We received the following from Joseph I. Szweda in response to our January 29 article, "GIA explains pink zones in Mozambique tourmaline." You can find the original article at: http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/cc/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003936212 Dear Editor, I recently read your January 29th article regarding...
Hi all. We've launched an online social network purely for retail jewelers. You'll find it at www.abjnetwork.com. "ABJ" stands for America's Best Jewelers, a program we launched last year to determine operationally strong retail jewelers around the nation and bring...
My wife gave me a book for Christmas titled The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis (Ballentine Books, 2008). The dust jacket reads Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives. Needless to say, the book got my attention. If any...
A recent survey from the NRF indicated that, as of the second week of December, 41 million people had not yet started their holiday shopping, and 47.1 percent didn’t have it all done. If you are among those still searching...
Thanksgiving weekend and some head's up retailing proved jewelry can still pull them in. Brothers David and Jeffrey Harrison, owners of the Cartersville Jewelry Exchange in Cartersville, Ga., offered shoppers a chance to strike it rich while benefiting wounded soldiers....
Like yours, probably, my inbox has been swamped by retail holiday e-mails the past few weeks. Most are from my favorite retailers for personal consumption, while others are from companies I like to watch professionally for trending. Free shipping, the...
In this business downturn, fear could be running rampant through organizations—yours included. But keep in mind that just because you read about the economic crisis in the newspaper or hear about it on TV, that fear might be unfounded. Nevertheless,...
I’ve been back a few weeks now from my latest trip, this one to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was one of those trips where I was gone less than a week (after flying for 12 hours), but it felt...
We were very happy on Monday as we rolled up the first weekend sales report. Taken as a whole, the industry followed general retail to exceed expectations, according to those we interviewed. Talks I've had with retailers throughout the week...
It's the Monday before Thanksgiving, and the Christmas tree has shown up in the office lobby. Carols are jingling. I always wonder how many times the security guards can stomach the loop tape without going barmy. The weather's certainly cooperating....
I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Nor am I a whiz financier. So it's tough for me to fathom how we could go from paying nearly $5 a gallon for gas a month ago to under two bucks now. Our family's...
As jewelers head into the holiday selling season, it's the worst possible time to have to deal with a decline in consumer credit. If you've been struggling against tightened credit among your customers or with bad debt issues or have...
Focus grasshopper. We're a week out from the big Thanksgiving weekend, the official kickoff of the holiday retail saga. But the data and reports all tell us shoppers have begun early this year, bargain- and discount-seeking in the quest to...
OK. It's a bit before 7:00 a.m. on a cold late-November morning in New York City. Winter's here too darn early this year. I live on top of a small mountain in extreme western New Jersey, and we've already had...
The Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) is stepping back into its old role, somewhat like the pre-morph De Beers. Its newly announced consumer ad campaign, planned at double the spend of last year, will be one of the best drivers we...
I had fun and got credit for taking my wife out to boot Saturday night thanks to Roman Jewelers, a Flemington, N.J.-based independent that's one of my favorites. Roman is a fantastic pro-active marketer. In the past, they've solicited me,...
With the election over (finally), it's time to forecast where our industry is heading. If we're not in a recession now, we will be shortly. What was learned during the recessions of 1980, 1990, 2001, etc., should test your leadership...
After spending a great portion of Thursday afternoon reading Partnership Africa Canada's (PAC) report entitled "Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review 2008," I have a new perspective on the perceived "problems" that exist in my life. Generally, when I get...
Anyone who has been running a jewelry company for more than five years has ridden the financial roller coaster—up and down, good times and bad. Many years ago, when I owned a large jewelry manufacturer, we faced hard times too,...
Rings have always been a sort of friendship symbol for me, and they've also always been among the most demure jewelry pieces I've possessed. For years, the only ring I sported was a tiny diamond eternity band that matched one...
My son just graduated from business school with a degree in marketing and consumer behavior and, since he comes from a jewelry family, I kinda coaxed him to continue the family tradition. He has been going through the "required" job...
With most—if not all—jewelry raw materials (gold, silver, gemstones, diamonds, etc.) coming from overseas, it is refreshing indeed to see a U.S. company develop a jewelry brand (platanium) that could, to some degree, take the place of foreign gold and/or...
In covering fashion for National Jeweler, my e-mail inbox tends to be a revolving door of product images. Going through them, the real treat lies in coming across a product that I can't get my mind off of, something that...
On display last night at the MTV Video Music Awards: a lucid Britney Spears, svelte Christina Aguilera and lots and lots of diamonds. Despite bling on all ends of the stage, my eyes were on host Russell Brand, the British...
I just got back from my business school class reunion. (My wife says she has no idea how I got through such a good school. Humph!) From time to time, my university publishes studies on the career paths of its...
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