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 2018 Portland Jewelry Symposium Is ‘Keeping It Real’
The theme for the 11th annual conference is “crafts meets technology.”
Portland, Ore.—Portland Jewelry Symposium organizers have announced the details for their 11th annual event, which is scheduled to take place next month.
Slated for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, the theme of the conference is “Craft Meets Technology: Keeping it Real in a Digital World.”
As in years past, the conference will begin on Sunday evening with a dinner and keynote address. JCK’s Rob Bates will deliver this year’s keynote, commenting on the ways technology is changing the jewelry industry overall.
Monday will feature a plethora of speakers, panel presentations and bench demonstrations.
Topics addressed will run the gamut from high-tech casting methods to digital marketing.
Professor Anne-Marie Carey of Birmingham City University will speak about her joint project with the Museum of London, creating digital reproductions of 17th century artifacts from the Cheapside Hoard, the famed discovery of more than 400 pieces of fine jewelry in 1912 that had been buried in a cellar in London for hundreds of years.
Carey will comment on the role of technology in preservation and the latest methodologies.
The symposium’s panels will feature metallurgists and 3-D resin casting experts, and Ann Cahoon of the North Bennett Street School will lead bench demonstrations, sponsored by Rio Grande. Question-and-answer sessions will follow the panels.
The full list of programming, and further information, is available on the symposium website.
The Latest

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.
























