eBay and Department of Industrial Promotion Boost Online Expansion for businesses in Northern Thailand Through E-Commerce Seminar and Workshop

eBay and the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) today announced the launch of an e-commerce seminar and workshop that will be held on December 17 and 18, 2009 at Far Eastern University Airport Campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Titled, “Expand Your Business - Explore World Markets in 2010 through eBay”, it is aimed at helping Thai businesses to take advantage of export opportunities available via the Internet.


Arthit Wuthikaro, Director-General, Department of Industrial Promotion said, “The Department of Industrial Promotion has been collaborating with eBay to provide e-commerce training programs in Bangkok and other neighbouring parts of Thailand. In Chiang Mai, there is a strong supply of beautiful Thai clothing, handicrafts and jewellery which are popular with buyers around the world. We hope that through this joint event with eBay, Chiang Mai manufacturers will learn more about the opportunities that e-commerce brings and expand their sales channels internationally through eBay.”

According to a 2008 survey on e-commerce in Thailand conducted by the National Statistics Office, fashion, jewelry and clothing were the most popular products sold online, accounting for 29.4% of all e-commerce in Thailand.

Oliver Hua, Chief Operating Officer, eBay Greater China and Southeast Asia added, “We have seen positive results since the partnership announcement between eBay and the DIP in February 2009. More than 250 Thai businesses participated in the training programs and have started selling internationally on eBay’s global online marketplace. With US$15 billion in sales generated in the third quarter of 2009 alone and 89 million active members worldwide, eBay presents Thai businesses with a new and innovative sales channel in today’s competitive environment.”

The “Expand Your Business - Explore World Markets in 2010 through eBay” seminar will cover topics such as the basics of starting an export business online, successful eBay strategies and useful business tips by certified eBay Education Specialists and an eBay top seller. For participants who are ready to start selling on eBay, there will also be a full-day, hands-on workshop and individual consultation sessions conducted by eBay experts.

For more information about the seminar and workshop or to register for the event, please log on to http://www.shopping.co.th/eBayDIP. For other enquiries, please call 02-204-7979, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The full training program schedule can be found as follows:
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Venue: Auditorium, Far Eastern University Airport Campus, Chiang Mai
9.00 am – 12.00 pm How to Start Your First Export Business Online

1.00 pm – 3.00 pm Expand Your Business, Explore World Markets in 2010 Through eBay

3.30 pm – 4.30 pm Tips on How to Grow Your Online Business by eBay PowerSellers
4.30 pm – 5.30 pm Q&As, In-depth Consultation by eBay Gurus
Friday, 18 December 2009
Venue: Computer Room 1240, Far Eastern University Airport Campus, Chiang Mai

9.00 am – 4.30 pm eBay Workshop: Registration, Product Listings, and other topics.
About eBay Inc.

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

Love Story Collection by Diamond Today For Valentine’s Special

Diamond Today, for today’s working women introduces ‘Love Story Collection’, an absolute unique gift to ignite the fire of love with splashes of valentine jewelry during the romantic occasion of Valentine’s special. The Love Story collection is now available on special deal to express your love throughout February 2010 at Diamond Today counters nationwide.


The ‘Diamond Today’s Love Story Collection’ is special designed to bring out the best of women enigmatic beauty with a delicate piece of finest valentine jewelry. Let your sweetheart know the feelings that is hidden deep within heart with stunning valentine jewelry including pendant, ring, earrings and more. Open her heart with the heart shaped pendant set in baguettes diamonds in the master craftsman. Besides the striking hearted shape pendant, the embellished ‘Key of Love’ in key design pendant is promised a dearest love symbolic. Express your love and seal it with heart symbol pendant set in 4-diamonds weigh 0.05 carats with 18K Italian necklace for only 7,500 Baht (regular price of 9,700 Baht). The matching earrings in heart shape weigh 0.11 carats which is priced for 9,700 Baht is offered. (regular price of 12,800 Baht).

Promise rings are also available in this Love Story collection. The 14-diamond cut love story rings are the romantic gesture that symbolizes commitment between two people- a couple rings for her and him is priced only 24,000 Baht (regular of 53,600 Baht).

The Diamond Today Love Story collection is now available at Diamond Today’s red powerful counters at leading department stores nationwide including Central Chidlom, Central Bangna, Central Ladprao, Central Pinklao, Central Rama II, Central Silom Complex, Central Rama III, Central Cheangwattana, Central World, The Mall Bangkapi, Robinson Ratchada, Robinson Sukhumvit, Central Haad Yai and Central Festival Phuket.

THE OMEGA CONSTELLATION’S BRIGHTEST STAR

Every constellation in the universe has its brightest stars, and in OMEGA’s newly-redesigned Constellation line, nothing glitters more brilliantly than the unique and luxurious Constellation Baguette.


The Constellation Baguette has been created with a strong and vivid visual identity – its dial displays a dramatic supernova structure which emanates boldly from the diamond Constellation star on its mother-of-pearl background at 6 o’clock. The one-of-a-kind masterpiece glistens with 459 Top Wesselton diamonds totalling just over 30 carats.

The “invisible” mounting of the 146 baguette and trapeze diamonds on the dial means that no trace of the 18 Ct white gold used in the creation of its case can be seen between the precious stones.

The Constellation Baguette is not only an aesthetic wonder: it is driven by the OMEGA Co-Axial calibre 8421. OMEGA’s Co-Axial technology, introduced in 1999, has revolutionized the way fine mechanical watches are made. The movement’s Co-Axial escapement reduces the amount of sliding friction in the watch, virtually eliminating the need for lubrication, which means longer service intervals and greater precision over time. The Si 14 silicon balance spring adds resistance to shock and the effects of external disturbances.

Because the OMEGA Constellation Baguette is a one-of-a-kind horological masterpiece, every one of its 459 diamonds has been cut specifically for the watch. As a result, if one of the stones needs to be replaced or exchanged, the process can take longer than it would for a series-production watch. Any new diamond will have to be custom-prepared so that it matches the colour, clarity, cut and carat size of the stones around it. In fact, due to the absolutely unique nature of the Constellation Baguette, no standard replacement parts can be kept in stock – each one would have to be specially created for this extraordinary timepiece.

The OMEGA Constellation Baguette is the most elegant Constellation ever created and expresses the ultimate blend of elegant design and superior watchmaking.

Thai bourse lists Jubilee on alternative market

Thailand’s Market for Alternative Investment (mai) will list and trade Jubilee Enterprise PCL on November 9, using JUBILE as its trading symbol, after raising funds of THB98 million (approx.USD2.93 million) to expand its business. It will be the ninth firm to list on mai this year, revealed Group Head, Issuer & Listing and mai President Chanitr Charnchainarong.


JUBILE manufactures and distributes jewelry and diamonds under the trademark “Jubilee Diamond” through department stores nationwide. Moreover, the company has distributes through its alliances, including leasing and credit card companies. JUBILE’s marketing strategies are to sell high-quality products and build customer confidence with diamond certificates from international institutes.

The firm has a total paid-up capital of THB170 million (approx. USD5.08 million), consisting of 135 million existing common shares and 35 million capital increase shares, with a par value of THB1.00 each. At its initial public offering (IPO) on October 26-28, the company raised THB98 million (approx.USD2.93 million), by offering 35 million shares to the general public at THB2.80 per share. The company also offered 5 million warrants for its directors and employees with a five-year maturity at no cost. The funds raised will be used for business expansion and as working capital. Capital Nomura Securities PCL was its financial advisor and underwriter.

The company’s P/E ratio at its IPO's price was at 10.94 times. This calculation was based on earnings per share calculated from the past 12 months of its operating performance (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009) divided by number of shares after the IPO and shares from warrants that had been exercised, or a total of 175 shares.

JUBILE’s dividend policy is to pay not less than 60% of net profit after corporate tax and legal reserves. The company’s major shareholders are Mr. Viroj Pornprakit’s group, K-SME Holding Co., Ltd., and Mr. Prasert Boonmayam, who hold 60.00%, 8.82%, and 2.26%, respectively, of total shares after the IPO.

For more information about Jubilee Enterprise PCL, please see the company's prospectus at the Securities and Exchange Commission's website, www.sec.or.th ;

LES MUST COLLECTION ARRIVES NEXT YEAR

       Richemont Luxury (Thailand) next year will offer Les Must timepieces, jewellery and leather accessories for men and women as part of Cartier's worldwide launch of a more affordable collection.
       "It's better to widen our customer base amid the gloomy economy. However, Cartier has no plan to focus much more on this segment. We will still concentrate on maintaining our image as a luxury brand," country manager Narumol Patra-thiranond said yesterday.
       Prices for Les Must jewellery start from Bt20,000 and for |watches from Bt100,000, while Cartier's jewellery and timepieces normally start from Bt50,000 and Bt250,000.
       Richemont is the exclusive importer for Cartier watches and jewellery.
       Narumol said the company was trying to maintain Cartier's sales this year above last year's level, but declined to disclose the brand's sales and growth target.
       Marie Rainero, assistant manager for watches at Richemont Asia Pacific, said Cartier recently introduced the Haute Horlogerie line for men and timepiece collectors. This is the first time that Cartier has developed its own movements.
       Cartier has been recognised as a jewellery and watch brand for women.
       Cartier timepiece movements are normally developed by its partners. From now on, movements of Cartier's collection for men will be developed and manufactured by the company. Its women's collection will still be developed by several partners.
       "As a world-leading timepiece manufacturer, it is our achievement to develop and make our own movements," she said.
       Narumol said Cartier would hold two events to introduce the new men's collection to selected guests this month.

Zimbabwe escapes temporary sale ban

       Zimbabwe on Thursday evaded a temporary ban from a global scheme to ban trade on conflict diamonds despite calls for the country to be suspended over human rights abuses in its gem fields.
       A four-day Kimberley Process (KP)meeting handed Zimbabwe a June 2010 deadline to implement a work-plan, rejecting the scheme's own recommendation made four months ago that Harare face a six-month suspension.
       "Zimbabwe is not suspended as was proposed, a joint work plan was adopted by this plenary meeting," said outgoing KP chair and Namibian deputy mining minister Bernard Esau late Thursday.
       A KP reviewmission to Zimbabwe in July recommended a six-month suspension over human rights abuses alleged by the army against civilians in the eastern Marange diamond fields.
       But Esau, who visited the area in August, said the meeting had decided that Zimbabwe would instead have "until June 2010 to implement the work plan."
       "It was felt that we should give Zimbabwe the opportunity to address issues of compliance like removing the military from the Marange diamond fields," said Esau."If Zimbabwe is not compliant at the next review meeting in June 2010,the KP will have to think of other measures, but let us give them a chance."
       Civil society groups had demanded the suspension of Zimbabwe's international diamond trade, with KP investigators in July citing "unacceptable and horrific violence against civilians by au-thorities" in the eastern gem fields.
       "We fear the the KP plenary meeting might not take decisive steps about Zimbabwe," said Anne Dunnebacke from Global Witness, which wants Zimbabwe suspended from importing and exporting rough diamonds, ahead of the meeting.
       In a joint communique issued at the end of the Kimberley meeting, the 37 members in attendance welcomed "Zimbabwe's commitment to urgently start implementation of the joint work plan."
       The communique called on KP participants to ensure compliance with the system's certification scheme in Zimbabwe and to apply vigilance measures to contain illicit trade of Marange diamonds.
       "The work plan was adopted by all parties attending the plenary, including Zimbabwe," Esau said in the coastal town of Swakopmund, saying that Marange had seen some improvement with the fencing off of the diamond fields.
       The KP's working group chaired by the European Community would appoint a one or two-member team to work with Zimbabwe to implement the plan,he added.
       The meeting also resolved to assist Venezuela, which voluntarily withdrew last September, to implement reforms in order for the south American country to be re-admitted the KP process.
       "The Kimberley Process (KP) is assisting Venezuela in developing a plan of action to implement minimum standards to eventually fully re-integrate the country to the scheme ," said the communique.

