I was intrigued to learn that the new CEO of industry stalwart David Yurman Inc., Glen T. Senk, comes to the company from Urban Outfitters Inc., where he is credited with helping to grow the company’s Anthropologie brand from a...
As any retailer would tell you, it is difficult anymore to predict the ebbs and flows of the economy. This was as evident as ever on Tuesday, when three of the industry’s largest chains reported sales for the all-important months...
During the course of my first year covering the watch industry, I was asked to cover an auction that included multiple lots of “erotic” watches, watches that contain a hidden-yet-naughty scene. After these watches appeared in several subsequent auctions, I...
Much already has been written about the upcoming auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry, clothing and art at Christie’s, including on National Jeweler's website, where stories about the late actress and activist have lingered on the Most Popular and Most Emailed...
In compiling our Majors newsletter yesterday afternoon, I noticed a trend among the stories I was loading, a trend that I haven’t seen in some time. All the quarterly financials for the major chains covered by National Jeweler and included...
Last week at its plenary meeting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kimberley Process (KP) ended its long-standing impasse on the issue of exporting rough diamonds from the Marange area of Zimbabwe, more due to the fact that...
In the four years I’ve worked here, much has been said about the generation labeled as “Generation Y” or the “Millennials” and its importance to the jewelry industry. As just one example, I penned this article in August 2010 on...
My colleague and I just had a discussion this week about the tendency of some news websites to use too many clichés in their headlines. Yet I just can’t get around applying the cliché “any publicity is good publicity” when...
It took me a while but I finally got there. I just surpassed the 1,000-follower mark on Twitter. For those of you who don’t know, Twitter is a micro-blogging site that allows users to share status updates, links to stories...
I was surprised by Tuesday’s announcement that Pandora’s CEO was stepping down and the company retooling in the face of sliding sales and poor execution in both marketing and operations. The announcement raised a number of questions for me about...
This week in New York, De Beers held a “pop-up” sale for its Forevermark diamond brand in conjunction with GiltCity and Long Island couture retailer London Jewelers. For those of you who don’t know, pop-up events are a trendy new...
A number of creative advertising campaigns have emerged in the jewelry industry lately that share a similar theme: companies eschewing the use of models and orchestrated photo shoots in favor of using their customers to represent their product. Bridal brand...
The March death of screen stunner, fervent AIDS activist and jewelry collector Elizabeth Taylor turned my thoughts to one of the most astonishing stones to pass through this star’s hands--the 69.42-carat, pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond. Before I even started working on...
When Brad Brooks-Rubin, the special advisor on conflict diamonds to the U.S. State Department, spoke about how the United States would remain vigilant on monitoring conflict diamonds even if the Kimberley Process (KP) fell apart, I thought he was speaking...
While in Carlsbad, Calif. for Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) Symposium last month, the never-shy Martin Rapaport twice publicly named one specific high-end jeweler for selling what could be high-pressure, high-temperature-treated (HPHT) yellow melee in their stores. As a reporter,...
A number of interesting points came up last Thursday in Las Vegas during a Kimberley Process (KP) panel held at the JCK show. I just wish there had been more people there to hear them. To open the meeting, World...
After speaking with Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier in London a few weeks ago, Charles Stanley, who heads De Beers’ branded diamond program here in the United States, took some time last week to provide more specifics on how Forevermark will...
When I was heading over to London last week to learn more about De Beers’ Forevermark branded diamond program I spent the majority of my time on the plane working on an in-depth story to accompany our upcoming State of...
I was out in San Francisco last week for American Gem Society Conclave, my second Conclave in the nearly four years I’ve worked at National Jeweler. Conclave is a lot to take in for one person, so I’ve done the...
Earlier this week Christie’s confirmed what had been circulating around the World Wide Web already for weeks: that the auction house would be the one to sell the historic collections of the late, great Elizabeth Taylor, including her millions in...
In re-capping 2010 with retailers, I had a number of them tell me that business was up during the course of the year, but all with one interesting footnote: Sales were off in the months when they would traditionally see...
I had the opportunity recently to chat with newly inducted California Jewelers Association (CJA) President James Orloff about a cool new initiative the CJA has launched to help get recession-flogged California consumers interested in fine jewelry again. TheCaratDiet.com, which National...
In late December, 109-year-old retailer J.C. Penney took a bold social media step forward when it started hawking its wares on Facebook, a move that has been met with lukewarm reviews. While nobody can begrudge the Plano, Texas-based retailer that...
In the jewelry industry, it's a common truism that the holiday season equals engagement season, and it's one that certainly didn't miss Hollywood this year. Stars including Reese Witherspoon, LeAnn Rimes and Natalie Portman are just a few of the...
Last week, I went to see the stage version of “Pee Wee’s Playhouse,” the 1980s TV series that was a mainstay at my house on Saturday mornings. For those that missed it, either voluntarily or otherwise, each episode of the...
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