Diamonds & Engagement Rings News

New York, May 19, 2008- Ronald Winston has officially announced his retirement from executive position as Honorary Chairman, at the world renowned Harry Winston Inc. Ronald Winston is the son of Harry Winston, founder of the House, and has been a loyal keeper of the corporation since his father’s death in 1978. His decision for leaving the company is so that he will be able to focus on his interest of medical research on AIDS, as  well as working on his upcoming book, and raising his young son.

The family tradition of creating exquisite watches and diamond jewelry has been extended for 118 years, now being handed over to someone else who will no longer bear the family name. Ronald had followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the family company in 1965. His father had taken after Ronald’s grandfather, learning the jewelry business and later being known as the “King of Diamonds.” 

The firm originally began with only two stores. Once Ronald had taken over the company, it spread out into a worldwide corporation with jewelry sales in the Far East and a successful watch business situated in Switzerland.

Sixty- seven year old Ronald says, “It has been a thrill continuing my father’s tradition and sharing the beauty of the finest gems for so many successful years. With the Harry Winston name in good hands for the future, it’s the right time to focus on other passions such as my groundbreaking medical research and upcoming book project. I wish the company continued success.”

Ronald Winston’s retirement will now help him focus on other everyday activities and to spend time with his family. While being very much involved in his private research on AIDS, he is currently writing a book about his family history called “King of Diamonds.”¼/p>

Troubled Alpha Omega Jewelers is now missing more than its founders.

According to a complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court by the jewelry chain’s chief creditor, $6.6 million of the Boston-area jeweler’s inventory cannot be found, The Boston Globe reported.

While it is unclear whether or not the missing inventory is a result of bookkeeping errors or theft, officials from other jewelry stores who asked not to be named commented to the Globe that it is difficult to lose track of such a large volume of inventory in a well-run jewelry store.

Evidence of the missing merchandise first surfaced in mid December when LaSalle Business Credit, a retail lending arm of Bank of America Corp. and the store’s chief creditor, filed the complaint, said the news source.

But, the litigation was placed on hold after about two weeks because the troubled jeweler filed for bankruptcy, the Globe reported.

In the meantime, a judge ruled on Jan. 4 that Alpha Omega could continue selling merchandise as the bankruptcy case moves forward.

An auction selling off the company’s assets is scheduled to take place around Jan. 24.

The missing merchandise is just the latest in a series of bizarre events to unfold at the once-prosperous chain.

News of Alpha Omega first surfaced in December, when founder and owner Raman Handa and members of his family abruptly left the country amid financial troubles at the company and Handa’s health issues.

Handa has been said to be receiving care in his native India and gave permission via e-mail for the company to file bankruptcy.

The Globe reported that it is not known when or if the Handas will return to the United States.

In the meantime, two consultants brought in earlier this year to help solve the company’s financial woes—Consensus Advisors LLC’s Michael O’Hara and Altman and Co. LLC’s Gordon Lewis III—are running the day-to-day operations of the company.

Its seven Boston-area stores remain open for business.

     There was a survey set up called December online buying survey, here are some of the questions from the survey. Why do people shop online? How do they find items, and what factors are important to them in making purchasing decisions?           

     Ninety-six percent of respondents reside in North America, and it’s important to note that they have a unique perspective: 83% of them sell online.          

      A small percentage of respondents said they shopped online primarily for price (6%). Forty-five said that its better to shop online then going to the mall or traditional retailer was the ability to shop at their convenience. Twenty-seven said it was easier to find what they wanted.          

      Forty percent said that the biggest disadvantage by shopping online was that they couldn’t closely look at the item before purchasing.-Shipping costs (17%)-Risk of non-delivery of item (11%) 

What method they employed most frequently to find items?

-44% said they used search engines

-39% said they went directly to a retail website

-7% used comparison-shopping sites most frequently. 

Which services they used to help them find products?

-90% said they used Google

-20% said they used yahoo 

How satisfied respondents are with their purchase? 

-61% said they were “very satisfied”

-36% said they were “satisfied” 

Holiday Spending          

     Thirteen percent of respondents said they did not shop online this holiday season. Fifty-six percent said they did not have a need, Ten percent said that they could closely inspect then before purchasing. Eight percent  said that its “hard to find what I want online.”

+ 7% shipping costs

+ 5% payment methods accepted

+ 4% risk of non-delivery item

+ 3% slow delivery of item

+ 2% difficulty of returns

+ 2% price

     Eighty-seven percent of respondents did shop inline this holiday season.  

What percentage of shopping they did online this year compared to last year?

-35% said the same

-46% said they did a larger percentage of online shopping this year compared to last year

-19% said that they did a smaller percentage this year compared to last year.

 NOTE: Jewelry & Watches: 16% Shopping Decision- Making 

How often do you use consumer reviews (such as Amazon Buyer Reviews and ebay Reviews and Guide) to help you make your buying decision?

Never: 14%

Rarely: 250%

Sometimes: 32%

Frequently: 33%

 What’s one factory most important when deciding where to shop online?

