Wednesday, May 19, 2010

“Wedding Rings Trapped In Water-Logged Mall - msnbc.com” plus 2 more

“Wedding Rings Trapped In Water-Logged Mall - msnbc.com” plus 2 more

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Wedding Rings Trapped In Water-Logged Mall - msnbc.com

Posted: 19 May 2010 03:31 PM PDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A couple getting married in less than two months doesn't know if they'll be able to get their wedding rings out of layaway from a store at Opry Mills Mall.

Tramaine Dalton recalls the day he proposed.

"So, while she was looking at the TV, I kind of eased into my pocket and was like, 'Will you marry me?' She broke down," he said.

His bride-to-be said yes. But the situation they're in now is anything but exciting.

"Pretty much that we won't get the rings that we, like, that we fell in love with," said Dalton's fiancee, Dominique Smith.

"We paid the $160, which was the down payment," said Dalton.

Since February, Dalton said he has paid $440 to the Jewelry Box outlet inside Opry Mills for their wedding bands. But after the flood, Opry Mills and every store inside was submerged in as much as 9 feet of water, leaving the couple clueless about their rings and their money.

When Smith called the store, there was no answer.

The Jewelry Box outlet has an expired license on file at the county clerk's office. When it expired, by law, the office isn't allowed to say.

"Last week, I sent an e-mail to the mall," Smith said. "They sent me an e-mail back that they would forward the information to the retailer, but I haven't heard anything back yet."

It wasn't until Channel 4 called Opry Mills that the Jewelry Box owner finally got in touch with its customers.

"I can mail them the merchandise if they want, you know, then they finish the payment on the layaway, and they get their merchandise by mail," said Mohammed Mahreni, the Jewelry Box's owner.

He said he was unaware that his business license had expired.

Smith said that Mahreni called and a plan has been worked out to get the rings in time for her July wedding.

Opry Mills has set up a specific e-mail address to handle questions about similar situations with stores at the mall:

.

The mall management is still unsure when the mall might reopen.


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JCK Show Alert – Novell Unveils New Bridal Jewelry - Transworld News

Posted: 19 May 2010 02:41 PM PDT

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Rising gold prices battering Grand Bazaar merchants - Today's Zaman

Posted: 19 May 2010 04:35 PM PDT

 The price of gold and other precious metals has skyrocketed to historic highs worldwide, Fırat asserted, adding that prices will rise even further as a consequence of changing market balances associated with the plunge in value of the euro against the dollar. He estimated that an ounce of gold is likely to climb to $1,400 by the end of the year.

Nobody will be able to halt the upward trend in gold prices, he argued, expressing views on the recent developments in the gold market to the Anatolia news agency on Wednesday. "Usually, Turks buy gold if prices start declining; however, if there is high demand for gold in international markets, this has a strong impact on the domestic market, causing prices to go up," Fırat explained.

In addition, the increasing prices are causing serious problems for gold traders, with a number of stores in the Grand Bazaar forced to close down, he said. Fırat noted that in recent times gold traders have been unable to sell gold. Instead, people are flocking to them to sell their gold to take advantage of the already-too-high prices. "Sales come to a halt when gold prices go up, and we are currently passing through a period of stagnation. [In addition to the wedding season] the tourism season has also started; however, things are getting worse at a time when we were expecting brisker sales."

The Grand Bazaar has a total of 3,600 stores, with 1,100 of them jewelers as of 12 months ago. However, this number has now dropped to 950 with the unstoppable rise in gold prices during the last year, he pointed out.

Fırat said leather, fur and souvenir sellers are taking over the vacated jewelry stores.

The situation is impinging on store rents, too. For instance, rents were usually paid in gold up until recently, but the storeowners now want payment in lira or dollars. Or in some cases, the proprietors have had to lower rents from, say, 5 kilos of gold per year to 4 kilos.

Jewelry stores in the Grand Bazaar may start campaigns such as offering gifts to gold buyers to increase their sales as the large gold companies are selling gold materials in installments at the spot price.

In addition to this, the cost of designing individual pieces of jewelry may be lowered to 10 to 15 percent of the total price from its current level of 20 to 25 percent, he noted, making prices more acceptable for potential purchasers.

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