Surprise!

After a first half of the year that ­included some fairly depressing shows, I’m happy to report that JCK Las Vegas was hopping. There was electricity in the air, happy exhibitors, and even a round of applause as the lights dimmed at 4 p.m. on the final day!

As always, it was the brands that innovate, market, and present themselves well that appeared to have the best shows. Gone are the days of rolling out last year’s goods and staring at one’s phone, with Doritos bags lying around the booth, while expecting buyers to just stroll in.

The week began with a strong edition of LUXURY in the ballrooms of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Congratulations to Sarin Bachmann on the wonderful brands that appeared (Erica Courtney and Omi Privé, to name two) and on the show’s overall success.

Sunday, June 4, featured the Diamond Empowerment Fund’s annual awards gala, the highlight of which was a moving speech by Graça Machel, the widow of Nelson Mandela.

The big show started Monday, with solid attendance (within a percentage point or two of recent years) and order writing all around. That evening was our annual JCK magazine team “family dinner,” hosted by our partners at Advance Publications’ Headline Studio. Many thanks to Richard Diamond, Liz Buffa, and Matt Chervin for a wonderful time.

The highlight of the week was seeing our very own Yancy Weinrich, senior vice president at Reed Jewelry Group, honored at the Jewelers for Children’s Facets of Hope dinner (along with Forevermark’s Charles Stanley). Yancy is deeply committed to this industry and gives of her smarts and time well beyond her day job (as her board memberships with many ­important associations attest). Congrats, Yancy. The industry loves you for what you do!

That evening was capped by a new event, JCK Rocks the Bowl, at Vegas’ Brooklyn Bowl. Look for next year to be packed as word gets out about this super-fun evening of bowling, live music, dancing, and all-around merriment. Kudos to JCK’s Katie Dominesey on all this year’s success.

 Next up are the New York City summer events (including JCK’s LUXURY Privé at its new location in the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel). We’ll also be ­brainstorming the new and improved JCK Jewelers’ Choice Awards, including a pushed-back voting date to allow winners to be announced in May, just before JCK Las Vegas 2018.

See you soon!

(Smelzer photograph by Nicholas A. Prakas; grooming: Claudia Andreatta/Halley Resources)