I’ll start off this blog with a short confessional but not the scary, priest-behind-the-screen, say-10-Hail-Marys-type from my youth.

Michelle Graff

The 24 Karat Club of New York will hold its 113th annual banquet on Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan. 

Michelle Graff

The International Gemological Institute recently received recognition from the Responsible Jewelry Council and the International Organization for Standardization.

Michelle Graff

Fifteen days to go until Christmas. That makes it the perfect time to remind salespeople to ask for the add-on, or to refresh the store’s tactics for making multiple sales.  

Brecken Branstrator

Luxury watch brand Blancpain expanded its presence in the United States when it opened its first West Coast boutique this month, located at the Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas. 

Michelle Graff

The Omaha retailer said it still believes in the “goodness of people” even after it came to light that a woman the jeweler rushed to help might have been dishonest.  

Michelle Graff

The Omaha retailer said it still believes in the “goodness of people” even after it came to light that a woman the jeweler rushed to help might have been dishonest.   

Michelle Graff

MJSA just named Ann Arnold, the chief strategy officer at the Buyers Intelligence Group (BIG), as the chair of its board of directors.  

Michelle Graff

 Mike Barnes has been named as chairman, president and CEO of Dallas-based specialty retail chain Francesca’s, effective immediately.

Brecken Branstrator

In a move that shows the increasing importance and relevancy of wearable tech in the industry, Movado Group has hired Jo An Lawson, a former Apple employee, as its general manager of wearable devices.

Brecken Branstrator

I am, admittedly, a bit late in coming around to my second word of the year for 2014, as it’s already been done.

Michelle Graff

Want to learn how to be more of a “do nothing” type of leader and manager? A book released this month coaches business owners on how to stop micromanaging. 

Brecken Branstrator

On a weekend usually overshadowed by big-box frenzy, jewelry held its own in the days following--or, in some cases, on--Thanksgiving.   

Brecken Branstrator

The World Gold Council’s Sally Morrison and Marcus Grubb on price, demand, #FutureHeirlooms, and what Anthropologie launching a karat-gold collection says about young consumers’ interest in the category. 

Michelle Graff

Think consumers can ‘trick out’ their smartwatch with a virtual version of a mechanical timepiece’s face? Not on our watch, said some of the industry’s biggest brands.  

Michelle Graff

The Israel Diamond Institute announced Monday that it will launch a direct-to-consumer, pop-up sales platform for loose diamonds and diamond jewelry on Dec. 1, the day known as Cyber Monday because of the high volume of online shopping. 

Michelle Graff

Names like Neil Lane, Le Vian and Vera Wang remain the main sales drivers for Signet Jewelers, which is in the process of transforming the sales floor of its Kay Jewelers stores into a series of branded boutiques.

Michelle Graff

Actors Henry Winkler and Marlee Matlin will open the education sessions at Centurion in February, taking the stage to talk about triumphing over adversity. 

Michelle Graff

When celebrities step out on the red carpet, you can usually count on them (or their stylists) choosing the statement jewelry that will get noticed, opting for major drop earrings and bold colored gemstones to accent their fashions in all the right ways. But lately we’ve been seeing celebrities moving in the other direction when they’ve made public appearances--they are choosing smaller, delicate pieces that create an understated yet pulled-together look. This has been especially true with earrings, with a number of celebs donning studs, small drops or getting trendy with ear climbers. They also are wearing sleek rings and bracelets that accent without taking the eye too far from their fashion and beauty looks. Scroll down to see some of the best of the minimal pieces that stars have been wearing lately.  

Brecken Branstrator

Third quarter sales were soft for major chain retailers, which are grappling with a lack of compelling product and continued competition from pure-play online retailers.  

Michelle Graff

On Tuesday, Oxford Dictionaries named its 2014 “Word of the Year,” the orderly amassing of letters that, according to the professional wordsmiths at Oxford, has “attracted a great deal of interest during the year to date.”

Michelle Graff

The AGTA’s new board of directors, a new sales associate at William Noble Rare Jewels and the first female vice president of a diamond exchange are among the industry’s recent career moves. 

Michelle Graff

 Feel a jewelry store can’t compete with all the big-box deals on Black Friday? One New York jeweler doesn’t buy it and is getting technical to draw in customers.

Michelle Graff

The index is a product of the new Fancy Color Research Foundation, a global organization dedicated to tracking prices and supporting the selling process for fancy color diamonds.  

Michelle Graff

An expert in online reputation management answers questions about the correct way to handle negative reviews on the Internet, “trolls” and when it’s OK to ignore a bad review.