PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Leibish Polnauer edited by Diana Jaret   I’d like to share with you some reflections I had recently while on a Caribbean cruise. As a color expert, that experience led me to heightened inspiration. What struck me most during this time was my continual amazement at the diverse shades of blue I encountered at each new port of call.  Each destination revealed its own unique hues in both the sky and the ocean, creating an incredibly serene setting. It truly felt like each country possessed its own artistic color palette.   Interestingly, while the more subdued blue tones of the sea at Port Miami were conducive to keeping focus, they didn't leave a lasting impression.    Eye Opening Moments   Our first stop in the Bahamas however, presented an incredible array of vivid greens and blues set against a backdrop of ecru tinted sand.      0.38 Carat Fancy Vivid Blue Green Pear Diamond SI2 GIA https://www.leibish.com/products/fancy-vivid-blue-green-pear-646291   The excitement of witnessing the magnificent color spectacle was so intense that it kept me awake at night.   It truly felt like landing on another planet while in the Bahamas! It’s nearly impossible to fully express the euphoria these colors produced.   Totally Immersed   As someone who enjoys a morning swim, I couldn't resist jumping into the sea in the Bahamas, totally immersing myself while trying to hold on to its mesmerizing color. I even put my head underwater, hoping to somehow separate the sand and blue components of the sea. Next, an intense blue-greenish-blue greeted us upon landing in Mexico. Our 0.18 ct FVGB looked just like it had emerged from the Mexican sea, don’t you think?         0.18 Carat Fancy Vivid Green Blue HEART Diamond SI1 GIA https://www.leibish.com/products/fancy-vivid-green-blue-heart-650210 Vivid Experiences - Lasting Impressions   The unique waters off Mexico conveyed a tranquil, fancy vivid green blue tone. Memories are made of such ethereal hues, and I can still visualize them in my mind’s eye.   But the blue color display was not over yet.     0.24 Carat Fancy Deep Blue Oval Diamond (I1) GIA https://www.leibish.com/products/fancy-deep-blue-oval-383215   On to Grand Cayman Islands, whose waters stood out to me with its breathtakingly reserved deep blue.   In Cayman, the rough waters crashing against its rocky shoreline created a stark contrast to its image as a tax safe-haven for the world’s elite.   For me, the dual color image with its rough land brought to mind a comparison between actual and reported assets in the economic arena.   Colorful Take-aways   After our cruise, I had moments of quiet reflection. For most of my adult life, I’ve been immersed in the world of natural color diamonds. And like my amazement at the variety of blue waters in the Caribbean, I’m enthralled by the tonal differences of blues in natural colored diamonds. Take a look at the sunset captured in this photo. It was as if the sun was bathing in a deep blue lagoon before slowly disappearing into the vast horizon.    What Speaks to You?   Take a moment to enjoy the wide array of blue tones found in LEIBISH natural color diamonds. Allow their unique tints to fill you with inspiration. One will resonate with your individual taste and isn’t that the joy of nature?   

By Leibish Polnauer & Diana Jarrett For most of us, the word AI was not in our lexicon even 5 years back. But today, it appears in almost every aspect of life. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a complex technology that performs difficult tasks which were once the domain of science fiction. And for the most part, we can see AI’s benefits. While AI pervades just about every area of modern life, we want to stress “just about,” because there will always be aspects of our lives that cannot be overtaken by AI, specifically areas of love and personal relationships. This ever-evolving technology influences our actions and desires in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. AI is curating in the background of the media we consume, offering preferences that subtly shape our tastes, including the content we’ll watch next. AI-generated suggestions begin to feel like our own, but in fact they’ve been gently nudged by algorithms. AI’s personalized marketing taps into our distinct preferences, influencing spending habits and lifestyle choices. Its algorithm shapes our opinions and lifestyle aspirations, everything from beauty standards to politics. There are Limitations No matter how sophisticated AI becomes, it can never invade the innermost workings of the human heart. It can’t understand human love, or recognize emotional cues like detecting affection, empathy, or romantic interest through a nuanced voice, or subtle facial expressions. Falling in love is clearly outside of an AI’s scope--its name is Artificial Intelligence. AI cannot hug or kiss us, nor create a lifelong bond. And while it may impact on the emotions we feel towards someone, only another human can ignite that flame of love. Real Feelings for a Real World At LEIBISH our mission is to celebrate the special love our clients have for each other and enjoy their life’s milestones with them. These joys elevate our everyday lives into unforgettable memories we cherish.   While AI is feeding our brain enormous amounts of data, only real love experiences the emotion that springs from a man’s heart. A woman’s longing for love and being cared for cannot be satisfied with data and sophisticated machine learning, either.   We crave personal attention from those we love and can only be satisfied with real love. While AI responds to myriad inquiries with accuracy, it fails to enter into the subconscious desire to be loved. Love Around the Globe So LEIBISH continues to vote for real love in this ever changing world. Look at how some cultures around the globe celebrate their engagements. Though it varies greatly by region, an engagement ring is widely expected in Western and Asian cultures today. In India, an important engagement ceremony called ROKA or SAGAI is rich with ancient tradition. Middle Eastern cultures in the Islamic tradition create a formal written agreement called a Nikah. Chinese societies mandate that the groom’s family give betrothal gifts called a Pin Li to the bride’s family. In South Africa, A Zulu man gives his future bride’s parents a Lobola gift, either a cow or goats. They are quite valuable in their society. By giving these animals, they express their respect and appreciation of the bride. Obviously if you live in Manhattan, I don’t suggest you give a cow, no matter how attractive it is. It’s best to give a time-honored and globally accepted engagement diamond or gemstone ring. The Rise and Fall of LGD Although LGDs came on strong in the bridal jewelry niche, when consumers learned that LGDs were only a copy of real diamonds, the products lost their worth. LGDs didn’t have the forever value of genuine earth-mined diamonds. LGDs marketing message of being more environmentally friendly with a lower carbon foot print than real diamonds proved not to be true, as they consume vast amounts of power. Since LGDs are now considered fake, most couples commemorating a lifetime relationship prefer a natural diamond. What’s a Real Gift of Love?  While AI benefits much of modern life, yet some things only the human heart can accomplish like a lasting love story. What if your fiancé proposed to you with a cow or a goat? They’re valuable commodities in Africa, but less so in Manhattan. Still, they have more intrinsic value than a 2 carat LGD. How I See it  An engagement gift must have value for both the giver and recipient. In our Western culture if you give a 2 carat LGD everyone knows it’s valueless. It may be bigger but it’s still fake.That’s tantamount to giving a fake goat or an artificial cow in other cultures.  AI will affect the way we processes data. But when it comes to real love affecting the heart, it’s not easily swayed by AI. So my message is this real feelings create real lasting relationships. They must be sealed with something of everlasting value, not with fakes.

Pierre Cartier travelled to the East and fell in love with gemstones during his first trip to India. It wasn't long before he became the favorite house jeweler to the Maharajas. In 1911 he designed a ceremonial necklace for the Maharajah of Nawanagar, which surrounded a 136.26 carat diamond named the "Queen of Holland." The stone was named after its original owner, the queen of Netherlands. Cartier mixed in an array of colored diamonds including a 12-carat olive-green diamond and a blue diamond. The immense wealth of the Maharajas and their love for ornamental jewelry for royalties created unlimited potentials for Cartier. The Maharajah of Patiala, Yadavindra Singh once owned the Patiala Necklace. The necklace was made for the Maharaja in 1928 by Cartier, weighing almost 1000 carats. The bib-like Art Deco necklace featured five rows of diamond-encrusted platinum chains and many large gems. It included as its centerpiece the famous De Beers diamond, a cushion-cut yellow diamond weighing 234.69 carats. When Cartier returned from India, he was completely fascinated by the colors these gemstones displayed. He was full with new material and fresh ideas to create new pieces of jewelry. The first multicolor bracelet he created, and refined in many ways over the next 30 years, was the Tutti Frutti bracelet. It is viewed as the perfect mix between the East and West because it is made of brightly colored sapphires, rubies and emeralds all carved using Indian techniques and mounted in a French platinum and diamond setting. I was always fascinated by this master piece, as there is something so attractive about all the colors. Nearly every stone in the bracelet had a different shape and size. Due to the limitation of manufacturing at the time, they could not cut stones in regular shapes. Art sometimes benefited from shortcomings and physical limitations. The most prosperous period of glassmaking was in the middle ages, as they could not make glass in big surfaces. The day they developed the rolled glass technologies, the art of painted glass died in one generation. Inspired by Cartier's Tutii Frutti designs, my daughter Chavi Itzhakov, also created her own version of the Tutti Frutti Bracelet. It was made with 112 magnificent fancy color rose cut diamonds, set in a 175mm long bracelet weighing a total of 54.84 carats. Her magnificent design won the JCK Jewelers' Choice Awards in 2014.   The award winning Tutti Frutti Multicolor Diamond Bracelet   Mixing different colored gemstones with white or fancy colored diamonds provided many possibilities for designers. The legendary Tutti Frutti designs were made by Cartier in many different variations. His bracelet, shown above, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in December 2014 for over 2 million US. I have been in love with colors for many years, but I never felt confident enough to introduce precious gemstones into our jewelry collections. I was worried about the perception of the Leibish brand, and the stereotypes of gemstones compared to diamonds. My visit to the Cartier exhibition in Madrid changed my view on the world of colors. I realized that by mixing fancy colors and precious stones, the contrast between two worlds of entirely different materials will create a dramatic effect which gives the jewelry an exciting and exotic appearance. It took some time, but I finally realized the potential gain was so much greater than the potential loss. With regards to the cost compared to fancy colored diamonds, colors like blood red rubies and deep green emeralds can be offered for much less, and in bigger sizes. I felt it enabled an opportunity to the younger generation, who hasn't yet saved up enough to explore the world of colors that diamond jewelry offers.   A magnificent mozambique Ruby, Intense Yellow and White Diamond Pendant by LEIBISH   After promoting our diamond and gemstone jewelry online, we received a lot of positive feedback from our clientele. Among my favorite pieces was this bracelet, which was ordered by a gentleman form the United States for his wife's 40th birthday. The rubies in this magnificent multicolored bracelet were highlighted with intense yellow diamonds. The total weight of the bracelet was 36.95 carats, and it was all set in 18kt gold. Along with all the fantastic fancy color diamond jewelry we offer, my company has continued creating a large variety of diamond and gemstone jewelry. We acquire extremely rare pieces and create exquisite jewelry designs.    The extraordinary mix of fancy yellow diamonds and precious gemstones by LEIBISH People want to be unique, people want to be exciting, and people want to be beautiful. We live in a world filled with color, so why would one only want to dress themselves with black and white? Life is full color, so enjoy it.

