Thirteen years ago, when I got engaged (a false start, as it turned out), the Stone Fox Bride showroom run by Molly Guy, the retailer featured on this issue’s cover, wouldn’t have been possible.
That’s because back in 2002, two things—social media and smartphones—did not, for all intents and purposes, yet exist. Without smartphones to capture all the “relfies” (“ring” + “selfie”) that Guy’s clients send her, and without Instagram to propagate them, it’s questionable whether her business would have earned such a cult following. And without a generation of millennial buyers coming into their marrying years, it’s doubtful she’d even have a business.
In senior editor Emili Vesilind’s incisive article about the fast-changing bridal jewelry market, we unpack these and other trends that have transformed the category over the past decade. (For the scoop on 2015 bridal market trends, contributor Kristin Young’s piece is a must-read.)
Celebrating at the 24 Karat gala with JCK’s Bill Furman
When I interviewed Guy in November, she made it sound like embodying the zeitgeist was a happy circumstance of doing what came naturally. Searching for a personal and unconventional wedding dress and engagement ring, she stumbled upon the idea for Stone Fox Bride, which, despite its new-age mindset, grounds itself in the oldest traditions of the jewelry business: trust, personal relationships, expertise.
For these reasons and more, Guy seemed like the perfect cover choice for this something old–something new issue of JCK, in which we debut a mini-redesign that reflects some freshening up we did over the holidays. For starters, we moved the Vault section up in the book, and replaced the back pages with an expanded tech section called Tool Time, where we’ll cover everything from next-generation 3-D printers to wearables.
Show Biz now includes a new column (The Main JCK Events) from our very own Yancy Weinrich, who is senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions, parent company to the JCK family of shows. And throughout the book, you’ll see that we’re drawing more attention to our digital iteration, JCKonline.com, where you’ll find complements to all the stories that run in print.
A 24K selfie with Rio Tinto’s Brandee Dallow
Not everything, however, has changed. It’s February and the spotlight remains on colored stones—opal, in particular. Read senior editor Jennifer Heebner’s enlightening survey of the market for the luminous gem, and then check out the cool-as-can-be still life that follows to understand why designers are obsessed with the shade-shifting stone.
And don’t forget to linger over the photos in this issue’s Social Diary, which chronicle two of the industry’s signature events, last month’s GEM Awards and the 24 Karat Club’s annual banquet. I was honored to attend the former event as a guest of Shinola, which won the GEM Award for marketing and communications (congrats!), and thrilled to catch up with old friends at the 24K festivities. Who needs nuptials when you’re married to the jewelry business?