Hi all,
Happy Friday and time for the usual weekly updates! Big week this week and lots to cover….and our cut designer has a surpise for everyone this week, including me, so read on.
Amora gem:Operation Aussie Freedom - IP Australia (the Australian equivalent of the US Patent office) confirmed receipt of our patent re-exam filing, and indicated the re-exam will be underway this coming week.
They did not indicate any dates for results, but simply said a report would be sent 'in the near future'. Here is a copy of that receipt, edited for compactness:
http://betterthandiamond.com/amora/patents/au_ip_receipt2.pngAmora trademark in Australia - we received word from IP Australia that the Amora trademark has passed their internal review. It now will be published for any public opposition, and barring any problem, then by this summer Amora will be a registered mark for us in Australia!
Mr. Robot update: I am very happy to report that Mr. Robot (our superhuman cutting robot) is back to full health! The technician who flew to our cutting facility found that an internal wire had cracked/frayed inside the protective insulation. Because we were sending in the various motors and sensors, and not the wiring, that was why it was so hard to find the problem.
The net is though, he is back up and cutting like a lean, mean robotic machine (which ironically, he is), and that means a lot of progress shortly in terms of finalizing new cuts for the Amora gem.
And that makes a good segue into our big announcements for this weeks updates.
Amora Gem, Asscher cut - we've finalized our design for the Amora Gem Asscher cut! We will need to do some actual Amora gems with it now that Mr. Robot is back to full health, but the computer model is at long last complete.
Thus, our
Amora Gem Asscher, in final computer model form:
We'll be working on cutting samples shortly for final verification and then will get photo/video to show everyone.
Secondly - surprisingly we have a second cut that was also completed this week. And an entirely unexpected one.
As I have noted on our blog in the past, antique cuts were nixed last Fall based on the relatively low volume of sales of antique cuts in our Asha simulant. Hence, why I have stated here among other places, that we would not be doing an antique cut for the Amora gem. We had internally talked about doing one for Amora a while back (last summer or so), but it was nixed last Fall.
What I didn't realize however, was that our cut designer (who also follows these updates) had taken note of the constant talk about antique cut Amora's on the boards this past year. And thus, utilizing his own time with late nights and weekends, toiled away privately on the antique cut that had been started earlier for the Amora.
Thus, when we were finalizing the Asscher cut this week, he indicated he had a surprise and pulls up an antique cut to show… and revealed that he's been working on it secretly this whole time.
Now, I'm not personally a fan of antique cuts, but I had to admit it looks pretty darn good, and so…we will be offering an Amora gem in an antique cut.
The big surprise of this week is thus….our
Amora Gem OEC!:
Here's a few notes on his thoughts behind the Amora OEC that I thought would be insightful. He's had a lot of experience in the past with antique cut diamonds and noted:
" …every once in a while I see an OEC diamond that is just really lively and throws off broad flashes of color. I've been taking notes on what makes them look that way, and modeled the Amora OEC to look like that.
It should throw out tons of bold dispersion once it's cut.
I hope they enjoy the OEC, it seems like a lot of people have been pining for an OEC Amora Gem, so now they'll know it will be possible!"
Similar to the Asscher cut - we'll be cutting final test samples and then have one photo'ed and video, to show in a future update here.
Anyway, the OEC was a big surprise even to me, so I hope the antique cut fans are pleased to see it. Any thanks can be directed to our cut designer as that was entirely his initiative
General BTD updates:New/additional attorney: We've been interviewing additional legal resources these past few weeks, and I'm pleased to announce that we've now engaged Atkins IP, a private law firm that focuses on 50% IP, and 50% litigation. Here is the rundown on our new lawyer:
Avvo 10 out of 10 'superb' rating
Litigation Counsel of America 'Fellow' - less than .5 of 1% of all attorneys in the US invited to join.
Super Lawyers Magazine "Super lawyer"
LA Times calls him a "cyber law expert"
In other words, substantial legal firepower helping us out going forward, which is always a good thing in our industry.
Asha updates:We've restocked the Asha Asscher this week (which were entirely sold out), so 1ct, 1.65ct and 2ct are now back in stock at last.
There's a large number of rounds and other fancy cuts currently in coating, and we hope to have these ready in the next two weeks.
Finally, of interest, pink Asha's have made a substantial jump in sales….which was a bit of a surprise since they've been out there not doing any great volume for a while. Here's a related feedback we received from a customer this week:
Beautiful, beautiful!
I just wanted to send a note of thanks for the wonderful job you all are doing over there;
I received the stones today - I am so impressed with the quality (the pink asha and avarra emerald blew me away) *and* the customer service.
The entire experience was truly pleasant(which is quite rare these days).
Thanks very much to that customer for taking the time to write!
Finally, we restocked our Avarra lab emeralds this week, so those are now in ample stock again.
Those are the updates for this week. Next week - be on the lookout for another Amora gem cut!
Have a great weekend,
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