If it’s broke, no problem! There is major money to be made in resizing, refinishing & resetting. Jason Lemaire, director of tools at Stuller, the Lafayette, La.–based jewelry and supplies manufacturer, has a stock question he often asks jewelers: “When was the last time you walked into a Goodyear and tried to negotiate the labor…

JCK’s ongoing series on the shopping centers finding success amid an ever-changing retail landscape Westfield Century City 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles In a town where face-lifts are de rigueur, Westfield Century City got a billion-dollar version. It’s more than ready for its close-up. The maxim “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has…

SHOWS In July, the Swatch Group, the world’s largest watchmaker, became the latest company to say it no longer had time to exhibit at Baselworld, the preeminent, century-old watch fair. It’s the latest blow for the Swiss-based event, which in 2018 attracted just 600 exhibitors, half its 2017 number. On CNBC, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek…

The year was 1994. I was a junior in college and working as a waitress at a pseudo-Mexican restaurant called Cabo Cabo Cabo in Los Angeles’ Century City Shopping Center. It was the kind of establishment that had cowhide barstools, a barrel of peanuts by the door, and tasty but inauthentic south-of-the-border cuisine (think lobster…

What JCK managing editor Melissa Rose Bernardo is loving this month “These color-packed opaque-stone styles are super on-trend—and a bargain to boot. Nothing is more than $1,000!” —Melissa Rose Bernardo, JCK managing editor (Above) Lapis and spiny oyster shell pendant in 14k gold–plated silver; $297; Bounkit; 212-244-1877; bounkit.com Onyx evil eye ring with multicolored sapphires…

Happy fall! It’s 88 degrees with 95 percent ­humidity as I write, but there’s already a ­(psychological, if not meteorological) hint of autumn in the air. By the time you read this, fall will be well underway. The summer went quickly, but there were some great highlights. Jewelry week in July, centered on the JA…

Mercedes Abramo, Caryl Capeci, Nadja Swarovski, and De Beers Group/U.N. Women were dubbed Visionaries at WJA’s Awards for Excellence (Above) WJA past prez Brandee Dallow (c.) with two Visionaries, Cartier’s Mercedes Abramo and Hearts On Fire’s Caryl Capeci Gleaming-white smiles abounded at the Diamond Producers Association table. Ageless accessory maven Iris Apfel, who designed a…

In July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released the final—if, at times, controversial—revision to its widely watched Jewelry Guides, with new dictates that could greatly affect the gold, pearl, and diamond trades. In one change long sought by the gem business, the FTC imposed new requirements for marketing “composite” gemstones. The Guides now warn manufacturers…

We spoke to Evgeny Agureev, ­director of sales for Russian diamond miner Alrosa, at JCK Las Vegas. Here he discusses the possible impact of sanctions against his company, the debut of De Beers’ new Lightbox subsidiary, and the possibility of an Alrosa brand.  You are reopening your polished sales office in New York City. Do…

OPENING Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet is opening a boutique in East Hampton, N.Y. Day-to-day operations will be overseen by New York City retailer Material Good. (Above) Millenary Hand-Wound with 0.6 ct. t.w. diamonds in 18k white gold case and bracelet; $47,000; Audemars Piguet; 212-758-8400; audemarspiguet.com  COMINGS AND GOINGS Ippolita Rostagno has bought back a majority…

The Accessory Junkie’s Ursula Lyon reveals how she turned her love for shopping overseas into a thriving retail business “I’m someone who likes my plate very full,” says Ursula Lyon, cofounder of The Accessory Junkie, with a laugh. “I’ve found that I’m not so happy when I’m not really busy.” That mentality helps explain why…

After two decades of quietly giving back to the trade, the JCK Industry Fund is going public with a renewed commitment to funding projects that benefit all jewelers Since its inception in 1997, the JCK Industry Fund has awarded more than $6 million in grants to organizations working to promote the jewelry industry. Founded at…

636 Hudson St., New York City On a lovely corner in Manhattan’s West Village, the staff at Marisa Perry Atelier greets shoppers with a glass of bubbly and a heart-stopping array of diamond engagement rings and wedding bands. Marisa Perry, a vivacious brunette, is the face of the business. Her husband, Douglas Elliott, dressed in…

