Meet the Winner of the 2021 Wag Award
The Edge Retail Academy gives the annual honor to a store that demonstrates business excellence.

Petite G Jewelers has been awarded the 2021 William (Wag) Wagner Business Excellence Award.
Owned by Dana Friedman, Petite G Jewelers has served Indianapolis for more than 20 years, becoming the area’s premiere boutique jewelry store.
It specializes in curated estate jewels, one-of-a-kind fashion pieces, and bridal jewelry.
ERA President David Brown said, “Dana diligently embraced strategies and recommendations from her Edge Retail Academy Business Advisor that allowed her to increase sales by 31 percent, raise gross profit by 40 percent and even increase her gross margin by 3.3 percent.”
ERA Business Advisor Charleen Pfaff explained, “Petite G focused on inventory management; the store achieved its optimum inventory level, including reducing aged inventory by $120,000.”
Friedman said ERA helped Petite G Jewelers achieve its goals through “sharpening our inventory mix” and “creative store events.”
She said, “Charleen provided us with sales team development and training, which led to an engaged team, and helped grow our revenue significantly.”
Now in its fourth year, ERA gives the Wag Award to a business that has achieved exceptional growth in the past year.
It is named in honor of a former ERA Business Advisor, William (Wag) Wagner, who died in 2018.
Brown said, “The Award has two goals: (1) to acknowledge business excellence from independent retailers and (2) to honor the memory of long serving ERA Business Advisor William (Wag) Wagner, whose service, loyalty and advice went well beyond the expectations of our clients, his work colleagues and our company.”
Petite G Jewelers received a check for $1,000.
Last year’s Wag Award recipient was Falls Jewelers in Concord, North Carolina.
The Latest

The company’s jewelry sales were up in Q4 and the fiscal year, with Richemont raising prices in part because of the cost of gold.

The “Bauble” capsule collection of colorful one-of-a-kinds includes our Piece of the Week, the “Bauble” earrings, featuring rose zircon.

The updated catalog has a newly dedicated section for gift wrapping.

As gold prices rise, today’s retailers are looking for alternatives at prices that will appeal to wider audiences.

Everett covers colored stones’ surging popularity, the mellow return of the “Mellon Blue,” and his “The Devil Wears Prada” doppelgänger.


Fourth-generation CEO Lilly Mullen wants to emphasize experience, connection, and personalized service.

The addition of the diamond-producing countries as nation affiliated members broadens the federation’s global representation, WFDB said.

With the trade and customer trust in mind, GIA® developed NextGem™ – on-demand training designed specifically for retail.

The NYPD is warning elderly New Yorkers to keep their jewelry hidden when walking outside to avoid being a target.

Designer Viviana Langhoff has realized her dream of owning a space for her Chicago jewelry store that looks and feels like her brand.

The sessions will run from Friday, May 29, to Sunday, May 31, with one being a live taping of an episode of Couture’s podcast.

Former Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry executive Morgan P. Richardson is joining the lab-grown diamond jewelry brand.

The $400 pocket watch is a blend of Audemars Piguet’s iconic eight-sided Royal Oak and Swatch’s unserious Pop watches from the ‘80s.

With gold prices on the rise, the “Modern Electrum” collection uses an alternative, non-tarnishing metal alloy composed of gold and silver.

Fruchtman Marketing has new owners, Erin Moyer-Carballea and Manuel Carballea, and will relocate to Miami.

In a column for the 2026 State of the Majors issue, Smith lists 10 time-tested principles about sales that still ring true.

In a column for the 2026 State of the Majors issue, Golan spells out how the growing economic divide in the U.S. is reshaping the market.

The “Limitless Expansion of Joy and Hope” collection evokes summer through colored gemstones and motifs of butterflies and florals.

The jewel, circa 1890, is from the late Victorian era and was owned by descendants of the last high king of Ireland.

This is what the nine recipients plan to do with the funds.

The Western star’s 14-karat gold signet ring sold for six times its low estimate following a bidding war at U.K. auction house Elmwood’s.

The discussion, "Rebuilding the Jewelry Workforce," will take place on Saturday, May 16, in Troy, Michigan.

The jewelry industry is reassessing its positioning as Gen Z reshapes the retail landscape and lab grown continues to gain market share.

A matching pair of 18.38-carat, D-color diamonds from Botswana’s Jwaneng mine sold for $3.3 million, the top lot of the jewelry auction.

Sponsored by A Diamond Is Forever

The next generation of lapidarists are entrepreneurial, engaged online, and see the craft as a means for artistic expression.

It was the second auction appearance for the fancy vivid blue-green diamond, which sold for $7.8 million at Christie’s Geneva 12 years ago.


