Price rise could wipe out retailers

       The number of retail gold outlets is expected to plunge over the next five years,as continued high prices make it harder to stay afloat, while the growing popularity of paper transactions in the futures market saps demand for physical gold.
       "We are afraid that only 10% of the gold outlets now totalling about 6,000 can stay alive over the next five years,with the rest being forced to close as higher gold prices would lead people to sell the precious metal and nobody will be buying," said Jitti Tangsithpakdi, president of the Gold Traders Association.
       Mr Jitti and association members met yesterday with Commerce Ministry officials to discuss measures to help gold outlets stay afloat in a volatile market.
       Transactions by gold outlets have sunk by as much as 45% since the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) introduced gold futures in February, he said.
       The value of gold futures contracts traded over the last two days on the TFEX has exceeded 4 billion baht.
       The exchange is promoting gold futures as a tool for general investors and the jewellery industry to hedge against price swings in gold bars.
       The recent fall in the oil market and high volatility in equities has drawn investors to the gold futures market.
       Retail gold outlets are set for a bigger threat next year when the TFEX reduces its contract size to 10 baht-weight (151.6 grammes) from 50 baht-weight.
       Smaller contracts would encourage more speculation, said Mr Jitti.
       In the first nine months of this year,Thailand imported 82 tonnes of gold,but exports rose to 178 tonnes, surpassing imports for the first time and signalling that Thai people were saving less.
       Last year, Thailand exported 130 tonnes of gold with imports of 240 tonnes.
       World gold prices are forecast to rise to US$1,120 per ounce this month and local prices could top 18,000 baht per one-baht weight based on the exchange rate, as gold remains an attractive hedge against a weakening dollar, he said.
       Gold in London was steady above $1,090 yesterday after closing at $1,088 on Thursday.
       Gold hit a record high of $1,097.25 on Wednesday after rallying $25 the day before on news that India had bought 200 tonnes from the IMF. Local retail prices hit a historic high yesterday of 17,200 baht per one-baht weight for 96.5%purity and 17,700 baht for ornaments,compared with 16,600 and 17,000 baht respectively on Monday.

Central to expand fashion-watch range

       Central Trading, importer and distributor of brand-name goods, will be expanding its portfolio fo wathches next year to serve increasing demand.
       The company currently sells five fashion watch brands, including Casio G-Shock and Guess. The segment increases by 30 per cent per year on average and the sale of Casio and Guess models is expected to ries by the same level this year.
       Central Trading is holding a "Shock the World" global campaign from December 9 to sell the Casio G-Shock series in several major cities, including Berlin, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

IMF SELLS 200 TONNES TO INDIA

       The International Monetary Fund recently sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for US$6.7 billion (Bt224 billion), its first sale of the precious metal in nine years.
       The transaction, which involved daily sales from October 19 to last Friday at market prices, is in the process of being settled, the IMF said yesterday in a statement.
       The average price in the sales to India was about $1,045 an ounce, an IMF official said on a conference call with reporters. Gold for immediate delivery rose in Asia, approaching a record $1,070.80 an ounce.
       "The most important thing is that people want gold even at these prices," said Ghee Peh, head of mining research at UBS in Hong Kong.
       "There's good support for prices for now" from the IMF's disposal of bullion, he said.

       ASIAN DIVERSIFICATION
       The sale accounts for almost half of the 403.3 tonnes the Washington-based lender in September agreed to sell as part of a plan to shore up its finances and lend at reduced rates to low-income countries. Asian nations, which have amassed stockpiles of foreign-currency reserves since the 1997 financial crisis, have shown increased interest in diversifying out of US assets as the US dollar loses value against other currencies.
       Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.5 per cent to $1,064.90 an ounce yesterday morning in Singapore. December-delivery gold jumped 1.1 per cent to $1,065.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex Division, the highest price for a most-active contract since October 23 and approaching the October 14 record of $1,072 an ounce.
       "This is positive for the gold market, as bilateral sales which avoid the open spot market will avoid adding to marginal physical supply," said David Barclay, a commodity strategist with Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong.
       "India's purchases are arguably fresh buying, since they were not a presence in the spot market before this."
       Proceeds from the sales and other IMF resources, as well as individual contributors, will help pay for discounted interest rates on loans to low-income countries, the IMF said in July. It plans to grant as much as $17 billion in extra loans to poor nations through 2014. The 403.3 tonnes the IMF agreed to sell amount to one-eighth of its stockpile.
       "This transaction is an important step toward achieving the objectives of the IMF's limited gold-sales programme, which are to help put the fund's finances on a sound long-term footing and enable us to step up much-needed concession lending to the poorest countries," IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in an e-mail yesterday regarding the sale to India.
       China, the world's biggest gold producer, has increased reserves |of the metal 76 per cent to 1,054 tonnes since 2003 and now has the fifth-biggest holdings by country, |Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said in April.
       The nation may purchase some of the 403.3 tonnes of gold being offered by the IMF, the website Market News International reported in September, citing two unidentified government officials.
       The lender has said it is ready to sell directly to central banks and later make transactions on the open market if necessary. The IMF official yesterday declined to say whether other central banks had expressed interest in purchases.
       The IMF, which has helped shore up economies from Pakistan to Iceland over the past year, has sold gold on several occasions before. The last transaction was authorised in December 1999 and took place off-market between then and April 2000.