When ALTR (a created diamond company) exhibited a 3.99 carat lab-grown pink diamond at Borsheim's, they dubbed it, “The Pink Rose” claiming it retails for about $110,000 USD. The company's mission statement declared that they "employ proprietary technology to replicate the conditions whereby diamonds form in nature. ALTR creates certified Type IIA, lab-grown diamonds that are identical to the chemical, optical and physical compositions of the world's finest mined diamonds." 4.04ct Fancy Pink Center Stone offered by LEIBISH Of course, man-made pink diamonds create some buzz. The hook is that lab grown pink diamonds provide a bold look for a small price tag.  Still a lab created pink diamond ring should cause a budget minded shopper to consider the whole story, not just the attractive price. Conversely, a 4.04 carat, Natural Fancy Pink diamond from LEIBISH.com retails for $1.7M USD. This stone created by Mother Nature was mined by man in South Africa.  If both stones are really the same, why is there such a huge discrepancy in price? Maybe I am missing something here... Some years back, I bought a fake Rolex on the streets of Hong Kong. This beautiful watch looked identical to an authentic Rolex, and for $35 it looked like a $15,000 watch. At the time I was very proud of myself, but as soon as I returned home the watch quit working. I took it to my local watchmaker for repair. He took one look at it from across the counter and explained that there was no point in fixing it. He asked me, "why do you get taken in by such gimmicks?" It got me wondering, are lab-grown diamonds a gimmick, as well? Will they devour the market share of real, natural, mined stones? Global Lab Grown Diamonds Market Volume from 2018 to 2029 (in million carats) (Credit: Maximize Market Research)   One day, while sitting in my office happily enjoying the day and going about my business, an unexpected visitor arrived. This man was a builder, having done extensive work for us in the past. He pulled a ring out of a fancy jewelry box which contained a 5 carat diamond. It looked quite pretty, but I smelled a rat. "I want to sell this ring," he said quietly. "I am sorry, but the ring is not for us," I replied. Refusing to take no for an answer, he pressed me to at least look at his ring and give him an evaluation. "Sorry. my friend,” I countered. “We can't provide evaluations on stones not purchased from LEIBISH." "But we’re friends for over 20 years," he pleaded. "Please take a closer look." We removed the stone from the setting and gave it an in-depth examination. Quickly it became clear that this was not a real diamond. "How much did you pay?" I asked him. He started to talk around the question but finally spit it out. "Someone owed me $20,000 for construction work. And when he couldn't pay up, and after prodding him, he gave me this ring, assuring me that it was worth $30,000." I handed him back the ring, quietly hoping that he would go away without needing to hear the bitter news that his ring was actually worthless. Once the genie comes out of the bottle we cannot put him back in again. I had no choice but to tell him that his ring was worthless and that he got scammed. He nearly fainted. LEIBISH Extraordinary Fancy Light Purplish Pink Cushion Double Halo Diamond Ring The biggest problem with lab-grown diamonds is that they have no retail value. Once you purchase the stone, that’s it. Since the closing of Argyle mine, the prices of natural Argyle diamonds have skyrocketed while prices of lab-grown diamonds are plummeting. De Beers jumped in the fray offering their Lightbox brand of lab-grown diamonds at a fraction of the current synthetic diamond price. It won’t be long before all synthetic goods become totally worthless.  So what is the point of fooling people? If everyone claims that natural, mined diamonds have the identical chemical composition as lab grown stones, then why is there such a huge price gap between lab-grown and natural stones? “Labs”—actually factories, manufacture created diamonds continually—all day long. Genuine earth mined diamonds, especially pink ones are a very rare occurrence---generating a global excitement. Today you can find authentic, natural Bulgarian rose oil on Amazon in a 2.3 ml bottle for $55, making the cost of 1,000 ml roughly $2,400. But you can also buy synthetic rose oil which is created with the identical chemical composition for $65 per 1,000 ml.How can there be such a huge price difference? You see why I am getting confused?If it is the "same", then why is the natural oil worth 35X more than its synthetic version? Well because, it is just nearly the same... Perhaps an uneducated laymen cannot smell or detect the difference between the natural Bulgarian rose oil and the synthetic one. But don’t be fooled. There is actually over $2,000 in differences. LEIBISH Pink and Green Diamond Pendant   At an important Argyle Tender, a 0.67 carat natural Fancy Red diamond sold for approximately $1M. A real diamond. Not man-made—but rather a small natural stone under a carat for one million dollars.  DeBeers has now introduced their own brand of lab-grown diamonds, Lightbox, into the market based on their theory that it would reduce the price of lab grown diamonds, thereby, making them the leading authority in the field. This reminds me of the Hunt brothers who tried unsuccessfully to corner the silver market and control the price of silver. But actually the opposite happened.  Nelson Bunker Hunt and his brother William Herbert Hunt, sons of Texas oil billionaire Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr. (1889-1974) had for some time been attempting to corner the silver market. In 1979, the price for silver (based on the London Fix) jumped from $6.08 per troy ounce ($0.195/g) on January 1, 1979 to a record high of $49.45 per troy ounce ($1.590/g) on January 18, 1980, representing a 713% increase.  (Excerpt from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver) The Hunt brothers had borrowed heavily to finance their purchases. But a sharp decline in silver prices ensued. As the price free fall began, dropping over 50% in just four days, they were unable to meet their obligations, causing panic in the world markets. It took a consortium of US banks intervening to sort this out—but not before the Hunt brothers lost a billion dollars in the fracas. DeBeers' lab diamond marketing move was not well received in the industry either. Trying to lower the prices of lab grown stones looked like a smart move, but De Beers should have first killed the competition. Really, no one can control the diamond market. First, they shot themselves in the foot by driving down the prices of low grade natural diamonds. This will also reduce the price on lower quality rough from De Beers’ own mines. Price of lab-grown diamonds as a share of natural diamond prices from Q4 2017 to Q4 2020 by channel (Credit: Statista 2024)  Our Brand manager even called me a snob, saying that I disrespect DeBeers. Ok, I am a snob. But I have been a snob for 40 years and I am not concerned about that. So should we be worried that they will hurt natural pink diamond sales? Not at all. I view this story from an entirely different angle. A brand is like a steaming pot of hot beef soup, (being from a little village in Hungary I use simple metaphors).When you add meat and potatoes, the soup gets thicker and stronger, but when you add water it just gets watered down or rather, diluted. So producing and selling their own De Beers Lab grown diamonds will hurt its own rough sales and interrupt the sale of real diamonds in the market. Ultimately, no one can really dilute the natural diamond brand.  As De Beers marketed it so smartly once upon a time, "diamonds are forever." Shop our extensive collection of Natural Fancy Color Diamonds and Gemstones today!

Color in high fashion and in fancy color diamonds do not always go hand in hand. A fancy color diamond can cost more money than a whole store filled with designer garments. Yet I always dreamed that color diamond jewelry would be sold together with high fashion items as part of a complete outfit. This year, Pantone Color Institute selected Radiant Purple as the color of the year. Pure purple diamonds have an aristocratic, cool, and subtle air to them. However, when they are mixed with pink as a modifier, the stone becomes filled with sensual warmth that radiates a crispy ambiance. The purple acts like an exclusive oriental spice - you only need to add a touch of purple to a red or pink diamond and it makes the color “take off” like a rocket. There are only a few stones above 3 carats with purple as a main color. We polished many purplish reds, mostly mined in Australia. This 0.52 carat Fancy Purplish Red is one of the finest examples of the enriching effect of the purple color. LEIBISH Three stone Red and Green Diamond Ring   The purplish modifier is the most common color mix in the Argyle palette. But I have not yet seen an Australian intense pinkish purple. Argyle stones of this color don't exist, and the chances of happening upon a diamond like this elsewhere is incredibly scarce. LEIBISH 0.51 carat Fancy Intense Pink Purple was mined in South Africa Over the past 15 years, we haven't seen many polished pink diamonds above 3 carats released from Argyle. In fact, there are only three that come to mind. In 2001 there was a 4.15ct Fancy Intense Purplish Pink, in 2013 there was a 3.02ct Fancy Intense Orangy Pink and who can forget about the magnificent 12.76 carat light pink rough diamond - the Pink Jubilee in 2012. Unfortunately, during the polishing process, the diamond exploded as a result of one major internal fault line that could not be overcome, and its magnificence was destroyed. The polishing process was ceased and the remaining 8.01 carat stone was then donated to the Melbourne Museum. There are 3 major areas where purple diamonds are found – Russia, Brazil, and South Africa. In Russia, the stones have a touch of blue; the stones are cold and distant. In Brazil, the purples radiate a deep orange pink color with a darkish palette of base color. In South Africa, the purple and intense pinkish purple stones have the best of brilliance and purple sparkle. The pinkish purple color from Kimberly, South Africa is the most appealing purple, with a face up appearance that is seductive and sexy. The Royal Purple Heart Diamond was cut by and is a joint venture with the Julius Klein Diamond Corporation. The gem has a clarity of I-1. It is not as blue as in shown in the photo above, rather it’s more purple than lilac. The girdle is very thick in parts; they were obviously trying to retain weight during the cutting and polishing processes. It was mined in Siberia. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®, said “The Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination.” He continued to say “An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.” Our 3.37 carat fancy intense Purple Orchid diamond inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is captivating and fills your heart with joy. We seldom succeed in polishing a diamond which reflects the mood and spirit of the time so genuinely as with this stone. The Purple Orchid  - a 3.37 carat Fancy Intense Pinkish Purple Diamond of VS2 Clarity   Presenting such a fine purple color, a true one-of-a-kind diamond, which perfectly matches with Pantones color of the year, might be my dream of fashion and diamonds finally coming together. I was always a great fan of pinks and purplish pinks, but my first real encounter with a dominant purple happened during my first year in the business. It was a 1.20 carat fancy deep pink purple round diamond. It had a very deep purple color, radiating the dark, moist orange color base of the Amazon. The first stone we polished was from a Brazilian rough with a deep brownish sub-tone. Purple is the color of royalty, of courage and honor. For years, it was considered the color of kings, as only royalty could afford the cost of purple cloth for their clothing. "Purple Heart medals are given to soldiers killed or wounded in action, as recognition of bravery", wrote William Goldberg. Exceptional pink and purple diamonds can create real excitement by men and women alike. A dear friend from Geneva, a well-respected jeweler well past 70 years of age (I am 65 this week), recently said to me "Leibish, I buy a stone only if it turns me on. I have to be moved by the diamond, and then I can already picture its setting in my head." I answered "Marco, I don’t usually have the stones you're looking for in stock," but then I pulled out the 3.37ct Orchid Purple. He picked up the stone, got up from table looking not taking his eyes of the diamond and said smiling, "we are back in business - how much do you want?"

