their pieces.

Asked whether De Beers is worried that the emergence of coloured gemstones will displace demand for diamonds, spokesman Lynette Gould replies: “Essentially, no. They are a completely different proposition.” Consumers buy diamonds specifically to celebrate milestones and achievements in their lives. “For these moments, only a diamond will satisfy that need.”

Other gemstones that have begun to sparkle in luxury goods stores worldwide include sapphires, emeralds and amethysts. Gilbertson says their rise is not a passing fad.

The popularity of coloured stones might shift with trends, but colour will be in for decades, he maintains. Gemfields produces emeralds in Zambia and is moving into tanzanite, too. It also has a 50% interest in a Zambian amethyst mine.

Local high-end jewellery firm Charles Greig has always been keen on incorporating coloured stones into its work. “That’s what put us at the forefront of the SA jewellery industry,” says director and chief designer Christopher Greig.

However, he says that about 10 years ago the world began to favour far less colourful jewellery. “I found that quite unexciting,” says Greig. But colour has been making a fast comeback globally, prompting Charles Greig to return to its roots.

Tanzanite has become highly sought after in SA, especially among foreigners seeking to take back something that is unique to the continent.

Local buyers have also begun to favour coloured gemstones because of a perception that they are less likely to be robbed of these than of diamond jewellery. This, says Greig, is because coloured gems are less understood and not as sought after by criminals.

He notes that the more valuable rubies, sapphires and emeralds are popular with the “very high-end and well-travelled client”.

Coloured gemstone-encrusted jewellery sales were also boosted when celebrities began wearing them in public. Hollywood is the birthplace of many fashion trends, and these bright luxuries have received huge prominence simply by being worn by the stars.

Recently Angelina Jolie, Eva Longoria, Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow were photographed on the red carpet wearing bold pieces of coloured-stone jewellery.

Then there is the question of what metal to set coloured stones in.

Greig believes that they are best accompanied by yellow metals. “White metals have been in vogue for the past 15 years,” he says, adding that this has not favoured coloured gemstone jewellery demand.

“But yellow metals have started to make a comeback in the past year or two.” This could be attributed to the surging price of platinum, which cooled drastically in October to trade at almost a third of its record high of US$2 300/oz reached in March.

But the gold price’s northward movement as investors are drawn to its safe-haven appeal and the platinum price’s decline are shifting demand in the jewellery sector for the precious metals.

Jewellery Council of SA CEO Lourens Mare notes that SA is traditionally a 9 ct gold market, while platinum jewellery mostly uses the white metal in a purer form.

Nine carat gold is a blend containing only 37,5% actual gold, with metals like copper, silver and palladium making up the rest of the alloy.

So-called “white gold” is generally 18 ct gold blended with another precious metal like palladium, and the final product is coated with rhodium to give the piece a white sheen.

Twenty-four-carat gold is 99,9% pure, but exceptionally soft, and prone to losing its shape, while platinum can be worn in its pure form without threat of damage as it is far more durable.

Mare says people buy platinum jewellery because it is “pure, rare and eternal”, while gold’s attraction lies in its symbolic properties of wealth and long history dating back to ancient cultures. The Inca of Peru called the metal the sweat of the sun.

Buying gold also has a strong emotional element, he adds.

Mare believes that it will take time before there is a significant shift in focus in SA to greater use of white metals.

Over the past few months the mass jewellery retail sector has suffered drops in unit sales of up to 30% as higher interest rates and inflation choke consumers’ disposable income.

This mainly comes into play for the impulse buyer who buys a gold ring or chain from a non specialised shop.

The high-end retail sector has been far more resilient, Mare says, noting that buyers of the really pricey items are often not too concerned by high interest rates. “This season, if I were to choose luxury goods to buy, I would purchase jewellery because its value lasts. There is also something more to jewellery as a gift than mere monetary value,” he says.

Jewellery enjoys its greatest sales volumes from engagements and marriages, and before Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day and Christmas. Of these, nuptial purchases are the most stable in tough economic times. – Financial Mail

Click here for coloured gemstones at a wholesale price.

