I hope everyone had a wonderful January! Mine was filled with lots of events and trips. While I have some down time, I wanted to share a few highlights from January. It was such a pleasure to host the inaugural Good Awards for fellow industry influencers. The Diamond Empowerment Fund (www.diamondempowerment.org) brought together an exceptional group of people to demonstrate the importance of doing good in the communities they work in. We honored leaders such as Varda Shine, Edward Hrabak, Rebecca Foerster, and Ivanka Trump, and enjoyed the musical talents of Grammy- Nominated Singtress Melanie Fiona. A fabulous night with fabulous people.

More to come, stay tuned!

-PB

 

The second weekend in January is by far one of my most favorite weekends of the entire year.  While the brisk weather is always a big shock after spending time with the entire family in Florida over the holidays, the slush and ice are barely a factor compared to the pleasure of time spent with old friends and meeting wonderful new people!

The best and the brightest in the industry travel from all over the world to be in New York City for the weekend.  Starting on Friday morning, meetings are held throughout the Waldorf Astoria hotel--”home base” for the weekend--where people have an opportunity to meet face-to-face and talk shop.  In the evening on Friday, everyone looked forward to dressing up to attend the Jewelry Information Center’s annual Gem Awards at Cipriani on 42nd Street, where Jennifer Hudson presented Neil Lane with the design award. This year, Ira and I broke from tradition.  I attended the cocktail reception for the Gem Awards, which was fabulous, but then I left to join Ira to attend a private house party at Roger Gesswein’s house.  His chef cooked the most amazing food while a wonderful pianist played romantic songs.  The fireplace burned bright while past and current leaders of the 24 Karat club were welcomed.  Then we headed back to the Waldorf and up to Todd Wolleman, Michael Toback and Dick Greenwood’s suite for a fabulous pasta buffet cooked by the Waldorf’s chefs.  Great wine and jewelers from all over the country were in attendance.  Loved talking to Woody Justice of Justice Jewelers in Springfield, Missouri.

On Saturday, we attended the annual Jewelers Security Alliance luncheon at the Pierre.  It’s always a very elegant event and yet another great opportunity to see old friends. I love the JSA organization and everything they do to protect jewelers all over the country. Then back to the Waldorf (after a little bit of shopping!), to get ready for the evening.  The hosted suite parties for the 24 Karat Club of the City of New York’s annual banquet begin at 5:30pm.  Ira and I hit as many of them as possible before heading to the VIP cocktail hour, where I got to see my good friend Russell Simmons and his gorgeous girlfriend Heidi, met the new CEO of Kays Jewelers, Mike Barnes (very nice guy) chatted with Sally Morrison of De Beers and then off to the official cocktail party of the event, where Ira and I had a chance to talk to African American Civil Rights Leader Dr. Benjamin Chavis.  During dinner, since I am currently the chairperson of 24 Karat Club, I sat on the dais before joining my table which included my dear friends Huw Daniels and James Courage from Platinum Guild International, along with Varda Shine of DeBeers Trading Co.and Rebecca Forrester of Rio Tinto Mines, talk about a VIP table!  Before the evening’s performance, I headed back to the green room to meet with Gladys Knight and present her with a beautiful champagne diamond pendant! Gladys and I had met earlier in the day and I was delighted when she shouted “You again!” and gave me a big hug when she saw me come into the room.  How fabulous!  After that, Gladys gave a stunning performance for over an hour--the entire crowd LOVED it!  We especially loved the one PIP she brought along, her brother BUBBA! Everyone in the ballroom was so taken with the performance that they stayed in the ballroom just talking (Or were they listening to the last few minutes of the Jets game when they won!). The evening wrapped up with Ira and I spending time with friends and dancing at the 24 Karat-hosted midnight dance party into the wee hours of the morning! Up at 9:30 AM on Sunday morning for another industry meeting with Russell Simmons and members of the Diamond Empowerment Fund to plan an exciting dinner in Hong Kong. In bed at 8:30 PM dreaming of my spectacular weekend!

Reading over this, I realize it sounds rather exhausting!  I can assure you however, that the energy of the industry was more than enough to make up for the short supply of sleep! 