As some of you may not have read the original fable, Alibaba was not Chinese but rather a poor peasant in Baghdad. He was the first person in history who used the password, “open sesame,” to access a cave full of treasure. However, in comparison to his Chinese namesake – the Alibaba Group, he was a mere pauper. "In 2012, two of Alibaba’s portals together handled 1.1 trillion Yuan ($170 billion) in sales - more than its competitors eBay and Amazon combined. The company primarily operates in the People’s Republic of China, and in March 2013 was estimated by The Economist magazine to have a valuation between $55 billion to more than $120 billion. The website Alibaba.com was launched in 1999, which is relatively early for the online world. It was created as a business-to-business portal to connect Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers. The companies consumer-to-consumer portal Taobao, similar to eBay, features today nearly a billion products and is one of the 20 most-visited websites globally. In fact, the company today is so large that Alibaba Group's sites account for over 60% of all the parcels delivered in China. One of the largest online payment escrow services, Alipay, is said to handle roughly half of all online payment transactions within China. The majority of payments made through Alipay are made through Alibaba services. As of September 25, 2013, the company was seeking an initial public offering in the United States after a deal could not be reached with Hong Kong regulators.”Alibaba was founded in 1998 and reached profitability in 2001. In 1999, Trudy Dai used to spend all night sending e-mails from her friend Jack Ma’s apartment, trying to answer queries from American customers without letting on that she was Chinese. Ms Dai was one of the first dozen employees of Alibaba, when it was then only an online listings service which Mr. Jack Ma, a teacher by profession, had just started. It was already having some success connecting small Chinese manufacturers to potential customers; including the overseas ones Ms Dai was reassuring over e-mail. But the friends and students who made up the workforce were earning just 550 Yuan (then $66) a month. Mr. Ma, though, already had big dreams. That year he said: “Americans are strong at hardware and systems, but on information and software, all of our brains are just as good…Yahoo’s stock will fall and eBay’s stock will rise. And maybe after eBay’s stock rises, Alibaba’s stock will rise.” It seems as though Jack had seen the future with perfect clarity. How did Jack Ma arrive at the idea to use the name Alibaba? Here is the story:"One day I was in San Francisco in a coffee shop, and I was thinking Alibaba is a good name. And then a waitress came, and I said do you know about Alibaba? And she said yes. I said what do you know about Alibaba, and she said ‘Alibaba and 40 thieves'. And I said yes, this is the name! Then I went onto the street and found 30 people and asked them, “Do you know Alibaba?” People from India, people from Germany, people from Tokyo and China… They all knew about Alibaba. Alibaba — open sesame. Alibaba is a kind, smart business person, and he helped the village. It was easy to spell, and globally known." The way he saw it, Alibaba was able to "open sesame" for many small- to medium-sized companies. He said that "we also registered the name Alimama, just in case another company wanted to marry us." Since then, Alibaba has come to dominate internet retailing in China, which will soon be the biggest e-commerce market in the world. It has moved beyond its original remit of connecting businesses to each other to ventures that let companies sell directly to the public (Tmall) and enable members of the public to sell to each other (Taobao). Between them, Taobao and Tmall processed 1.1 trillion Yuan ($170 billion) in transactions last year, more goods than passed through Amazon and eBay combined. According to The Economist, The company that started in Mr. Ma’s apartment now employs 24,000 workers at its headquarters in Hangzhou. The funniest part of the Alibaba story is Yahoos 24% stake in Alibaba is worth a hell of a lot more than Yahoo’s total capitalization without Alibaba. Just to paint a scenario, Alibaba could make a reverse takeover for Yahoo and enter Yahoo’s US client base overnight according to Barons: The Only Thing That's Working at Yahoo: Is Alibaba. It is said that the 24% stake of Yahoo in Alibaba could be worth USD30 to USD50 billion! Yahoo’ s total capitalization, currently USD37 billion is absurd. So Mellissa Meyer may just be wasting her time attempting to turn Yahoo around. Perhaps she should relax and wait until Alibaba says, “Open sesame.” Alibaba controls nearly 80% of China's e-commerce market, which makes it one of the biggest Internet companies in the world. With so much manufacturing in China, Alibaba has essentially worked as a middleman between buyers and sellers worldwide. Although Alibaba is known for its business-to-business services, the company also owns dozens of other properties including email services, social media services and Alipay, which is akin to PayPal in the United States. It doesn't have any direct competitor in the U.S. because its business is essentially a blend of Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY), PayPal, and Google (GOOG). On Thursday the 20th of April, Alibaba invested $251 million for a minority stake in the messaging app called Tango. To get an idea of how big Alibaba actually is, consider its two shopping websites, Taobao and Tmall. These two alone accounted for more than 50% of all parcel deliveries in China. Last year, the two websites reported transaction volume of more than $160 billion, which is above and beyond what eBay or the retail behemoth Amazon have ever witnessed internationally. Jack Ma will visit New York to make the biggest IPO America has ever seen. Then, still standing on the podium of the New York Stock exchange, he will say the magic words, “Open sesame,” and the USA will open all gates in front of him…

On the frosty November 4th, 2011, when the members of the De Beers family opted to take $5.1 Billion USD for their remaining 40%  share in the company and sell all of it to Anglo American, it was not yet widely known that De Beers was beginning its way back to Africa. A short time ago, their site moved to Botswana, the largest producer of gems and diamonds, and home to mines like Jwaneng, the world's richest diamond mine.  De Beers was a master of brand building and PR tricks, like advertising with Marilyn Monroe or creating the concept of the Kimberley certificate, making De Beers' diamonds the most kosher one in the market. The time came that they needed a really sexy idea to promote the move from London’s West End to Gaborone, Botswana. As Reuters UK states, the move entailed a new 10-year contract for the sorting, valuing and sales of diamonds from the Botswana mines run by Debswana. The contract involves a 50:50 joint venture between De Beers and the southern African country's government, and it is the longest sales contract agreed  between the two sides to date. It will shift more than $6 billion of sales of annual rough diamond from an international financial center to a place with a population of 230,000, in one of the most demonstrative examples of a producing, backwater country battling successfully to keep at home the value and profits from their raw materials. The change will test Botswana's ability to develop skills and services in its work force, lower an unemployment rate stuck at roughly 18 percent, and expand an economy still dependent on diamonds for more than 80 percent of exports. Its would be like to moving copper trading from London to Chile. Just to get to Gaborone is a logistic nightmare-- visa difficulties, a lack of direct flights and suitable hotels - but has also sparked a debate around the future of De Beers and their role in the gem market. Its De Beers' share of rough diamond sales dropped to under 50 percent in 2006 and to 37 percent in 2012, according to Bain & Company. "It is what you would call the end of an era, but it should not be seen as a negative, it should be seen as the natural progression of the industry," Kieron Hodgson, an equity analyst at Charles Stanley in London. Others reflect less positively. "I don't think any of them really want to be (in Gaborone), but they don't have a choice as the diamonds are in the ground there," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Des Kilalea. "It is akin to saying we won't have a London Metal Exchange, you'll have to go to Chile to get your copper. It is blatantly inefficient - though in terms of politics and development, if I were president I'd do the same." De Beers has already moved its diamond sorting and aggregation businesses - the operations that sift through the production from each mine and bring the gems together before they are allocated to buyers to Gaborone. It has also been supporting cutting and polishing operations by making more diamonds available locally, and encouraging international firms like Tannenbaum's to grow there. The Leo Schachter group now employs some 300 people in Botswana. They tried to comfort themselves with the saying of Tiny Rowland: “Africa was always generous to us”. He made billions of dollars for Lonrho in Africa, but Tiny Rowland has been dead a long time. I would have thought that De Beers would hire Leonardo DiCaprio, an old Africa hand and known figure in the cause against blood diamonds. But Leonardo DiCaprio passed, after consulting with fellow stars Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, who stated as their movie title posits that they are Out of Africa. De Beers' London sites date back to the 1930s, when it set up what became the Diamond Trading Company to control the supply, secure the demand and tighten its grip on the rough diamond market, of which it held some 80 percent at its peak in the 1980s and 1990s. Gems from all mines were aggregated, and quantities for customers were agreed upon in advance. Buyers were vetted and could not refuse gemstones in their allocation without risking future supply. In exchange, they were assured a predictable, consistent quality and supply. According to Reuters UK, times have changed. De Beers has been battling lower production and challenges to its sales model for years, in part thanks the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of mines in Australia and Canada outside the firm's influence. Its share of rough diamond sales dropped to under 50 percent in 2006 and to 37 percent in 2012, according to Bain Consultants. In 2009, it was overtaken in carat terms by Russia's Alrosa. De Beers says the move to Gaborone was partly motivated by wanting to keep alive the site’s system, which still sells to buyers like jewelers Tiffany & Co., China's Chow Tai Fook, and Indian family firms. "The Botswana government did not come to De Beers and say please transfer your business. The Botswana government said ‘We would like you to sell the Botswana diamonds here’", said Varda Shine, who runs De Beers' Global Sightholder Sales. To put it bluntly, the Botswana government did to De Beers what De Beers did to Sightholder for 35 years – they  made an offer that De Beers could not refuse. Now, 85 out of 300 London-based De Beers employees have  to move  from London to Gaborone. What would happen if the Russian mining company would make the same condition to their regular buyers? If you want Russian rough, you would have to come to Siberia and pick it up! The cold there is sometimes minus 35 degrees Celsius (compared to Gaborone, where it is about 35 Celsius). However, De Beers feels that it is the exception. "We believe our business model is quite strong and provides value for De Beers and its shareholders - so we came up with the idea of moving the whole business." But some in the industry say it presents challenges that the model may not survive. De Beers already sells 10 percent of its production through auction as opposed to via sites, and according to the 2011 deal, the Botswana government will be able to sell a portion of local production through state-owned Okavango that will rise to 15 percent. De Beers says the auctions provide a guide price for sight holders, but others only see competition. "There is a direct challenge to the De Beers sight holders system taking place," says diamond entrepreneur Martin Rapaport, whose own group operates rough and polished diamond tenders. There are also questions about the wisdom of separating De Beers' management, which will remain headquartered in London, from its sales and the expertise that has underpinned the group. "The diamond end of the business is going to become divorced from the corporate end of the business, and the corporate end of the business has already been largely denuded of diamond expertise," said Brian Menell, whose family sold a stake in the Venetia mine to De Beers a decade ago and now has mining interests across Africa as head of the private Kemet group. He also pointed out the move brings De Beers closer to just one of its producing nations, which could arguably skew its views. Botswana accounts for almost three-quarters of De Beers production, but it also has mines in Namibia, South Africa and Canada. For its part, Botswana, long hailed as an African success story, is hoping the De Beers shift will help it boost skills and develop as a diamond hub that will attract a growing traffic of buyers across Africa. While it may never outshine Antwerp, Dubai or Tel Aviv, Gaborone hopes it can carve out its own niche. Many questions arise about whether it can really change the structure of an industry where most of the resources are in Africa but most of the value is generated elsewhere, and whether its strategy is good preparation for life after diamonds, as the mines age. The country also still lacks the financial and other infrastructure of, say, Dubai. The big challenge for De Beers is the complete dependence on Botswana. One day a new government can come and say to get out of Arica, we can sell our diamonds without you – all the sight holders are with us, what do we need De Beers for? But don’t worry too much about De Beers, they still earned this year: Total sales 6,000,747,262 (down 16 % from last year), and an Operating profit 815 .1 Million dollar, (down 42 % from Last year), but still a decent return of 14 % on all sales. Many of the sight holders would be happy with these figures.  All of you can be comforted – Diamonds are still forever.

