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Workshop Registration
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
Online Seminars
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
Hooked on Kindle
By Chris Roush
Tracking the Business Behind the Tomato
By Jonathan Higuera
Five Questions with Bill Choyke
By Jonathan Higuera
Finding the Economy's Silver Lining
By Dick Weiss
Double Whammy: Oil and Housing
By Jennifer Hopfinger
"King of Bling" Makes Forbes Cover
By Jennifer Hopfinger
There aren't too many occupations more glamorous than diamond merchant -- especially when you're a billionaire purveyor of the gems. Forbes magazine profiles one such man in its August 13th cover story, "King of Bling." Writer Susan Adams tells the intriguing story of "how a poor boy from London's East End became the most exclusive diamond merchant you've never heard of."
Laurence Graff started out scrubbing floors for a London jeweler and ended up building an elite retail jewelry chain of 15 stores in cities such as Monte Carlo and Dubai. His average transaction price: $400,000. His client list includes Oracle's Larry Ellison, the Sultan and Queen of Brunei, Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham and Donald Trump. Adams describes Graff as "charming and outrageously self-promoting, blunt and full of braggadocio, obsessed with superlatives." Adams estimates Graff's net worth at around $2.5 billion. His lifestyle mirrors those of his customers -- he has homes in Geneva, London, New York, and the south of France; and owns a 150-foot yacht, a South African winery, and an art collection worth $250 million.
Adams explains that the key to Graff's success is that he is also a wholesaler buyer, which allows him to cut out all the middlemen along the supply chain from the mine to the store, which is crucial to maintaining wide profit margins, especially when dealing with the large stones that are Graff's specialty. "Indeed, on very large stones of 20 carats and up it may make sense for a jeweler to take no profit: The monster pieces draw attention to the brand. A 50-carat flawless diamond of the highest clarity might wholesale for $100,000 a carat, or $5 million, and sell at retail for not much more than that. There is still money to be made on the very large pieces, however, by someone who buys rough and takes on the labor and risks of chopping up the rock," Adams writes.
His rags-to-riches story is spectacular, but according to Graff, he's just getting warmed up and has nixed the idea of selling out or going public. Here's to champagne wishes and caviar dreams.
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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
By Chris Roush
Tracking the Business Behind the Tomato
By Jonathan Higuera
Five Questions with Bill Choyke
By Jonathan Higuera
Finding the Economy's Silver Lining
By Dick Weiss
Double Whammy: Oil and Housing
By Jennifer Hopfinger
"King of Bling" Makes Forbes Cover
By Jennifer Hopfinger
There aren't too many occupations more glamorous than diamond merchant -- especially when you're a billionaire purveyor of the gems. Forbes magazine profiles one such man in its August 13th cover story, "King of Bling." Writer Susan Adams tells the intriguing story of "how a poor boy from London's East End became the most exclusive diamond merchant you've never heard of."
Laurence Graff started out scrubbing floors for a London jeweler and ended up building an elite retail jewelry chain of 15 stores in cities such as Monte Carlo and Dubai. His average transaction price: $400,000. His client list includes Oracle's Larry Ellison, the Sultan and Queen of Brunei, Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham and Donald Trump. Adams describes Graff as "charming and outrageously self-promoting, blunt and full of braggadocio, obsessed with superlatives." Adams estimates Graff's net worth at around $2.5 billion. His lifestyle mirrors those of his customers -- he has homes in Geneva, London, New York, and the south of France; and owns a 150-foot yacht, a South African winery, and an art collection worth $250 million.
Adams explains that the key to Graff's success is that he is also a wholesaler buyer, which allows him to cut out all the middlemen along the supply chain from the mine to the store, which is crucial to maintaining wide profit margins, especially when dealing with the large stones that are Graff's specialty. "Indeed, on very large stones of 20 carats and up it may make sense for a jeweler to take no profit: The monster pieces draw attention to the brand. A 50-carat flawless diamond of the highest clarity might wholesale for $100,000 a carat, or $5 million, and sell at retail for not much more than that. There is still money to be made on the very large pieces, however, by someone who buys rough and takes on the labor and risks of chopping up the rock," Adams writes.
His rags-to-riches story is spectacular, but according to Graff, he's just getting warmed up and has nixed the idea of selling out or going public. Here's to champagne wishes and caviar dreams.
Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism