.    With more disposable income becoming available to them every year, young Chinese couples are willing to invest much more in their wedding ceremony and wedding bands are naturally the most important item on their purchase list. Thanks to the great advertising thrust by De Beers, solitaire diamond rings are de riguer for engagements and platinum gained by association, as the metal is the favourite setting for the precious stone and then when it is time to choose a ring for the nuptials, platinum naturally has been scoring as the first choice. Also increasingly, Chinese couples have been opting for his and hers weddii! bands in platinum with matchi designs to symbolise the eternity of their love and the bond of marriage. In fact, riding on this trend, China launched its first bridal collection in March 2005.

.    Wedding jewellery in India is quite different from that anywhere else in the world. In fact, Indian weddings themselves are quite different from those performed anywhere else in the world. Where nuptials in other countries are joyous celebrations of two people coming together for life, in India, it is a bit different as the marriage celebrates the coming together of not only two people but two entire clans and consequently, the ceremony is less of a wedding and more of an extravaganza that typically stretches over several days of festivities. Naturally, bridal jewellery too tends to be a bit over the top.
.    The heavy and elaborate designs for wedding jewellery still tend to favour gold and ornate diamond and gem studded pieces. However, in the major cities, among the urban elite and the yuppie crowd, a new trend seems to be taking shape that shows a nascent preference for a more contemporary look with simple, elegant and more wearable designs that are more versatile in adapting to different occasions. In bridal jewellery collections, platinum is increasingly popular as the metal of choice for solitaire rings, plain bands and eternity bands and the designs are more classic and modern rather than traditionally Indian.

    Consumer demand has led major manufacturers to produce a wide range of platinum designs and platinum is proving to be very popular among Italian celebrities as well. Favourite designs include classic "D" cross section rings, a slimmer, full round cross section "francesina" ring or a higher domed "mantovana" ring. Fluid, interwoven and sleek shapes and new surfaces - satin, hammered and faceted - are becoming more fashionable now and the platinum wedding ring is seen as a declaration not only of love, but of taste, style, personality and character.

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    In Germany too, platinum, especially with diamonds is the definitive choice for every bride's big day. They seem to be a natural choice as platinum and diamonds seem to be aesthetically made for each other as they mutually enhance each other's appearance in jewellery. Then there is the added notional value of both sharing the same attributes of rarity and longevity. Of course, in Germany the fashion trend in jewels is always more individualistic and in a sense different from that of the other major centres, so Germans are quite enthusiastic about teaming platinum with coloured stones and they do it with a style and panache that belies the innovative edge of their creation, rather making it seem like a natural match.

    Belying its normally stodgy image, the United Kingdom is actually proving to be quite adventurous in its choice of ring styles. Of course, the UK consumer about to take the plunge into a life of wedded bliss does have a wide array of platinum ring styles to choose from, both traditional and contemporary. The plain platinum court band remains a style classic for brides and grooms, however concave profiles are gaining attention, as well as cutouts. Trends include diamond set wedding bands for both men and women and colour stones are also emerging as viable choices. The demand for platinum jewellery, among men especially, seems to be fuelled in part by David Beckham's platinum and diamond earrings. Whatever Becks does is the next hottest trend after all.

    The USA too is greatly influenced by celebrity style and the crush of top flight jewellers falling over themselves to loan their big ticket items to stars for Oscar Night is evidence enough. Nicole Kidman wore chandelier earrings for the first time to the Oscars some years and the trend is still going stro Morgan Freeman accepting! Oscar wearing a platinum i| diamond ring and ear hoops i equally send the men to the stoi for sure. However, platinum popularity as the metal to seal marriage with was secured the day Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston exchanged their vows with custom made Damiani platinum al diamond bands. That marriage might be over but the American fascinali with platinum wedding jewels promises to be an enduring affair.

    Sworovski, the world's lading name for cut crystal, has staunched its trend defining usiness magazine Crystallized™, that not only presents the latest lifting edge of fashion and style utalso news, views and interviews of renowned iternational luminaries in the eld of fashion, style and art, which are after all interconnected lisciplines.
    The biannually produced nagazine, which targets fashion pinion leaders, designers and ne media as well as Swarovski's luge client list interprets and to inextent, anticipates the Spring-iummerand Fall-Winter trends for jach coming season, hese analyses and predictionsare not just the opinions or inspired guesswork of some fashion guru, but really the result of accumulated research done by Swarovski in co-operation

    The latest Crystallized™ focuses on Spring Summer 2006 and contains four fashion stories related to high fashion, lingerie and swimwear, fashion jewellery, and urban street wear. What is new is the special emphasis on lingerie and swimwear, a recent field for the company's segment marketing. This is the result of the emerging crossovertrends where intimate garments are "coming out" in style, dripping with glittering crystals.

