(Los Angeles, CA)— Omi Gems is celebrating the highly anticipated launch of its luxurious new gemstone jewelry line, Omi Privé. The announcement comes as the fifth-generation gemstone purveyor is honored as a finalist in the fifth annual Jewelers’ Choice Awards.

Omi Privé showcases extraordinary gemstones in settings that frame and highlight the beauty of rare and magnificent colored stones. After an exclusive preview event at April’s SMART Jewelry Show in Chicago, the collection will make its gala debut at the JCK Prestige Promenade in Las Vegas in June.

In addition to luxurious, one-of-a-kind custom creations built around the remarkable center stones, Omi Gems offers a signature line featuring exemplary designs that will allow the natural beauty of colored gemstones to be enjoyed by all retail consumers.

“The Omi Privé collection is designed for sophisticated purchasers who are seeking something unique and different to suit their personalities,” comments Niveet Nagpal, Vice President of Omi Gems. “Our discerning clients know the value of the precious stones and appreciate the attention to detail in our designs and workmanship.”

Omi Gems will continue to serve its clients with fine quality loose gemstones while offering retailers this fabulous new line of luxury jewelry in all the myriad colors that gemstones can offer. Make an appointment today with an Omi Gems representative to view the complete Omi Privé collection at one of these upcoming trade shows:

JCK Las Vegas
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
June 1–4, 2012
Prestige Promenade Salon 37

The SMART Jewelry Show Dallas
Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center
September 8-10, 2012

Here are a few examples of stunning pieces from the new collection:

Sapphire & diamond ring from the Omi Privé signature collection.

Orange Spessartite and diamond one-of-a-kind design by Omi Privé.

Emerald and diamond ring from the Omi Privé signature collection.

Sapphire and diamond ring from the Omi Privé signature collection.

Sapphire and diamond 3-stone ring from the Omi Privé signature collection.

Ruby and diamond eternity wedding band from Omi Privé.

Ruby and diamond wedding set from Omi Privé.

One-of-a-kind sapphire and diamond ring from Omi Privé.

Award-winning sapphire and diamond Omi Privé ring.

One-of-a-kind tsavorite and pink sapphire, yellow diamond and diamond ring from Omi Privé.

See more designs at www.omiprive.com and please join us on Facebook with our new Omi Privé page.

Colored gemstones and cultured pearls offer some of the best margins for the retail jeweler, so why is it that retailers don’t focus more resources on this category? If you can sell more high-margin product then your profits will grow exponentially. To sell more within this category requires some staff training, promotion and product that is a proper extension of your store’s merchandising mix…

Capture the story behind color and be sure and display it front and center!

…The other key to merchandising your store with color is to make sure that you place it in showcases at the front of the store. Take a look at how the high-end department stores, who do very well with color, merchandise their jewelry departments. These companies pay for focus groups and traffic studies. They always have the colored gemstone jewelry up front. They know that it catches the eye and draws people in. So, please don’t stick it in the showcase on the back corner with the bad lights and wonder why it doesn’t sell; place it front and center…READ FULL ARTICLE

Ruby and diamond wedding set from Omi Privé.

Sapphire and diamond 3-stone ring from the Omi Privé signature collection.

Please visit omigems.com to view our Omi Privé luxury colored gemstone jewelry collection. We also invite you to join us on our new Facebook page.

Watch Video Now on our Youtube Channel >

In the run up to the highly anticipated launch of its luxurious new gemstone jewelry line, Omi Privé, Omi Gems has made another high-profile appearance on primetime television. In the fifth season finale of WE tv’s original series My Fair Wedding, celebrity event planner David Tutera rewards the lucky bride with three beautiful ruby and diamond Omi Privé pieces.

Omi Privé showcases extraordinary gemstones in settings that frame and highlight the beauty of rare and magnificent colored stones. In the episode called “Paint the Wedding Red,” three Omi Privé designs receive prominent exposure as the blushing bride gushes over her red-themed ensemble:

A ruby and diamond platinum pendant featuring a 2.71 carat oval ruby accented with 0.34 carats of brilliant diamond rounds

A ruby and diamond platinum bracelet featuring 7.53 carats of round rubies accented with 2.99 carats of brilliant diamond rounds

And, of course, a beautiful ruby and diamond three-stone ring featuring a 3.52 carat cushion-cut ruby center stone accented with 1.25 carats of brilliant diamond rounds

Watch Video of Bride with her Omi Privé Ruby Jewelry!