I had a rather strange dream.In my favorite Shanghai hotel - The Millennium - China's President Xi Jinping, appeared to me. I sat up in my bed and saw the President of China followed by the legendary Terracotta Warriors filling my room. “Leibish, listen. I am about to tell you something in complete confidence - China is taking over the USA,” the Chinese President whispered. “How the hell do you want to do that Sir?” I asked him, perplexed. “It will be by a reverse takeover.” he responded firmly. “We hold USD1.27trillion of US treasury bills and therefore I am in a position to make Mr. Obama an offer he can't refuse... ‘Pay my money or you have a problem’….” “You are not Don Corleone,” I tried to cool the situation. “I will tell the US President, you put up the China sign on the Stars and Stripes and we will begin to call your country the United States of China or you pay up and redeem all the junk treasury bills China is holding. And we want it all in cash.”I got really scared. I didn’t know any more if I was dreaming or awake as I noticed the terracotta warriors closing in on my bed. “Mr. Prime Minister, what will you do with five trainloads of hard cash? They can just as easily print the cash in a few days as its all paper, about as good as those treasuries…” “That is not your problem countered the prime minister.” But I could tell he was slightly shaken. “Mr. President,” I asked, “What do you need me for? I am just a regular Israeli fancy color diamond guy? Do you want me to broker the deal?” I figured my commission could be substantial. "Why did you seek me out? I specialize in yellow diamond rings and the ever so popular argyle pink diamonds, but I am no statesman or international lawyer.” “I saw you once with the American-Chinese reporter Melissa Lee on CNBC Television and thought the interview went really well. I also read your article about the passing of your dog - a heart-breaking story if ever there was - I almost cried. I also once had a white Labrador. The US debt crisis, the erosion of the US as an economic superpower, etc., etc. - I know that you are my guy.” I started to sweat.  I thought that I could repeat the deal of Isaac Wolf and perhaps sell an important pink diamond to the Chinese but what would I do with all the cash? Since the Basel agreement, cash has become a real handicap. You cannot take out more than USD5,000 cash from China and cannot bring in more than USD28,000 cash to Israel. “Listen Sir, I really appreciate your confidence in me but the USA is your biggest client. If you bankrupt them who will buy all the goods 400 million of your workers are manufacturing? You need them and they need you. Mr. President please bear in mind that in 2012 you exported USD425 billion of goods to the USA. If you put them out of business they will put you out of business - your unemployment will jump leading to social unrest, protests in Tiananmen Square, and plenty of other headaches. It's a marriage of convenience. Not everything is about money.” “Tell me Mr . President what is really bothering  you that you suddenly want to break the China-US relationship?”“Why do Jewish people always answer a question with a question? In any press release about world leaders the US President is always mentioned first, the British Prime Minister second, the German Chancellor third, and only after all them  - China. Look at the size of the Chinese economy, we are the biggest economy in the world with the largest growth and we don’t owe a nickel to anyone. WE want to be respected. The USA thinks they invented the wheel, but we are number one and want the recognition.” “Alibaba recorded ¥35.19 billion (USD5.78 billion) in transactions on China’s Cyber Monday, November 11. Chinese online shoppers spent more in 24 hours than the USD2.5 billion that Americans spent online on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Don't try to talk to me out my plan,” said the president of China. By this point, the Terracotta soldiers moved in face-to-face.   “Not everything is about money, Sir,” I mumbled.  He got really upset and hit my bed with his fist - at that moment I heard the doorbell ring.“Housekeeping! Housekeeping!” I awoke and saw the gift box of Terracotta figures I had just received as a present, staring at me from on top of the bedside desk.  

If I told you that the Potomac River changed direction and water started to flow backwards, I assume you would be skeptical. When the market reported that Amazon bought the Washington Post for USD250 million, everyone looked suspicious. Why would Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of online trailblazer Amazon, spend USD 250 million of his own money to buy the Post? Why didn’t Warren Buffet buy the Post? Warren served on the board of the Post for two decades and he was the largest outside shareholder. The price Bezos paid — two hundred and fifty million dollars in cash, minus a fifty million dollar contribution from the Post toward the future pension costs of its employees, didn’t meet Buffett’s valuation, and that’s putting it mildly. Warren buys money making potential, like he did in Bank of America. Google looks to increase its market share or extend its technical capabilities so as to penetrate new markets and generate income from new sources. That is why it bought companies like YouTube and Waze.  Mr Bezos stated in an interview that the Post is “an important institution,” and he expressed optimism about its future: “I don’t want to imply that I have a worked-out plan,” he said. “This will be uncharted terrain, and it will require experimentation.” In 2006, Google bought YouTube for USD1.65 billion. Many Wall Street analysts thought the acquisition price was way too high. Today Barclays value YouTube at USD15-20 billion, about 10 times the price Google paid in 2006. It is forecast that YouTube will generate about USD3.6 billion in revenue this year. It has one billion unique visitors per month and is growing at 50% a year - it is a rocket ship! Motorola Mobility in 2008 made a big bet on Android as the sole operating system for all its smartphone devices. That was one of the reasons Google bought Motorola. Google is great at software; Motorola Mobility is great at devices. The combination of the two makes sense and will enable faster innovation. Motorola Mobility has a long history of innovation in communications technology and the development of intellectual property. It owns 17,000 patents but that is not the only value in the deal. Google sees the world of commerce as being ruled from our smartphone and tablet. Larry Page is not going to repeat the mistake of Facebook which ignored the huge potential of smartphones. Furthermore, in the past IBM missed the laptop revolution and was left in the dust for 20 years due to this oversight. Google wants to enter our mind from a smartphone and lead our search with these devices. Google Inc. reported consolidated revenues of USD14.42 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. Consolidated revenues would have been $15.24 billion had Motorola Home been included. “We ended 2012 with a strong quarter,” said Larry Page, CEO of Google. “Revenues were up 36% year-on-year, and 8% quarter-on-quarter. And we hit $50 billion in revenues for the first time last year – not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half. In today’s multi-screen world we face tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be at Google.” In 2012, Google had USD50.2 billion in annual revenues, USD10.7 billion in profit, and USD93 billion in assets. Walmart had USD469 billion in revenue, USD16 billion in profit, and USD203 billion in assets. It employs 2.2 million people.With USD48 billion cash on hand and 53,801 employees, Google is confidently powering ahead. The best part of Google’s business is that it does not sell anything; it does make money though on virtually every second sale over the Internet, charging the sellers for links clicked to its site or for completed sales. Amazon has unlimited shelf space but it has to pay for the goods it sells and compete with brick and mortar stores with pricing and discounts. When I was researching this article for my newsletter I saw our own fancy diamonds banner pop up 5 times in the financial information pages. Each time someone clicks on it Google makes a dime or nickel or even a dollar. When an average guy drives to Manhattan for a morning trip to NY City, he will probably not visit Walmart or check his Facebook page during the drive, but he will encounter Google a number of times. Before he parks his car in downtown New York, Waze will tell him what is the best route to take, warning him of the obstacles ahead. Google just bought Waze for almost USD1 billion. Google will show him the best service station on his road and who will wash his car also - charging the station for the click. Google will also recommend a dry cleaner and where to park his car- each time charging a dime to the cleaner for this service. Going for lunch to an Italian restaurant? Google will give its two cents – and charge its ten cents yet again. Then he goes shopping with his wife, holding his Motorola smartphone and looking where to go with the help of Google. Before the couple spend their first dollar, Google already made money on the search they conducted with their smartphone. Just for the record: Incidentally, Google and the first version of our website leibish.com were established in 1998. In August 1998 when Andy Bechtolsheim gave the first seed money of USD100,000 to Sergey Brin, he could not deposit it in the bank as the company called Google Inc. was not yet established and they did not have a bank account. Luckily, today they have one with USD46 billion in cash. On September 1, 1998, Google set up a home office in the parking lot of Susan Wojcicki’s home at 232 Santa Margarita, Menlo Park. On September 4, Google turned to the State of California to establish a corporation. Shortly thereafter, Larry and Sergey open a bank account in the name of the new company and deposit the check of Andy Bechtolsheim. With that USD100,000 in seed money, the virtual revolution began. Obviously I am not comparing LEIBISH with Google, but in the past 15 years we learned a lot from them and from the market also. There are those that say www.leibish.com invented the Internet trade in color diamonds. I smile when I hear that overstatement. After all, what came first, the chicken or the egg? The one thing we definitely understood from the Google Motorola transaction though, is that our new website, Leibish.com, which will be launched in the very near future will be the internet address for all online searches via smartphone.   LEIBISH's official website changes from what is was when we originally began and what it will be with the new release Where is the future going in the virtual world? How will the Internet trade look in 10 years? I don’t know - but I invite you to share your thoughts with me.