 

  As another Thanksgiving Day approaches, I sit back and ofcourse think of everything that I have to be thankful for. Good health always comes first, then a wonderful husband and a terific family, a host of good friends, fabulous business aqaintences and an indominitable spirit. This has been quite a year filled with lots of anxiety, lots of travel and wonderful adventures and a host of business problems along with many business decisions that had to be made. As I sit here writing my blog I think about what life ie all about and i come to the conclusion that nothing comes easy. Beautiful outcomes, beautiful families, beautiful friends are the result of hard work. I do not know anyone who is successful who has not worked hard to get there but, if you can make the journey along the way interesting and exciting for yourself then when you sit back and think you will only remember the good things. Somehow the bad things are a thing of the past but the good stays with you forever. I love Thanksgiving because of the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes over me when I sit down at the dinner table and look around. My younger son once announced at Thanksgiving that this was the best holiday of all because all religions come together and celebrate a WARM and FUZZY FEELING DAY!

Since we are nearing the end of Breast Cancer awareness month I have chosen to share my story with you.

Several years ago I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Having never been sick a day in my life, I wondered how could this have happened to me. I felt all those feelings everyone talks about about, especially the feeling of failure and loss of control. I had a wonderful doctor who gave me the most beautiful advise. He said,"when a person has a serious illness, he or she feels that they have lost control over many aspects of their lives. Remember you are always in control! If you do not understand what the doctors are doing, ask questions, if you do not like something about a treatment, tell them and if you are too weak for treatments, tell them. And most importantly whichever treatment you finally decide on,you must have absolute faith that the decision you made was the right one for you, not someone else!!! Remember stay in control!!!"

Ira and I discussed my choices and we both agreed to go along with any decision I made and even though we both handle sickness differently, he would respect and understand anything I wanted to do. For six months we were a team committed to getting through this ordeal. The letter C was not going to interupt my life. Ira had a date with me every time I went for a chemo treatment. He would sit and talk to me about anything he could think of to make the time pass quickly. Then we would go out to dinner. I love margaritas and even though I really did not drink during those six months we did share one margarita at dinner. If anyone asked me how many treatment sessions I had left, I would answer with how many margarita dates I would still be going on.

Was it a difficult period for us- OF COURSE! Was it really life as usual-NO WAY! Did we both have to tip-toe around each other-DEFINITLY! Did we make something special out of something heart wrenching? YOU BET WE DID!!!! Those dates were the most memorable ever!!!

Now I only use the letter C for COMMUNICATION, COMPROMISE, COMPLIMENT, CONCERN, COMPASSION, CHILDREN, CASH, CREDIT CARD and ofcourse CHANEL

 

It's always strange to feel sorry for celebrities....they get paid to look good, the whole world is at their beck and call, they are loved and adored by millions, etc. etc. etc.  Lindsay?  She deserves a good kick in the pants (and her parents need a lesson in parenting)!  Brittney?  She had the world in the palm of her hand and she needed to get over herself!  Paris?  Don't even get me started....but when you hear about one of those rare Hollywood couples that seem to actually be the "real deal" it's sad when you hear things aren't working out for them.  In my mind, Courtney Cox and David Arquette have always seemed as authentic as a Hollywood romance can be, so I was saddned to hear this morning that they've announced that they've split.  It seems the separation is as amicable as one can be, they stated "...The reason for this separation is to better understand ourselves and the qualities we need in a partner and for our marriage..."  which makes sense.  A successful relationship absolutely requires a dedication to one's partner, but you can't ever forget who you are because then who (or what?) are you bringing to the partnership?  I feel blessed that Ira and I have many similar passions--classic movies, terrific restaurants, the list goes on--but he also allows me the freedom to indulge my personal passions, and I love that he's a guy's guy in his love of sports and play and I try always to encourage him to be who he is.  

 My heart goes out to Courtney and David and to all of those couples--famous and otherwise--who struggle to find themselves inside of their relationship!

 

Like just about everyone else, I was tuned in to the Emmy Awards last night.  And like everyone else, top of my mind was what everyone was wearing.  Lea Michele looked fabulous—great dress, great jewels!  Kelly Osborn looked stunning—I loved the understated elegance of her gown and her hair was, well, beautifully normal and let us actually see her face.  Claire Danes looked amazing, like an old school Hollywood starlet reminiscent of those in the movies Ira and I still love to watch together.  Jane Lynch looked great and I thought the dress and accessories she chose (or her stylists chose!) were perfectly suited to both her body type and her age.  Not to be mean, but January Jones and Kim Kardashian were among my least favorites (January?  Those shoes?  Really?). 

