Zales

Hello Kitty iPhone Covers Restocked for Valentine's Day

Filed under: Gadgets

Hello Kitty by Simmons Jewelry Co. Crystal iPhone Case (3G/3GS)

You may remember our recent Hello Kitty coverage for the holidays (see Hello Kitty Says Hello Holidays for a fabulous USB drive and more). Back then, Zales was all sold out of their exclusive Hello Kitty iPhone covers (above), but they have restocked for Valentine's Day.

The Hello Kitty by Simmons Jewelry Co. Crystal iPhone Case (3G/3GS) is covered in pink, white, red, black and saffron-colored crystals and carefully crafted to accommodate all the important buttons and ports. This glitzy, look-at-me accessory costs $195 and is the perfect gift for the girliest girl you know. The crystals actually make the iPhone easier to grip -- and harder to lose.

If you're concerned about the sparkles losing their ... sparkle, it's a good idea to include crystal cleaning supplies like the Swarovski Crystal Cleaning Kit ($40 from Always-Forever.com).

Tags: Hello Kitty, HelloKitty, iphone case, IphoneCase, simmons jewelry company, SimmonsJewelryCompany, Zales

Diamond Sales Struggle but Blue Nile Survives

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Although brick-and-mortar diamond retailers are hurting these days online vendors are staying afloat. Stores such as Finlay's, Shane Co, Whitehall and Fortunoff have closed their doors as diamond sales have frozen in the stale economy. Blue Nile, however, has managed to keep consumers' interest with over 60,000 diamonds and hundreds of settings. Their internet approach educates potential buyers without the pressure of a salesperson. Plus, Blue Nile keeps their inventory costs low, which they pass along to customers, by only purchasing diamonds once the consumer has made their order. That means a 20-40% reduction in price over other retailers. Incredibly, Blue Nile has even competed with Tiffany's engagement ring sales. It just goes to show, sometimes the better deal is more important than that little blue box.

Below is a gallery of some of the world's most expensive engagement rings for your viewing pleasure.

Gallery: World's Most Expensive Engagement Rings

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Tags: bluenile, bluenile.com, bluenilediamonds, diamonds, finlay, fortunoff, shane and co, shane co, ShaneAndCo, ShaneCo, whitehall, zales

Zales To Close 115 Stores

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Big jewelry chains are struggling. We've seen Fortunoff head for liquidation and now Zale Corp. has announced that it will close 115 under-performing stores after posting a net loss for its fiscal second quarter. It had a loss of $23.5 million down from a profit of $60.8 million for the same time period last year. Sales were down 17.9 percent from a year ago. Zales plans to cut $175 million from its budget through cost and inventory reductions and is eliminating 245 jobs. Zales has been suffering in an economy that is being particularly unkind to jewelry sales. Also in order to attract buyers, Zales cut prices and the discounts led to a drop in gross margin.

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Tags: diamonds, jewelry, stores, zales

Zale's Offers The Celebration Diamond

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

It's not an easy time for Zale's, the ubiquitous jewelry seller. Jewelry sales are down across board, Zale's is part of the widely circulated e-mail cautioning gift card shoppers, and with a bleak holiday season ahead they have created a couple of new offerings to tempt shoppers.

Zales has also introduced new pendants and charms to show support for the troops including a sterling silver engraved dog tag with the option of 1-3 initials featured on the front face of the tag, a round charm offered in both 14K gold and sterling silver with a choice of service emblem and a sterling silver military cross pendant, again with the choice of branch.

Their big advertising effort is focused on the Celebration Diamond, a new patented diamond cut that features 102 facets. Celebration Diamonds are available in round and princess cuts and each is set in an 18 karat white gold cathedral mounting with platinum prongs and "Celebration" inscribed inside the ring. The complete line includes engagement rings, solitaire earrings, and necklaces with prices from from $1,499 to $44,995. The holiday season is often a popular time for engagements and Zale's is hoping the economy won't scare off the would-be betrothed.

[via Rapaport]

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Tags: celebration diamond, CelebrationDiamond, jewelry, zales