James Bond is my favorite hero. He is so cool. I tried to act as cool or run as fast as he does. I even bought a black tie, but it just didn’t help. I am not the real deal. I don’t feel I could be as invincible as James Bond is. He overcomes all handicaps, never fails in action, always has a plan, an escape plan, and even a Plan C. His car explodes or a bomb wrecks his room, but it doesn’t faze him in the least, he just keeps moving along on his way. How can it be that the all-powerful chief of the CIA lost his cool and composure and could not act like James Bond? The resignation of David Petraeus was actually due to some emails he sent to his biographer with some sticky details of their extramarital affair years ago. How did the private email of the head of the secret service get published? In the second half of 2011, Google received 20,938 requests to access Google accounts, of which 7,969 came from US Government agencies! - Source: Roger Cohen International Herald Tribune.  The legendary Allan Dulles must be turning in his grave in disbelief. He would not have even considered resigning over such an indiscretion, nor Moshe Dayan – he wouldn’t have even blinked with his one eye. They both conducted endless affairs but did not write mails about them… It seems as though the time of the great bedroom hero is over. We now live in virtual times where cyber reality rules. The party with the most Likes on Facebook is the winner. But although the times may have changed, human behavior remains the same. How could this silly affair motivate the head of the CIA to resign?What was the real reason for the sudden resignation - the sin or the fear of punishment? I believe it was neither. Since the era of Alan Dulles, neither sin nor punishment has changed. What did change is the perception and public effect of every negative action. In the virtual world everything is magnified. The power of social media is much stronger and scary than any publication of 30 years ago. Nobody would dare to write a bad article about Alan Dulles in the New York Times but even if an article was published in the papers it would have been forgotten a week later. Nothing is ever forgotten in the virtual world; you can delete an email but you cannot hide your actions; what you do or did is monitored and recorded. We live in a glass house with open windows to the world. On the Internet, dishonest or crooked behavior is visible to everyone. There is no delay of information - good or bad. Every action is known and in full view from almost every location. The war to gain Likes and positive perception is so powerful, that entire nations are fighting on Facebook for the sympathy of the masses. Perhaps in the future no physical war will be fought. Rather the warring parties will aim to win virtual wars through social media. Luckily we don’t sell guns… Through this magnifying glass small things or events get blown out of all proportions. The fear of public rejection in the virtual world is so great that sometimes a mosquito bite can bring an elephant to its knees. One of the reasons for the great success of the Cyber Monday campaign we just ran is the same. The openness of the virtual world connects us to everyone who is looking for fancy color diamonds and jewelry.   I was stunned that a simple search for a yellow diamonds resulted in more than 25 pages about our company. The ultimate transparency of the cyber world has many aspects - good and bad. By standing on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong you can see a person eating in his garden in Paolo Alto. Habits and behavior codes are openly recorded and sometimes revealed. Every move over the Web leaves some trace. 06:30 GMT I see 29 customers in our store. If I would have the time to look, I could find each one of them with the picture and their published information on Facebook or LinkedIn. All of them know us to a different extent. Some of them know many personal details about me; not just the name of my dog and my birthday but many details. Unlike a jewelry store on cyber Monday, our online store is always open and has infinite floor space. You can walk in and out and drop your card or you can try to stay anonymous. The total transparency made some radical changes in the shopping habits and eliminated many barriers between producers and the end consumer. If I analyze the 29 customers who shopped simultaneously in our web store, I realize that the whole world was present, but racial or political considerations were not present: A Japanese lady bought a  fancy deep blue A lady from Taiwan purchased a light brownish pink A gentleman from Hong Kong ordered an engagement ring A man from Teheran wanted to buy a yellow diamond Our US customers were in the majority with readymade jewelry – privates and dealers The total transparency of the Internet has made some radical changes in our daily life, including shopping habits. On the plus side, it may have eliminated many barriers between producers and consumers; however it has also opened some of the gates of hell. You must watch your every move. Remember, if you do anything wrong you are in a glass house and everyone sees you. If you have proper values – stick to them. In other words, as an ancient Yiddish proverb stated over a century ago, “The whole world is a small city.”  

As I have never been invited for high tea at Buckingham Palace, you must have heard from my wife that I am allergic to gluten – celiac, and don't eat those mini cucumber and cheese sandwiches they usually serve. Your Royal Majesty, if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you a question; and please do not take offence at my indiscretion. 3ct Chameleon Heart-shaped diamond purchased anonymously to Buckingham palace Was the 3 carat, Heart-shaped, Chameleon diamond, which was ordered directly to Buckingham Palace, delivered to you in person? The color matches your dress perfectly so I figured it must have been for you. The reason I am raising this matter with you is that lately, I have become a convert to face to face meetings with our customers. There is something heartwarming about meeting a person who has purchased from you so many times in the past. The greatest moment of my recent US media campaign, was the meeting with Mike and Lisa. We had developed the Mike and Lisa Four Seasons Color Collection - an investment portfolio of fancy colored diamond jewelry with a cost in excess of USD$1,000,000. This trip was the first time we had the pleasure of meeting each other. I never saw these people in my life, yet they trusted me enough to make such a large purchase towards their investment over the phone. As they entered the revolving door in the Prime Grill restaurant in New York, we looked at one another and I nearly cried. Mike gave me a wide open straight smile. This genuinely amazing young couple trusted me by investing their hard earned funds in my jewelry. I did not ask him to, but at the ‘World Of Color’ event, held at the St. Regis Hotel on that freezing cold Wednesday evening, Mike stood up and told his story about LEIBISH He explained about how he searched both on and offline for close to half a year for the best place to acquire high end jewelry at the best prices possible – and from someone he felt he could trust. He continued to describe his experiences dealing with us as a company and appreciation of conversing with us as friends. He was genuine and authentic, and he told the secret of the Leibish brand reliability - honest appraisal and great value! Leibish and Rosi with Mike and Lisa   At the latest Hong Kong show I had the funniest encounter. A couple was looking at our showcases and I spotted that the lady was wearing the most magnificent Maltese cross pendant I have ever seen. I approached the lady and told her how much I admired her pendant. She smiled and responded, “Oh yes. We have actually been your customers for years.” Once we traveled as far as Western Australia to see a client who purchased a collection from us. He waited for us in the middle of the night to pick us up personally from the airport. In fact, we spent the entire weekend just getting to know this client who put us up in his home. Your Majesty, I am aware that you may not be able to invite me to the great reception at your palace, but can I invite you for a cup of tea to my home? Our home is currently being renovated but when it is finished I would love to have you over. The Polnauer home renovation   I would make you a lovely cup of tea and you could ask me any question you like about fancy color diamonds and receive an honest answer. My wife is also English and claims that I prepare the best tea of any non-English person. If you require further references from your loyal subjects, we have a lovely English couple, Paul and Sarka, who really love our jewelry. They are now like part of our family.   Leibish, Itzik, Paul, and Sarka   Your Majesty, you are a distinguished lady who has been doing incredible work for over 60 years, often under the most trying of circumstances. Congratulations on reaching this milestone of the Diamond Jubilee. May your next 60 years be just as fruitful and please consider my invitation to tea as perpetually open.

The Titanic's maiden voyage was not an everyday Caribbean Cruise. Rather, it was a dramatic expression of excellence, excess and abundance of wealth. The first class passenger list was a who's who of the rich and prominent of 1912. A single person in first class cost £30 (which is approximately the equivalent of £2,201) and up to £870 (approximately £63,837 today) for a parlor suite and small private promenade deck. First class passengers enjoyed a number of amenities including a gymnasium, a squash court, a salt water swimming pool, electric and Turkish baths, a barbershop, kennels for first class dogs, elevators and both open and enclosed promenades. At the time, displaying ones fortune was respected. In fact, most first class passengers also travelled accompanied by their personal staff - valets, maids, nurses for the children, chauffeurs and personal cooks. The Ships extravagant services were fitting for those aboard. As an excellent example, the last dinner on the Titanic was well documented and remembered. Many fancy restaurants have since tried to recreate it as a symbol of luxury dining.    The First-Class Menu  As served in the first-class dining saloon of the R.M.S. Titanic on April 14, 1912 First CourseHors D'OeuvresOysters Second CourseConsommé OlgaCream of Barley Third CoursePoached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Cucumbers Fourth CourseFilet Mignons LiliSaute of Chicken, LyonnaiseVegetable Marrow Farci Fifth CourseLamb, Mint SauceRoast Duckling, Apple SauceSirloin of Beef, Chateau PotatoesGreen PeaCreamed CarrotsBoiled RiceParmentier & Boiled New Potatoes Sixth CoursePunch Romaine Seventh CourseRoast Squab & Cress Eighth CourseCold Asparagus Vinaigrette Ninth CoursePate de Foie GrasCelery  Tenth CourseWaldorf PuddingPeaches in Chartreuse JellyBrown & Vanilla ÉclairsFrench Ice Cream   Following the tenth course, fresh fruits and cheeses were available followed by coffee and cigars accompanied by port and, if desired, distilled spirits. If you have to have a last dinner, you could do a lot worse!- writes Gary Fischer. The guests who traveled first class on the Titanic and dined on a 12 course dinner with the richest passenger on board, John Astor, where dressed appropriately. No one was wearing jeans, a blouse, and a Sweetwater pearl necklace. For a real lady does not just put on a dress, rather, she gets entirely dressed up. Amazingly, nobody writes about the jewelry and dresses the ladies were wearing. There are sure to be thousands of fine pieces of evening jewelry guests might have lost in the ocean that evening. Among the artifacts recovered from underwater expeditions to the Titanic were two beautiful rings. One included 60 diamonds and the other an exquisite Sapphire center stone. Many exceptional ladies boarded the Titanic maiden voyage and it is amazing to consider the jewelry that they were wearing. I imagine that at table number 9 seated the most rich and famous, together with John and Madeline Astor and Eleanor Widener.  Eleanor Widener must have meticulously prepared what she will wear on the first Gala evening. Three dresses to chose from and her favored multicolor diamond jewelry, for this was after all the maiden voyage of the ship. Eleanor Widener was convinced that it would be trip of a lifetime. Sadly- she was right. Madeleine Astor needed some exceptional jewelry as well to wear at the first Gala Dinner. Since we don’t really know what pieces she had on, I can propose what we would have dressed her up with. Perhaps if this vintage jewelry was made by LEIBISH and designed by our very own Chavi Itzhakov... LEIBISH's Jewelry Designer, Chavi Itzhakov, who crafted all the pieces shown below Eleanor and her husband weren't the richest passengers on board--that honor went to John Jacob Astor. However, they were not too far behind. Her husband was the heir to the largest fortune in Philadelphia and with that comes a certain social responsibility. Consequently, they were very well-known for their lavish parties and their enviable guest lists. Once aboard the Titanic, they made it a point to meet the right people and invite them to their private parties. Let us ask our designer Chavi Itzhakov- what Eleanor would have been wearing for the Gala Dinner at the Titanic?   LEIBISH magnificent multicolor diamond earrings   Some of the other table 9 attendees were Helene Baxter, Lucile Carter, Airedale and King Charles Spaniel, and Alice Elizabeth Fortune. Helene Baxter was the wife of the infamous "Diamond Jim" Baxter and descendant of the French-Canadian heroine, Madeleine de Vercheres. Helen had purchased one of the Titanic's most expensive suites, B 58/60, for the cost of £247. Although the business was lost, Helen was very well cared for from her husband’s wise investments. After selling her mansion and the Baxter Block, Helen would have wanted to show her wealth with something striking, such as a Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ring. A Fancy Vivid Blue, Pear-shaped Diamond ring   Lucile Carter, wife of William Ernest Carter, survived together with her husband and two children. She was noted to have often sported striking cloths and extravagant wear.  Lucile was very excited of the idea of the Grand Staircase. Knowing that she could make a dramatic entrance into the first class saloon in front of some of the most famous men and woman around. She knew that the internationally famous couturier, Lady Duff-Gordon, was on the Titanic and assumed that many of the women in the saloon would be wearing her gowns. Lucile was a tough woman known for her athletic side, which came very much into play when she took the over the oar of the lifeboat. There is no question that she dressed herself up for that entrance with a dazzling pair of earrings and a ring that grasped the attention of the room.  LEIBISH Magnificent Multicolor Diamond Flower Brooch Miss Alice Elizabeth Fortune was only 24 when she boarded the Titanic. There is a story told about Alice that tells of her travels to Cairo, Egypt. Only two months before the Titanic sailed, she was approached by an Egyptian fortune teller who warned her that she was in danger while travelling at sea. For he he saw her adrift in an open boat. Alice returned to her home in Manitoba, Canada and married Charles Holden Allen just two months later just before they boarded the great Titanic. As a young, elegant girl our jewelry designer would have dressed her in nothing but pink diamonds.  Madeline and John Astor were among the richest couples of America at the time. Everyone wanted to be on their table. John Astor had a net worth of what would be today about two Billion. There is no doubt that something of both extreme rarity and beauty would have on display. LEIBISH 2.00 Carat, Fancy Yellow, Cushion, VS1 diamond ring and a 2.04 Carat, Fancy Light Yellow Halo Drop, Pear-shaped Earrings    Most of the ladies on the table of the rich and famous survived, but all their man perished. All money on the face of this earth could not help them to get a place in a lifeboat. So what happened to all their glorious diamond jewelry? A diamond can endure 100 years under arctic waters. It wouldn’t lose its color, its luster or its shine. Nothing is timeless except diamonds. All the passengers from the Titanic are dead and mostly forgotten, but a piece of jewelry from the Titanic, whether on the ocean floor or recovered, will live forever.

