Jewelers Circular Keystone articles from February 2009

Jewelers Circular Keystone archives from February 2009

Meet the Manufacturers.
February 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak, Editor-in-Chief Get to know the personal side of a few of our industry's manufacturers and designers. In the jewelry industry, supplier-retailer relationships take many forms. Some are little more than a voice on...

Can U.S. Jewelry Manufacturers Survive?
February 1, 2009... By William George Shuster, Senior Editor In a special JCK roundtable discussion, 10 experts offer insights on the current state of U.S. jewelry manufacturing and discuss the challenges ahead. Since 2000, it has shrunk from 4,065...

Bidz The Next Blue Nile?
February 1, 2009... By Rob Bates, Senior Editor Bidz.com is emerging as a player in the online jewelry world because it's fast and fun. So why isn't everyone a fan? When jewelers complain about the Internet, they inevitably aim their verbal darts at Blue...

Brother, Can You Spare a Diamond?(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... By Jennifer Heebner Even the leanest economy is no match for true love, but when retirement accounts are tanking and unemployment is rising, the tangible expressions of love may need some help. Thankfully, some jewelry designers are...

Hot-Button Issues in Color.
February 1, 2009... By Gary Roskin, G.G., FGA, Senior Editor The worldwide gem industry has its fair share of intrigue and controversy. Following are some of the critical gemstone issues that retailers should be aware of. Burma Ban: No Ruby for U(S)!...

Made in Israel.
February 1, 2009... By Jennifer Heebner, Senior Editor This small country is taking big steps to tell the world about its creativity and ingenuity. Israel wants you to get better acquainted with its growing design community, including some bold and...

It's a Wonderful LIFO.
February 1, 2009... By William George Shuster, Senior Editor Lobbyists for jewelers and other small businesses are on the scene in Washington, D.C., fighting for low taxes, affordable health care, and advantageous accounting methods. Anew administration...

Light at the End of the Tunnel.
February 1, 2009... By Rick Bannerot Thank goodness for jewelry's core business of Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, special occasions, repairs, get-out-of-the-doghouse gifts, restyling/remounting shows,...

Gem Pricing Report.
February 1, 2009... Staff Preliminary research suggests attendance at the eagerly awaited Tucson show-- in years past, a reliable indicator of the strength of the trade--will be lower than in recent years. However, key industry players are showing that they...

Making Cuts!
February 1, 2009... By Brad Huisken With the economic conditions that exist today, I keep hearing jewelers talking about making cuts in order to maintain profit. I agree that you must make some cuts today in order to maintain a profitable company. However, a...

Focus on Fashion.
February 1, 2009... By Tim Malone Merchandising management includes not only inventory selection and pricing but also marketing and sales. This column will discuss how to integrate all the elements of merchandising to improve business performance. This month...

How to Solve Employee Theft.
February 1, 2009... By James W. Bassett A Step-by-Step Guide to Launching an Investigation Employee theft skyrockets during the holiday season. Some retail employees do their holiday shopping at work by dipping into their employers' inventories. Retailers...

Robbins Diamonds.
February 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak On a sunny day last fall, there was a strange sight in Center City Philadelphia. More than 650 people, wearing bright purple T-shirts emblazoned with a cartoon of famous Philadelphia jeweler Jerry Robbins, tore up the...

Bring Your 'A' Team to the Jewelry Counter.
February 1, 2009... By Suzanne DeVries The only way to survive the recession is to demand more from your employees than ever before. Over the past year, we have mystery-shopped jewelry stores across the country, and the results we witnessed were not...

Slow Holiday No Surprise.
February 1, 2009... By JCK Staff The 2008 holiday season has been dubbed "the worst in decades" for retail, and jewelry was no exception. Luxury has been hard hit by the recession, and jewelry took a particular pounding. Nevertheless, JCK 's post-holiday...

Recession Impacts Jewelry Business.
February 1, 2009... By William George Shuster The deepening U.S. recession has affected more than half of the businesses in the North American jewelry industry, a JCK survey found. Most expect it to get worse before it gets better. Forty-eight percent of...

Christian Bernard Goes Chapter 7.
February 1, 2009... By Rob Bates Christian Bernard Jewelers, a 30-year-old jewelry chain of 15 stores, abruptly filed for Chapter 7 on Dec. 26. In a resolution accompanying its filing, the Secaucus, N.J.-based company noted that "the company's shops are...

