The Curated Designer Project has expanded to highlight eight independent jewelry designers during CBG’s Las Vegas show.
Lineup for WJA’s ‘In the Know’ announced
The Women’s Jewelry Association’s 11th annual In the Know Conference is scheduled for March 5, and this year will include a same-day awards ceremony.
New York--The Women’s Jewelry Association’s 11th annual In the Know Conference is scheduled for March 5, and this year will include a same-day awards ceremony.
In the Know will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hearst Tower, and the “In the Spotlight” awards ceremony is slated for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the same location.
This year’s conference will focus on WJA’s 2014 theme, “Connect and Transform,” and will feature speakers who have led TED talks, been recognized by magazines including Fast Company and Fortune, and worked as professionals within the jewelry industry.
Opening the conference is Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, co-founder of Gilt Groupe, who will present “The Gilt Groupe Story: How to Get 1.5 Billion Sales in 3.5 Years.”
Wilson has more than 15 years of experience in the luxury sector, working for bands including Bulgari, Louis Vuitton and Merrill Lynch, and also co-authored By Innovation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop, a New York Times bestseller.
Rachel Shechtman, founder of retail concept company Story, will discuss with attendees “Storytelling: The New Consumerism.” Named one of Fortune’s “40 Under 40” and one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business,” Shechtman is a retail expert who has consulted for brands including Kraft, Toms Shoes and Lincoln Motor Co.
Motivational speaker Dan Thurmon will present “Off Balance on Purpose: How to Evolve During Changing Times.” Thurmon is the author of two books and an expert in helping organizations and individuals implement action plans and move through transitions.
The conference also will offer two panels.
The first will be moderated by Stellene Volandes, style director at Town & Country magazine, and will feature designers Melissa Joy Manning and Kara Ross discussing how jewelry and watch brands have extended their reach.
The second panel, “Close to the Consumer: How Retailers are Reinventing Themselves,” will be moderated by Orit, president and CEO of the O Group, with panelists Cathy Fischer of Sterling Jewelers Inc., PJ Lynch, the CEO of the Gem Shopping Network, Jennifer Gandia of Greenwich Jewelers, Annelise Peterson of Net-A-Porter and Daniella Yacobovsky of BaubleBar.
Following the conference, the In the Spotlight event will honor WJA regional chapters’ Shining Stars for 2014 as well as the 2013-2014 WJA Diva Design Contest award winners.
Combination and separate tickets for both the conference and awards event can be purchased on the WJA website.
The Latest

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

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

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

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


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

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.

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

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.

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.