There was never an instance that a country benefited from prolonged warfare, wrote Sun Tzu in his seminal work, the Art of War. A trade show is a war! The BaselWorld show lasted for 8 days. It may not be Afghanistan, but after 8 days, the lights in the eyes of all the exhibitors are extinguished. We sent a staff of five to represent us at the show. It was a bit like the Royal Air Force fighting a guerilla war. Yossi, our CEO, struggled most of the time with on-site technical problems. Our e-Commerce team, headed by Itzik, who constantly work towards eliminating the hassle of trade shows for both our buyers and sellers. Benji, our Content Manager, who creates articles and press material. Amir, our internet salesman, who can effortlessly and simultaneously remotely serve four customers on four different continents, and last but not least, Papa (Leibish), a jovial elderly gentleman and team mascot.   The LEIBISH Baselworld Team   I believe that the crux of trade shows has hardly changed in a century - buyers and sellers traveled to Leipzig or another trade fare loaded with money and returned with wagon loads or ship loads of merchandise - spices, silk, livestock, and more. They then distributed the goods at home to the local traders or consumers. With modern technology though, the manner of doing business has definitely changed. The trade show is a bricks and mortar representation of our website (www.leibish.com), on which our stock is listed in a manner that enables our customers to learn everything they need to know about the items they consider purchasing and then some. I had a funny encounter at the show that illustrates the power of our online sales path. A client said to me in the booth "I'll go back to the hotel room and select the items I want from your website, then I'll come back." My trader instinct was instantly roused, "Don't go! I can show you everything right here." "Na, that’s too much hassle. I do it much faster from my room online." Our customers love the ease and high quality service they receive on our eCommerce site, as proved by our 101st positive testimonial on our iVouch page: LEIBISH's 101st iVouch Ditto Facebook; where we just reached 5000 likes! Perhaps at BaselWorld we were simply out of our element. We sold a lot of stock, but it was not fun. After all, we are the best of breed virtual fancy color diamond jewelry brand and, as an army marches on its stomach, it is imperative that my troops were well fed during this war. To this end, our initial foray at BaselWorld was not encouraging.Though, we obviously kept in great spirits.  Our CEO, Yossi together with Amir and Benji Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt – continues Sun Tzu. Our very first impenetrable plan in Basel following fixing our booth ended in a great disappointment. The customary fresh Swiss Spargel (asparagus) was removed from the menu of the kosher restaurant. And that was the only appealing item in the restaurant. How can we run a war under these conditions? In my eyes, this was unforgivable and was first warning sign that something is fundamentally wrong at the Basel Show.   Leibish and his team setting up the booth and sitting down to business at the BASELWORLD 2012 show To add insult to injury, after we paid up front over a hundred thousand dollars for the booth, shipping, and insurance, we could not even get a reasonable functioning Internet connection. Our brand lives on the www - it is an indispensable part of our business. We felt like fish out of water. Yossi taking care of things in our booth before opening day The funniest and most ironic encounter took place just as the curtain opened on the first day, when I received a phone call from the show organizer – do we have a deal for you for next year’s show! “What’s the rush?” I asked. “Our sages teach us Rushing is Satanic. Oh, fine. Never mind, send it over,” I said. “No, you have to come personally and pick it up at the organizers office as it is valid only for 24 hours,” he replied. I had this uneasy feeling in my stomach like seeing the head of the dead horse in my bed from the Godfather - they are making me an offer I can't refuse. “What did you say?’” I uttered in my best German, “I have to come to fetch your ultimatum? Send it over or get lost.” And I hung up the phone. Soon after, they delivered the offer with a messenger. I started asking my colleagues what they did. I could not believe they all accepted the offer. I was feeling like the Mafia has come to collect their protection money. The cost of the booth in Hong Kong was about 10% of the Basel booth, and the caliber of visitors was 1000 times higher. In Hong Kong we did not have a minute rest. Hungry and driven Chinese jewelers and privates occupied our booth uninterrupted.    Our Booth at the Baselworld 2012 Show   BaselWorld is a dying event and the arrogance of the organizer will speed up its demise. The vitality and vigor of the LEIBISH brand does not depend on any trade show. Our showcases are open all year around. Our customers can see most of our goods immediately and purchase them directly within seconds after they are listed. Most of our clients don't even know where Basel is. They wouldn't consider flying around the world to buy a canary diamond engagement ring or to admire an exceptional Argyle Pink diamond. They search Google, check prices and do their research, then they study our recently sold item page. We sometimes sell items so fast, I don’t even get the chance to see them. Still, we accepted the BaselWOrld organizer’s offer. God knows why… My personal luck was that just before I had to return home for the circumcision of my grandson, one of our favorite clients with who we have worked for 30 years fell in love with our multicolor bracelet. He himself makes exceptional jewelry, but decided to buy a present for his wife from our Chavi Itzhakov design. It was my favorite item and he realized that it was important to me that he buys our jewelry as his personal present. The beautiful multicolor bracelet purchased by a client and a friend   “Leibish, I don’t buy it for the company, I buy it for myself personally.” He put his arm around my shoulder, “How long have we known each other, about 30 years?” he smiled. “Don’t let me walk away without this piece of jewelry in my hand”. Then, he made an offer I could not refuse. That was Basel - 2012.  

The world isn’t moving according to economic or financial considerations. There are no declarations, plans, or stimuli that have lasting effects on America. Restarting the engine of the United States, and all its other components, relies entirely on emotion. It doesn’t matter who will be the next president - it will make little difference. A few months ago in the President’s Corner, The Great Salamander, I went on record as stating that 2012 will be the year of the Great American Recovery. The fun has already began; picture New York at 5 below zero, the heart defrosts slowly. However, the American spring makes New York blossom. I met a great number of people during our media week in New York. I appeared on CNBC with Melissa Lee. I said a number of times in my press appearance that the Fun Factor which drives the fancy color diamond business will be the engine of the Great American Recovery in 2012. People want to enjoy the money they have and want to invest in things which are not just safe, but fun. If you buy 10,000 IBM shares or a kilogram of gold, it may be a great investment but it is definitely less fun than owning the 1.68 ct, prosperity pink diamond... If you buy a pink diamond ring, you can wear it for 10 years and it will not lose its sparkle or age a day - it has no shelf life. The longer you wear it, the more valuable it becomes. Can you show me any other product on the face of this earth which is so much fun to have and increases in value annually? You can wear it every day, bequest it to your children and it will maintain and increase in value. Spring is in the heart of the American people – it’s a time of rebirth and resurrection. The country is fed up of having to carry the economic and political problems of the whole world on its broad shoulders. The U.S. left Iraq and it will leave Afghanistan as well. It will stop worrying about the Euro, Greece, and the other problems we have and then the engine of emotional and economic recovery will be ignited. Warren Buffet is bullish on America – with good reason. No doubt he has copious data to support his theory; while I only have my gut feeling about the future - driven by the Fun Factor. In Hong Kong or in Shanghai, people are talking about luxury living. Although in New York, living in style is center stage. To wear fancy color jewelry is a display of great fashion and luxurious design. Kittie Smith with the LEIBISH 54.84 Carat 'Tutti Frutti' Multicolor Diamond Bracelet and a 3.57 Carat, Heart-shaped Ring and the 2.02 Carat, Matching Pair of Fancy Yellow Pear-shaped Diamond Ring   During my CNBC interview on “Squawk on the Street” and at other press events this week, I stated that if you were to invest in a 5.01 carat fancy intense pink heart shape diamond 10 years ago, you would have paid USD600,000. If you would have sold this stone today, you would have received USD 2.6 million – a 333% return. Leibish Polnauer and Melissa Lee on the CNBC Set If instead you bought blue chip stocks on the day that Sotheby' sold this 5.01 carat fancy intense pink diamond, dividing your money between GE, Coca Cola, and Berkshire Hathaway A shares, you would have been lucky to get your USD600,000 back! I won’t even begin to discuss the Fun Factor of having owned the fancy intense pink for 10 years rather than a piece of paper. The LEIBISH Prosperity Pink Diamond Ring The greatest moment of this latest US media campaign, was our meeting with Lisa and Mike. We had developed the Mike and Lisa Four Seasons Color Collection, an investment portfolio of over USD$1,000,000 of fancy colored diamond jewelry. This trip was the first time we had the pleasure of meeting each other. I never saw these people in my life, yet they trusted me enough to make such a large purchase and investment over the phone. As they entered the revolving door in the Prime Grill restaurant in New York, we looked at one another and I nearly cried. Mike gave me a wide open straight smile. This genuinely amazing young couple trusted me by investing their hard earned funds in my jewelry. I did not ask him to, but at the ‘World Of Color’ event, held at the St. Regis Hotel on that freezing cold Wednesday evening, Mike stood up and told his story about LEIBISH He explained about how he searched both on and off line for close to half a year for the best place to acquire high end jewelry at the best prices possible – and from someone he felt he could trust. He continued to describe his experiences with dealing with us a company and appreciation of conversing with us as friends. He was genuine and authentic, and he told our secret of the Leibish brand-reliability - honest appraisal and great value! Leibish and Rosi with Mike and Lisa