 

Beyond the fashion, what struck me the most was the diversity of relationships that walked down the red carpet.  I never look to Hollywood as a barometer for relationship success, since it seems most celebrities change partners as often as they change shoes, and I realize it must be nearly impossible to maintain the intimacy necessary for a successful relationship under the glaring lights of the paparazzi, but there were a few glimmers of hope worth mentioning.  There were long-time married couples like Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, and Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon, who still appear to be the epitome of normal in an otherwise messed up relationship world.  Eva Longoria-Parker and Tony Parker look well on their way, after a few years of marriage, to becoming an authentic Hollywood couple, while newly weds like Emily Blunt and John Krasinski seemed very supportive and enamored of one another.  Long time boyfriend/girlfriend couple Jon Hamm (who looked GREAT btw) and “love of his life” Jennifer Westfeldt were sweetly on the same page while evading questions about when they were going to “make things official.”  On the more non-traditional front, we had a glowing Padma Lakshmi, who seems content with her single mom status, and both Susan Sarandon and Meryl Streep were having a great time with their daughters.  I also felt such happiness seeing openly gay couple Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka proudly walk the red carpet like any other happy couple.  All-in-all, it seems like the Emmy red carpet is the new hot spot for a date night and it demonstrated that just one relationship formula doesn't work for everyone.  

 

I'm really thrilled about having been named a recipient of the Triple Zero Awards at this prestigious event.  See the official release from AGS below:

Las Vegas--The American Gem Society (AGS) has announced the 2010 Circle of Distinction honorees, naming Terry Burman, the chief executive officer of Signet Jewelers and chairman of Sterling Jewelers, as this year's recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award, and revealing a slate of Triple Zero Award winners.

This year's recipients of the Triple Zero Awards are: Phyllis Bergman, president of Mercury Ring Corp; Allen Brill, president and CEO of Rolex Watch U.S.A.; and the Clark Family of B.C. Clark, Inc.--specifically B.C. Clark, Jr., chairman emeritus; Jim Clark, chairman; Coleman Clark, president; and Mitchell Clark, executive vice president.

The awards will be given at AGS' 10th Circle of Distinction Dinner, scheduled for Sunday, July 25, at The Plaza hotel in New York City.

"The awards presentation is one of the highlights of the Circle of Distinction Dinner, and it's always a great pleasure to honor each year's recipients," Ruth Batson, AGS executive director and CEO, said in a press release issued Friday. "The dinner is a great opportunity for our members to meet, mingle with their peers, and honor some of the industry's best and brightest professionals."

She added that The Plaza, the Circle of Distinction event and the AGS each share a rich and distinguished history and represent the best of the best, Batson said.

"So it is only fitting that the Circle of Distinction would honor these recipients at The Plaza," Batson said.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with cocktails, which will be followed by a three-course dinner and the awards presentation at 7 p.m.

To order dinner tickets or to learn about advertising opportunities in the Circle of Distinction Tribute Book, contact Peggy Campbell at (866) 805-6500, ext. 1005, or e-mail her at pcampbell@ags.org 

I am thrilled to report that I've been asked to speak at the prestigious New York Entrepreneur Week conference in April!  The week-long conference is being held at the Scholastic Auditoriam in downtown Manhattan and I'll be speaking on a panel on April 15 at 2:45pm.  This is a non-profit organization driven by a single belief--Entrepreneurs change the world.  I'm so honored to be asked to speak, and the panel I'm speaking on, "The Impact on Your Personal and Professional Life," is a subject that's near and dear to my heart.  Running a successful business isn't easy, and doing so while maintaining your personal relationships can sometimes feel impossible.  I've worked very hard to feel fulfilled in all aspects of my life, and I'm happy to share any tricks I have with others!

 Speaking of family, Happy Passover to those of you who observe!!

 

 

So there you have our personality differences, but in order to better understand the strength of our relationship, you have to appreciate our similarities. Same age,same religion,same socio-economic upbringing, same level of education, and most importantly we both had strong parental role models, who each remained married for over 50 years. Take these similarities and mix them with just enough differences to make it challenging, and you have the ingredients for an exciting and long lasting relationship.

However, the most important ingredient in our lives is that we truly loved and respected each other.We were committed to making our marriage successful, to raising a beautiful family, to support them( not only financially),to enjoy them, and finally to grow old together and ride off into the sunset while enjoying all that life has to offer. Mind you we never verbalized these thoughts constantly-- our day to day actions spoke louder than our words.

I'm back to my blog! For the past several months Ira & I have been developing a new jewelry idea. THE 5 CECRETS-of an everlasting relationship. We wanted to convey to someone what it takes to make a marriage or any kind of relationship really work and we wanted to do this through our product. Hence the 5 CECRET Diamond Band. Each diamond is set into the letter C representing the 5 CERETS for an everlasting relationship----and what are they

COMMITMENT
COMMUNICATION
COMPROMISE
COMPASSION
COMPLIMENT

Seems so easy doesn't it? And yet people so often forget. We hope the ring will be a constant reminder. More about the CECRETS later. It's fun to be back!!!!!!