Dow Jones Newswires
Retailers Of C3's Fake Diamonds Dream Of Green Christmas
By MARY ELLEN LLOYD
Dow Jones Newswires
CHARLOTTE -- Jewelers carrying a new type of diamond substitute - moissanite gemstones developed by C3 Inc. (CTHR) - say strong early sales of the product have them dreaming of a green Christmas.
"It's just an amazing product," said Beau Beaudry, a jewelry designer who runs a high-end gift and jewelry store in Porterville, Calif. "There's been no other product that I've seen in the business that sells as readily or as steadily as the moissanite."
Beaudry, a 25-year veteran of the jewelry business, said some customers of his Jeweler's Gallery have been buying the lab-created moissanite "like candy" since the first shipment arrived four months ago.
And with the Christmas shopping season officially starting Friday, Beaudry expects his store sales this season to top last year's, thanks to moissanite.
Charlotte jeweler Al Rousso also expects moissanite to play an important role in Christmas sales, which are typically one-third to one-fourth of his annual business.
At 5-10% the retail cost of natural diamonds, moissanite appeals to the customer who "wants the look but can't afford the price of a diamond," said Rousso.
Synthetic moissanite fools jewelers' typical diamond-tester, a thermal conductivity meter. However, Rousso and other trained jewelers say they can spot the difference with a low-power magnifying lens.
"This is one of the greatest innovations in the jewelry industry in the 55 years I've been in it," he said.
If true, that could be good news for C3.
The Morrisville, N.C., company has been mining for profits since going public in November 1997. C3 remains several quarters from profitability, Chief Executive Jeff Hunter told Dow Jones recently.
The company posted a loss of $5.4 million, or 78 cents a share, in the first nine months of 1998. For all of last year, C3 lost $4.9 million, or $1.73 a share, on fewer outstanding shares.
C3 emerged from its status as a development-stage company this July and included figures from the first sales of moissanite in the third quarter, when it shipped 6,500 carats of the gem and posted sales of $1.2 million on it. Total sales for the period, which were $1.32 million, also included $100,000 from a test instrument C3 sells to distinguish moissanite from diamonds.
Hunter said Cree Research Inc. (CREE), the supplier of silicon carbide crystals - the basic material of the stones - is working to improve yields from the crystals by at least half. If Cree, which is run by Hunter's brother Neal, can do that, C3 should be profitable by mid-1999, said Hunter.
On Tuesday, C3 announced agreements for two new international distributors and for 24 new U.S. retailers. The international agreements require minimum moissanite purchases of about $10 million through 2000, including about $100,000 in 1998. The domestic agreements bring the total number of U.S. outlets to 76. |