Allow me this time to introduce you to my new friend Ramu. He is an Indian tribesman who lives with his wife and his son in the middle of a South Indian natural forest reserve. They are located approximately a two hour drive from the city of Trivandrum, in a 12 square-meter house made from bamboo. Calling him or sending over an email is completely out of the question since he has no blackberry, cell phone, or electrical items of any kind. All of his possessions amount to six chickens, two pigs, and a dog. Leibish Polnauer and Ramu   If you search for 'Tribesman in India' in Google, Ramu definitely won't be on the first page of results. In fact, he isn’t even listed anywhere, but it makes no difference to him. I was recently told that if you don’t appear on the first page of Google, you simply don’t exist. Not only that, but the conversion rate for sites on the first and ninth placed is vastly different. If you're on the top of the first page, the conversion rate of the traffic is a miraculous eight times higher compared to the last position on that same very first page of results. How is that you ask? Our SEO expert explained it to me. If you're first, then each click you receive is worth eight times as much as on the bottom of the first page. Sounds nearly as bad as the Olympic Games, where the cameras are on the winner only - the guy who finished in eighth place is not even mentioned. I was trying to communicate all of that to Ramu, but he just shrugged his shoulder and gave me a big smile. Ramu has no interest in his Google placement or his international reputation. His concerns are quite basic - mostly related to water, light, and food. He is not concerned about losing his job, because he has no job. He's self employed, so to speak. He doesn't want to sell anything and he doesn't buy anything. The jungle where he lives has no internet connection and no reception for cell phones either. I have a really bad habit of pulling out my blackberry every two minutes to check for my new emails, although needless to say – there wasn’t much of any point of that where we were. After hanging around with Ramu for a few hours, I realized that you don’t have to be online all the time. It will not reduce my digital multi-presence if I miss one hour, though I still wouldn't dare to miss a whole day…. So upon our return to civilization, I finally noticed a concerned mail from my sales team. They experienced some trauma since Tiffany temporarily took our customary first place on Google, for the search phrase 'yellow diamonds'. I thought about it for a while, and then tried telling them about my encounter with Ramu. They tried to figure out, who is this Ramu? What does he have to do with us losing the first place on Google? There's no record of him in any place. Maybe he's a secret Guru who Leibish went to see in the Indian Jungle?? How did we get to the top of the first page in Google? I once thought Google rates sites from the diamond industry by employing young ladies who search through the various websites and select through for the best one. To my great disappointment, I was told that Google doesn’t use young ladies to patrol the web. Rather, they have powerful bots that find their way through the World Wide Web and rate the sites according to incoming links, keywords, tags, visitors, and more. Each site is given a specific ranking according to a very complicated algorithm. According to the ranking, Google places your companies listing in their search engine results. Either you appear on top or you are not a player yet… So many shroud operators are feeding these Google bots with incorrect information while trying to create the impression that they are the company with most visitors and conversation. These Google bots, which I imagine to be like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the terminator, might get confused with all their false information and pull out their guns in order to wipe that site out. The big question in my mind is this: Why is the first place on the first page eight times more valuable, than the seventh or eighth place? At the end of the day, only quality and price should prevail?!? Customer satisfaction creates a happy customer, and happy customers generate further traffic. Do achievements and winning make one fulfilled or successful? Judging by our regular terms, my tribesman friend in the jungle is not a great achiever. He is definitely not making a second comeback like Steve Jobs did. Although, Ramu showed me that you don’t need to achieve in order to be fulfilled, or satisfied. Achievements arrive when you excel at what you do and make your customers happy. Their happiness will bring you further achievements, such as ranking first among the many results in Google.

We have been selling diamonds for over 30 years now. When we started, it was a rather simple procedure. We bought or manufactured a parcel. I would travel to London or Hong Kong, add a few percent profit to our cost, and make a customer happy. Over the years, some stones remained in our possession and were kept secure in one of our safes. The bigger the business grew, the more the stock grew. The industry is moving at an unbelievable pace. People seek immediate results and look for instant gratification. In the past, I had to reserve a ticket, hotel room, and board a plane just to show a stone and perhaps sell it to one of our customers. It was a logistic undertaking of at least 4-5 days. Today, I can upload an Argyle pink diamond at 4:00 p.m., and one hour later it is sold to a customer in Perth who lives just a diamond throw from the Argyle headquarters. About ten years ago, we began to sell layout designs in combinations of different fancy colored diamonds. The stones were placed in glass boxes ready to be set according to our customer's request. In 2006 we expanded, and began to make fine jewelry. In fact, one of the first pieces our company made, designed by Chavi Itzhakov, was created for Liz Taylor's company. She was a real lover of jewelry and diamonds. Liz took one look at those earrings and said, "That one’s for me!" Samples of Layout Designs Crafted by Chavi Itzhakov at LEIBISH   About two years ago we launched the Create Your Own Ring section on our website. This enabled our customers to choose from a large inventory to make their own designs. They added the stones they fell in love with and chose the ring they most preferred. Then we came into the picture and put together their custom made work of art. The diamonds we sell did not change over the years. The cut, the clarity, and the fancy colors are all the same. However, marketing our business changed dramatically. Our business is spread over a number of different continents and we now have customers all over the world. We post a stone on our website and ten minutes later have the first e-mail from Prague, our first customer asking, “Is that diamond for me?” In the same hour we get a short note from Los Angeles, “Amazing! I must have this stone!”A few months ago I wrote about the 'Tutti Frutti' bracelet, from Cartier. This elegant piece of work was sold in the Sotheby's auction on September 20, 2011 for a whopping USD842,500 after only having been given an estimated value of USD200,000 - 300,000. LEIBISH Tutti Frutti Bracelet   Our designer, Chavi Itzhakov, created her own version of the 'Tutti Frutti' styled bracelet with 54ct Rose-cut Fancy Color Diamonds. When I recently took it out of the safe to show off to one of our customers, it brought a smile to my face to see the same wild sparkle it had when it was first made. In fact, all the diamonds in that safe that we collected over the years look as if I had placed them in the safe last night before leaving home from the office. As time rolls on, business will evolve. Lately we are experiencing a totally new phenomenon with colored diamonds. Both private individuals and larger investment firms are buying fancy color diamonds, just to put them away. They don’t even take possession of the stones; they buy, pay, and the stones disappear into bank vaults, not to be seen for years. The market for fancy colored diamonds is steadily increasing at a phenomenal pace. For example, a magnificent pair of fancy intense blue and fancy vivid yellow diamond ear pendants, with the carat weight of 4.40 and 4.82 was sold in 2004 for only USD190,000 per carat (a total of USD2,517,612). Today, such an item would have been easily sold for USD650,000 - 700,000 per carat. On September 20, 2011, a stunning Platinum, Fancy Intense Blue Pear-Shaped diamond weighing 2.59 carats and near colorless pendant necklace was sold at Sotheby’s New York Important Jewels Auction for approximately USD300,000 per carat (a total of USD782,500). The fancy intense blue pear-shaped stone was almost half the size of the fancy intense blue stones in the earrings sold in 2004. That is a mere six years later, and the price received, which was an absolute steal for such a work of art, was almost twice as much.  It goes to show that the value of fancy colored diamonds in moving in the right direction.A friend of mine from New York had got his hands on an amazing piece. My Indian broker saw the stone and wanted to introduce me and the American, not knowing that we were actually friends. He dragged my friend aside and told him, using the only English phrase he knows, “Leibish – Pink diamond”, “Leibish – Pink Diamond.” I opened the parcel paper and to my complete surprise an amazing 3.00 carat fancy pink marquise smiled at me. It was asking me, “Do you recognize me?” I turned to my son and said “Isn't this the pink we sold a few years ago?” “No,” he answered. “I never saw that stone in my life. I’d remember that one!” I just couldn’t get it off my mind, since the stone looked so familiar. I was sure I once owned that stone before. At the dinner table, the following night, it hit me like an anvil that fell from the ceiling. It was the lovely pink diamond I had sold about 15 years ago. My son, who was just fifteen years old at the time, couldn’t have remembered that one. I can see it like it was yesterday. That 3.00 carat fancy pink was set in a blue sapphire ring. We had advertised the ring on the back cover of a magazine. A private, who saw the advertisement, called from Florida and bought the ring after a one minute conversation with our New York office. The 3.00 ct Fancy Pink Marquise Set in a Blue Sapphire Ring   I walked over to my New York client who was sitting at the very next table and asked him if that stone happened to have been set in a blue sapphire ring. “Yes” he said surprisingly. “You can have the ring as well if you would like.” “I bought it from a Florida private.”The stone was sold 15 years ago. Now, it’s back like new, with a new GIA certificate. The stone, which I had last seen so long ago, was sparkling just as bright as it was back then. Only now, the asking price was 3 times as high. Original Magazine Advertisement with the 3.00ct Fancy Pink Marquis Set in a Blue Sapphire Ring from the Late 90's History proves itself time and time again, as I have been saying all along, diamonds are forever! Let me just take this opportunity to wish all my friends "Shana Tova Umetuka! A Happy, Healthy and Sweet new year!  