Finlay Warns on Liquidity.
February 1, 2009... Staff Finlay Enterprises issued a warning that the U.S. recession had hurt its liquidity position, and it may not meet its financial obligations. Finlay, which operates its own stores as well as counters in department store chains,...

GIA Slashes Staff, Salaries.
February 1, 2009... By Rob Bates The Gemological Institute of America reduced its workforce by 11 percent across "all departments on both coasts," it confirmed to JCK . Executives took a 10 percent pay cut. "[The United States is] in a deep recession, and...

ABN Amro Jewelry Group Copes With Changes.
February 1, 2009... By Rob Bates G. Loet Kniphorst, global director of the ABN Amro Diamond and Jewelry Division, announced his retirement recently. Kniphorst's retirement comes as the jewelry group, which accounts for an estimated 25 percent of the...

Newswire.
February 1, 2009... Staff New York State Gov. David Paterson proposed a sales tax on luxury items, including jewelry. Under the proposal, those purchasing jewelry in excess of $20,000 would pay a 5 percent sales tax, according to media reports. Wise...

Rolex CEO Resigns.(Patrick Heiniger)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... By William George Shuster Patrick Heiniger, 58, the chief executive officer of Swiss luxury watchmaker Rolex S.A., has unexpectedly resigned after 16 years, citing personal reasons. Heiniger, who succeeded his father, Andre, in 1992,...

Jewelers Shot.
February 1, 2009... Staff Two jewelers were shot recently during robbery attempts. In the first incident, a jewelry store owner in Riverside, Calif., was shot four times and critically wounded during a robbery in front of his home, according to media...

Speidel Makes Timex Watchband Replacements.
February 1, 2009... By William George Shuster Speidel is the new exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Timex watchband replacements. The agreement covers replacement watchbands for all Timex watches, including Ironman. Fred Levinger, owner and...

Jewelry Historian 'Dr. Joe' Dies.
February 1, 2009... By Gary Roskin Dr. Joseph Sataloff, a world-renowned expert on antique and estate jewelry, especially art nouveau jewelry, died Sept. 26. He was 89. His Art Nouveau Jewelry: A Practical Guide to Its History and Beauty is still...

From the JCKonline.com Blogs.
February 1, 2009... By Hedda Schupak, JCK Voices, Dec. 9, 2008 A Cool Spin on Colored Diamonds Rough diamonds have been used in their natural state by a few daring designers--Frieden AG of Thun, Switzerland, is probably the best known for the look with...

From the Archives.
February 1, 2009... Staff In 1930, at the age of 62, The Jewelers' Circular became a monthly publication, but its purposes as a "business paper" remained the same. Today, as JCK celebrates 140 years of helping jewelers make a profit, our purposes haven't...

Sami Zeira.
February 1, 2009... By Jennifer Heebner Jewelry designer Sami Zeira fell in love with the ancient technique of granulation during a visit to the Greek island of Santorini more than 10 years ago, but he isn't stuck in the past. "What differentiates my designs...

U.S. Trade Deficit Falls in November.
February 1, 2009... Staff The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, says total November 2008 exports of $142.8 billion and imports of $183.2 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $40.4...

Glimmer of Good News.
February 1, 2009... Staff The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says personal income decreased $20.7 billion (0.2 per-cent), and disposable personal income decreased $11.8 billion (0.1 percent) in November 2008. Personal consumption expenditures decreased...

Ethics Again?
February 1, 2009... By Frank Dallahan Some recent news stories reported the results of surveys on the topic of honesty and ethics. Specifically, the surveys reported teens' responses to questions on honesty. Thirty percent of teens responded that they had...

Business School in a Book.
February 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak The annual banquet weekend of the 24 Karat Club of the City of New York is always a great gathering and, between the gala banquet, the JVC and JSA luncheons, and the JIC Gem Awards, an excellent chance to catch up and...

What We Know and What We Don't.(jewelry industries economic situations)(Column)
February 1, 2009... By Ben Janowski I am reluctant to be too topical because it takes about two months before this column gets printed. But there is little doubt that 2009 will be a tough year for everyone, even with the extraordinary efforts our new...

Has Innovation Sailed Away?
February 1, 2009... By Peter Berger There are a number of economic reasons for the recent shift of many American manufacturing companies to non-American ownership, including lower margins in the retail segment and the general shift of manufacturing to other...

Change.(economic condition of jewlry industry)(Column)
February 1, 2009... By Mark Smelzer I'm writing this letter on Inauguration Day. According to the news, pretty much the whole country is caught up in this historic moment (polls are saying more than 80 percent of the country approves of the new...