This year’s show is packed with products and events that are all about innovation
I’m currently on a plane flying somewhere over Texas, inching ever closer to the greatest (jewelry) show on earth—JCK Las Vegas!
It’s my fifth consecutive year covering the Vegas shows with JCK’s merry band of editors and also my fifth year walking the LED-lit halls of the Essentials & Tech neighborhoods. I dedicate several hours to the annual showcase of high-tech tools, supplies, and equipment every year.
As I chat with vendors about their innovations and try not to break anything (3-D printers are pricey), I’m also percolating on ideas for the magazine’s Tool Time section, which covers equipment, supplies, wearables, and all things digital.
This year’s Essentials & Tech neighborhood mashup is located on level 1 of Bayside and will boast 167 vendors. Here are a few equipment/tech products and events I’m itching to check out there and elsewhere at the show:
The Rexcan Silver 3-D printer from newbie JCK vendor eLUXE 3D (photo courtesy of eLUXE 3D)
First-Time Vendors
The Essentials & Tech pavilion welcomes 25 first-time vendors to the show floor this year. I’ll have my eye on products from newbie brands including Blackstone Industries, Damasco General Trading, eLUXE 3D, KDM POP Solutions Group, Orion Welders, Punchmark, Redd Europe, Scratch Free Packaging, and Sun Engine Technologies.
Ann Arnold of Buyers Intelligence Group will moderate the JCK Think Tank competition (photo courtesy of Buyers Intelligence Group).
JCK Think Tank
Formerly Shark Tank at JCK, the rebranded JCK Think Tank—a live competition for technologically innovative products—will unfurl on the Showcase Stage (Bayside, level 1) June 5, 3–4 p.m. Tech vendors will pitch their maverick products to judges in seven-minute presentions. The finalists—Galatea Jewelry by Artist; Jewelfie: Powered by Prorigo Software Canada Limited; Megasoft; eLUXE 3D; Jewelers Mutual Insurance in collaboration with Excelion IT; and NanoRosetta—have been preselected, but the audience on June 5 will vote for the winner. Ann Arnold, chief strategy officer for Buyers Intelligence Group, will moderate the event. Come and cast your vote!
A sterling silver activity tracker from GlamFit Jewelry (photo courtesy of GlamFit)
Wearables!
Every year we see more wearable brands at JCK Las Vegas. And this time out, I’m excited to check out digital doodads from new-to-show companies such GlamFit Jewelry (booth no. S11840), which makes activity trackers embedded in pretty sterling silver and gold-plated styles that start at $249, and Xtreme Time Inc., a watch and accessory manufacturer that makes fashion timepieces and activity trackers for brands including Steve Madden, Ike Behar, RBX, and Everlast (booth no. B28142). Martian (booth no. B30135) and Fossil Q (booth no. B28135), which owns connected brand Misfit, will also showcase their latest, greatest tech jewelry and timepieces.
An image from Stuller’s CounterSketch marketing (photo courtesy of Stuller)
Stuller, Supersized
Jewelry and supplies manufacturer Stuller always boasts an impressive array of new products in Vegas. But this time the vendor is consolidating its diverse wares into a single, supersize booth located at the intersection of Equipment & Tech and Bridal (it used to have spaces in both the Plumb Club and Essentials neighborhoods). The booth will feature new versions of CounterSketch, pieces from the brand’s inaugural Battle of the Benches competition, bridal and trend-driven jewelry collections, and lab-grown diamonds, along with tools, equipment, and packaging.
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