DPS OFFERS NEW SELF-STUDY COURSE

A new self-study version of the Diamond Rules II marketing program is available from the Diamond Promotion Service.

“A Self-Study Course on Product Knowledge & Selling Skills” is designed to give sales associates everything they need to know about selling diamond jewelry. It comprises a 70-minute videotape, five workbooks, charts to track sales performance, a personal progress chart and an application for a certificate upon completion of the course.

The video explains the 4Cs of diamonds, diamond history and sources and tells how to translate these facts into sales.

The five workbooks – one for each video section – cover “Selling Diamonds – Getting Started,” “Understanding the Product,” “Understanding the Customer,” “Making the Match” and “Improving Your Personal Performance.”

“The self-study course allows jewelers and sales associates the flexibility to learn at their own pace while still being challenged by a comprehensive sales program,” says H. David Morrow, director of training/education for DPS.

GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES JEWELRY COURSE

The School of Art and Design at Georgia State University has reestablished a jewelry making and repair program.

The course, offered through the Division of Continuing Education, focuses on skills with commercial applications, including basic jewelry making, jewelry repair, stone setting and jewelry casting. Students who show proficiency in the specified skills of each course level will receive a certificate upon completion.

The program is endorsed by the Southern Jewelry Travelers Association and the 24-Karat Club of the Southeastern United States.

Georgia State University, Division of Continuing Education, P.O. Box 4044, Atlanta, Ga. 30302-4044; (800) 268-5470 or (404) 651-3496, fax (404) 651-3452.

NORTH TEXAS GIA ALUMNI OFFER $1,000 SCHOLARSHIP

The North Texas Chapter of the Gemological Institute of America Alumni Association announced its third $1,000 scholarship program.

The program is open to any high school graduate or graduate-equivalency-diploma holder whose primary residence is within the chapter’s geographic borders. The scholarship must be used to enroll in any GIA residence or home-study course in which the applicant is not already enrolled.

For an application, call the GIA Scholarship Department at (800) 421-7250, ext. 235. Entries are due by April 1.

SEMINAR OUTLINES GIA ARMS ATTRIBUTES

The Gemological Institute of America offered a detailed look at its business management computer program during a seminar in October.

The program, called GIA ARMS (the last part of which stands for Advanced Retail Management Systems), is designed to streamline the management of a fine jewelry store and to look continuously at the quality of operations and ways to improve them.

The seminar covered the four S’s of GIA ARMS training, says Dan Askew, managing director of the program. They are:

· Self – Becoming a professional in all aspects of your business depends on how well you control your stock, negotiate with suppliers and choose and train staff. As management skills develop, attitudes change. As a result, you will plan specific personal and professional goals and generate the profits you need to achieve them.

· Stock – The more you control your stock, the more you can control your profit. GIA ARMS reports are designed to show how to control stock by determining what sells fast and what ties up capital.

· Suppliers – How do you determine which suppliers and which stock produce the highest profit? The system allows the user to establish simple buying disciplines. Once the reordering system is in place, the user gains control over stock and suppliers.

· Staff – You do not build a business; you train people and they will build the business. GIA ARMS is designed to help the user determine the best salespeople and a store’s strengths and weaknesses. As training progresses, a stronger, more highly motivated team should be able to establish and achieve daily and monthly sales targets.

“Basically, our job is to get retail jewelers to rethink the way they do business and to realize the full potential of their business,” says John Yantzer, GIA ARMS director. “Regardless of how successful a jewelry firm is, GIA ARMS will show management better ways to increase profits, avoid liquidity problems and manage a store.”

For more information on GIA ARMS, contact Askew at (800) 742-2767 or (619) 930-3210, fax (619) 970-1288.

AWI EDUCATION CENTER SCHEDULES COURSES

The American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute will offer nine courses in the first half of the year at the AWI Education Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tuition for any of the courses is $250. Limited tuition aid is available. Here is the schedule:

· “Beginning Horology,” Feb. 6-10, taught by James Lubic.

· “Machine Shop Practices,” Feb. 13-17, Ron DeCorte.

· “Lathe Course,” March 20-April 1, Roy Hovey.

· “Watch I (American Pocket Watch),” April 24-28, Alice Carpenter.

· “Watch II (Staffing & Lever Escape),” May 1-5, James Lubic.

· “Clock I (Beginning Clock Repair),” May 8-12, Jim LaChapelle.

· “Clock Case Repair,” May 15-19, Jim Williams.

· “Quartz I (Meter Reading, etc.),” June 5-9, Gerald Jaeger.