History has pages for nations, especially those that excelled. The same applies to brands and products. There is no need to go back too far in history to see this trend.In the 19th century, Great Britain was the dominant force in the world– Britannia ruled the waves. The U.S. took this mantle from the British in the mid-20th century. And it seems as though the Chinese are in the process of taking the mantle from the declining American Empire. I was sitting on the porch of our favourite spot at Taj Exotica in Goa, India, observing a gaggle of geese in the pond acting in what was clearly an organized manner - whatever direction the leader took, the remaining geese followed. I assume that none of the geese ever attended  a business school or had been trained, however they acted in quite a purposeful manner  as part of a group. India, which was the crown jewel of the British Empire from the second half of the 14th century, was the predominant source for diamonds entering Europe. Portuguese navigator, Vasco da Gama, discovered the sea route to India in 1498, by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. This new and easier route soon led to European dominance of the Indian diamond trade. Consequently, the Indians have been in the diamond trade for over 600 years. Taking another sip of my gin and tonic it suddenly dawned on me that Vasco da Gama not only discovered the route to India but also opened the gate to the Portuguese diamond trade in Goa. And I am now sitting at a luxury hotel in Goa watching a gaggle of geese and trying to understand how the history of the world developed hand in hand with the diamond business. I was thinking about the warning my son mentioned that the U.S. may default on its trillions of national debt. I calmed myself with the thought that the senators who are opposing to extend debt ceiling will eventually come to a compromise. The U.S. Treasury has printed trillions of dollars, predominantly held by the Chinese- so what are they worried about? No such thing can ever happen in India. I tried to figure out how this chaotic continent became a leading economic player? What makes the Indians so successful? Upon arrival at the Taj Exotica, the hotel presented us with a welcome back brown cake. It was a very touching gesture; however, following a stern warning about maintaining a low calorie intake, we did not dare to touch it. On the second day, the cake started to attract the attention of the ants and flies. They became really excited and filled the room, disrupting my afternoon nap. I contacted housekeeping to remove the cake with the flies. Two serious looking guys promptly arrived; one holding a tennis racket. I was a bit taken aback; was this guy going to chase the flies away one by one? What a novel service! I was a bit skeptical but knowing the problem-solving ability of the Indians, I thought I would just wait and see. The guy surprised me - he just passed the racket around the flies and I realized it contained an electric trap. In less than two minutes all the flies had been taken care of, swiftly and efficiently. Once again, I learned a great lesson - executive  power has to be simple, clean, and electrifying. Approximately 30 years ago, India was the biggest consumer of sugar in the world.Last year India was recorded as the biggest gold consumer. India accounted for 24% of total world gold consumption in 2010, with the fastest growth rate. That is more than the US. What a dramatic transition - from sugar to gold. The diamond industry in India employs 1 million polishers; the number of software engineers may be even greater. However half of the products exported from India are consumed by the U.S. So how can it be, that even with its economic troubles, the U.S. is still the biggest consumer market of the world? If China and India became so rich and successful serving America and selling their diamonds and software to the USA – with almost all sales on credit and borrowing – how can it be that America is in dire financial straits? My G & T was finished and I understood - the world is round, what is down today, may be up tomorrow; only values and principals will prevail. The U.S. has values and they are willing to make sacrifices. The sun rises in the East but sets in West. Diamonds don’t lose their sparkle, they are forever.        

We named our company LEIBISH, Leibish is my name, my first name. It means a lion, and you have to be a lion to survive in this jungle. We could have selected a fancy name, but we prefer not to hide from our customers. It is important to us that our clients know there are real live breathing people behind the brand. I want my customers to know me, my wife and five children are behind every piece of jewelry we sell. Leibish Polnauer, Founder and President of LEIBISH We don’t use software to help us select the goods that are seemingly, the best value for our money. Rather, we examine each of the diamonds and gemstones before adding them to our collection, just as all jewelers did 50 years ago. In fact, I would say that the vast majority of goods we look at are immediately rejected. To assess the finest diamonds and be able to differentiate between two stones with a similar certificate, you need to be an expert gemologist. I am comfortable enough to say, we are experts. LEIBISH's GIA Certificates A colored diamond or a fine emerald is similar to a painting. When you want to buy an important piece of art, you consult with an expert, and it’s the same when it comes to buying our goods. You consult a real expert for value, for quality, and for craftsmanship. None of that information is included in the GIA certificate. The first criteria looked at is the color saturation of the face (or table) of the stone. We study the stone and give it an in-house grade, anywhere from 1-10, before we even look at the GIA diamond report to see what they said. For example, the color face up is much more important than small details of clarity. A fine intense yellow diamond with a VS2 clarity grade is much more valuable than a weak intense yellow with a VVS1. You would be surprised just how many educated people in the industry are unaware of this basic information. I see it day after day. Especially when it comes to these products, people do their research. They read all the information they can get their hands on and then come to me asking for the specs. They get obsessed with what they learned about colorless diamonds and under the assumption that a diamond is a diamond, apply the same values to colored goods. Fancy Intense Yellow Diamonds Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamonds On paper, a VVS1 is more valuable than a VS2. Both groups in each of the images shown above are similar stones with very similar clarity grades. Believe it or not, the certificates are nearly identical. Although in the focused image you can see a difference, how can a layman really know which are the best group of stones when looking at it with a naked eye? The skill is knowing what to look for and where to look for it. Shmulik Polnauer my son is a GIA GG - a real expert. At age 25, he bought a 3ct vivid blue on his own, and I wasn’t looking over his shoulder. He has proved his himself a many times over, and anyone in the trade would happily vouch for him, hands down. He puts his signature on the appraisals. Shmulik Polnauer Louping a Yellow Diamond When buying an important diamond, knowledge is crucial. The certificate gives you a great guideline, but you need someone you can trust to find the most appropriate stones. The LEIBISH New York Showroom Look at the images of the yellows above and just try to identify which stone is of the best value. When you are facing a big decision for a fine stone, contact us. I promise that good advice from a reliable firm with 40 years of experience never hurts.

LEIBISH Mogok Vivid Pink Sapphire and Green Tsavorite Bombe Ring The Splendor of Mogok The world’s legendary jewels have all hailed from mysterious and exotic lands in far flung regions. The Star of India, that mammoth 6-rayed star stone was recovered from Sri Lanka. The Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever found, was mined in South Africa. And the enormous Jewel of Kashmir sapphire required heroic efforts to uncover it high in the Himalayas over a century back. Mogok city (Photo Credit to Naw Htike) The Road to Burma The Mogok Stone Tract in upper Burma has also been synonymous with the world’s most cherished jewels dating back some 2,000 years. Remote and inhospitable, this southeastern Asian country has famously produced remarkable jewels throughout time. This special tract is famed for ruby, sapphire, spinel, peridot, and moonstone. “For centuries, the Mogok Stone Tract’s hills were legendary for such amazing abundance that locals were said to come upon gems just glinting in the grass in their gardens,” reports the American Museum of Natural History in their published work, Ruby Land: The Gems and Geology of Myanmar’s Mogok Stone Tract. Miners in the Kadoke-tat mine (Photo Credit to Federico Barlocher) Ruby Land Ahead While it may be difficult to acquire these sumptuous stones today, it is still possible to those persistent enough to endure the rigors of Burma (Myanmar). The region’s highway boasts a “Welcome to Ruby Land” sign foretelling the approximately 1,000 working mines still found there. LEIBISH Burmese Marquise Ruby and Heart Diamond Three-Stone Halo Ring The exceptional 4.60 ct vivid red Mogok Splendor was mined in the monsoon-ridden subtropical valley of Kadoke Tat (or Kadote-dat). It was recovered from the natural marble fissure in Mogok Township a decade back. In Asia these stones are traditionally called Burma Ruby. The mine is acknowledged for its fine rubies and other gemstones.After being polished by a local craftsman, the crystal revealed its superb quality. The no-heat Mogok Splendor rivals the most incomparable of Burmese sapphires. Mogok Gems  The Trophy for Mining Hardship Mining gemstones, especially in this rugged terrain, is both grueling and fraught with danger. The miner has to move tons of marble and carefully scan the results for quality corundum. The miners must inspect hundreds of tons of marble just to find a worthy crystal. Miners in the Kadoke-tat mine during hard and dangerous labor Inside the Kadoke-tat mine The Valley is blessed with coveted gems including rubies and sapphires embedded in its creamy white marble that must be brought to the surface.   The stone embedded in motherock crystal of marble Vivid red rubies have increased in prominence following the closure of the Argyle mine in 2020.  While they are not cheap, they have a winning price point when contrasted to the stellar prices of pink diamonds. The Mogok Splendor Burmese ruby and sapphire are currently the darling of auction houses and reaching exceptional prices for fine goods. Collectors are quick to identify a superb stone when they see one and they understand they represent exceptional value while bringing a lifetime of enjoyment. LEIBISH Mogok Vivid Pink Sapphire and Green Tsavorite Bombe Ring LEIBISH Extraordinary Burma Unheated Red Ruby and Diamond Halo Ring

Luxury is part of magic. I often hear that luxury is about selling dreams. But I actually think luxury is not about dreams but rather it’s about magic. Luxury is a form of magic, which transforms and uplifts the nature of things, just as magicians and fairies do. Cartier the Alchemist Luxury maisons do not create that ethereal dream world, rather they embellish it by adding something completely enchanting to it. Jean Cocteau wrote about the legendary House of Cartier, describing its founder as a ‘subtle magician’. Cartier helps us see beauty wherever it may appear, including in the mundane like nails or screws. They become transformed into precious artifacts, objects of desire---just like that. They make the ordinary extraordinary, like an alchemist. LEIBISH Extraordinary No Heat Oval Sapphire and Diamond Side Stone Ring Transformation of Luxury The magic of luxury also has an effect on the one who wears these treasured creations. Precious stones carry energy and mystery, having been mysteriously forged below the Earth millions of years ago. Colorful stones have been collected, horded and fought over since time immemorial. From that they naturally evolved into potent symbols of royal or religious power. They hold a fragment of eternity. They render confidence. They enhance life and elevate the soul.   LEIBISH 1.73 carat, Fancy Intense Pink Diamond, Emerald Shape, SI1, GIA & ARGYLE Modern Times In the realm of luxury especially, jewelry takes on a mystical quality. Even so, modern times call for transparency all the way around-- on materials, processes, origins, and supply chains. The whole thing. One can wonder if this new era of transparency is compatible with magic. Will it not kill the mystery? I can’t see that it will kill the mystery because magic is not an illusion---luxury remains. The more one sees a true artisan’s craftsmanship, the more awe it brings. The more one understands the sum of technology and the know-how necessary to magnify beauty, the more amazing it becomes. The more one wears carefully curated jewelry. the more confident one feels. That luxury piece of jewelry is alluring—and so is the woman wearing it. LEIBISH Rosie's Bloom Collection Power of Love in Action When Luxury maisons create beautiful settings, it unleashes an ephemeral magical transformation, revealing its true charm and allure. Like Cinderella´s fairy godmother whose touch temporarily revealed Cinderella’s true self--- let’s experience the magic of love in operation.  LEIBISH Exceptional Fancy Vivid Yellow Green Radiant 3 Stone stone Diamond Ring