The Big Diamonds Still Sell
Posted on | October 16, 2008 | No Comments
Check out what happened yesterday at Christie’s New York…
NEW YORK (AFP) — Two giant diamonds sold for more than six million dollars at auction Wednesday to a Middle Eastern buyer, bucking a wave of gloom that has taken the shine off luxury sales.
The Ponahalo diamonds, mined in South Africa and named after a tribal word meaning “vision,” sold at Christie’s in New York at the end of an auction overshadowed by massive losses on world stock markets.
The Ponahalo weighed 316 carats when discovered in its rough form in 2005. Two separate diamonds were cut, weighing 70.87 and 102.11 carats, about the size and shape of chocolates.
The first sold for 2.15 million dollars, including commission, and the second for a total of 4.11 million dollars after a bidding war that within seconds jacked up the cost by a million dollars.
Although the winning bid came in anonymously to a telephone operator in the packed auction room, the buyer was apparently so proud that he wanted to be revealed.
“The buyer of the diamond was Mr Amer Radwan of Dubai and he has asked us to relate to you that he purchased this diamond,” auctioneer Rahul Kadakia announced, prompting surprised laughter and a few gasps.
“Dubai, of course Dubai,” a tall, tanned and expensively dressed woman muttered knowingly.
The dramatic sale of the two stones came on a day of price collapses on world stock markets and growing fears of recession in the United States.
On Wall Street, a short bus ride from Christie’s in Manhattan, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 733.08 points, or 7.87 percent to 8,577.91.
This was the worst one-day point loss since last month’s record 777-point decline and the steepest percentage drop since 1987.
The diamond industry now fears a painful end to the year, typically the season when dealers and sellers earn most of their money through Christmas and other holiday spending.
“The now inevitable economic slowdown will impact the entire diamond pipeline,” the industry website idexonline.com said Wednesday.
One dealer attending the Christie’s auction said the market is “dead.”
“There’s no two ways about it. It’s totally different to three months ago,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The auction, which covered everything from Tiffany bracelets to gem-encrusted Montblanc fountain pens, grossed about 29.7 million dollars, Christie’s said.
This was short of the expected 35 million dollar haul.
A higher proportion than usual of items under the hammer failed to sell and several of the most glamorous pieces — such as a piece the catalogue described as a “sensational diamond necklace” — were withdrawn altogether.
But auctioneer Francois Curiel looked on the bright side.
“It’s huge if you think that in a few hours today nearly 30 million dollars worth of diamonds sold in what are hardly great market conditions,” he told AFP.
The Ponahalos, he said, might be a girl’s best friend — or an investor’s.
Gisele Bundchen’s jewels also did fairly well. Her yellow diamond ring which had a high estimate of $20,000 went for $30,000.
“Given the volatility of the markets lots of people are looking for portable assets. You can have a house, pictures, stocks, bonds, but with these you have six and a half million dollars you can just put in your pocket.”
Tags: auction > Christie's > diamonds > dubai > gisele bundchen > joe the plumber > Ponahalo diamonds
Diamonds as an Investment
Posted on | October 4, 2008 | No Comments
Stocks are in the toilet, real estate is going down, and even the commodities market is too volatile to stay invested. Our positions in gold and other metals are short term, and I would not recommend holding gold at this point. So what about diamonds? There will always be a demand for them and it’s a safe place to be. Contact me to ask about investing in diamonds – you will make a return on your investment, which is more than any financial adviser, broker, hedge fund manager, or anyone can give you. BIG DIAMONDS are out there and now is the time to buy them right.
Take a look at what Martin Rapaport says about the diamond world. This guy basically makes the market in white diamonds with his monthly publication and the “RAP SHEET” which is the holy grail of diamond pricing. He’ll tell you that he only reports on the diamond market and doesn’t set the prices. I’m not so sure about that one. Anyway, he’s a smart guy who is saying in this video what we’ve been preaching here at Samuelson’s Diamonds. Luxury is a thing of the past! We don’t have a chandelier and we’re not gonna give you an latte when you come in, but we will take care of you and sell you honest value. Check it out:
Now is the time to buy…
Crazy Times in the Jewelry World
Posted on | October 2, 2008 | 2 Comments
The jewelry industry, like most other retail sectors, is really feeling the hit of this economy. Check out this article about the what the wealthy want to spend this Christmas. Nothing makes sense. Of course retail sales are pretty slow, but in this economy there is money to be made if you can lay out the cash and buy right. Our buying business is very brisk. Everyone wants to sell their stuff. Gold is trading pretty high right now so we’ve seen a lot of customers coming out of the woodworks selling large volumes of coins and bullion. Happy to buy that stuff and flip it right away. You would think that with the market down 350 today (and going down for weeks) that gold would shoot up. Well, today gold was down a big $34, almost 4%. Platinum is down to $970 an ounce – was at $2300 not too long ago. It’s unheard of that it’s almost at the same level as gold. The gold price is directly related to the strength of the dollar which is why it went down today, but I have never seen these types of swings in precious metals. How about silver, at $21 an ounce in March, now at $10.85. It is a wild time. OK, maybe it’s not that crazy – but here you go:
More Scalping for Tickets
Posted on | September 27, 2008 | No Comments
It’s a tough year, so everyone is either selling their diamonds or selling their high holiday tickets this year. Take a look at this video – this will be going on all around the country…
Do You Have Your High Holiday Tickets?