Read David’s Blog and See Why He’s Crazy for Color!

Check your local listings to catch a rebroadcast of the “Paint the Wedding Red” episode of WE tv’s My Fair Wedding. And don’t forget to make an appointment with an Omi Gems representative to view the complete Omi Privé collection at one of these upcoming trade shows:

JCK Las Vegas
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
June 1–4, 2012
Prestige Promenade Salon 37

SMART Jewelry Show Dallas
Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center
September 8-10, 2012

See more designs at www.omiprive.com and please join us on Facebook with our new Omi Privé page.

Thank you to retailers for voting Omi Gems 30 carat sapphire and diamond ring "Best of the Best" in the 2012 JCK Jewelers' Choice Awards.

Colors Shine Brightly in the April issue of Jewellery Business Magazine featuring Omi Gems 7.34 carat spessartite ring set in 18K rose gold.

Then for nearly 15 minutes you incessantly try to take photo after blurry photo while zooming, futzing with settings, trying new apps, and running from inside to outside hoping lighting will improve your situation.

Once you finally think you’ve got a decent picture…your frustration grows as you skim through countless out-of-focus shots that don’t properly represent your product…all while your impatient client is refreshing their inbox every two minutes and calling to say “Where is that photo I asked for?”

So, before you pull out any more hair, take a deep breath and relax as we show you what’s sure to become a trick of the jewelry trade! And all you need is your cell phone and a loupe!

Grab your cell phone and loupe to take some quick and crisp shots!

For demonstration in this blog we used an iPhone, but we also tested with a BlackBerry and Samsung Droid with pretty good results (see end of blog for sample shots).

We’re warning you, this is not an exact science, but with some practice and a steady hand, the results are pretty amazing considering it’s a cell camera. And when it’s all said and done, this method should give you a decent, in focus photo, which better represents your product.

Step 1: Grab your phone and bring the lens of the loupe directly up to the lens of your phone’s camera (we’ve found the bigger the loupe, the better). The loupe and the phone should touch and be flush against one another.

Hold the loop close to your camera lens.

Back view of the loupe flush against the iPhone camera lens.

Step 2: Bring the phone and the loupe as close to the gemstone as it allows while remaining focused. If you think you’re close to the stone but aren’t getting focus, get closer…the loupe will almost be touching what you’re photographing (about 3/8″ away). For better lighting, you can use an LED light-up loupe, but that also takes some playing around because it can cause reflections.

Get very close to the stone.

As you position your shot, you may see an out-of-focus portion of the loupe. Do your best to move the phone and loupe back and forth until the least amount appears. If you end up having a bit of the loupe edges in the photo, you can always crop them out later by using cropping apps like Crop for Free or photo editing software on your desktop.

A sample screen shot of how it looks on your phone as you work to get your shot in focus.

Step 4: Now slightly move the loupe and phone in conjunction until the focus block (the little square that flashes telling you “Hey, I’m in focus!”) shows up (or whatever you phone does to let you know it’s focusing). The movement you’ll be making is basically the same as when you focus with your eye through a loupe.

Play with your positioning until the focus block shows up to guarantee a crisp shot.

Step 5: Once you have your shot perfectly positioned, steady your hands and snap your pic. With a little maneuvering and a few tries you’ll be amazed at the quality of your cell-loupe photo. Then instantly email or message the client your sharp gemstone shot!

Be a hero when you send a great picture fast!

Here are a few comparisons shots we took while snapping up this blog:

Pink sapphire oval shot with iPhone. Left side taken without loupe, right side taken with loupe method.

Left side of sapphire and diamond ring photographed without loupe on iPhone, right side is with loupe.

Left is a fancy peach sapphire without loupe on a BlackBerry. The right is with the loupe.

There’s also a quick youtube phone video recorded through a loupe, but this guy’s marveling at a mosquito sucking his blood versus a beautiful blood-red ruby. Happy cellouping!

We’d like to give a quick shout-out to Troy from Liberty Diamonds for showing us this useful trick! Thanks Troy!

Omi Gems ruby & diamond engagement set and 20.03 carat sapphire and diamond ring as seen in the February issue of JCK Magazine.