Audemars Piguet rewards customers with golf tournament

       Audemars Piguet, the luxury watch brand, organised Audemars Piguet Invitational Golf Tournament 2009 as part of its annual customer relations activities. Tripong Mattapongsri, sales and marketing co-ordinator of Audemars Piguet, along with the management team, welcomed exclusive customers to the tournament.

Gold here to stay

       Asian countries including China, Japan and Thailand are unlikely to sell gold in the coming years, the European Central Banks principal adviser in market operations said yesterday at a conference in Edinburgh.
       "I anticipate these countries are very unlikely to appear on the sell side of the market," Paul Mercier said."If anything, we will see a stabilisation, if not increase, in reserves of gold."

Diamond sells for $7.7m

       A square, 32.01-carat emerald-cut diamond that billionaire philanthropist Leonore Annenberg bought for her 90th birthday sold for $7.7 million at auction on Wednesday.
       About the size of a walnut, the flawless,colourless diamond sits on a ring designed by Manhattan jeweller David Webb. It is flanked by two pear-shaped diamonds, one of them 1.61 carats and the other 1.51 carats.
       The ring was offered for sale by Annenberg's estate. Christie's auction house did not identify the buyer, who bid by phone.
       Annenberg died in March at the age of 91. She served as US chief of protocol during President Ronald Reagan's first term - a position that carried the rank of ambassador. Her husband, Walter Annenberg, a billionaire publisher and ambassador to Britain under President Richard Nixon, died in 2002.
       The big diamond "combines the best of the four C's: top colour, perfect clarity,ideal cut and excellent weight," said Francois Curiel, international head of Christie's jewels.
       With the "impeccable provenance of the Annenberg name, you have one of the finest gems to appear on the market for many years," he said.
       Annenberg purchased the ring for herself to mark her 90th birthday, Christie's said. It was delivered by armed guards to her Rancho Mirage, California, home from the Beverly Hills jeweller's store, it said.
       "She was thrilled whenever someone came by to admire it."
       The ring's pre-sale estimate was $3 million to $5 million. The previous auction record for a 30-carat square cut flawless, colourless diamond was $3.1 million, set at Christie's in Geneva in May.
       The record for any diamond or jewel at auction is $24.3 million for the 17th century cushion-shaped grayish-blue 35.56 carat Wittelsbach Diamond. It was sold at Christie's in December 2008, topping the previous record of $16.5 million for a 100-carat diamond sold in 1995 in Geneva.
       In May, a rare 7.03-carat blue diamond sold at Sotheby's for $9.5 million - the highest price ever for a gem of its kind.

