In a new column, Peter Smith posits that people actually enjoy putting together IKEA furniture, and the same is true for engagement rings.
Appointments: Arnold’s new role, bourse elections
The former CEO of bridal jewelry company Lieberfarb is now working as an executive at Buyers Intelligence Group, the merchandising consulting firm started in 2000 by Abe Sherman.
New York--The former CEO of bridal jewelry company Lieberfarb is now working as an executive at Buyers Intelligence Group, the merchandising consulting firm started in 2000 by Abe Sherman.
Ann Arnold has been named chief strategy officer at Buyers Intelligence Group, or BIG, where she will focus on integrating the company’s industry products and will be a facilitator for the Plexus Performance Groups.
In addition to leading Lieberfarb until she left late last year, Arnold is the former president of the National Board of Directors of the Women’s Jewelry Association and currently is the organization’s scholarship board president. She is vice chair of MJSA and sits on the executive board of the Jewelers Board of Trade.
She also is the treasurer of the 24 Karat Club of New York.
The Diamond Bourse of Canada has elected officers to its board of directors to serve two-year terms.
The executive committee was unchanged with the exception of David Gavin, who is now also serving as treasurer in addition to being re-elected president. Allen Shechtman was re-elected as vice president and Jeffrey Brenner as secretary.
Also elected to the board of directors were Greg Jacobson, Samuel Chmielash, Sampat Poddar and past president Bhushan Vora.
Alan Dowler has been appointed to director of client services and service operations at Hamilton Jewelers, which has locations in New Jersey and Florida.
In his new role, Dowler will take over all aspects of the Hamilton after-sales service division, which is responsible for repair and service operations for the company’s retail and to-the-trade businesses, handling more than 20,000 service interventions and repairs per year.
Dowler joined Hamilton Jewelers in 1999 and was promoted to service manager in the company’s Princeton location, later assuming the role of companywide operations manager.
Jean-Marc Bellaiche is now senior vice president of strategy and business development at Tiffany & Co., a newly created role that he will assume June 2.
He will be responsible for new and existing business initiatives outside of jewelry, including watches, leather goods, eyewear and fragrance.
Bellaiche currently is the senior partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group.
Nancy Robey, founder and owner of the Nancy Robey Partnership Inc., has expanded her services to offer specialized business referral services for U.S. representatives of high-end international fine jewelry designer brands who are looking to connect with sales, marketing and other business professionals.
The expanded services
The Latest

The jeweler has partnered with Jenner’s 818 Tequila brand to gift lab-grown diamond studs to a bride-to-be and their bridal party.

The exhibition will feature more than 100 drawings of stained-glass lampshades, windows, and more, many created by women and émigrés.

Retailers are seeking new ways to attract customers, increase traffic, and create revenue – Estate buying events are a popular solution.

Marquise-cut diamonds in drop charms are the center of the new collection, reflecting the movement of a dancer in modular styles.


The inaugural Fort Lauderdale Jewelry, Antique, & Object Show will be held from Jan. 28 through Feb. 1, 2027.

The family-owned jeweler will open a new showroom in Bel Air, Maryland, this fall.

Colored gemstones, artisan finishes, mixed metals, and meaningful details are shaping demand in bridal jewelry.

Amanda Ileana Hernandez is married to Carlos Hernandez, one of two men in prison for the 2024 murder of Michigan jeweler Hussein Murray.

The reimagined jewel, our Piece of the Week, trades the diamonds in the original 1998 design for blue, pink, yellow, and green sapphires.

Sponsored by American Gem Trade Association

In the United States, second-quarter sales were flat amid soft consumer sentiment and lower in-store traffic.

The 22-karat gold egg, sold at Batemans Auctioneers in the U.K., was part of a 1980s treasure hunt ad campaign for Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Lucara Diamond Corp., which recovered the “Motswedi” diamond from the Karowe mine, sold the stone for an undisclosed amount.

The expanded collections now feature hand-cut gemstones like topaz, tanzanite, chrysoprase, chalcedony, smoky quartz, and fire opal.

The lab-grown diamond jewelry brand’s newest boutique is in Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, California.

The gemstone supplier and manufacturer acquired the remarkable 104-gram Zambian emerald at Gemfields’ auction in May.

Two suspects offered to trade the woman a “winning” lottery ticket for her jewelry.

Finsch has been in business rescue since May, and owner Petra Diamonds said it sees no viable path forward for the mine.

Michel Patrick DeSalles was sentenced after pleading guilty to the 2017 murder of Omid Gholian, who owned a jewelry store in Manhattan.

The brooch was owned by Virginia Fortune Ryan Ogilvy, who served as a lady of the bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II for nearly 50 years.

Moore, Polly’s husband, is remembered as a family man with an easygoing spirit and a love for sports and the outdoors.

Duvall O’Steen and Jen Cullen Williams share the best ways to display, present, and explain colored gemstones to younger customers.

The mid-year conference for jewelry and watch appraisers will take place Sept. 5-6 on Zoom.

Honest Hands Ring Co. Founder Benjamin Bosworth shared his thoughts on jewelry technology and why AI can never replace the human element.

QVC Group President and CEO David Rawlinson is temporarily being replaced by a familiar face, former QVC CEO Mike George.

The brand also added two one-of-a-kind brown diamond pieces to the “Sanssouci” series of its “Gardens” collection.





















