debate coverage features wja member leslie grossman, president of communications/marketing action in new york city, was interviewed oct. 7 on a prepresidential debate edition of “internight,” a news magazine on all-news cable channel msnbc. grossman voiced the opinions of small-business owners when she was asked what she wanted to hear discussed in the debates between president bill clinton and…

the plumb club designs pavilion for jck orlando continuing a tradition of pampering its customers, the plumb club, an association of 46 jewelry manufacturers, is creating a pavilion of member exhibitors for the jck international jewelry show in orlando, fla., in february. “the pavilion is designed to make buyers’ lives easier and to foster the relationship between buyers and our manufacturers,…

design finds israeli artist and silversmith drora meron believes that a person is shaped by his or her homeland, thus the history of the land of israel figures prominently in her designs. meron began designing jewelry after making decorations on silverware for various jewelers in the late 1960s. in the early 1970s, after graduating from art studies, she joined the maskit workshops in israel.

burdened by the bluster of a long winter, jewelers who venture to trade shows in new york, tucson, las vegas and orlando in january and february will be thinking of the future: the romantic spring season, the colorful year ahead and the intriguing new millennium. the educational tracks at the jainternational jewelryshow in newyorkcity jan.

united media acquires blenheim group the british media conglomerate united news & media announced oct. 30 that its publishing group, miller freeman, would fully merge with trade exhibition producer blenheim group usa to become the world’s largest trade exhibition group. un&m acquired blenheim for $935.

gia learn-at-home tuition to rise in march tuition for most of the gemological institute of america’s home-study courses will rise about 5% march 15. the cost of updating materials to keep up with changes in the jewelry industry, as well as other rising prices, prompted the increase, says gia. “as the costs of paper, printing and postage continue their upward climb, the cost of professional tra…

fashion institute exhibits moore’s moonlight two wooden puppets engage in a furious game of tug-of-war with a pocket watch. a sparkling diamond ring is suspended by a large pair of tongs leaning against a stark block of ice. a fat log stuck with the pocket knife some heartsick youngster used to carve “i love you” inside a crude heart serves as the backdrop for heart-shaped diamond rings placed …

new diamond simulant to debut a new diamond simulant that is harder to detect than current simulants will debut in early 1997. the material — synthetic moissanite — is thermally conductive like diamond, rendering conventional testers obsolete for this characteristic. in addition, the material is visually similar to diamond because of its transparency and relative colorlessness.

after a year of pilot programs and intensive study of its own organization, the jewelry market and consumers’ interests and needs, jewelers of america has redefined its purpose and identified projects to focus on in the future. ja’s new mission statement reads: “the jewelers of america is the national trade association for its member jewelers.

hollywood jewels bring record sale christie’s october sale of fine jewels in los angeles, a rare array of jewelry collections from hollywood stars, garnered $3.2 million, a record los angeles sale. with a standing-room-only crowd and telephone bids from around the world, christie’s sold 93% of the 198 lots offered.

the holidays bring out the best in everyone, but many jewelers extend the season of giving throughout the year. here’s the story of three who take a hands-on approach to creating life-changing opportunities for others a hand-held bell rings to the tune of clanking change outside your store, reminding you the season of giving has returned.

cyma ads place watches beyond the wrist new print ads for cyma watches are turning heads by showing watches on more than just the wrists of models. three ads using the tag line “more than just a pretty face” place cyma watch faces on the heads, torsos and eyes of models posed to convey various moods.

ross-simons ­ the value-priced retailer of fine jewelry, tableware, gifts and collectibles ­ will open a store at the atrium, a mall in chestnut hill, mass., this coming spring. the chain currently operates eight stores in six states. christofle opened its new pavilion christofle store in bal harbour, fla.

among the red gems the [ruby] holds first place and is most esteemed,” wrote pliny the elder almost 2,000 years ago. the international colored gemstone association agrees. during 1996, it chose ruby as the first colored gem ever promoted in a systematic and organized fashion. now the high-profile campaign is culminating with a bang as sexy ads in national consumer publications and in-store prom…

have you looked at any consumer magazines lately? of course not… what am i thinking? it’s december and jewelers are far too busy to sift through the pages of town and country, elle, vogue, vanity fair, w and other such missals for the affluent. however, you may owe these magazines a debt of gratitude for your busy counters and ringing phones.

barry’s posts first-quarter loss barry’s inc. posted a $5.7 million net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 1997, which ended aug. 31. that compares with a $1 million loss for the same period of fiscal 1996. net sales for the quarter totaled $26.1 million, down from $26.7 million. in other first-quarter results:

among the many responsibilities now in the capable hands of jck’s new associate publisher, peggy willett, is the executive management of our special issues and supplements. because of their importance to our readers, i’ve asked peggy to use this month’s publisher’s column to give you a preview of what to expect in the coming months.

jck salutes some innovative, dynamic and hard-working people who are poised to lead the industry into the 21st century year’s end brings with it a desire for reflection and a need to catalog what has gone before. the editors of jck are not immune to this yearning. while chronicling the intricate, sometimes volatile but always exhilarating jewelry industry, the staff felt a need to recognize pla…

virtual jewelry rather than lug cases into your store, a sales rep shows you a jewelry line on a laptop computer. nearby, a consumer plays with ring designs at an interactive kiosk. these scenarios and more will soon be available to users of a new interactive cd-rom that features a virtual jewelry store.

yes to 585 platinum we at suberi brothers have a strong commitment to and belief in 585 platinum and have devoted considerable time and expense to its creation and development. unfortunately, we did not anticipate the controversy a new alloy of this type would cause — particularly an alloy aimed at broadening the fledgling platinum market and giving a wider cross-section of consumers a chance …

the gemological institute of america’s sun is rising in the far east. with well-placed school sites in several major asian cities; plans for growth in hong kong, china and india; and a growing number of asian students, gia is poised to become the leader in gemological education and standards for asia’s burgeoning jewelry industries.