THE ORIENT EXPRESS TO ULTRA-LUXURY

       In December, Christie's will auction off "the Vivid Pink," a bubble-gumcoloured five-carat diamond with an estimated value of US$5 million to $7 million (about 167 million baht to 234 million baht). But instead of scheduling the sale for New York or Geneva,the city chosen was Hong Kong.
       Asia's role in the market for super highend luxury goods is mushrooming, reflecting an underlying shift in consumer spending power that has been creeping along for years,but which received a boost from the global economic crisis.
       Christie's and its rival Sotheby's say that in the last few years Hong Kong has emerged as a top location for sales of expensive jewelry,gems and fine wines. Asians have also become major buyers of ultra-luxury goods at their auctions in London, New York and Geneva.
       Christie's clear 101-carat Shizuka diamond,for instance, sold in Hong Kong for $6.2 million in May 2008. That sale, and the one coming on Dec 1 of its big pink diamond,"are both great examples showing how important this market has become at the very top end", said Vickie Sek, head of jewelry at Christie's Asia.
       In another telling example, Rolls-Royce,which did not even have dealerships in Asia until 2003, immediately received 20 orders for its new $250,000 Ghost when it presented the car in Hong Kong last month - despite taxes that double the price.
       More broadly, household spending in developing Asian nations is expected to increase as continued growth, rising populations and improving government health and retirement safety nets reduce the need for families to save.
       At the same time, many of the world's economies are struggling to return to growth after the financial crisis. Russia and the Middle East are taking a hit from lower oil prices.And consumers in the world's traditional spending powerhouse, the United States, are weighed down by debt and expected to be much more cautious about opening their wallets for quite some time.
       "The United States is in the early stages of a multi-year retrenchment," Stephen Roach,chairman of Morgan Stanley's Asia operations,said in a speech last week in Hong Kong.
       The result is a gradual rebalancing in spending power toward emerging nations in Asia - and China, in particular.
       Japan, mired in a long economic slump, is a big exception in the region. Recently Yohji Yamamoto, the Japanese clothing designer, filed for bankruptcy protection, and Gianni Versace, the Italian fashion brand, announced it would close its Japanese stores.
       But China, the world's most populous nation, has already become the biggest global car market, having overtaken the United States earlier this year. And Credit Suisse forecast last month that China's share of global consumption would overtake that of the United States by 2020.
       China's population of "high net worth individuals", those worth $1 million or more,surpassed that of Britain for the first time last year, according to an annual study published by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch in June.
       North America, Japan and Germany together still accounted for 54% of the global total, but the authors of the report also predicted that the Asia-Pacific region would surpass North America by 2013. Last month, a list compiled by Hurun Report, a research and publishing company based in Shanghai, found that the number of known billionaires in China had grown to 130 from 101 in 2008.
       To be sure, the shift in consumption and wealth is slow, and much will depend on how quickly Asian governments manage to improve social safety networks, stimulating domestic spending. Still, Asia has already seen a large rise in the number of individuals who can splash out in the auction halls of Christie's and Sotheby's.
       Buyers at Sotheby's autumn sales in Hong Kong this month spent $7.9 million for fine wines - well above the $6.1 million estimate and above the $6.4 million raised at the Hong Kong spring sale. A painting by the Chinese master Sanyu comfortably beat estimates,
       going for $4.7 million to a Chinese buyer
       bidding by telephone.
       And Sotheby's jewelry auction last Wednesday raised more than $32.6 million, up from just less than $20 million a year earlier. A 28.88-carat round brilliant-cut diamond fetched $4.7 million.
       And a "fancy intense blue diamond" went for $5.6 million, just short of the record percarat price for a diamond of that type, drawing applause from those in the hall.
       Though some prices remained below their pre-crisis peaks, the results bode well for sales at Christie's in December.
       In the mid-1990s, Sotheby's jewelry auctions in Hong Kong raised only about 5% of its total in the jewelry category, said Terry Chu, deputy head of the jewelry department at Sotheby's in Asia.
       In 2004, its Hong Kong jewelry auction raised $47 million, surpassing the Geneva auction for the first time. Since then, the Hong Kong auctions have represented about one-third of the total each year.
       In December 2008, when the credit squeeze set off by the collapse of Lehman Brothers was at its most severe, Christie's raised $33.5 million at its jewelry sale in Hong Kong,more than at any of the other jewelry auctions it held elsewhere that season.

NEW CONSTELLATION LIGHTS UP THE WATCH WORLD

       "Omega!" Watch-lovers have been going haywire for the past few months as the Swiss watchmaker unveils its new designs for the luxury Constellation line.
       The new Constellations bear a strong family resemblance to their ancestors. The Constellation star is at the six o'clock position on each one and famous claws still grip the casing but have been refined and updated. Their bracelets have the familiar horizontal links but the new Mono Rang bracelets, which feature butterfly clasps, have been re-engineered for maximum comfort.
       The Constellation 09s also have some dazzling features that set them apart from their forebears. The striking dials, in silver, champagne, while-pearled mother-of-pearl, black and brown, are enhanced by a supernova pattern emanating from the Constellation star - a dramatic design feature which was first introduced in 2008's Constellation 160 Years model.
       Their "Dauphine plume" hands are either rhodium-plated or made of 18 carat red or yellow gold and coated with phosphorescent Super-LumiNova.
       All of the mechanical timepieces in the new-line come equipped with Omega's radical Co-Axial escapement, which increases accuracy over time and reduces the need for servicing of the mechanism. Every member of the redesigned family comes in five sizes - 24mm, 27mm, 31mm, 35mm and 38mm - and is water resistant to a depth of 100 metres.
       There's no hesitation when it comes to naming the brightest stars among the new Constellations. Nothing out-glitters the jewelled watches of the Luxury Edition. that's thanks to the shimmer of the round diamonds whose seemingly random distribution in an intriguing "snow setting" elegantly respects the geometry of each jewelled component of every watch. The watches in the edition have identical dials; there are three distinct configurations of diamonds on their bracelets and cases.

