Jewelers Circular Keystone articles from May 2009

Jewelers Circular Keystone archives from May 2009

Style 2009.
May 1, 2009... Staff First Lady Drives Season's Trends Carrie Soucy Michelle Obama has, arguably, stolen Hollywood's spotlight, becoming the most-watched style icon -- Perhaps one of the biggest the reasons for Obama's influence is the...

Africa Comes to the Oscars.(Diamond Information Center)(Interview)(Editorial)
May 1, 2009... By Rob Bates, Senior Editor What's a former Botswanan head of state doing in Hollywood at Oscar time? Trying to persuade celebrities to keep wearing the diamonds that support his country. The week before the Academy Awards, the Diamond...

Morellato & Sector Looks to U.S. Market.
May 1, 2009... By William George Shuster, Senior Editor America was discovered by one Italian and got its name from another. Now Italy's biggest watch and jewelry seller wants to win over America by "providing Italian taste but customized for the...

RFID to the Rescue.
May 1, 2009... By Anthony DeMarco, Senior Editor How inventory-management technology helped Sissy's Log Cabin recover a stolen luxury watch. The type of technology associated with criminal prevention and the recovery of stolen property often involves...

Crystal Balm.
May 1, 2009... By Gary A. Roskin, G.G., FGA, Contributing Editor After a tough 2008 holiday season, exhibitors at the Tucson, Ariz., gem and mineral shows prepared for the worst. To everyone's surprise, Tucson provided at least some comfort to those...

Tips For Struggling Businesses, Continued.
May 1, 2009... By Frank Dallahan Last month I introduced several concepts put forth by John Chidsey, president and chief executive officer of Burger King, to help struggling firms. The first two points were to focus on two or three major drivers that...

Jewelry Crime Up, Grab and Runs Blamed.
May 1, 2009... By Rob Bates A huge increase in grab and run incidents--in which customers run off with jewelry shown to them--drove up jewelry crime 17 percent in 2008, reversing the recent downward trend, Jewelers' Security Alliance reported. ...

Jeweler Features Open Showcases.
May 1, 2009... By Rob Bates New Concept at Former Robbins Bros. Stores A Canadian jewelry store that allows customers unlimited try-ons of replicas of its pieces is coming to the United States. Nine-store Spence Diamonds, based in Vancouver,...

Why Did Robbins Bros. Fail?
May 1, 2009... By Rob Bates Robbins Bros.' recent Chapter 11 filing happened because the company expanded too much, too quickly, sources said. After the chain was recapitalized in 2004, partly by investment firm Weston Presidio, it went from seven...

Fast Stats : What Do (Engaged) Woman Want?
May 1, 2009... Staff 75 percent of brides-to-be will adjust their wedding budget as a result of the economy. 25 percent will cut their budget in more than half. 53 percent of brides-to-be don't plan to spend more than $25,000 on their wedding....

Second-Hand Jewelry Buyers Beware!
May 1, 2009... Staff Jewelers who buy secondhand merchandise, including gold jewelry, need to follow existing laws, Jewelers Vigilance Committee said recently, citing a case in California. According to the Register-Pajaronian newspaper, two jewelers...

No New Luxury Taxes!
May 1, 2009... Staff Proposals in Illinois and New York that would have added a 5 percent tax to purchases of fine jewelry and timepieces over $20,000 have been killed. The proposals spurred furious lobbying and letter-writing campaigns from Jewelers of...

From the JCKonline.com Blogs.
May 1, 2009... By Hedda Schupak, JCK Voices, March 17, 2009 Desk Dig, St. Patrick's Day Edition One jeweler's trash is also another's treasure, which is the concept behind PrestigeJewelersVault.com. Mike Hauben, son of Howard Hauben (of H2...

Stores.
May 1, 2009... Staff NORTHEAST Marvin Soskil , president of Brett Harrison Jewelers , Melville, N.Y., was honored by the Long Island Breakfast Club for his contributions to the community, according to New York Newsday . Soskil has supported such...

The Industry.
May 1, 2009... Staff MANUFACTURERS Findings manufacturer BA Ballou was put into receivership in March, although an employee of the 130-year-old company said it hopes to reopen under a new "management agreement." Fourteen protesters were arrested...

WGC Unites Celebrities, Designers, Charities, and Gold.
May 1, 2009... Staff This month, World Gold Council will auction off a special collection of gold jewelry--designed by a special group of people--to benefit 10 charities. The Leaves of Change collection comprises a dozen necklaces, each with a unique...

People.
May 1, 2009... Staff REMEMBERED David Michael Trout , founding partner of Coffin & Trout Fine Jewellers , Chandler, Ariz., died suddenly on March 15 while hiking. He was 51. Trout and his friend of nearly 30 years, Randy Coffin , founded Coffin &...

Pseudo Sales.(Gold and diamond prices )
May 1, 2009... By Ben Janowski I recently read about the dramatic reversal of fortunes in Dubai. Some 500,000 cars have been abandoned by departing foreign workers, and construction has ground to a near halt, including completion of the world's tallest...

Tanishq Takes on America.
May 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak, Editor-in-Chief An Indian retailer aims to please fashion-savvy women with exciting jewelry and tranquil stores. The Indian-based jeweler Tanishq has opened two stores in the United States, its first in July 2008...

Only Connect!
May 1, 2009... By Anthony DeMarco, Senior Editor A company in Israel called Erayo has an e-commerce Web site (www.erayo.com ) that offers the work of pre-approved jewelry designers from around the world to independent retail jewelers. It's backed by a...

Gem Pricing Report.
May 1, 2009... Staff Despite the harsh economy, the gemstone market, like the broader market, is showing signs of stabilizing. Aggressive movement by major mining and manufacturing firms in the diamond and colored stone industries has helped ease...

Spiff the Store Without Breaking the Bank.
May 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak, Editor-in-Chief There's an old adage in retail: "When business is slow, paint the store." JCK talked with Jack Tiemann, AIA, an architect based in Jersey City, N.J., about sprucing up a store without ratcheting...

Jeweler Makes Headlines With Helping Hand.
May 1, 2009... By Rob Bates, Senior Editor A jeweler's thoughtful gesture becomes a symbol of hope in her community. In January, Debbie Fox was just another person feeling powerless amid the headlines of mass layoffs and home foreclosures. But then...

The New Normal.(consumer spending ind diamond industry)
May 1, 2009... By Hedda T. Schupak One of the toughest parts of the current economic situation has been simply not knowing when it's going to hit bottom--or even where the bottom is. Once it hits bottom, at least you'll know what you're dealing with and...

Glimmers of Hope.
May 1, 2009... By Mark Smelzer As I write, there are murmurs around the country that perhaps we've seen the bottom of this economic decline and we're beginning to inch our way back up. Regardless, it looks like there will be rough times ahead in the...