High-end fashion houses know how to emotionally connect with customers online. Retail jewelers should take note, Emmanuel Raheb writes.
WJA calling for entries in ‘Diva Design’ competition
The Women’s Jewelry Association has begun accepting submissions for its 2015 Diva Design competition, which celebrates the organization’s current theme for the year of “transformation.”

New York--The Women’s Jewelry Association has begun accepting submissions for its 2015 Diva Design competition, which celebrates the organization’s current theme for the year of “transformation.”
The awards are open to women with all levels of experience. The two divisions of the competition and their submission information are as follows.
--Division One: Gem Diva is done in conjunction with the American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Awards. Women who enter pieces in the following four categories of the AGTA Spectrum Awards are eligible for consideration for a Gem Diva award: business/day wear, evening wear, bridal and classical design.
Entrants must use the AGTA Spectrum award application to enter and check the Gem Diva box to be considered for the award. The deadline for AGTA applications is Sept. 19.
--Division Two: DazzleDiva is meant for two-dimensional art (no finished product will be judged), allowing for the widest possible pool of entries.
Submissions should include either two-dimensional renderings of designs that have not yet been created or photographs of jewels that already have been made. Judges will decide based on uniqueness, how well the piece fits the theme and it execution.
This year’s theme for DazzleDiva is “Transformation.” Entrants are allowed to interpret the theme however they’d like, whether it be literally or figuratively, but must list on their application how their entry fits the theme.
One winner will be awarded in each of the three DazzleDiva categories: business/day wear, evening wear and bridal.
The application deadline is Oct. 3. To enter, email designs and completed entry forms to wjadivacontest@gmail.com. The application form can be found here.
The winner in each of the seven categories in the two Diva Design divisions will receive $250 and a trip to New York City to attend WJA’s annual “In The Spotlight” award reception, scheduled to take place in March 2015.
For more information about the awards, visit the WJA website or contact Cindy Edelstein, WJA Diva competition chair, at 914-738-8485 or cindy@jewelersresource.com.
The Latest

Buying discipline at trade shows starts with clarity about your inventory levels, Smith writes.

The trade show’s education series returns, with sessions on retail trends, AI, watches, marketing, corporate responsibility, and more.

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

The Curated Designer Project has expanded to highlight eight independent jewelry designers during CBG’s Las Vegas show.


Bring a cool tone to your summer jewelry with these white metal pieces.

The deal closed this week, which means Instore will produce the JA NY show slated to take place this fall.

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

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.

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 new award, created in partnership with Henne Jewelers, honors the late designer’s legacy through supporting jewelry education.

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

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.

























