When I was growing up near Saratoga Springs, N.Y., my dream was to work with all things fashion. I got into a top fashion school, and already had visions of runway shows when I made a last-minute decision to attend a different school altogether. Soon, I found myself far from home in North Carolina, not at all regretting my choice, but wondering what exactly my future would hold.

Enter my first job out of college: a charming family-owned jewelry store near Raleigh, N.C., where I worked for more than three years. While there, I managed the store’s website and did my part for the social media revolution, all the while realizing that I may have just found my path, after all.

I quickly learned that jewelry is not unlike fashion. It has bold new looks, varying trends, and exciting designers. The jewelry world, like the fashion world, is filled with wonderful people—those who sell jewelry, create it, consume it, blog about it, and just plain obsess over it.

But it’s also so much more.  

Over the past few years, I’ve seen jewelry evoke emotions in people that a designer sweater could never do. Whether I was working with the to-be-deployed husband looking for a ring for his wife, a young girl getting her first pair of earrings, or a couple who would get engaged right in the store, jewelry truly made those occasions that much more significant.

I’ve seen designers work at warp speed to create the engagement ring of someone’s dreams. I’ve seen bench jewelers do repairs that many said couldn’t be done. I’ve seen salespeople spend hours helping to find that perfect piece for that special someone. All this dedication comes from knowing how happy the right piece can make someone—not just for the moment, but for years, even generations—to come.

This is why I’m thrilled to be a part of everything that JCK does for all who call the jewelry industry home. As JCK Marketplace’s first-ever online product manager and newest blogger, I’ll be bringing you the latest product looks and names in one exciting new online showroom. 

JCK Marketplace is where buyers and sellers at all price points can connect, source products, and do business. I am dedicated to making sure that every user’s experience at JCK Marketplace is top-notch and that they get the latest and greatest info on new trends and designs in all product categories. My goal is to help keep retailers’ showcases stocked, and inventory offerings up-to-date with regular JCK Marketplace reports on highlights and happenings.

Of course, I haven’t completely forgotten my love for fashion, so be prepared for regular style trend reports and red-carpet analysis roundups. In addition, I’m looking forward to my first-ever visit to the JCK Las Vegas show this year, which will result in plenty of live updates from the trade show floor. This is the stuff I could have only imagined when I picked up my first issue of JCK almost four years ago, standing at the counter of that jewelry store in North Carolina. And now I find myself here—proof positive that I made the right decision all those years ago.

To keep up with the exciting new world of JCK Marketplace, join me on Twitter at @JCKmarketplace and here on my blog, On Your Market. I hope you enjoy taking this jewelry journey with me!

Brittany Siminitz

JCK Contributing Editor