November Sales from the Majors:

Neiman Marcus down 11.9% – 28% in October

Saks down 5.2%

Macy’s down 13.3%

Zales and Kay’s tanked also.

BLUE NILE down 3% in Q3 – doesn’t sound like a lot but this is a company who was experiencing double digit growth for years.  We follow them very closely.

Stay tuned for the 4th quarter numbers to come out very soon – they won’t be pretty.  As for Samuelson’s Diamonds, we did just fine because we’re buying right – and that’s the key in these down times.  Use it as an opportunity to buy for cheap.  Then when the market comes back, which it will eventually, we’ll be in good shape.

I was walking though the mall last week and saw some crazy stuff.  Take a look at these retailers that are either closing up or marking stuff WAY DOWN after Christmas.  Whitehall Jewelers is done – Zales, Kay, Shaw’s and others are all trying to get rid of excess inventory.

Whitehall closes all 373 stores

Shaw's clearing out

Blowout at Zales

Piercing Pagoda is Zales

Oh well, what can you do but laugh about it.

Here’s another question.  These days, everyone is into texting and emailing rather than calling.  When is it appropraite to text or email, and when you do have to call?  Is a condolence email ok?  How about a get well text?  I mean, you were thinking of them even if you don’t actually call.  I guess it depends on the situation.  I texted a friend “Sorry to hear about your dog” and they were appreciative.  But then again, it was a dog.  Comment and tell me what you think – call, email or text?

From WSJ:

Hedcut

“Ron Samuelson, 36, is still smarting after being unfriended a month ago. The chief executive of jewelry retailer Samuelson’s Diamonds Inc. in Baltimore, Md., tried to view the profile of one of his Facebook friends — only to find his access was limited because they weren’t friends anymore.

Insulted, Mr. Samuelson wondered if his supposed friend, also a jeweler, feared his profile would give away competitive information, or if he had done it by accident.

It wasn’t long before the missing friend resurfaced, this time requesting to join a private Facebook group Mr. Samuelson had created for jewelers to network with each other. Still hurt, Mr. Samuelson says he hesitated before approving his request, but ultimately “chose to take the high road.” He says he would never get in the habit of unfriending people himself. “Diplomatically, it’s probably not the right thing to do,” says Mr. Samuelson, who has 466 friends on Facebook.

Mr. Samuelson declined to name the fellow jeweler. “I don’t want to burn any bridges,” he says. “He may be a future business contact.”

Well I still did not call him out.

This year has been a great year for us in the media.  Baltimore Magazine, Jewish Times, City Paper “Best of Baltimore”, and now the Wall St Journal - what’s next?

Take a look at my birthday dinner from Tio Pepe.  Mmm lamb chops:

Today, platinum closed at almost the same level as gold. For a while it was trading BELOW gold. Platinum has dropped 64% from a record in March, while gold has dropped 21%. Platinum closed $1.60 an ounce above gold in New York, the smallest spread since at least 1996. Actually, it is used more in cars than in jewelry, which is why it’s down so much.

“When platinum trades at the same value or lower than gold, it is screaming recession,” said Leonard Kaplan, the president of Prospector Asset Management in Evanston, Illinois. “It’s another confirmation that we’re in a deflationary recession, where everything goes down. Who’s going to buy cars in a recession?”

Doesn’t hurt me, but it’s gotta hurt those “luxury” jewelry lines who charge an arm and a leg (even to the jeweler) for their stuff. For the consumer, it’s a good thing.

In the diamond world, check out this big blue diamond that Lawrence Graff just bought at the last Christie’s sale – diamonds are still strong.

The 35.56-carat blue Wittelsbach diamond, which sold for $24.3 million at Christie

Here is the article from National Jewelers Network:

“London: A 35.56-carat blue diamond broke through the financial gloom on Wednesday, setting a new world record price for a diamond sold at auction.

The deep grayish-blue gem, known as the Wittelsbach Diamond, sold for $24.3 million at Christie’s “Jewels: The London Sale,” topping the previous record of $16.5 million set by the sale of a 100-carat diamond in Geneva in 1995.

International jeweler Laurence Graff, of Graff Diamonds, snapped up the gem, outbidding Aleks Paul of Essex Global Trading, a professional of Russian origin based in New York.

The sale also sets a new world record price for any jewel sold at auction.

Francois Curiel, chairman of Christie’s Europe and auctioneer for the sale, said, “In the midst of these challenging times, we were thrilled to achieve a historic price for a historic diamond.”

Officially known as “Der Blaue Wittelsbacher,” the roots of this stone can be traced back to the 17th century.

In 1664, King Philip IV of Spain (1605-1665) included the diamond as part of the dowry of his daughter, Infanta Margarita Teresa (1651-1673), when she became engaged to Leopold I of Austria (1640-1705), a man who later became the Holy Roman Emperor.

The diamond subsequently became part of the Austrian and then the Bavarian crown jewels.

It has been part of a private collection since 1964; Wednesday marked its first offering to the international market in nearly 80 years.”

So buy diamonds! You will be ok, it’s the best investment out there. Contact me to invest in diamonds.

And check out these KIDS who play “You Enjoy Myself” by Phish. They are in MIDDLE SCHOOL – WOW!!

On another Facebook note, back in March I created a page called “Diamonds”. Plain and simple. Put up some pics and wanted to see what would happen. Long story short the page has grown to 90,000 fans. Click here and check it out. I have people from all over the world on this page. Now what to do with it is the big question…stay tuned.

In my next post, I’m hopefully going to post a video showing and talking about a BIG DIAMOND I just bought, but for now you’ll have to settle for a great version of “Stagger Lee” from July 4th, 1989 – Enjoy!

1) He thinks he’s too good for me. He’s got a big fancy store – I’m just a young punk.

2) He’s in his fifties, older and did it by accident.

3) He’s sees me as a threat – taking his customers away through the internet.

4) He didn’t like my facebook page – maybe the girls in bikinis offended him.

Well, I like to think it was #3. If so, he’s missing the boat. He could learn from me as I could from him. In the jewelry biz, a lot of guys are very secretive about their business. They don’t want to give away trade secrets, don’t want to share information, learn from their competition. In the digital world, it seems that everyone is willing to share ideas, through meetings, summits, trade shows, blogs, facebook, twitter, etc.

So what’s the next move? Should I ask him why he dissed me – or should I let his path cross mine one day and see what he has to say? Please comment and tell me what you would do…

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…