Blancpain SA, a company of The Swatch Group Ltd., has acquired the company Vica Sàrl and, with it, the Vincent Calabrese Swiss luxury watch brand, facilities, developments and patents. The announcement was made by both companies on June 23. Details of the transaction weren’t released.

Our Eight-Figure Independents list of independent jewelers doing $10 million or more in sales has gotten bigger this year. Who are these jewelers and how are they managing to float, feather-light, above the latest economic woes facing other retailers?

New York—Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) President Jacob Banda has announced that DDC Secretary Sylvain Ringer has died.

Milan, Italy—As part of its plan to open stores in luxury-loving cities around the world, Breil Milano has descended on New York City's trendy SoHo shopping district.

London—The Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) has completed its three-day Leaders in Africa Summit, an event gathering together leaders from the DTC, from Africa and from its sightholders' businesses, celebrating the start of a new three-year contract been the DTC and its 78 clients.

Washington, D.C.—As it has for the past 17 years, Wal-Mart ranks No. 1 on Stores magazine's Top 100 Retailers list, with 2007 sales of $379 billion.