· “Quartz II (Advanced Quartz),” June 12-16, Bob Bishop.

Meanwhile, AWI has delayed by one year the launch of a new advanced training course covering such topics as design and fabrication of missing or broken watch parts, wheel and pinion design and fabrication, and advanced horological machine shop techniques. The launch was delayed from this year because construction of new classrooms is still under way at the AWI Education Center. However, anyone interested in the course for next year should contact AWI now for information and applications.

AWI Education Center, 3700 Harrison Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45211; (513) 661-3838, fax (513) 661-3131.

HIGHLINE SCHEDULES JEWELRY WORKSHOPS

Highline Community College has scheduled two jewelry-related weekend workshops.

“Cloisonné Enameling Workshop” will be held April 29-30. Under the instruction of enamelist Carolyn Baldwin, students will produce a copper cloisonné enamel design. The cost of the workshop is $87; registration deadline is April 13.

“Beadstringing – Basics and Multiple-Strand Techniques” will be held May 20-21. Robin Atkins, who owns a bead shop, will be the instructor. The fee is $97; the registration deadline is May 5.

Highline Community College,

2400 S. 240 St., P.O. Box 98000, Des Moines, Wash. 98198-9800; (206) 878-3710.

PLATINUM GUILD OFFERS TEACHING RESOURCE VIDEO

The Platinum Guild International USA now offers a 7.5-minute videocassette designed as a teaching resource for sales personnel.

The video is based on findings from three focus-group studies. PGI conducted the studies to learn what consumers know and feel about platinum jewelry. “We initiated these focus-group studies with a general knowledge of consumer attitudes about platinum jewelry,” says Laurie Hudson, president of PGI-USA. “The results not only confirmed our original theories, but provided us with a valuable tool to help retailers guide their sales force in promoting platinum merchandise to their customers.”

The focus groups were divided into three categories:

· Bridal, comprising single and divorced women ages 21-44 who were not engaged but expected to be within the next year.

· Women, ages 24-54, from households with a combined annual income of $50,000+.

· Men, ages 25-44, earning $35,000+ yearly who either bought an engagement ring or other piece of fine jewelry in the past year.

The first area PGI addressed was consumers’ initial perceptions about platinum. Asked what came to mind when they thought of platinum, participants offered some of the following remarks: “it’s lasting,” “rare,” “very durable,” “beautiful,” “distinct,” “expensive” and “high quality.”

Next, participants were asked about their shopping experiences. The responses revealed that consumers are open to buying platinum, but that it’s not always easy to find.

Finally, the participants viewed platinum jewelry and advertisements and discussed their attitudes about the metal. As a result of this discussion, PGI learned that consumers are willing to pay more for platinum jewelry and to consider it an important jewelry option.

“The majority of participants were aware that platinum is a very special and precious jewelry metal,” says Hudson. “Our results indicated that 50%-70% of the participants would be interested in platinum for their next jewelry purchase. This also confirmed our belief that once consumers are shown platinum and learn of its benefits, jewelry sales can be made.”

For a free copy of the video or information on other education and sales training programs, contact the Platinum Guild International USA, 620 Newport Center Drive, Suite 910, Newport Beach, Cal. 02660; (714) 760-8279, fax (714) 760-8780.

GIA ESTABLISHES LUCEY SCHOLARSHIP

The Gemological Institute of America has established a new scholarship in memory of James R. Lucey, who joined the GIA faculty in 1972 and died last September.

The full-tuition James R. Lucey Scholarship will be awarded annually to a needy and worthy individual who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident planning to enroll in the on-campus Graduate Gemology program at GIA campuses in New York, N.Y., or Santa Monica, Cal.

GIA Chairman Richard T. Liddicoat hailed Lucey as “an educator in the truest sense of the word. Jim’s love of gemology, his expertise in many technical aspects and his gift for teaching left a great legacy to GIA and to everyone who knew him.”

To receive a scholarship application or to donate to the scholarship fund, contact GIA Financial Aid, P.O. Box 2110, Santa Monica, Cal. 90407-2110; (310) 829-2991, ext. 355; fax (310) 828-6589.

REVERE, RIO OFFER NEW VIDEO SERIES

Master goldsmith Alan Revere has teamed with supplier Rio Grande Albuquerque to produce a series of videotapes on jewelry making.

Called “Revere on Goldsmithing,” the videos show basic to advanced techniques and include hundreds of tricks and shortcuts.