Gold soars further as investors hedge against dollar, inflation

       Gold advanced to a record for a second consecutive day as investors bought precious metals to hedge against a weaker dollar and faster inflation. Silver reached a 14-month high and platinum the most in 13 months.
       The dollar index, a six-currency gauge of the dollar's value, slumped to the lowest level since August of last year on bets the Federal Reseve will trail other central banks in increasing borrowing costs.
       Gold reached US$1,070.80 (Bt35,812) in London, while futures rose to $1,072 in New York as crude oil, used by some investors as an inflation guide, reached a one-year high. Taiwan's central bank said it might consider placing more of its reserves in gold.
       "Most of the gold rally has been attributable to a weaker dollar," said Tobias Merath, head of commodity research at Credit Suisse Group in Zurich. "We are in uncharted territory. You still have robust investment flows and we think gold can easily reach $1,100 an ounce" this year, he said.
       Immediate-delivery bullion added $1.15, or 0.1 per cent, to $1,065.45 an ounce by mid-morning local time. Spot prices have advanced 21 per cent this year and are heading for a ninth annual gain. December futures were 0.1 per cent higher at $1,066.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division.
       "What's happening it that they are selling out of dollars and buying equities around the world, currencies and of course gold," said Mark Pervan, head of commodity research at ANZ Banking Group. "The dollar is being held hostage to increased rish appetite."
       Taiwan may consider buying more gold, its central bank governor Perng Fai-nan told reporters in Taipei yesterday. The news helped boost bullion prices, Credit Suisse said in a note.
       The dollar index slipped 0.5 per cent yesterday, taking its loss this year to 7 per cent. Oil futures gained as much as 1.4 per cent to $75.15 a barrel in New York and have soared 68 per cent this year.
       "The all-night printing runs at the Treasury are chipping away at the dollar's ability to hold value compared to other currencies and commodities," Mike Sander, in Seattle, said on Tuesday. "With dollar weakness, inflation fears, a huge budget deficit, energy prices creeping up, metals such as gold, silver and copper will be pushed up in price."
       US President Barack Obama has increased US marketable debt to a record as he borrows to reignite growth in the world's biggest economy. That's boosted speculation increased money supply will debase the currency and spur inflation.
       The Federal Reserve has cut its main interest rate almost to zero and backed asset purchases and credit programmes to combat the recession. Chairman Ben Bernanke is leading plans to buy mortgage-backed securities, federal agency debt and treasuries.
       "A weakening US dollar and easy liquidity conditions will mainly favour precious metals, and we expect prices of gold, silver and platinum all to register further gains over the next year," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report yesterday.
       Gold holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, were unchanged for a fourth day at 1,109.31 metric tonnes on Tuesday, according to the company's website. Assets in ETF Securities' exchange-traded products added 0.6 per cent to a record 8.493 million ounces on Tuesday, its website showed.
       Silver jumped as much as 1.7 per cent to $18.085 an ounce, the highest since July of last year, and was last at $17.97. Platinum rose to a 13-month high of $1,365.50 an ounce before trading at $1,362 and palladium added 0.6 per cent to $330.60 an ounce.

New one baht-weight gold contract could spur trade

       The futures industry club will propose a new one baht-weight (15.16 gramme)gold futures contract to help attract retail investors interested in the gold market.
       Kampanart Lohachareonvanich, the chairman of the Association of Securities Companies, said that reducing the nominal value of gold futures contracts would help reduce the entry costs for investors and increase trading liquidity on the Thailand Futures Exchange.
       The current size of gold futures contracts traded on the TFEX is 50 bahtweight, a size set quite high compared with other derivatives markets worldwide.The contract size was set high in part to placate local gold retailers, who were concerned that the launch of gold futures earlier this year would draw investors away from the physical market in favour of derivatives.
       Mr Kampanart noted that in India,contract sizes were only eight grammes,or little more than half of one bahtweight of gold.
       He noted that India's futures market also offered currency futures for US dollars and rupees.
       The TFEX and the Securities and Exchange Commission also want to introduce currency futures in the local market.But plans have been delayed amid concerns by the Bank of Thailand that such derivatives could be abused to speculate against the baht.
       "India is not concerned about speculation because it limits currency futures trading to domestic investors only," Mr Kampanart said."The SEC is considering using the same principle for the Thai market and will propose a plan to the central bank."
       He said currency futures would be useful for Thailand given the economy's heavy reliance on international trade.Futures contracts would be a key tool for importers and exporters to hedge against currency risk.

Gold's rise finds tepid response

       Gold consumers across Asia greeted bullion's run to a record high cautiously yesterday, with a few moving to cash in gains but the majority opting to wait for the rest of a rally they believe has only just begun.
       In contrast to a second day of busy trade on global gold markets, the scene at shops and jewellery merchants from Sydney to Hong Kong to Mumbai was marked by a distinct lack of occasion,suggesting that the wave of retail scrap selling that greeted gold's record run in March 2008 may not be quick to recur.
       "Today's been like any other day,"said David Carr, of KJC Coins Australia in Sydney, which deals in precious metal coins and bars."No one's coming in to sell gold because the price jumped overnight, it's more wait and see, business as usual."
       The Australian outback gold mining town of Kalgoorlie, home to a nearly Times Square-sized electronic ticker tape broadcasting up-to-the-minute bullion prices, also was quiet.
       "There's nothing going on that's out of the ordinary," said John Horner, editor of the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper.Profit taking - read selling - replaced gold purchases that in New York and across Europe on Tuesday had swept spot bullion more than $10 above its previous March 2008 peak, and carried through yesterday to a record $1,048.20 an ounce.
       The issue of scrap supply in the gold market - generated largely from the resale of jewellery to merchants - has taken on greater importance in recent years, as the advent of physically backed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) attracts new investors.
       The biggest such fund now holds more than 1,000 tonnes of gold, equivalent to the world's fifth-largest central bank,and analysts had said that only the flow of scrap material into the market had prevented gold from soaring much sooner, much higher.
       While there was some evidence of retail sales, it wasn't overwhelming.
       "It is simple, buy low and sell high I am making a 10% profit already so I am selling," said Nguyen Duc Hung while waiting to sell five taels of gold at a shop on Hanoi's Ha Trung street. Vietnam is Asia's second-biggest gold buyer.
       To date, there have been no reports of gold hoarders burying stashes in secret spots as was the case in 1980, when gold zoomed above $800 an ounce for the first time, or about double today's level when adjusted for inflation.
       "Both buyers and sellers are coming to the shop today, they are more or less evenly balanced," said Osamu Ikeda,general manager at Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo, Japan's top bullion retailer.
       Rival Tokuriki Honten Co Ltd saw a similar scene."There are no queues outside our shops," said general manager Fumio Yamamoto."For the Japanese,the (yen-based) price is too high to buy,but too low to sell."
       One of the biggest reasons Asian consumers may not be rushing to sell is that gold's record high is limited to those trading in the US dollar, whose steady decline since March has been the biggest factor in bullion's rise.
       In the Australian dollar, gold prices are down 20% since March; in the yen,they're still far from their peaks.
       The next focus for the market will be India, where consumer demand typically peaks next week for the Dhanteras and Diwali festivals, and the strong rupee kept the local price of gold under the psychological level of 16,000 rupees ($342) per 10 grams.
       "Buying was very strong in the last couple of weeks, but it has been affected now even though the rupee has given a good cap to local prices," said Pinakin Vyas, assistant vice president, treasury at IndusInd Bank, a private bank in Mumbai that imports gold to sell to local traders and jewellers.
       "Investors will not buy at these levels though need-based buying from jewellers will continue. People will wait for some time and then come back to the market."

