Two nights ago, I was whisked off to Philadelphia for a private tour of “Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy,” a fascinating exhibit opening tomorrow at the Franklin Institute science museum. More than 100 artifacts, including gilded 16th...
No secret that there's a nasty economic undertow dragging on our industry. Many are hoping simply to keep their heads above water until the heavy surf subsides. Finally, several items have surfaced that I see as positive. The first came...
San Francisco-based jewelry designer Rebecca Overmann's busy schedule has her skipping from trade shows to trunk shows across the nation while also trying to balance studio time to bring her designs to life. I met up with the Savannah College...
With the Oscars last month rounding out the season's biggest awards shows, one thing I've been wondering lately is what the placements mean for the jewelry designers who are almost 100 percent of the time lending their multi-thousand dollar jewels?...
I don't know what to think of the economy anymore. It goes without saying that as of right now, the world is in the midst of a recession that's comparable to the Great Depression. But just how bad is it?...
The following blog entry was written and sent to us by Antoinette Matlins. So what happens now...and in the future? The manner in which Collectors Universe closed the doors on AGL on March 2 was unprecedented in this field and...
As I mentioned in a news story on NationalJeweler.com, a new opal exhibit just opened up at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Consisting of just 25 opals, the exhibit is small and confined to just one...
A very bad day yesterday, when I learned that Penny Proddow, jewelry editor for InStyle, lost her battle with ovarian cancer. I'm looking at two small sketches that rest on the base of my computer monitor. Three saguaro cactuses tower...
With a surname like Graff and a job covering the diamond industry, I’m constantly asked if I’m related to well-known diamantaire and billionaire Laurence Graff. To answer this question once and for all, no. To be honest, until I took...
Watching the 2009 Academy Awards, I found it hard to look past the proliferation of cream-colored gowns without adding quite a few of them to my favorites list (Penelope Cruz in vintage Balmain, Taraji P. Henson in glam Roberto Cavalli...
Our in-house New York Times aficionado, Jewelry Group Vice President Bailey Beeken, brought the following to my attention. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/opinion/14martin.html?_r=1 Looks like it appeared on the Web on Valentine's Eve and was picked up elsewhere, including the New York edition, on...
February 24 will mark the first working meeting of the high-level diamond industry companies' effort to develop generic diamond advertising sponsored cooperatively across the supply chain. We're very eagerly awaiting the results of this new project, which could significantly affect...
After whirlwind trips to Vicenza and New York for the VicenzaOro First show and the JA New York Winter Show, I’m slowly starting to digest all the things I saw. In Vicenza, as to be expected since it’s the Italian...
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...
This site uses cookies to give you the best online experience. By continuing to use & browse this site, we assume you agree to our Privacy Policy
