The family-owned jeweler will open a new showroom in Bel Air, Maryland, this fall.
5 good reads for September
A book by a jeweler-turned-author James Alperin, of James Alperin Jewelers in Pepper Pike, Ohio, topped National Jeweler’s list of literary leads for the month of September.

New York--This month’s list of new releases includes the self-published debut novel of a man that has spent decades in the jewelry industry, James Alperin, who owns a jewelry store in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Alperin, who also is a columnist for National Jeweler, just published The Moscow Team, a romance/adventure novel that takes place, in part, at one very well-known industry trade show. It is the third novel penned by the very prolific retailer, but the first one he has made available to the general public.
In addition to Alperin’s book, National Jeweler picked three books from GoodReads’ list of new releases for September that could be beneficial to business owners and tacked on a selection from one of its editors.
Here are five new, potentially good reads for the month of September.
1) The Moscow Team
James Alperin
Self-published by Pepper Pike, Ohio jeweler James Alperin (James Alperin Jewelers), The Moscow Team is a story about a love affair between two CIA agents who are separated by distance and their industry, where their love is forbidden. After decades apart, they reunite to help bring down a Russian arms dealer who is laundering money through one of the world’s largest diamond wholesale businesses. The Baselworld show makes a cameo in Alperin’s book, which is available for purchase in the CreateSpace e-store. It is 396 pages.
2) Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Elizabeth Gilbert
The Eat, Pray, Love author has a new book out that may be helpful to jewelry designers or anyone else in the industry looking for an artistic spark. In Big Magic, Gilbert draws from her own process of creation to discuss the attitudes, approaches and habits people need to live their most creative lives. This book is 288 pages.
3) The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science is Still a Boys’ Club
Eileen Pollack
Lacking confidence and mentors, Pollack long ago abandoned her dream of becoming a theoretical physicist, even after earning a degree from Yale. Years later, the oft-published novelist and essayist has come back to ask the question: Why are there still so few women employed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics? This book is 288 pages.
4) Fates and Furies
Lauren Groff
Groff’s latest novel details the ups and downs of one union central to society and very familiar to jewelers--marriage. Starting when the two main characters, Lotto
5) Editor’s Pick: The Year of Magical Thinking
Joan Didion
Selected by: Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff
It’s hard to believe I got to be 36 years old (nearly 37, in fact) without ever having picked up a book written by Didion but, somehow, it happened. The Year of Magical Thinking is a beautifully crafted, insightful portrait of one woman’s grief, penned in the year following the death of Didion’s husband and constant companion of four decades, John Gregory Dunne. I dare you to read this and not dive into Blue Nights immediately afterward.
The Latest

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Longtime industry executive Beth Miller has taken on the role.

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.

Jamie Cygielman will take on the role on Aug. 24.

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.

Ostbye took home top vendor honors at the Independent Jewelers Organization’s show, held last month in Kentucky.

Sponsored by Stratus Estate Buyers

Cloud, who will officially join Blue Nile on Monday, spent 26 years at Tiffany & Co. and founded jewelry brand Roseate.



