Posted on | September 24, 2008 | 1 Comment
Well, it’s the High Holidays and I don’t know about you, but I have my tickets. For those of you who are not members of The Tribe, maybe this video will explain how modern American Jews celebrate Rosh Hashana – pretty much the only time they go to temple. In this scene, Larry is trying to get High Holiday tickets from a scalper – it’s great. Also in this scene is Larry answering the phone while having sex. While I have never had to scalp my seats (yet), I can’t say I haven’t done the latter – here’s a tip, turn your phone on silent…
So many similarities between his character and my life – wait till you see the next one I got…
Best of Baltimore
Posted on | September 17, 2008 | 1 Comment
I got an email from a friend of mine today that we were chosen “Best Place to Get an Engagement Ring” by the City Paper. I had no idea. The crazy thing was that their write up was perfect to our brand. If I were to tell them exactly what to write in the article, I wouldn’t have been able to get it like they did. This guy must have bought a ring from me. Check it out:
Best Place to Get An Engagement Ring
Samuelson’s Diamonds – 426 W. Baltimore St., (410) 837-0290, www.SamuelsonsDiamonds.com
“You can head out to a mall, or break your bank in NYC, but if you’re getting married in Baltimore, just hop on the bus and buy your ring on Baltimore Street. The latest of three generations of Samuelsons has moved the store into the 21st century while keeping it simple. They don’t breathe down your neck, they don’t spend a lot of money prettying the place up (although there are plans for upgrading), but the options are there: If you want less expensive, they’ve got less expensive. If you want class, there’s that, too. And if you don’t know anything about rings, they won’t make you feel like an idiot. But maybe you were an idiot for getting hitched to begin with. In that event, Samuelson’s isn’t a bad place to sell your ring either.”
Does it get any better than that?
Well, not to brag, but here’s the feature in Baltimore Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 Rising Stars Issue:
Ron Samuelson, 35
Jewelry Entrepreneur
“When Ron Samuelson took over the 72-year-old family pawn business in the mid-1990s, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to explore new opportunities for the operation. In 1997, after studying the jewelry business, he launched the website samuelsonsdiamonds.com to drum up interest in the store.
The site brings diamond buyers and sellers to the downtown location from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, and has been a major driver of sales traffic—especially from young men looking for engagement rings, Samuelson says. Now he’s a developer, too: As part of the Westside renaissance, the Samuelson family—which includes his father and brother-in-law, also in the jewelry business—is redeveloping the 400 block of W. Baltimore Street in partnership with David S. Brown and A&R developers. Samuelson says he is proud that he has been able to maintain the business his grandfather started, and at the same time move it in a new direction.
“I love diamonds,” he says. “I love selling jewelry, and I’ve seen how the Internet drives everything that we do here.”
Now if Jerry Garcia would come back for one more show…
FeinFest 2008
Posted on | September 15, 2008 | No Comments
Saturday night we put on a concert at the 8 x 10 Club for The Feinglass Foundation. It was a great time and we raised a lot of money for the cause. The Bridge were outstanding. Not only are these guys talented musicians, but they are really nice guys. Such mensches. Please check out their website and support them. It was also great to see everyone (even my parents) there having fun. Check out this awesome video by Farmer’s Tan Productions of my band playing with Cris Jacobs of The Bridge:
Look how great those lights look! James Curran of Melt Lighting donated his time and awesome lights. It was unreal! And of course a big thanks to all of the corporate sponsors who can be found here.
Next year, bigger and better!
Feinfest 2008, Shrimp Incident
Posted on | September 11, 2008 | No Comments
Wow – two posts in two days! There’s a lot going on around here. Saturday night my band, Heller Highwater, open for The Bridge in a fund raiser for The Dr. Michael Feinglass Cancer Foundation – a great cause in honor of my best friend, Mike, who lost his battle to colon cancer at the age of 30. Should be a great event. On one hand, I can’t wait. On the other, I want to get it over with. I have a Larry David thing going on with my neurosis. I even had a shrimp argument with the nice people at Joey Chiu’s in Greenspring Station. Apparently when you get carry out, they give you FIVE shrimp. When you eat there, they give SEVEN. What’s up with that? They also leave the tails on which is annoying. I like a big and ample amount of jumbo shrimp in my Chinese food. Ten is the right number which you will get at Jasmine. I banned Chiu’s for a while, but now I’m back only because it’s so convenient.
Anyway, The Bridge rock. Check em out here
Recap of Miss Internet
Posted on | September 10, 2008 | No Comments
So Florida was great. Actually did some business there on Friday and then off to the Miss Internet Pageant. We had a blast. My friend, Kara Lee, was the winner. What a party.
Here's the winner
Check out this video I did with Kara in the store back in October.
Saturday night Feinfest 2008 where my band opens for The Bridge. Stay tuned…
Saw Some Music, Off to Florida
Posted on | September 3, 2008 | 4 Comments
Went up to Hershey Park to see one of my favorite bands, The Allman Brothers, with Bob Weir opening. Walked into the venue while Bobby was playing a smokin’ version of Estimated Prophet. He’s been sounding better lately, but of course we all miss Jerry – nothing is the same. As far the the Allmans go, missed them at The Beacon this year because Gregg was sick. He sounded just fine. Warren Haynes might be the best guitar player out there.
Check out this video where Warren dusts Trey’s whole bag of tricks…
Tomorrow, my wife Laura and I are off to Florida for the Miss Internet Pageant. Actually, I am judging the pageant through a buddy of mine who is the owner/creator. It should be very interesting to say the least. Of course being the diamond guy at the beauty pageant only happens when you’re married with two kids, right?
Here’s a video we took the last time I was in Florida. Professional? No. Fun? Hell yeah!
What will be next??
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