Advanced Chemical has named Christine Harrington and Jack Livsey as the winners of its John Venditti Memorial Fund Scholarship, awarding the recent high school graduates $2,500 each.  

Michelle Graff

Arthur Cohen, the former president of watch brand Pulsar who began his career as a salesperson with Bulova, died last Wednesday. He was 90 years old.  

Michelle Graff

British fine jewelry brand Astley Clarke has expanded its presence in the U.S. with a launch in 11 Neiman Marcus stores across the country, including locations in Boston, Dallas and Los Angeles. 

A diamond brooch and a peridot frog figurine given to Wallis Simpson by her famous love the Duke of Windsor are expected to sell for nearly $16,200 at Bonhams later this month.

Apple has unveiled its long-awaited entry into the “smartwatch” category, a timepiece it is simply calling Apple Watch, but remains mum on exactly where it will sell its latest introduction. 

Michelle Graff

U.S. Antique Shows reported that its New York Antique Jewelry & Watch show recorded a 3 percent increase in overall attendance, as well as the highest attendee numbers in the show’s history for two of the days. 

Michelle Graff

E-commerce sales growth at The Home Depot, Costco, Macy’s and Walmart surpassed the growth rate at Amazon.com in the first quarter due to continued investment in omnichannel retail, showing the importance of brick-and-mortar retailers streamlining sales across all channels, a recent report by think tank L2 shows. 

Michelle Graff

Pandora is launching a new initiative to celebrate the women around the world who work to improve the lives of women and children in their communities. 

Michelle Graff

The latest data from The Conference Board shows that in July consumer confidence rose for the third straight month and reached its highest point since 2007.  

Michelle Graff

New York and California are the latest locations for Nordstrom’s continued focus on its Rack off-price segment, with the retailer opening one in Laguna Niguel, Calif. and another in Staten Island, N.Y. 

Michelle Graff

Movement, openwork, bold colors and gemstone slices will be among the trends in jewelry this holiday season and into 2015, according to an educational seminar held at JA New York Summer Monday morning. 

The Women’s Jewelry Association honored the winners of its 31st annual Awards for Excellence Monday night in New York, recognizing innovative and successful leaders in the industry in a number of categories.

Brecken Branstrator

Retired Maryland jeweler William “Quarterback Bill” Fleisher died on July 3. He was 90 years old.

Michelle Graff

The brand’s new Caliber B55 Connected can record information from the wristwatch onto a smartphone, and the watch’s settings can be controlled from the phone as well.  

Michelle Graff

Following a market consultation, the London Bullion Market Association has selected CME Group and Thomson Reuters to create an auction-based system to set the London silver price. 

Brecken Branstrator

Michele Sofisti will step down from his role as CEO of the Sowind Group to focus on running Gucci Watches and Jewelry as part of a reorganization at parent company Kering. 

Michelle Graff

Designer Michael Galmer used popular bridal flowers as inspiration for his new repoussé silver line, Forever Flowers, which offers pendants and earrings depicting on-trend blooms.

Michelle Graff

An upcoming exhibition at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will highlight the attire and accessories, including jewelry, that people in mourning donned throughout history.

Michelle Graff

Retailer Houston Jewelry was recognized in Congress recently as a true “Texas Treasure,” for its long history, impact on the state and the international recognition it has received.

Brecken Branstrator

Diamond production rose 2 percent in the first half of the year for Rio Tinto Group, while higher diamond prices boosted earnings in the mining company’s Diamonds & Minerals group.

Michelle Graff

Auction house Sotheby’s reported Friday that net auction sales were up 24 percent to $2.7 billion in the first half of 2014, with jewelry sales climbing substantially in the period. 

Brecken Branstrator

As families scramble to fit in that last summer getaway before the season comes to a close, now is the time for jewelers to go beyond the sale and provide customers with advice on keeping their baubles safe while traveling. 

Brecken Branstrator

A 19th century diamond brooch and three-stone diamond ring discovered as part of Agatha Christie’s estate by one of the author’s fans will be on the auction block at Bonhams jewelry sale in October. 

Michelle Graff

While Amazon continues to have the lowest jewelry and watch prices online, other retailers slowly are gaining ground on the Internet giant, a recent report by think tank L2 shows. 

Brecken Branstrator

Retail today is comparable to the weather: the forecast depends largely on where the store is located and, just like weathermen and their wildly varying predictions, whom one asks for the outlook. 

Michelle Graff