Beginning in 2004, The JCK Show ~ Orlando will move to Phoenix, Ariz. The 2004 event will be held Friday through Sunday, Feb. 6-8, at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. The change does not affect the 2003 JCK Show ~ Orlando, which will be held Feb. 2-4, 2003, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Dave Bonaparte, vice president of The JCK Shows, said, “This is a move in the right direction because it opens up a whole new range of networking possibilities within our industry. By moving JCK to coincide with the AGTA GemFair in Tucson, JCK Phoenix will be poised to generate greater participation from independent retailers and deliver a noticeable lift in overall attendee volume.”

The 2004 JCK Show ~ Phoenix dates overlap slightly with the Tucson GemFair, which is slated for Feb. 4-9. Beginning in 2005, however, The JCK Show ~ Phoenix will be scheduled to run prior to the opening of the Tucson show, officials said.

Douglas Hucker, executive director of AGTA, says his organization hopes The JCK Show’s move to Phoenix will bring even more attention to the AGTA GemFair in Tucson. “Strategically, if they [JCK] feel that the show will function better there, we support them. If the shows can generate some synergy and make things easier on retailers and manufacturers and people who have a reason to go to both shows, it makes sense. Arizona is a great place to go in February. We’d certainly like to see more new buyers come to Tucson, and if it means there’s a reason for a retail jeweler in the Midwest to say, ‘This looks interesting, I think I’ll try it out,’ that will be good for both shows.”