(Los Angeles, CA)— March 1, 2012— Acclaimed jeweler Omi Gems has been named a finalist in the fifth annual Jewelers’ Choice Awards and will be featured in JCK’s “Best of the Best” supplement in May 2012, just in time for the 2012 JCK Las Vegas Show.

In its first submission to the prestigious awards, Omi Gems entered the category for “Platinum Jewelry – Over $10,000,” placing third with its handcrafted platinum ring featuring a stunning 30-carat, unheated, emerald-cut Ceylon sapphire accented with 160 ideal-cut diamond rounds, suggested retail $500,000.

Omi Gems 30 carat unheated Ceylon sapphire & diamond ring. JCK Jewelers' Choice Awards finalist "Platinum Jewelry - over $10,000"

As colored-gem aficionados know, it’s rare to find such a substantial stone that has not been heat-enhanced, and Omi Gems designers were obviously inspired by this remarkable sapphire to create a gorgeous ring around it. In the downtown Los Angeles workshop of Omi Gems, skilled craftspeople combine decades of experience and integrity to produce the finest handmade luxury jewelry from start to finish.

The esteemed JCK award comes on the heels of Omi Gems receiving two 2011 AGTA Spectrum Awards, and all of the accolades serve as the perfect kickoff for Omi Gems announcement of a new line of luxury gemstone jewelry called Omi Privé. The Privé collection luxuriously showcases each design’s gemstone by framing and highlighting the natural beauty of the stone. Select pieces of the collection will be available for an exclusive preview event at the SMART Jewelry Show in Chicago this spring, followed by the collection’s official launch at JCK Las Vegas in June.

We invite you to view the Omi Privé collection at the following trade shows:

The SMART Jewelry Show Chicago
Navy Pier
April 21-23, 2012
INDESIGN Pavilion Booth #2214

JCK Las Vegas
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
June 1-4, 2012
Design Center Booth #S10716

Niveet gives his predictions for 2012 trends as seen in The Jewelry Book Winter issue.

]]> http://omigems.com/blog/2012/02/the-jewelry-book-winter-2012/feed/ 0 http://omigems.com/blog/2012/02/omi-gems-rocks-the-84th-annual-academy-awards-with-elton-john/ http://omigems.com/blog/2012/02/omi-gems-rocks-the-84th-annual-academy-awards-with-elton-john/#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:17:59 +0000 Omi Gems http://omigems.com/blog/?p=498 Continue reading →]]> Elton John hosted his 20^th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party this past Sunday to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. This year’s party in West Hollywood Park turned into nothing short of a dazzling runway, complete with some of the world’s most beautiful women like Heidi Klum, Dita Von Teese, Marisa Miller and budding actress, Sadie Alexandru.

Actress Sadie Alexandru shows off her stunning Omi Gem's aquamarine and diamond ring during the Elton John Academy Awards Viewing Party and fundraiser.

Along with luminaries from every industry, Alexandru, who is currently a guest star on the new hit Cinemax series “Femme Fatales” shined in her Omi Gems 11 carat aquamarine and diamond ring. “What a truly AMAZING evening we had last night at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar party where 5.1 million dollars were raised for the AIDS Foundation. We had a blast mingling, eating and dancing with all of the generous and glamorous benefactors. A big thank you Omi Gems for my stunning jewels from their Privé collection!” said Alexandru.

Aquamarine and diamond ring handcrafted with an 11.00 carat radiant cut aquamarine center stone accented with 1.60 carats of brilliant diamond rounds set in 18K white gold. MSRP $27,500

John was seated at a table in the middle of the ballroom, where the multi-award winning songwriter sat alongside a blue-haired, happy-looking Katy Perry and Smokey Robinson. Other attendees like Heidi Klum, Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus, David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris were all buzzing about one important attendee: Elton and David’s son Zachary. At just over a year old, the little man was adorable in a miniature tuxedo monogrammed with his name. Zach was very excited about the chocolate Pomeranian toted by Fran Drescher.

Elton John's son, Zachary, loved Fran Drescher's chocolate Pomeranian.

John commented during his post-telecast that Sunday night’s crowd was the largest ever with 910 guests and that he was thrilled to be raising both money and awareness for the prevention and treatment of Aids.

Katy Perry and Dita Von Teese were all sparkles with Elton John.