Plenty of news this week in the jewelry industry. It was reported that Hans Stern (a.k.a. H. Stern) passed away at the age of 85. H. Stern was known as the "king of colored gemstones". Stern was born in Essen Germany however, left Germany at the age of 17 on the heels of World War II and fled to Brazil. I think of H. Stern as somewhat of an Indiana Jones type of fellow. He was at heart, a treasure seeker and made his mark hunting down colored gemstones such as; tourmaline, topaz and semi-precious stones.

He quickly made friends with the miners (inland) by way of visiting them via horseback. He became known as the "father" of the gem export business in Brazil and eventually ended up building a brand known worldwide as H. Stern with 160 stores located in Brazil and franchises in 26 countries.

Visiting an H. Stern store, one could see that Hans was a truly colorful and brilliant man. He will be missed and hopefully one day someone in Hollywood just might produce a movie about the German immigrant, who found his way to Brazil and succeeded in building a Gemstone Empire.

There's some good news for watch and jewelry manufacturer's around the globe. It seems that consumer's just can't get enough of "telling time" and wearing shiny things. The jewelry and watch sector has grown by 21% (in sales) during the third quarter of 2007. The total rake on watches and jewelry accounted for $28.4 billion in sales.

Just when it seems that the economy is slowing down, consumer's continue to "heat it up" by purchasing luxury goods. I think at times we might want to keep focusing on the "good news" in the jewelry and watch sector, as opposed to receiving speculative reporting of where analysts think the economy is heading.

It's not too often that one celebrates the death of others, by coming up with a few interesting jewelry designs for the Day of the Dead. D-Day in Mexico is "celebrated" (for lack of a better term) throughout Mexico. It is also known as Dia de los Muertos and there's now a jewelry line available, which boasts skulls with lively gemstones is available in silver and gold. It's a tradition in Mexico to trade gifts with a skull theme.

In other news, Harry Winston is offering a reward of $352,000.00 Euros to anyone who can "break the case" (so to speak) and offer up information as to the return of of over 11 Million Euros in jewelry stolen from the Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris on October 6th. I hope Harry was insured.

Will there be a Christmas this year for kids? Good question, as the recalls of Chinese manufactured toys and jewelry are appearing in the news on a daily basis. It's what we (and many have said all along), stop importing goods from China and begin manufacturing goods in the United States.

Is it not about time that U.S. based companies set up manufacturing facilities in the United States, employ Americans and pump money back into our own economy? Yes, it might cost more for goods due to paying fair wages and the cost of manufacturing those goods but, is not time to start seeing "Made in America" stamps on jewelry and products on the shelves of stores in this country? Feel free to vent on this issue right here on JewelryBlogger.com.

Well, gold has topped off at $780.00 per ounce this week and oil has soared to $92.00 a barrel. Looks like analysts might be right in that oil may climb to over $100.00 a barrel by the New Year. I'd put my money in gold and oil, as it seems there may be no in end sight for these two commodities.

First, we had Blood Diamonds (the movie), what's next - Blood Rubies? Nothing new on this front, as the world's consumption of diamonds and rubies continues to increase, as does the injustice for those who are subject to human rights violations in the quest for power and money via the human resources of others.

While there's an embargo in place for the import of Burmese Rubies into the United States (imposed by the U.S. government dating back to 2003) it seems that a nice little loophole put in place (by none other) than our own U.S. Customs, allows imports of Burmese Rubies into the United States, if the stones are cut and polished in a third-party country. Is it not time to close the loophole on this one? The United States should be setting the standard on this issue and not be a contributor to funding a government, which beats its people into submission.

For those who like pretty things but, have sticky fingers. We have a story out of Coral Springs, Florida about a 74 year old lady who likes to steal jewelry and then exchange the stolen pieces for like pieces in her own size - from the same jewelry store. It appears as though Doris Stein has a taste for jewelry but, never seems to make it to the cash register with her purchases. While she was caught on videotape (in the act) and was busted, the jewelry store did NOT press charges - Kudos to the Coral Springs Jewelry Store for not pressing charges!

I can think of many places to build the World Jewelry Center however, one of them would NOT be Las Vegas. I'm wondering who came up with this idea and just why would anyone want to add another gambling joint to the strip?

I could think of a few places, which could have added the fifty-story high building to their skyline - like maybe -New York? The World Jewelry Center has been designated as a "Free Trade Zone" (I'd like to know how they pulled that one off) and will boast additional security (good thing, as what happens in Vegas - doesn't always stay in Vegas). For those who like to live where they work, the building comes replete with 90 luxury condominiums on the top floors. Once it's completed, it might be a good thing to visit the lobby and see who in this business can afford such luxury.

Anyone remember who Martin Frankel is? This is the guy who lived in a mansion in Connecticut and operated a huge (I mean HUGE!) scheme to defraud just about anyone who flocked to his door. The story had all the elements for a great movie, the shuffling of millions of dollars of loose diamonds, connections with the Vatican, insurance companies and a "great chase" that led authorities throughout Europe. Martin was a busy man with a penchant for fine jewelry and gems. The 570 diamonds they caught him with were sold at auction in 2004 however, a few pieces of Tiffany jewelry are about to be auctioned off on eBay.

Frankel was sentenced to 18 years in 1999. One has to wonder if there are any more diamonds and gem treasures hidden somewhere in Europe, however, Hans is no longer with us, so that mystery may never be solved.