JCK VETERAN TO BE ROASTED
Bill Furman, group sales director at JCK magazine and a longtime industry veteran, will be roasted by the Golden Circle Club of New York, a business and social network founded in 1946 by returning war veterans. The event will take place at the Sky Club, on top of the Metropolitan Life Building, on Sept. 29.
For information, contact James Donahue at (201) 804-2285.
Seiko Corp. of America has named Rick Vogler to be executive vice president and chief operating officer, a new post for the watch firm. Vogler previously held high executive positions with the Oster Division of Sunbeam and with Rowenta, a high-end German appliance firm. In his new post at Seiko, Vogler oversees sales, sales planning, advertising, and merchandising and reports directly to SCA president Tsutomu Mitome.
APPOINTMENTS
Jeff Reinsant has been named director of packaging at Spirit International Inc., a jewelry display and packaging manufacturer based in Dallas. He will be responsible for sales and service to the company’s packaging clientele nationwide as well as service to display clients in the Eastern region. Prior to his appointment, he worked in sales at Synthon Industries for more than 12 years.
Ralph Destino, longtime chairman of Cartier Inc., will retire at the end of September. A replacement hadn’t been announced at press time. Destino, who joined the Cartier Group in 1973 as president of Cartier Far East, will become chairman emeritus and serve on the board of directors of Vendôme North America, Cartier’s parent. He will also be a director of Van Cleef & Arpels Inc. and Hanover Direct Inc., both controlled by Richemont, the Vendôme Group’s Switzerland-based holding company. Destino became president of Cartier USA in 1976.
OBITUARIES
Max Berger, 89, of St. Louis died May 17, apparently after a heart attack. For more than 50 years, he was owner and president of Berger Jewelry Co. Founded in the 1920s as a jewelry repair business, it became one of the largest wholesale jewelry companies in the Midwest. Berger owned jewelry departments in the Shoppers Fair stores, among the first jewelry departments leased in a major discount store in the Midwest. He designed and made the World Wrestling Championship belt worn in the 1950s.
Mabel Hobbs Jacques, 90, a retired sales associate with Aucoin-Hart Jewelers in Metairie, La., died May 2. She was a former manager for White Bros. Jewelers and a sales associate with Hiller Jewelry Co.
William Meredith Newman, 73, of Baton Rouge, La., the retired owner of Newman and McKay Jewelers, died May 31. He was past president of Ryder’s Jewelers and a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II.
David Jacob “Dewey” Pailet, 99, of New Orleans, retired owner of Pailet & Penedo Jewelers, died June 19. He operated his store for more than 60 years.
Joseph A. Wierzbinski Jr., 73, of Phoenix, Ariz., a retired jeweler, died June 10. He was an Army veteran.
WILLIAM HURWITZ, PROMINENT RETAILER
William Hurwitz, 75, founder of Colonial Jewelers in Frederick, Md., died June 21. He founded Colonial Jewelers with his wife, Marilyn, in 1948 and developed it into one of the premier jewelry stores in western Maryland.
During his career, Hurwitz was quoted in many jewelry and investment publications and was regarded as an authority in the jewelry industry. He was a leader in the local Frederick business community and contributed to the preservation of the downtown area by keeping his business there through difficult economic times. Colonial Jewelers, which recently moved to a prominent location, is now at the hub of a thriving downtown.
DENNIS LAMPERT, NOTED DESIGNER
Internationally recognized jewelry designer Dennis Lampert, 52, died of cancer on May 30. He owned Dennis Lampert Designs in Chicago for 28 years and received industry awards for his innovative designs. His “Threaded Diamond” and “Platinum Confetti” collections exemplified his use of space to suspend his diamonds, adding brilliance and depth to his jewelry.
The company will continue under the leadership of David Tobias.