Finding the perfect ring, that fits your budget and style can be time consuming and difficult.

But thanks to Jewellery Replacement Consultants the hassle of finding that perfect ring can be solved. With their highly expert teams of jewellery craftsmen and designers, together with the highest quality materials, you can design and create your own dream engagement ring, or any other jewellery piece you desire.

You are assured that they use only the highest quality, certified diamonds, gemstones, and gold. Jewellery Replacement Consultants produce the best the jewellery industry has to offer at around a quarter of what retail or boutique stores charge.

Jewellery Replacement Consultants allows you to buy the best certified jewellery at the most competitive prices in South Africa.

For engagement rings at a wholesale price. Click here

Women now seem to be moving away from plain wedding bands towards stone-set rings. Simple is out and sparkle is in. Even men are becoming more daring with their rings. A recent survey in the UK found that a quarter of grooms would consider wearing a diamond wedding ring. Men are becoming more design focused and have realised that they don’t have to take just what their wife-to-be wants.

Another recent trend is for the jewellery to be included in the wedding budget and for a much wider range of jewellery than just the traditional ring.Tiaras are becoming more commonplace , with matching earrings and bracelets. As a jewellery company , we have noticed a much greater demand for tiaras and head dresses in the past few years. Some of the designs women want are very traditional , perhaps in the style of royalty in the past. Perhaps the girls want to be a princess on their big day. Another big trend here is for “fascinators” which tend to be feathery creations , perhaps with a few crystals and worn mainly by the mother and female relatives of the bride. Bridesmaids too , have not been forgotten and there is now a whole new niche market in dainty bridesmaids’ jewellery. But whatever the jewellery , most women are looking for classic , understated designs that complement , rather than overwhelm the simple wedding dress.

One difficulty for retailers has been persuading customers to spend money on jewellery such as a tiara which might only be worn for a day. Some retailers have responded by offering to take back intricate pieces after the wedding and have the stones re-set into a completely new piece that they can wear every day.

One thing , however that does not change is colour. Most brides still wear white dresses and so the jewellery has to be pearl or crystal based to complement it. However , the big trends in colour in wedding jewellery have been in the bridesmaid’s outfits and jewellery. Black bridesmaids’ dresses are becoming more popular and need more dramatic jewellery to complement the look. Whereas brides will choose white or ivory pearls for themselves , they will choose coloured pearls or crystals for the bridesmaid.

Where the ring may be bought by the groom , what does the bride-to-be buy? According to the same UK survey mentioned earlier , 62 will buy a necklace or tiara.

So how are retailers responding to these trends? Increasingly , retailers are setting up separate bridal web sites. The more up-market retailers are offering incentives such as a table and a complimentary bottle of champagne in a Michelin-starred restaurant if you place an order with them!

Click here to get wedding rings at a wholesale price.

By: John Cartman

When one considers the price that is attached to precious gemstones like diamonds, the decision to buy one can be rather daunting to say the least. Added to the stress, is the fact that one usually feels completely at a loss when a jeweller starts talking about the different qualities available, carat weight, clarity, cut and so many other terms that can confuse the average person.

To help the average shopper cope with the minefield of diamond shopping, the 4 C’s were implemented to make shopping for diamonds easier. They refer to four important aspects of diamonds and information that should be freely available to the shopper. They are colour, clarity, cut and carat.

Colour

Colour may seem pretty straight-forward, but some people may get a little confused. Colour does, as one can imagine, refer to the colour, or rather lack of colour, of the diamond. The ideal diamond on the one side of the scale is colourless and on the other side of the scale are diamonds with a yellow or brown colour.

For ease of reference, the colours are divided into groups from D – Z. D being the best colour gem (actually colourless) available and Z being the worst. Up until about J and K, the difference in colour is barely perceptible to the untrained eye. From there, the yellow tinge become more and more pronounced.

A colourless diamond enhances its brilliance and fire, allowing light to be refracted and reflected more clearly inside. Coloured diamonds may block or hinder the passage of light and, therefore, have a negative impact on the diamond’s overall beauty. That is not to say that coloured diamonds are not necessarily worth something. Pink, blue, green and intensely yellow diamonds are sometimes sought out by collectors or by people who are looking for something special.

