jef announces fall schedule the jewelers education foundation of the american gem society has announced the fall speaking schedule of jef foundation fellows. the speakers, topics, venue and contact telephone number are: jef foundation fellows may be booked through the american gem society, 8881 w. sahara ave.

kurt nassau, ph. d., of nassau consultants, lebanon, n.j., who retired after 30 years with at&t bell labs, murray hill, n.j., has long studied and written on the treatment and synthesis of gemstones. the first synthetic gemstone ever to appear in the jewelry trade, the “geneva” ruby of 1886, initially was called natural ruby but quickly proved to be a synthetic made by melting.

fitaihi purchases pace spring auctions the spring auction season closed on a high note with sotheby’s and christie’s reporting strong sales in new york city in june after successful sales in geneva the month before. sotheby’s june 7 auction of fine jewelry totaled $4.56 million, with nearly 83% of the lots selling.

de beers technicians are in a race against time to develop an easy-to-use, affordable device that can detect gem-quality synthetic diamonds before they reach the market in commercial quantities. the de beers research center in maidenhead, england, has been working on the device for several years. it’s also helping similar projects at the gemological institute of america and other labs by prov…

american gem society honors al woodill the american gem society honored al woodill in june in recognition of his 40 years as executive director and his continuing support of the society. the honor came during an open house that ags held at its new headquarters in las vegas, nev. woodill, who headed the society from 1947 to 1987, was unaware he was about to be honored.

cooler attendance, regional buying mark ja show in new york the heat wave outside made buyers at the ja international jewelry show july 22-25 eager to enter the cooler confines of new york city’s javits convention center. however, attendance was down from recent years. and while some buyers were busy searching for new or year-end merchandise, most were reordering proven sellers.

the speaker evaluations from the conference program at june’s jck show came in a little while ago and it was interesting to see which topics and speakers really turned the audience on. in a nutshell, motivators. the top marks went to the guys with the verve and the dazzle along with the message &endash; larry helms, shane decker, martin rapaport, mark moeller, bob kotler.

this advice from experts on running a business, selling jewelry and hiring the right people will help you prosper in the holiday selling season and the new year. ever run dry on new ideas to improve your business? ever wish you could bring the best brains in the industry into your office and have them fire off advice while you furiously write it all down? here’s your chance.

russian treasure humboldt’s travels in siberia (1837-1842) &endash; the gemstones, by gustav rose, translated by john sinkankas. 1994. 80 pages. 11 black/white illustrations. $25.00. (jck data center mr-010) alexander von humboldt (1769-1859) was probably the most prominent scientist of his time and certainly well versed in what we would today call pr.

tanzania serves up a major gem find late last year, independent miners started to bring an occasional coffee can full of significant rough gems to dealers’ offices in arusha and dar es salaam, tanzania. the dealers were delighted. the new year arrived and the coffee cans continued, laden with alluvial chrysoberyls, sapphires, alexandrites, spinels, colorless topazes, occasional rubies &enda…

angola resumes diamond production rising from the ashes of its long civil war, angola is well on its way to becoming a major diamond power again, further threatening the tenuous balance of supply and demand in the world diamond market. that’s the view of martyn marriott, a london-based diamond industry consultant with close ties to angola.

the bigger, the better? jewelers in shopping centers have found the bigger the center, the bigger the median sales. that’s according to “dollars & cents of shopping centerstm: 1995,” the latest edition of a biennial study by the urban land institute, washington, d.c. not surprisingly, the study found that jewelers in the biggest shopping centers also pay more for rent, insurance, taxes an…

who will survive? i read with interest your article entitled “where will consumers buy their jewelry in 1999?” in the may issue of jck. every time i see one of these kinds of articles, i have to smile because i think that one of the mistakes commonly made in drawing the conclusions is a gross underestimation of the staying power of the small independent jeweler.

the author owns susan eisen fine jewelry in el paso, tex. ask any jeweler about the most important aspect of the business and you’re virtually guaranteed the same answer: security. day in and day out, our eyes are always open for suspicious characters within or outside of our stores. when i opened my first store, i had no previous retail jewelry experience to guide me.

holiday gift ideas persuade customers to consider jewels for the home as well as the body when gift shopping this year. luxurious jeweled items for the vanity table make getting dressed in the morning an event in itself. or how about a perfume bottle in sterling silver and 18k gold with 4.20 cts. of aquamarine crystals, 1.

the orlando show: why did we do it? our press release announcing jck’s decision to launch a new jewelry show in orlando in february 1997 said, “we realize many in the industry already feel that we are `over-showed.'” that fact was an important element in our thinking when we talked about starting the new venture.

how to profit from diversity the face of the u.s. consumer is changing and with it, the market that jewelers serve. here’s how you can identify and profit from the ethnic communities in your market area. in minnesota, a jeweler prepares a marketing plan for his community’s large hmong population. on the texas border, a jeweler stocks gold bangles popular with mexican customers of middle easte…

disclosure, promotion highlight ica congress the world’s colored gem industry leaders continue the debate on disclosure of gemstone treatment and agree to launch their first-ever joint promotion by robert weldon, senior editor the divisive issue of disclosure of gemstone treatments dominated the international colored gemstone association congress, held june 18-23 in tokyo, japan.

a new design contest highlights the unique beauty of american pearls earlier this year, the american pearl company of nashville, tenn., launched a new jewelry competition. the first annual vision awards: a pearl design contest was designed to promote the beauty of american natural and cultured pearls.

gordon’s plans ‘rebirth’ as a fine jeweler gordon’s jewelers, the third-largest jewelry chain in the u.s., is marking its 90th year with a multimillion dollar program to reestablish itself as a fine jeweler. the plan includes a new design for all 335 stores, upgrading merchandise and image, and new marketing strategies.

mayer’s jewelry marks anniversary mayer’s jewelry co., hollywood, fla., celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. mayer ziefer founded the company in new york as a watch bracelet assembler. he continued with one partner, al kroll, for two decades, primarily in the watch business. ziefer’s son, sam, joined the company in 1969 and set up a nationwide sales network.