A jewel is worth a thousand words when emblazoned, encrusted, or engraved with symbolic meaning (Above) Matahari earrings with opals and diamonds in 18k white gold; $6,256; Venyx; 44-203-096-1390; venyxworld.com Figa necklace in 14k rose gold with resin and diamonds; $5,250; Jacquie Aiche; 310-550-7529; jacquieaiche.com Mismatched engraved earrings in 18k yellow gold; $3,045; ARK; 646-745-6831; arkfinejewelry.com…

Pantone’s Color of the Year, Ultra Violet, is ultrahot on the red carpet Dua Lipa You may recall that in the January/February 2018 issue of JCK we told you malachite would be one of the year’s five hottest gemstones. Clearly, Dua Lipa got the memo. At the Billboard Music Awards, she wore a bold Bulgari…

Pack up your troubles and just get happy. Jewelry designer Brent Neale is going to chase all your cares away. As a senior at Johns Hopkins University, Martha Brent Neale once interviewed at Morgan Stanley. Stepping up to its midtown Manhattan building, a monolith of glass and lines, dressed in a navy Theory suit and…

A few minutes with the engineer/artist/inventor behind the eponymous 17-year-old watch brand In an alternate universe, Richard Mille might not have gone into the watch business. “In my mind, I had three options,” he says. “Aircraft, cars, or watches.” Looking at his timepieces—each an inimitable, fantastically complex feat of artistry and technology—it’s hard to imagine…

Pink isn’t a color most people associate with leaves. But Cindy Chao’s Pink Sapphire ­Foliage earrings feel ­wholly organic, rosy patina and all. The design’s naturalism was largely achieved through artistic stone-setting—the gems were “arranged in a way for their color combination to further highlight the texture of the leaves,” explains the Hong Kong–based Taiwanese…

CAN’T-MISS COLLECTION Love Locks “Emotional hardware” is how fine jewelry designer Marla Aaron has described her collection in the past. And considering the industrial nature of her brand’s core style—an oval lock that elevates a hardware store carabiner to fine jewelry—the description fits. The creative evolution of Aaron’s locks now includes a series of gorgeous…

CAN’T-MISS COLLECTION Sparkle and Charm We can’t imagine anything more sparkly than a stretch of neatly aligned diamonds. And Cambridge, N.Y.–based fine jewelry manufacturer E.L. Designs clearly agrees. The binding design element in the brand’s latest collection is a bar shape that’s channel-set with diamonds; it’s aptly called the Sparkle collection. The five-piece series includes…

Barring a force majeure, such as last year’s Hurricane Irma, Reed Exhibitions’ Jewelers International Showcase (JIS) October will return to its longtime home at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Oct. 19, with a raft of buyer-focused additions, updates, and enhancements. “Reed has invested millions of dollars in the JIS brand across the board, from…

The 35th India International Jewellery Show was bigger and blingier than ever Fresh from an expansion highlighted by a new 116,000-square-foot exhibition area, the 35th annual India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), held Aug. 8–13 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, saw an increase in both traffic and sales, suggesting a positive outlook for the…

We often encounter chatbots—the catchall name for digital messaging software that interprets natural language (how we talk in real life) and responds with helpful information—as little boxes that pop up on our computer screens when we’ve dawdled too long on a sweater online. Usually chatbots present themselves as a know-it-all avatar, be it a bespectacled…

WHO, WHAT, WEARABLE Ticwatch E Mobvoi, the Beijing-based technology startup that makes the lightweight, low-cost Ticwatch smartwatches, specializes in products that propel human/­machine interaction using artificial intelligence. The Ticwatch range ­personifies the ­company’s drive to create accessibly priced items that can compete with ­luxury tech in the functionality department. We demo-ed the Ticwatch E ­(Express),…

Of socialite/style icon Babe Paley, Oscar de la Renta once raved: “Whatever she wore, she wore in a way you would never forget.” Barbara “Babe” Cushing Mortimer Paley was destined for the fashionable life. Born to a world-renowned surgeon with sisters who married into the Astor and Roosevelt families (they were known as the “fabulous…