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TWST: Ken, what's the outlook as we move through 2000? Do you have any concern that the pace could slow down?

Mr. Gassman: Quite frankly, we're hoping that economic growth will slow a bit. The pace of economic growth has just been too rapid over the last 12-18 months -- and that which goes up rapidly can also fall rapidly. Our outlook calls for much more moderate retail sales growth in the year 2000. And we think that will come about because of higher interest rates as well as the pressure that OPEC is putting on oil prices.

TWST: Are there any other jewelers that you would like to highlight?

Mr. Gassman: The final company that we like is Signet Group (Nasdaq:SIGYY), which is the world's largest jewelry retailer. Signet Group is headquartered in London; they trade American Depository Shares (ADS) in this country on the NASDAQ. Signet Group owns Sterling Jewelry in this country. The US stores primarily trade under the name of Kay Jewelers as well as some regional names. In the UK, they operate stores under the H. Samuel name, and they also trade under the Ernest Jones brand. And in my opinion, Signet is getting ready to embark on a major growth program. Signet encountered some financial difficulties in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Now all those financial difficulties have been resolved. They have a new management team. They're trying to increase their profile on Wall Street. At this point, I believe we're the only analyst in the United States who follows Signet Group.