-Price 20%

-Security 17%

-Well known branded site 11%

-Ease of Transaction 8%

-“I’ve been shopped there before” 8% 

Wrap-up

     Price was not cited as the biggest advantage to shopping online rather, it was the ability to shop at their convenience. Price was an important factor on where to shop online, as was reasonable shipping costs. Getting exposure on search engine would seem critical, whether by natural search (having products and websites show up in search results).

     A whopping 90 percent of respondents used Google to help them find products this holiday shopping season, with Yahoo coming in second place at 22% and comparison shopping sites lagging behind.

            Watch seller Alpha Omega switched to high end jewelry, but with lots of inventory and few customers he was soon on the road to bankruptcy. 

‘’Raman Handa’s was an immigrant success story’’          

     After leaving India and opening a store in Harvard store almost three decades ago, he built his Alpha Omega Jewelers into a well-known chain by showcasing luxury watches from Rolex, TAG Heauer, and Mavado and enticing actors, politicians, and other celebrities to shop in his stores.          

     Later on in life he was temped by the bigger profit margins. He enjoyed the purveyors of fine jewelry.          

     Handa wound up stuck with unsold stock, according to documents filed in the US Bankruptcy Court this week that lay out details of the jeweler’s rise and fall. The value of the inventory soared almost 80 percent, from about $15.1 million at the end of 2002 to about $27 million in the fall of 2007- due to what now looks like an overly ambitious expansion into a new market.          

     Sales went from $35.8 million in 2006 to an anticipated $25 million in 2007.

Unpaid bills began pilling up lastspring.                     

     As there livelihood began to unravel, the Handa family mortgaged their two-arce Lexington estate for $1.5 million last fall, in an effort to restructure Alpha Omega while seeking a buyer or investor.          

     Around December 12^th, Handa admitted himself to a hospital, and a few days later he left the country with his family.( a step that prompted his banker)          

     The company owed more then $12.7 million to suppliers; other then creditors, including The Boston Globe is owed more then $1 million more. This is all according to the bankruptcy filling.          

     The inventory was estimated to be worth $18.7 million on Dec. 31. Which would mean the joint venture’s bid is worth about $12.1 million. The actual value of the inventory is expected to change as items are sold while the auctions proceeds.          

     Alpha Omega expects its stores to be open for business through the end of auction, which is tentatively slated for late January.          

     Acording to Alpha Omega, the top three creditors are Rolex Watch USA Inc., with a $1.46 million claim; The Boston Globe, $1.15 million; $1.15 million; and swatch Group U.S., $665,985.

       “More than any other jeweler I’ve ever seen’’,said, Richard Caso, a manager at De Scenza Diamonds and a member of its advertising board.         

     Alpha Omega spent about $1.9 million on ads in 2006.           Lawyers that are handling Alpha Omega cases said that they have been in touch with Handa with either phone or email since his departure, but since Christmas they have not received updates on his whereabouts or his timetable for returning.          

      Amit and Nidhi Handa, the son and daughter who hold senior positions in the family business, had traveled to England to meet with advisors about restructuring the company, according to the bankruptcy filing. Neither responded to interview requests left on their cell phones and sent online over the past week.            

     On Dec.21, Handa and his wife- the companies sole directors-gave their consent via email to appoint O’Hara as chief restructuring officer and file for bankruptcy protection. They also agreed to bring in inventory liquidation specialists, Tiger Capitol Group LLC, to sell the chain assets.  

          The new management reopened the stores over the next two days and rehired the 100 employees, who days earlier were told they were being laid off.

After shutting it doors shortly before Christmas, and many rumors about the company shut down, Alpha Omega’s four stores all reopened before Christmas Day. The Boston Globe reported .

    The Handa family is no longer running the show , but it is expected that the struggling jewelry chain will soon change hands.          

    The reopening of the stores confused the employees for a couple of days. They were told at one point when the stores shut down that they no longer had a job.          

   A review of Alpha Omega financial record by the globe showed that Handa’s debts were mounting and on Dec.22, his bank took possession of the assets at his stores. 

          As of Thursday, Michael O’Hara was running the daily operations at the Cambridge-based company, though Handa and his wife, Nilma, remained directors of Alpha Omega. Michael O’Hara was an investment banker with a jewelry background.

Alpha Omega Jewelers issued a statement from that he left the country to receive medical treatments, a magazine reports.

      On Thursday,Boston’s blog spot for Boston magazine stated that it had obtained a copy of a letter from Raman Handa, issued by Robert Joy, the company human resources director.

                         ‘’The Alpha Omega Team,’’ states:           

‘’Raman has asked me to communicate to you last week he had taken ill and has traveled to India to seek medical attention and convalesce. We anticipate a quick recovery whereupon he will return to operate the day-to-day functions of Alpha Omega Jewelers.’’

          Handa had left the country on Saturday, although the memo states that Handa communicates with the company management and the office on a daily basis. He had asked his employers to continue working normal. Their was something strange about this because no one had been answering the phones at any Alpha Omegas four Boston locations on Friday.

