It began 13 years ago as a small studio buying satellite airtime for few hours a day. Today, Jewelry Television boasts 200,000 square feet of warehouses and training facilities and 2,100 staffers, including call-center operators who handle more than 10 million phone calls per year. Sales in 2005 were $390 million, a 75-fold increase over its 1997 sales of $5.2 million. JTV expected to ring up sales of $450 million in 2006.

JTV sells jewelry; loose gems; and a small number of books, castings, and jewelry-making tools. Last year it shipped 5.5 million packages.

This year, JTV is launching a DVD series, beginning with tanzanite. The series will include DVDs on pearls, diamonds, colored stones, and some of the most famous gems and jewelry in the world.

JTV also sells jewelry online, but at press time its site was being overhauled.