In the videos, Revere works in 14k and 18k gold and sterling silver, showing each step in making a turquoise-set pendant, a pair of reticulated wedding bands, a hollow ring, an ID bracelet, a hinged silver and gold box and other items. Techniques include piercing, forming, filing, reticulating, soldering, polishing, stone setting and making tubing and hinges.

The videos were filmed in the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco by Rio Grande’s video department, led by Gary Young and John Edwards.

Revere was trained in Pforzheim, Germany; is the author of Professional Goldsmithing; and has received numerous jewelry design awards.

The first tapes in the series will debut at Rio Grande’s Catalog in Motion show, scheduled for Feb. 4-7 in Tucson, Ariz. Afterward, they will be available through the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, 760 Market St., #900, San Francisco, Cal. 94102-2304, (415) 391-4179; or through Rio Grande Albuquerque, 6901 Washington N.E., Albuquerque, N.M. 87109-4418; (505) 345-8511.

JEF ANNOUNCES SECOND CONTRIBUTION FROM JMI

Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co., Neenah, Wis., has made a second $5,000 contribution to the Jewelers Education Foundation of the American Gem Society.

“Jewelers Mutual’s longtime training on taking appropriate security measures and covering liabilities through insurance is a theme which JEF is proud to carry to retail jewelers,” says JEF President David Rotenberg of David Craig Jewelers, Langhorne, Pa. “By supporting JEF with a second $5,000 gift, Jewelers Mutual is continuing to give support to the business management training available in the industry.”

“The Jeweler’s Responsibility for Customer Goods,” a JEF seminar presented by retailer John Michaels at the AGS Conclave and the JCK International Jewelry Show in 1994, was developed in response to Jewelers Mutual’s support. The session is available for booking to regional, state and local jewelers’ groups by contacting the Jewelers Education Foundation, 2697 E. County Rd., #524, White Bear Lake, Minn. 55110; (612) 653-3919, fax (612) 653-3920.

GIA PUBLISHES COURSE CATALOG

A new catalog of educational programs is available from the Gemological Institute of America.

“This year’s catalog explains the variety of delivery systems we offer,” says Janice Mack Talcott, GIA’s director of education. “Students can learn at home, on campus at one of our international centers or via short courses in various cities.”

For a complimentary copy, write to GIA Education Services, P.O. Box 2110, Santa Monica, Cal. 90407-2110; (800) 421-7250, ext. 292; (310) 829-2991; fax (310) 453-7674.

MASTER VALUER UPDATES INFORMATION ON JADEITE

The Master Valuer jewelry appraising correspondence course offers new information on jadeite treatments and pricing.

Jadeite studies in the 30-lesson course have been expanded to include new information on the detection of bleached and polymer-impregnated jadeite and how the treatments affect the value. “Information from our Asian contacts allows us to provide students with the latest, cutting-edge industry information,” says Anna Miller, program director.

Master Valuer, P.O. Box 1844, Pearland, Tex. 77588; (713) 485-1606 telephone and fax.

BROOKFIELD ANNOUNCES WINTER SCHEDULE

The Brookfield Craft Center has announced its winter schedule of classes and workshops. The sessions begin in mid-January.

Eight-week classes of interest to jewelers are “Jewelrymaking” and “Jewelry Repairs.” Workshops include “Lapidary Basics” and “Everything About Beads,” both Jan. 14-15; “Repoussé Metalsmithing,” Jan. 21-22; “Bead Stringing,” Feb. 4-5; “Glass Beadmaking,” March 4-5; and “Arts and Crafts Marketing,” March 25-26.

The workshops are designed to provide a high degree of individualized attention. Enrollment averages six to 12, and students work at their own pace with instruction from master craftspeople.

Brookfield Craft Center, P.O. Box 122, Brookfield, Conn. 06804; (203) 775-4526.

ASA SCHEDULES CLASSES

The American Society of Appraisers will offer course work leading to the Master Gemologist Appraiser in three locations this year.

The course, titled GJ 205, is scheduled for Feb. 9-12 in Tucson, Ariz.; April 27-30 in Los Angeles, Cal.; and June 15-18 in Denver, Colo. The course involves classroom study (27 hours), a written exam (2 hours) and a practical examination (6 hours).

Topics covered in the course include general valuation principles and approaches, definitions, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, basic insurance principles, insurance documentation, qualitative analysis, descriptive standards, metals and methods of manufacturing, decorative treatments, diamonds, colored stones, watches and contemporary, period, art and collectible jewelry.

Tuition is $450 for ASA members, $525 for non-members. American Association of Appraisers, Attn: Education Dept., 535 Herndon Parkway, Suite 150, Herndon, Va. 22070; (800) ASA-VALU.