        It had appeared that the companies website appeared to have been taken down; only a phone number to the company’s corporate head quarters in Cambridge, Mass., was still posted.There was no answer to phone calls at the corporate office and a message left for Joy by National jeweler was not immediately returned.

          Earlier this week there was trouble when employees arriving at the company’s headquarters were confronted by ‘’a consulting group working with the bank ‘’ they were asking many questions about the stores inventories but the group wouldn’t say who they were or which company they were from.            

The newest top two celebrities in New York, Teri Hatcher and Ashton Kutcher are representing luxury watchmaker Baume and Mercier.

As with the brand’s two previous campaigns, all royalties due to the ambassadors both of their photographers will be donated to charities together chosen by the Hollywood stars and watch brand. The new campaigns will support the fight against cancer, under privlaged women and the promotion of child education.

News: The ads featuring Teri Hatcher and Ashton Kutcher will launch on Jan 1. and April 1, respectively.Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger and Gary Sinise were the previous Baume and Mercier Celebrity

 Report says:

The owner of the Alpha Omega jewelry store chain reportedly left the country. They say that he was struggling with financial problems.

According to a report on Boston Magazine’s website, Raman Handa returned to his native India with his family on Saturday after several weeks of rumors about his financial health.

Alpha Omega was very big and recently been a major advertising in several media outlets, (including the Boston globe and Boston magazine). But Dan Scully, the president of Boston magazine had started refusing Alpha ads because he had fallen behind its payments.

Dan Scully had said that he saw a memo that was sent to the employees that Handa had returned to India because of Health reasons.

Alpha is now living in Cambridge and has 2 stores in Harvard Square in the prudential center in Boston mall, and in the Natick collection.

Employees at all four stores said that they were open for business for the Christmas shopping season, although the store in the prudential center closed earlier then other shops. Workers inside covered display cases with sheets, and calls and emails to the office, and to Alpha Omega publicist, and the members of the Handa families weren’t returned.

A sales person at one of the stores said that workers were called by their manager after they clocked out on Tuesday and told them “that something is going on’’ and that in a couple of days they will find out if their going to have new owner or if the store will be closed.

That employee said that they have not seen any memo about Handa leaving the country. She said that it was a usual day of business. All the same employees were told that the store would be closed on Thursday but come in usual time on Friday. All employees are all very sick of everything that’s going on and they hope that somebody buys the place and they all have jobs.

Alpha Omega has been a highly visible advertiser in Boston area newspapers and magazines, often employing ‘’co-op advertising,’’ in which a watchmaker, such as Rolex, shares the cost. In 2007 the jewelry store chain has been among the top advertisers in Boston magazines.

Scully said that he cut off the Alpha omega account in June because the chain had stopped paying its bills. Handa had asked to be a little more flexible and lower the payment. But Scully said that means he would have to run a financial difficulty because of an investment.

                                   Scully says: ‘’I told him that it would be a good idea to take a break and come back later when he was in a better financial condition.” Scully recalled. “  I told him I didn’t want him to incur any further debt.’’

One Vendor said Alpha Omega owes him $800. Due to competition from other jewelers the company had been facing financial pressure due in larger part to high rent at Harvard square store.

Local jewelers have faced growing competition from designers looking to get a piece of retail market, as consumers become increasingly brand driven. Several months ago luxury watchmaker Tourneau opened a store in Natick, just a few years after launching a Boston boutique.

Competitors yesterday said that they were shocked what reporters were saying about Handa’s departure. They say ‘’He’s a great guy and a generous man said jack winer, vice president at Shreve, crump & Low in Boston, who once worked for handa.                                            

Swiss watchmaker Tissot unveiled yesterday the T-Touch Danica Patrick Limited Edition watch, which is inspired by the company’s brand ambassador, racecar driver Danica Patrick.

The watch features a mother-of-pearl face set with 58 Top Wesselton diamonds with VS/SI clarity totaling 0.14 carats. The caseback features Patrick’s engraved signature and the limited-edition number. A total of 2,007 units will be available worldwide.

The T-Touch offers proprietary tactile technology activated by the touch of a finger. It includes features such as a barometer that indicates meteorological definitions, chronograph, compass and thermometer. The retail price is $1,095.

At the unveiling, Patrick said she loves the watch, and if she had to buy it she would, labeling it as “ideal.”

Swiss watch brand Breitling may be best known for its presence in the cockpits of airplanes or on the wrists of pilots, but the watchmaker is reinforcing its place on the road as well.

To accompany the launch of luxury automaker Bentley’s new Continental GT Speed, the most powerful production Bentley ever, Breitling has entirely redesigned the dashboard clock that is featured in each of Bentley’s famed Continental models.

The timepiece features Breitling’s logo with the raised, winged B in gold and silver-plated hands. The minute circle has been slimmed down, and the hour circle passes by 12 numerals, with four larger numerals marking the quarters.

Breitling first partnered with Bentley in 2002, contributing to the design of the technical instrumentation and creating the dashboard clock for the original Continental GT. Since then, the clock has also been fitted into the Continental Flying Spur four-door saloon and the GTC convertible.