    As always, the coming season's fashion focus is broken down into five component trendsthat define the wearers' personalities and make extreme statements about moods, desires and innermost thoughts. These are Direkt, Liquid Sunshine, Acid Candy, Light and Shadow, and Grand Hotel.

    Direkt is a tribute to the awakening of the young and creative spirits of Eastern Europe and progressive Berlin. This trend strips objects to their very core. Design, decor, shapes are all geometric; colours are metallic in blues, greys and ambers thatevoke the precision of the past and futuristic tomorrow. The Direkt crystal approach embodies plain, crystallised geometric shapes, 3-D effects, faceted and angular with colours in White Alabaster, Padparadscha, Sapphire, Black Diamond, Crystal Metallic Blue, Emerald, Crystal Dorado and Jet.

    Liquid Sunshine, in direct contrast, is a trend for unabashed pleasure seekers and is evocative of the juicy hues of tropical fruit, the bejewelled sea and the perfect sunset. Colours and textures combine tocelebrate the luxuriance of the tropical environment and the rich spiciness of food in the sun drenched lands of the tropics and recalls the vibrance of colourful fruit and vegetable markets.

    Liquid Sunshine uses crystal to underline natural reflections, dewdrops and the mysteries of opal, turquoise and smoked topaz. It reflects the tones of rich tropical fruit and creates ethnic touches,dangling jewellery, amulets and large brooches in the trend colours of Crystal, 1 Topaz, Silk/Peach Pearl, Fire Opal, Pacific Opal, Turquoise, Light Smoked Topaz/Copper Pearl, Jet Nut/Brown Pearl,

    Acid Candy is all aboutfui with a sharp edge to it. It is at recapturing the innocence of childhood and redefining it with a sharp and very adult flavour to eate a mixture of baroque and virtual world of neon colours ind playful shapes, a harbour of Used dreams and the safety of in innocent protected age. This trend is all about tangy imptations that recall the sweet id taste of hard candy incealing a tingling sherbet centre, Acid Candy as defined by crystal alludes to crystal broidery in soft colours. apes are small and delicate, girlhood dreams in pearls nd hearts and teardrops, in colours like Hyacinth, Silk, Violet and Jonquil.

    Light and Shadow is about alm, balance and harmony; a iiand yang of colours, shapes and atmospheres. Ethnic motifs convey an ordered universe so attractive in these troubled times. Garments and decor are elegant and understated, and inspire pure unhurried thoughts, Light and Shadow is interpreted in crystal by blending alabasters and jets with khakis, silk and shadowy amber in a selection of crystal shapes designed to reflect this harmonious theme.
    Grand Hotel is a lavish statement about the glamour and decadence of the Belle Epoch. It transports one to the glittering French Riviera of the 1920s where elegance and eroticism made time stand still and where too much glamour could never be enough. It is a world where brocade and satin glitter with diamonds and shimmer with opals and pearls; where only the flick of a feather boa or a jewel-encrusted Chinese fan has the power to disturb the lusciously languid atmosphere ofthe Grand Hotel. Like the Grand Hotel itself, crystal is omnipresent in this trend, combined with other noble materials, cast into opulent jewellery, chandelier earrings and cascades of necklaces, often mixing pearls with crystals. Padparadscha, Aquamarine, Pacific Opal, Black Diamond and shadow Crystal are among the colours illustrating this trend.

    Each new component in the Swarovski collection is the result of innovation and creativity by the company's dedicated and fashion forward design team. The new Metro Pendant, androgynous flower power from the swinging sixties, is a statement abouttoday's metrosexual tendencies.

    Swarovski's creative partnership with fashion goes back more than a century. The investment in trend research andthe company's co-operation ff with leading international experts to first define the trends and then to transform these concepts into a versatile range of trend-oriented loose components and semi finished products have proved to be an enduring and extremely successful marketing tool in the long run and have seen the widespread application of crystals on practically everything from underwearto leather, and furnishing to packaging, thus ensuring that crystals remain a lucrative money spinner for this Austrian company that has always maintained its leadership edge in its segment of the industry.

    The Sightholder system, as treated by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) may be much criticised all over the world, within and outside the diamond industry, but the fact is that it is an extremely successful marketing model and has allowed the DTC to maintain its monopolistic hold over the trade for decades thus ensuring that the price of diamonds remains at a stable high without adverse reactions to negative market forces.
    It has been said that the price of diamonds thus maintained is actually artificially high, because diamonds, public perception notwithstanding, are actually quite abundantly available. June 2005
    In comparison, other gemstones, deemed semi precious by an archaic grading system, sell for less than they are worth in spite of their rarity in nature, simply because there is no proper marketing system in place to protect pricing and ensure steady supplies, which is so essential for maintaining production and consumer interest.

