ATTENTION INVESTORS: Celebrities Add Luster to Diamonds' Sparkle
(Just Ask Paris Hilton!)
When Hollywood celebrities shine, there's more than their star
wattage at work. As evidenced on the Red Carpet, award winners
and runners-up alike are adorned with jewels.
Geena Davis, star of "Commander-in-Chief," was recently seen on
the Red Carpet in an Escada dress accessorized with ruby
earrings surrounded by 14 carats of diamonds. But women aren't
the only stars who add sparkle to diamonds. Trendsetter and
leading man Jamie Foxx often shows up to Hollywood galas wearing
his favorite diamond-studded watch.
Celebrities aren't only wearing diamonds; they're also designing
and lending their names to jewelry lines. The Paris Hilton
Limited Edition Watches, for example, feature up to nine carats
of diamonds and over 1,000 stones. Abazias Diamonds
(www.abazias.com), the exclusive online retailer of the Paris
Hilton line, features three of the watches: the Cotton Candy,
Canary, and Pink in Love.
"Highly recognizable celebrity brand names - such as Paris
Hilton - appeal to a very broad cross section of our customer
base," says Oscar Rodriguez, CEO of Abazias Diamonds. He adds,
"Abazias showcases over 70,000 diamonds online, and our quality
and variety of stones combined with our incredible pricing makes
Abazias peerless in the marketplace."
As investors are discovering, the market for diamonds has never
been hotter. At the retail level, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis
Vuitton saw a 16 percent increase in sales of watches and
jewelry in 2005. The typical luxury goods customer spends close
to $50,000 each year on such goods, and the luxury market, as
well as the diamond trading and mining industries are expected
to continue their upward growth trend.
Analysts are projecting that the world's largest diamond
merchant, De Beers' Diamond Trading Company, will rack up $6.6
billion in sales during 2006. In addition, news reports indicate
that mining operations around the globe are gearing up for
record production.
In Venezuela, for example, President Hugo Chavez has formed the
National Mining Corporation, which will take back underutilized
mines and increase production in that country. At the same time,
Australia and Canada are drawing investors for mineral
exploration. In Africa, Namibia's stable government has paved
the way for mining investments by offering mineral royalties,
and is optimistic that the 28 percent diamond production
increase during 2004 will be repeated.
Increases in diamond imports also bode well for investors. In
China, for example, imports increased by 11 percent in 2005.
Here in America, new sales markets are increasing the demand for
diamonds. Men's jewelry sales are up a reported 20 percent, and
as a result, an increasing number of fine jewelry manufacturers
are introducing or expanding their men's lines. The next time
the Red Carpet is rolled out, expect to see Hollywood's male
elite sparkle - and maybe even outshine - their female co-stars!