These are referred to as ‘fancy coloured’ diamonds and their prices are usually determined by the intensity of their colour. Some of these diamonds, like the pink ones, are extremely rare, and may fetch prices high above that of a diamond that has a colour designated as ‘D’.

Clarity

This is perhaps one of the hardest of the characteristics for the average person to judge. Before an explanation of clarity is attempted, it is important to mention that clarity, on average, does not really affect the beauty of the gem, but the price. Only the low grades of clarity will be visible to the naked eye.

Clarity is a measure of how clear and pure the diamond is. Diamonds do not form in a vacuum and few diamonds are perfect. Inclusions like non-crystallised carbon, small cracks or air bubbles sometimes do appear in the diamond and can have a detrimental effect on the diamond’s ability to reflect or refract light.

The clarity of a diamond is determined by what is visible at 10x magnification. To make it easier, there are 11 grades of clarity that are used to describe any diamond. Generally, nothing under the SI1 or SI2 grade are usually for sale as gemstones.

It is important to note that the brilliant round cut is much better for gems that have low clarity. The emerald cut, since it has larger facets, is more likely to show inclusions. The emerald cut is usually best for diamonds with great clarity.

Carat

This characteristic refers to the weight of the stone. The word comes from the carob seed as one carat weighs about as much as one seed. The official weight for one carat is about 200 milligrams. So a diamond that weighs one gram would be a 5 carat diamond!

Carats are also divided into points. One point is equal to a hundredth of a carat. The points are very important for diamonds under one carat.

As can be expected, larger diamonds are worth more. The more carats a diamond is, the more one can expect to pay for it. Bear in mind, however, that two diamonds of the same carat may not be worth the same amount, since their clarity, colour and cut could differ significantly.

When buying a diamond, it is important that one get the exact point size. Jewellers will often try to give you an estimate but insist on the exact size – they do have it. There is a big difference in price just between a 0.90 carat diamond and a 1 carat diamond.

Cut

This is the only characteristic that is determined by man and not by nature. Many people confuse cut with shape. While the cut does have an effect on the shape of the diamond, the cut refers to how the facets have been cut to enhance the stone’s natural brilliance and fire. The cut can have a profound effect on the price of a stone.

Visually, the cut will determine the shape of diamond and how it ’sparkles’. A stone that is cut too deep will cause light to escape from the sides and make the stone appear dark. A stone that is cut too shallow will have light escaping from the bottom of the stone, making it appear glassy and dull.

A good rule of thumb it ask the jeweller what the table percentage of the gem is. A good percentage is between 55% and 60%. This may differ, of course, since the shape of the uncut stone, inclusions (clarity) and the carat may affect how the stone had to be cut to appear as beautiful as possible.

An expert jeweller obviously goes far beyond these simple aspects when appraising a diamond. For the average person who wants to buy a diamond, however, they are useful guidelines. A jeweller appreciates dealing with a client who has some knowledge of what they want to buy.

Remember, if unsure, just ask. Diamonds are expensive and one can never be too careful to make sure that the best purchase is made.

Click here for diamond rings at a wholesale price.

Taking the time and effort to find the perfect gift for that someone special can be daunting and expensive. But no one can deny the timeless appeal of a gift of jewellery. Whether it is a simple gold necklace, diamond ring or pearl bracelet, at Jewellery Replacement Consultants you will be guaranteed to find that perfect Christmas gift and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg!

Our extensive collection of exquisitely designed, high quality jewellery is crafted by our team of jewellery experts using only the best materials, certified diamonds and gemstones. You can be assured that your gift will be treasured for time to come.

We at Jewellery Replacement Consultants also allow our clients to be involved in the design process. You can design and create your own jewellery piece and we will make you the ring, bracelet, pendant or brooch of your dreams. Visit us and see that we offer best the jewellery industry has to offer at around a quarter of what retail or boutique jewellery stores charge.

So get your Christmas shopping done early this year and enjoy the festive season knowing you have the perfect gift for your loved ones.

Click here for diamond jewellery at a wholesale price.