Jewelers Circular Keystone articles from August 2008

Jewelers Circular Keystone archives from August 2008

Best in Show 2008.
August 1, 2008... Staff Trade fairs are the perfect venues for discovering what's best, what's next, and who's making the biggest splash. Following are JCK's picks for Best in Show from this year's jewelry week in Las Vegas. BEST IMPROVEMENT ON A...

The New Art.
August 1, 2008... By Monica Clare McLaughlin, Heritage Editor This year, an important exhibition is celebrating the dramatic and sensual designs of art nouveau. For a relatively short-lived style, art nouveau casts a long shadow. Its sinuous curves and...

'Start Managing Margins': An Interview With Dr. Timothy Malone.(Interview)
August 1, 2008... By William George Shuster, Senior Editor GIA's Timothy Malone says cash flow is the key to prospering during difficult economic times. Economists say we're experiencing the most troubled U.S. economy since the Second World War. That...

Tightwad's Tour of Tucson 2008.(Editorial)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... By Jennifer Heebner, Senior Editor JCK's third annual summary of inexpensive but chic buys from the Tucson gem shows paints a sweet picture of yummy-looking gems and minerals available at penny-candy prices. This year's tour of the...

Face Time.
August 1, 2008... By William George Shuster, Senior Editor Watch designers dial it up. The dial is a canvas on which today's watch designers are creating looks that are nothing like traditional flat dials. This year sees more three-dimensional dials,...

The Truth Is in the Answers.
August 1, 2008... By Rick Bannerot This month's column is premised on the Socratic Method-contending with a series of questions and reflecting on your answers. Socrates, high atop the hills of Greece more than two millennia ago, knew something about...

Niches Without Glitches.(Interview)
August 1, 2008... By Glen A. Beres Establishing a niche is one way to differentiate a retail operation from its competitors, but developing one isn't easy. In Riches in Niches: How to Make It Big in a Small Market , author Susan Friedmann lays out a...

Gem Pricing Report.
August 1, 2008... Staff The U.S. economy continues to experience a significant slowdown. Credit concerns are increasing for the jewelry industry as banks take a close look at debt. Firms must move out nonperforming inventory and pay down debt to remain...

Sales Training Does Not Work!
August 1, 2008... By Brad Huisken OK. I admit it. Sales training does not work. Being a sales trainer, this might be the last statement you would expect to hear from me. However, the following statements are absolutely true. Sales training does not...

Keep Cash Flowing in Any Economy.
August 1, 2008... By David Shapiro, Contributing Editor An expert discusses the delicate balance that must be struck between accounts payable and accounts receivable. At the mere mention of an economic downturn, all jewelers intensify their scrutiny of...

Peapod Jewelry.
August 1, 2008... By Jean Bentley The peapod first came to Ronna Lugosch as a happy coincidence. The jewelry artist was experimenting with different sculptural forms for casting metals, and made an empty podlike shape that a coworker suggested she fill with...

Whitehall Goes Chapter 11.
August 1, 2008... By Rob Bates Whitehall Jewelers in June became the latest mass marketer to declare Chapter 11. At press time the 373-store chain was planning to sell its assets at an auction July 18 and said it was considering every option, including...

Shirley Bridge Dies.
August 1, 2008... Staff Shirley Bridge , member of Ben Bridge Jeweler board of directors, died recently at age 86 after a long battle with cancer. She is survived by husband Herb Bridge, cochairman of Ben Bridge; sons Jon, the company's co-CEO, and David;...

House of Taylor Closes Doors.
August 1, 2008... By Anthony DeMarco Under the weight of more than $11 million in debt, without access to operating funds, with the loss of its two brand icons, and without even a name to operate under, the former House of Taylor executed a peaceful...

The Jewelry Channel Closes.
August 1, 2008... Staff A fledgling jewelry television shopping channel in Austin, Texas, announced that it will cease operations and lay off its entire staff of 106. The Jewelry Channel Inc. , launched in April 2007, filed papers with the Texas...