Not enough for everyone

       Now that gold has climbed to a record high of US$1,048 (Bt35,100) per ounce, many people are clamouring for this barbarian metal.
       Obviously, gold is a natural hedge against the wobbling US dollar and also future inflation. As the US continues to pile up debt and the Federal Reserve cranks up its printing machine, investors have turned to gold as a protector of their wealth.
       But the question is whether there is enough of the precious metal out there to go around, assuming we all want a gold coin or two.
       Jeff Clark, senior editor of Caseyกฆs Gold & Resource Report, in its September 25 edition said there would not be enough gold to satisfy demand for everyone on the planet.
       According to the US Census Bureau, there are 6.78 billion Earthlings. Meanwhile, the CPM Group, a highly respected industry organisation, estimates there are 4.8 billion ounces of above-ground gold in the world. And this includes jewellery, electronics and dental,กจ he said.
       So even if everyone around the world volunteered to have their chain, cross or tooth melted into a coin, weกฆre already short. Those towards the end of the line are out of luck.กจ
       The gold supply out there is very limited indeed. Of all the physical metal ever mined:
       Some 2.1 billion ounces, or 43 per cent, are found in jewellery and decorative and religious items.
       Private stock กV gold already held by private parties กV accounts for 1.1 billion ounces.
       Official reserves (central banks, International Monetary Fund, etc) stand at 1 billion ounces.
       Industrial use accounts for 530 million ounces.
       So for the general public, there is very little gold available for purchase in coin form.
       After all, youกฆre not selling any of your gold, and neither are many banks or institutions. Most everyone is buying,กจ Clark said.
       So for those who donกฆt yet have a gold coin (or you greedy investors who want more than one), this pretty much leaves us with mine production and scrap sources.
       It is forecast that total new supply in 2009 will be around 122 million ounces. Only a small percentage of this is made into gold coins and bars, but if all of it were, it would amount to less than two one-hundredths of an ounce, or about half a gram, for every man, woman and child on Earth this year.

GOLD HITS ALL-TIME HIGH

       Gold climbed to a record US$1,048 (Bt35,100) per ounce yesterday as the US dollar weakened and higher commodity prices spurred demand for precious metals as a hedge against inflation.
       The Dollar Index fell for a fourth day, while crude-oil futures advanced to more than $70 a barrel for a third day. When gold passed $1,000 in February, sales of scrap metal sent prices down as much as 16 per cent in less than two months.
       "We're seeing no selling," Frederic Panizzutti, senior vice president of refiner MKS Finance, said in Ho Chi Minh City.
       "I would not be surprised to see $1,100 by the end of the year."
       Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $6.33, or 0.6 per cent, to $1,048.43 an ounce in London and recently traded at $1,043.43. Spot prices are up 18 per cent this year, heading for a ninth consecutive advance. Gold for December delivery jumped as much as $10, or 1 per cent, to a record $1,049.70 an ounce on the Comex Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $1,044 early yesterday morning.
       Palladium rose as much as 2.3 per cent to $315 an ounce, its highest since August 14, 2008.
       "There's talk of inflation re-emerging and continuing weakness in the US dollar, which suggests the gold price may well continue to climb higher," said William Seddon, who helps manage $300 |million at White Funds Management in Sydney.
       Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal, increased 1.53 tonnes to 1,098.07 tonnes yesterday, the company's website showed.
       In Thailand, Gold Traders Association president Jitti Tangsithpakdi said due to yesterday's historic high for gold prices, local gold-bar prices rose between Bt250 and Bt400 to Bt16,350 per baht weight for buying and Bt16,450 for selling, while gold ornaments were quoted at Bt16,115.08 for buying and Bt16,850 for selling.
       He believes the jumps were due mainly to speculation amid a weakened dollar and said the global price would likely surge to $1,060 an ounce.
       Jitti said the stronger baht was making local gold prices increase at a slower pace. Yesterday, the baht reached 33.35 to the dollar. If the currency weakens, the local gold-bar price could surpass Bt17,000 per baht weight.
       YLG Bullion International chairman Pawan Nawawat-tanasub believes the resistance level of global gold has now shifted to $1,050 an ounce, with $1,033 a short-term strong support level.
       She said gold prices had risen above the fundamental level, as the price at gold mines was only $750.
       "It's highly possible that gold prices will rise to $1,100 by year-end, but the rally will come mainly from short-term speculation in hedge funds," Pawan said.
       She said due to fundamental factors, she felt gold prices were unlikely to hit $2,000 $1,500 or even $1,200 as |forecast by some Western economists.

