The Zing Report

Home Business A Fond Farewell: From The Zing Report Editors Business 1 Mins read1 Views Dear TZR Reader: After two fantastic years, we at Jewelers Mutual Group have decided to stop publication of The Zing Report. Thank you for being such an important part of this publication. We’ve loved creating content for you, reading your comments, and chatting with you on social media.

Colored gemstone jewelry is still on fire in the fine jewelry market, but right behind it in popularity are ultra-bold styles that celebrate the beauty and strength of precious metals. Earthy-fine jewelry queen Ippolita Rostagno, founder and owner of jewelry boutique staple brand Ippolita, is offering an avalanche of such pieces—hand-hammered and polished to a high shine. She’s also spotlighting the innate beauty of silver-mixed-with-gold this season.

Jennifer Markas, longtime executive director of Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA), has joined Jewelers Mutual as the new head of industry relations.

“Demi-fine” is one of those jewelry terms that has multiple definitions. It can refer to jewelry collections that are sterling silver, vermeil (gold over silver), gold-plated, or a mixture of all three. However you define it, we can agree that demi-fine is the tier of jewelry that sits between costume and fine jewelry (demi meaning “half” in Latin).

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has evaluated its first ever ring cut from a single laboratory-grown diamond, it announced today. The 4.04 ct. solid diamond ring, which was cut from a single crystal, was submitted to the GIA New York laboratory for assessment. The ring, produced by Dutch Diamond Technologies in collaboration with Belgian jewelry store Heursel, was cut from an 8.54 ct. laboratory-grown diamond plate created by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

Maya Gemstones founder Olga Pekarevskaia debuted her own triangular-cut diamond in 2019 as an alternative to trillion-cut diamonds, which lag behind other cuts in brilliance, depth, and clarity. Her patented “Maya cut” is a triangle with serious sparkle, and uses more raw material than traditional trillions. More recently, the innovative designer’s been researching ways to create diamonds from from discarded plastics—a head-spinning concept, and one we definitely wanted to hear more about.

Major music artists are among the most enthusiastic watch collectors—they’re in the public eye so often, and sporting a new, classic, or cult-favorite timepiece is a great way to flex their style bona fides. Our friends at celebrity watch platform WatchPilot tracked down the top 10 most expensive watches owned by music artists, and shared the results with us. Let’s take a look at the horological marvels that made the cut, and what makes each so valuable.

The Yin Yang symbol represents the Chinese concept that everything is made up of opposite, but interconnected, forces. It’s a salient motif for these tumultuous times, and one that jewelry designer Maura Green loves so much, she made the centerpiece of her latest collection.

The Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) has announced its new cohort of participants for its nationwide Jewelry Loupe Project program. WJA chose 14 emerging designers to participate in this year’s program, from over 100 applicants. WJA’s Jewelry Loupe Project is a free, six-month “business development and mentorship program for emerging designers within their first five years of business,” according to a WJA statement.

Renting an outfit for special-event dressing has become a cinch with so many clothing rental services available, from Rent the Runway and Nuuly to Gwynnie Bee and Tulerie. There are similar companies for renting jewelry, but lending diamond and precious gemstone baubles comes with more risk and complications—so fewer entrepreneurs have taken the task on. A new partnership between Signet sister brands Zales and Rocksbox aims to fix that.