Antiquorum Sold.
August 1, 2008... By William George Shuster Antiquorum Auctioneers, the international watch auction house, changed owners again in late spring. Artist House Holdings, its former majority shareholder, sold its interest in Antiquorum on May 16 for about...

Patrizzi Launches 'Innovative' Auctioneer.
August 1, 2008... Staff Osvaldo Patrizzi , former chairman of Antiquorum Auctioneers , and members of his former management team have started a new watch auction house, Patrizzi & Co. Auctioneers (www.patrizziauction.com ). Launched in April, the...

Rapaport Buys Watch Dealers Network.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Staff The Rapaport Group in late May acquired 'a controlling interest' in the Web-based Watch Dealers Network . The value of the transaction, which gives it 51 percent ownership, wasn't released but is believed to be worth millions. ...

Orloff Becomes President of Bell & Ross USA.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Staff U.S. watch industry veteran Stacie Orloff recently was appointed president of luxury watch brand Bell & Ross USA. No changes are planned. Orloff was formerly the longtime president of luxury brand Corum USA but left earlier this...

New Jersey Gold Bill Stopped.
August 1, 2008... Staff The New Jersey state legislature went on its summer vacation without voting on a bill that would have regulated how jewelers can purchase used jewelry. The bill, A2712, was tabled following a last-minute telephone campaign led by the...

Newswire.
August 1, 2008... Staff Jewelers' Security Alliance has issued a warning for Asian jewelry salespersons doing business in California, who apparently are being targeted by South American theft gangs. Since January, 16 robberies of Asian jewelry salespersons...

AGTA Slams Paraíba Lawsuit.(American Gem Trade Association)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... By Gary Roskin The American Gem Trade Association is moving to dismiss the $120 million lawsuit targeting its use of the phrase 'Paraíba tourmaline.' (See 'Name Blame,' JCK , June 2008, p. 190.) The case, filed by David Sherman...

Leviev Protesters May Halt Dubai Store.
August 1, 2008... Staff The protesters at Lev Leviev's retail chain may be scoring their first real victory: preventing the famed mogul from opening up stores in Dubai. Since last year, members of Adalah, which calls itself 'The Coalition for Justice...

Best of the Blogs.
August 1, 2008... Staff Customer Watch: Conversation Starters I was interested to read that the Editor in Chief of Lucky magazine, Kim France, made the subject of jewelry intensely personal in talking to her editors about the magazine's May 2008...

The Forevermark Brand.
August 1, 2008... By Frank Dallahan Branding remains a hot topic in the diamond world, especially with the flurry of news reports that the Forevermark brand will be introduced in the United States in the not too distant future. Also recently, there was...

Our Summer of Discontent.
August 1, 2008... By Ben Janowski The postmortems on the Las Vegas shows agree that most of the industry is in a slowdown. We do hear that there has been a boom at the top of the market, especially in large diamonds and fine precious color. There also has...

America Ages.
August 1, 2008... Staff More than 80 percent of the growth in households in the next five years will be among those headed by someone age 55 or older. Newly forming households headed by someone age 25-34 will account for most of the rest. Little or no...

From the Jewelers Board of Trade.
August 1, 2008... Staff Second-quarter statistics from Jewelers Board of Trade reveal that the only regions experiencing growth in jewelry businesses were the South Central and the Southwest. The South Central region saw a 12.5 percent increase in the...

Indicators.(Table)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Staff Spot Prices Per Ounce for Key Precious Metals [Seasonally adjusted] --------------------------------------- Gold Up $955.00 Silver Up $18.16 Platinum Up $1,846.00...

Bridging the Gap.(Column)
August 1, 2008... By Hedda T. Schupak The day before I sat down to write this month's column, I read an article in Advertising Age magazine's American Demographics sub-section that discussed the many ways the American consumer is changing. One is the shift...

JCK Jewelers Choice Awards II.
August 1, 2008... By Mark Smelzer JCK launched an exciting new design awards program last year, the JCK Jewelers Choice Awards. Conceived as the first industry design celebration with online voting exclusively by retailers, the program was a huge success....