Anglo-Saxon treasure thrills the experts

       For the jobless man living on welfare who made the find in an English farmer's field two months ago, it was the stuff of dreams: a hoard of early AngloSaxon treasure, probably dating from the 7th century and including more than 1,500 pieces of intricately worked gold and silver whose craftsmanship and historical significance left archaeologists awestruck.
       When the discovery was announced on Thursday, experts described it as one of the most important in British archaeological history. They said it surpassed the greatest previous discovery of its kind, a royal burial chamber unearthed in 1939 at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk that was fashioned from the hull of an ancient ship. That find shaped scholars' understanding of the warring Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of 1,300 years ago that ended up as the unified kingdom of England.
       The new trove includes items that one expert in Anglo-Saxon artifacts said brought tears to her eyes: gold items weighing 11 pounds (5kg) and 5.5 pounds (2.5kg) of silver.
       Tentatively identified by some experts as bounty from one of the wars that racked Middle England in the 7th and 8th centuries, they included dagger hilts,pieces of scabbards and swords, helmet cheekpieces, Christian crosses and figures of animals like eagles and fish.
       Archaeologists tentatively estimate the value of the trove at ฃ1 million (54 million baht) but say it could be many times that. And they took a vicarious pleasure in noting that the discovery was not the outcome of a carefully planned archaeological enterprise, but the product of a lone amateur stumbling about with a metal detector.
       "People laugh at metal detectorists,"Terry Herbert,55, who made the find,told the BBC on Thursday at a news conference at the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, where the objects are on display for two weeks."I've had people go past and go,'Beep, beep, he's after pennies.' Well no, we're out there to find this kind of stuff, and it is out there."
       Mr Herbert spent 18 years scouring fields and back lots without finding anything more valuable than a piece of an ancient Roman horse harness. Now under British laws governing the discovery of ancient treasures, he stands to get half the value of the booty.
       When his discovery was announced Thursday, he kept his wish list modest,saying he would like to use some of his windfall to buy a bungalow.
       Since the July day when his detector picked up traces of the hoard beneath a field in Staffordshire, a Midlands county that was at the centre of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, Mr Herbert said, he has been seeing piles of gold in his sleep.
       Awake, he has quietly celebrated his triumph over all the people who mocked him in the years when a typical day's finds amounted to little but scrap.
       As for his fellow hunters in the Bloxwich Research and Metal Detecting Club,he said,"I dread to think what they'll say when they hear about this."
       He said that on the day of his discovery he reworked a mantra that he regularly used for good luck."I have this phrase that I say sometimes -'Spirits of yes-terday, take me where the coins appear'- but on that day I changed 'coins' to 'gold'. I don't know why I said it that day, but I think somebody was listening."
       From the Birmingham museum, the Staffordshire treasure, much of it still encrusted with dirt, will go to the British Museum in London, where the artifacts will undergo months, possibly years, of study by archaeologists and historians.
       A court ruling by a Staffordshire coroner this week - conducted in secret - declared the finds to be treasure,meaning that they belong to the British crown, which is expected to offer them for sale.
       The crown's practice, established in part by the many shipwrecks recovered off Britain's shores, is that a reward equal to the value of the items - likely to be set in a bidding war among British museums - will be divided between Mr Herbert as the finder, and the farmer who owns the field where the discovery was made. His name and the location of the farm (beyond the fact that it is around Lichfield, north of Birmingham) have not been disclosed, to allow archaeologists to continue searching the area for more treasure.
       At the news conference, experts said that Mr Herbert's initial discovery, which he reported to a Staffordshire County official responsible for archaeological discoveries, was followed by a dig that was strictly supervised by professional archaeologists. They were assisted, the experts said, by a team from Britain's Home Office that normally works on crime scene forensics.
       The experts said that a painstaking search of the area had turned up no trace of a grave, a building or anything else that suggested a careful plan to bury the objects for later recovery. They said that information, and the fact that none of the discoveries appeared to be jewellery or other feminine items, added to the likelihood that the treasure was war bounty. It may have been seized by one of the 7th century Mercian kings men like Penda, Wulfhere and Aethelred - who pursued an aggressive, plundering policy toward neighbouring kingdoms.
       One of the features that led specialists to suggest the items might have been seized in battle and prized for their value in precious metal and jewels rather than as trophies, was that many appeared to have been decorative pieces ripped from other objects.
       The three Christian crosses in the find had been bent into folds, as had a strip of gold with a biblical inscription in Latin of a kind likely to have been favoured by an ancient warrior:"Rise up, O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face."
       Archaeologists, anthropologists and historians who participated in the Staffordshire dig, or who have studied the finds at the Birmingham museum, competed in the superlatives they used in describing the treasure.
       "My first view of the hoard brought tears to my eyes; the Dark Ages in Staffordshire have never looked so bright nor so beautiful," Deb Klemperer, an expert on Staffordshire artifacts of the Anglo-Saxon period, told the Guardian .Kevin Leahy, an expert on Anglo-Saxon metallic objects who has been helping catalogue the items, described their craftsmanship as "consummate" at Thursday's news conference.
       He added:"All the archaeologists who have worked with the finds have been awestruck. It's actually been quite scary working on this material to be in the presence of greatness."NYT
       "I have this phrase that I say sometimes - 'Spirits of yesterday, take me where the coins appear'-but on that day I changed 'coins' to 'gold'. I don't knowwhy I said it that day, but I think somebodywas listening."
       This combination of images obtained on Thursday from Britain's Staffordshire County Council shows a folded cross (top left), a gold and garnet scabbard boss (top right), a hilt fitting (above left) and a selection of items of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver (above right) found in a field in central England.