Jewelers Circular Keystone articles from January 2009

Jewelers Circular Keystone archives from January 2009

Color Evolution: The Spectrum Awards at 25.
January 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak, Editor-in-Chief Over its 25-year history, AGTA's Spectrum Awards competition has evolved from esoteric one-off winners to a trend-leading collection of wearable designs. Few factors in the environment influence...

Thriving in Troubled Times: With a Little Help From My Friends.
January 1, 2009... By William George Shuster, Senior Editor Business Groups Help Jewelers Get by with Support and Friendship, Especially in Difficult Times. "No man is an island," wrote John Donne, the great English poet, and that's also true for...

'Diamonds Do Not Sell Themselves'.
January 1, 2009... By Frank Dallahan Success leads to arrogance and arrogance to failure." Devotees of Trout and Reis's work know this line comes from their book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing . Those unfamiliar with their work should pick up a copy, and...

Rebecca.(Company overview)
January 1, 2009... By Hedda Schupak La bella figura is an Italian expression that has no English counterpart. While the exact translation is "beautiful figure," it more accurately sums up an Italian cultural imperative: paying meticulous attention to the...

Elephant Hunting.
January 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak This year JCK observes its 140th anniversary. To celebrate, we will be mining our substantial archives to find items of interest--some serious, some humorous, some illustrating how far we've come in 140 years, and some...

Gem Pricing Report.
January 1, 2009... Staff At press time consumers were cautious about spending for the holidays, and the season for many retail jewelers season started slow and faded from there. Neighborhood-based independents appeared to be seeing more traffic than their...

India Jewelry Industry Adjusts to U.S. Economic Woes.
January 1, 2009... By Anthony DeMarco, Senior Editor At IIJS, India's diamond and jewelry manufacturers turn to domestic and regional markets to make up for a downturn in U.S. business. When an economic downturn disrupts the buying habits of the world's...

JBT: Some Bright Spots.
January 1, 2009... Staff The most recent statistics from the Jewelers' Board of Trade shows far fewer retail bankruptcies than one might imagine from the rash of gloomy conversations about the industry. Huge percentage increases make headlines, but the...

Q3 Stats.
January 1, 2009... Staff The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said in December that the U.S. economy declined in the third quarter of 2008, according to preliminary estimates. BEA said real gross domestic product decreased at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in...

Employment Trends Down.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
January 1, 2009... Staff The Conference Board reported in December that its Employment Trends Index declined in November to 102.9, down 1.6 percent from the October revised figure of 104.5, and down over 13 percent from a year ago. The Conference Board...

Shock and Awe.
January 1, 2009... By Ben Janowski When bombs start to fall, people run for a shelter. In our industry, it seems that people are in the shelter, mentally, when there's still time to prevent the bombing. I recently attended the Rapaport-sponsored...

Our 140th Year!
January 1, 2009... By Mark Smelzer In 1869, a new business journal for the jewelry and watch industry, The Horological Review , was launched in the heart of New York City's jewelry district, then located near Wall Street on Maiden Lane. One hundred...

The JCK 2009 It List.(Jewelry industry)
January 1, 2009... By JCK Staff A compendium of people, places, issues, brands, trends, and products to watch in 2009. Big Looks for Not-So-Big Prices Given the economy and the continuing trend toward fashion-conscious jewelry, look for more use of...

Let White Gold Wear a White Hat.
January 1, 2009... By Rick Bannerot In the United States, white metals such as silver, white gold, and platinum have enjoyed a boom in popularity over the last three decades. This is a function of fashion trends and red carpet events, as well as advertising...

Buying Your Customer's Jewelry: Profit Center or Added Risk?
January 1, 2009... By Cecilia L. Gardner, Esq. Given the market realities today, customers are increasingly asking jewelers to buy their jewelry. Consumers are looking to use their unwanted pieces to acquire some ready cash or put it toward the purchase of...

The Next-Best Question.(sales presentation)
January 1, 2009... By Brad Huisken In sales, there is always a next-best question. Follow the railroad track of next-best questions. Your ability to communicate through asking questions will have a direct relationship on your success in sales. Customers...

Swirk Jewelers.
January 1, 2009... By Jennifer Heebner Swirk Jewelers has been a fixture in Kansas City, Mo., since 1910, but only in the past 15 years has the Swirk family taken advantage of its surname in advertising. "We just knew it would work," says owner Brian Swirk....

Diamond Industry Members Experience Mumbai Terror.
January 1, 2009... By Hedda Schupak and Rob Bates Members of the diamond industry staying at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels were among those in danger during the Nov. 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that left at least 172 dead and hundreds more...

Zale Fights Viral E-mail.
January 1, 2009... By Rob Bates A recent viral e-mail about gift cards--which suggested that Piercing Pagoda is closing all its stores and Zale is closing 105 stores "after January"--is wrong, Zale says. Snopes, the Web site that tracks viral e-mails,...

Ralph Destino Retires from GIA.(Gemological Institute of America )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Ralph Destino Gemological Institute of America chairman Ralph Destino, who took over amid the GIA's Certifigate scandal, has retired. Current president Donna Baker will be president and chief executive officer. GIA also appointed Susan...

India Stops Rough Imports.
January 1, 2009... By Rob Bates In an unprecedented step, India's Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council asked its members to cease rough diamond imports for a month. The interruption began Nov. 25 and ran through the last week in December. The...

Finlay Refinances Amid Liquidity Concerns.
January 1, 2009... By Rob Bates Amid speculation about its future, Finlay Enterprises announced a new deal with its bondholders, who have injected another $20 million into the company and are allowing it to defer some $5.5 million in interest payments. ...

Signet Ends Rough Sourcing Initiative.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... By Rob Bates Signet Group has ended the rough sourcing initiative that many once saw as a harbinger of the industry's vertically integrated future. To source and manufacture rough diamonds, Signet had opened an office in Antwerp,...

'Responsible Jewellery' Group Releases Ethical Code.
January 1, 2009... By Rob Bates The Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices has released an extensive list of ethical, social, and environmental practices its members must comply with. All members of the group, now called the Responsible Jewellery...

Approach With Care: Getting Help for 'May I Help You?'.(Editorial)
January 1, 2009... By Rob Bates, Senior Editor Good news! A customer has walked into your store. How you greet her could determine whether she buys from you. No phrase in retail has more enemies among sales trainers than "Can I help you?" "It's...

Cavalcade of Color.
January 1, 2009... By Gary Roskin, G.G., FGA, Senior Editor Margins are better on colored gemstones than on diamonds. Here's how to sell more of them. Jim Fiebig, owner of www.sellmorecolor.com, believes most retailers are more comfortable selling...

Spectrum Awards 2009.(American Gem Trade Association)(Editorial)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak, Editor-in-Chief Judging for the 25th edition of the American Gem Trade Association's Spectrum Awards took place Oct. 25--26 in New York. Criteria were overall beauty and wearability, innovative design, effective use of...