JCK turns 148 this year!

Not that you’d know it flipping through the pages of this fine-looking issue. It’s the first one to be produced by Headline Studio, a division of Advance Publications hired by Reed Exhibitions last fall to breathe new life into our publication, both in print and online. After a months-long redesign process, in which we tapped into the same well of talent used by our sister division Condé Nast, I’m thrilled to finally be sharing it with you.

We owe our sleek new look—which includes a fresh logo, updated typography, and a refined approach to photography—to our talented design team, led by creative director Peter Yates and photography director Freyda Tavin, two of the best-connected professionals in the media business. But don’t go thinking it’s strictly a vanity project. Along with our new aesthetic, you’ll see, in this and subsequent issues, a greater focus on product, more emphasis on topics at the cutting edge of retail innovation, and expanded coverage of the JCK family of events, beginning with the all-important JCK Las Vegas show.

If you’re seeking new products, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more beloved assortment of jewels than those in this issue’s cover story featuring the winners of the 2017 Jewelers’ Choice Awards. Congratulations to all, with extra kudos to Los Angeles’ Shy Creation, whose grand prize–winning ­yellow gold ring momentarily stole the spotlight from our mesmerizing cover model.

The other can’t-miss element of this issue is, of course, the spotlight, which is dedicated to all things silver. Working with our longtime contributor and newly anointed jewelry director Randi Molofsky and the esteemed still-life photographer Stephen Lewis, we’ve homed in on some specific trends—chain links, texture, sculptural silhouettes—to remind you why silver merits the label precious.

We, on the other hand, are anything but. Our small but smart-as-hell editorial team—consisting of managing editor Melissa Rose Bernardo, news director Rob Bates, retail and technology editor Emili Vesilind, contributing editor Brittany Siminitz, and blogger Amy Elliott—is devoted to producing a magazine you’d be proud to share with your ­colleagues, your children, and maybe even your ­customers…basically, anyone who believes in the enduring appeal of jewelry and the possibilities of reinvention. Please let us know how we’re doing!

Top: These GuitaM lapis and turquoise drops caught my eye at JCK Tucson. For more on the show, click here.

(Gomelsky photograph by Nicholas A. Prakas; hair and makeup: Claudia Andreatta/Halley Resources)