    Now TanzaniteOne Ltd., has decided to take a leaf out of the DTC's book and has announced a Sightholder system of its own. The announcement was first made at the Tucson Gem Show in February this year and on May 16, it announced the names of its first set of Sightholders.
    "The Preferred Supply Strategy, which is a world first in thecoloured gemstone industry, aims to grow the global market fortanzanite through strategic collaborative relationships with exclusive customers, 'Sightholders', selected from the world's leading gemstone houses and jewellery manufacturers" said President and Chief Operating Officer, lan Harebottle, "Sightholders have been chosen for their focus on tanzanite, ability to make a long-term commitment, distribution capabilities, understanding of the need for vertical integration and most importantly their operational standards of integrity and therefore, their belief in and ommitment tosupporting an ethical route to market and growth of the market as a whole."

    "TanzaniteOne believes firmly in the power of partnering with its customers," says Candice Nunn, President of TanzaniteOne Marketing Ltd, the rough marketing arm of the TanzaniteOne Group, "The basis of these partnerships istransparency and consistency; two elements that will flow through to the broader tanzanite industry and which are critical to both the partnership's and the industry's continued success."

    TanzaniteOne has initially appointed six Sightholders, with plans to increase this number in the medium term. These initial six Sightholders are:

    Tanzanite International
    Tanzanite International opened its first store in 1996. It currently operates 22 speciality tanzanite jewellery outlets in the Caribbean, Mexico and Alaska. The company purchases rough tanzanite; cuts and polishes, predominantly in Tanzania, and designs and manufactures tanzanite jewellery.

    The Tanzanite Company
    The Tanzanite Company is TanzaniteOne's international manufacturer, distributor and marketer of top quality tanzanite gemstones and branded tanzanite jewellery. The Tanzanite Company has offices in Europe, Africa and the Far East.

    Sightholder, Sunil Agrawal, CEO of STS Jewels, commented, "We are thrilled to have been selected as one of the first TanzaniteOne Sightholders. Our commitment to tanzanite is enhanced by this appointment and we look forward to honouring this commitment through a long term partnership with TanzaniteOne".

    TanzaniteOne is the holding company of a focused, vertically integrated group involved an t'ne mining and marketing of the rare gemstone tanzanite. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, TanzaniteOne Mining, the Company is the world's leading producer of tanzanite, holding extensive mining and prospecting licences over a large portion of the world's only known tanzanite producing area.

    Discovered in 1967, in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, at the site that remains the world's only known source, tanzanite has been described as 'a geological phenomenon'. Tanzanite is a rare gemstone variety of the mineral zoisite. With its exquisite violet-blue hues and incomparable rarity,tanzanite is recognised as a mainstream gemstone, competing with the likes of ruby, emerald and sapphire. In geological terms it is at least 1,000 times rarer than diamonds.

    TanzaniteOne has developed one of the world's most modern, coloured gemstone mining operations, investing more than US$20m in mine development to build an effective, modern, low cost operation with an exemplary safety record. The processing plant is currently operating at approximately 20% of capacity, with production of tanzanite expected to continue ramping up. TanzaniteOne currently markets both rough and polished tanzanite and has developed separate and specific strategies for each. The worldwide market for rough tanzanite is estimated to be worth around US$100 million per annum. The worldwide market for wholesale polished tanzanite is estimated to be between US$150-US$200 million a year, with margins between rough and polished typically around 30%. Such margins can be increased through branding and promotion. TanzaniteOne has cutting and polishing facilities in Tanzania and South Africa.

    TanzaniteOne operates its polished marketing and set jewellery business through The Tanzanite Company, a wholly owned subsidiary that, as a Sightholder, purchases rough tanzanite from the Company, as well as purchasing polished tanzanite on the open market. TanzaniteOne is developing new markets for its polished tanzanite and, as part of this process, has recently incorporated a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and is expanding into continental Europe. The Company has developed a range of tanzanite jewellery branded 'Tanzanite BLUE'. Initial test marketing by The Tanzanite Company has been encouraging.

    In order to meet consumer demand for a 'clear conscience' product, TanzaniteOne has pioneered the Tanzanite Foundation™. The Tanzanite Foundation™ is an industry-supported, non-profit organisation, which performs several important functions; it is the primary vehicle for the promotion of tanzanite and is a conduit for the Company's social investment and community projects within the tanzanite producing area in northern Tanzania. The Tanzanite Foundation™ grades, certifies and hallmarks polished tanzanite, assuring consumers that the tanzanite the journey from mine to market with integrity and adherence to social and environmental ethics.

    Clearly, TanzaniteOne has been doing its homework and studying the De Beers model very closely and is now structuring itself vertically through every stage of the tanzanite pipeline. Like De Beers it too will have monopolistic control over the sales of its particular mineral. However, whether it will last as long as De Beers is a question best left to nature as compared to diamonds, the reserves of tanzanite are definitely very limited.