it had the excitement and flare of a minimovie premiere: a fanfare of trumpets, curious crowds held back by barricades and police, lots of glistening jewels, even two of today’s top young actors. but this premiere on new york city’s stylish fifth avenue was not for a star of celluloid, rather for a star of luxury jewelry and watches.

blame it on growing expenses, high reinvestment or profit-taking, but a nearly 15% increase in retail jewelry store sales in 1995 did little to boost salaries. from the president’s office to the office staff, salaries ran about even with those of 1994, which ran about even with those of 1993. interestingly, jewelry store employees with specialized technical knowledge saw their salaries grow …

appointments armand panetta was named national sales manager at vintage creations of freehold, n.j. panetta has worked in the mid-atlantic sales region for the company for several years. vintage creations also appointed three new sales representatives: linda herbert, covering florida, puerto rico and the caribbean; ronald e.

dress your cases in business casual integrating apparel and jewelry in your displays can help customers to see how the two work together. and for customers who are confounded by what “business casual” means, such displays can show exactly how jewelry is an important part of making casual clothes work for work.

editor’s note:this is the final installment of a three-part series on custom design for jewelry retailers. the first part examined who makes and buys custom-designed jewelry (may 1996, pp. 106-110), the second part discussed the effect on the jewelry manufacturing industry (july 1996, pp. 92-95) and this installment looks at pricing and profits.

ok: who likes rapaport’s list? a number of letters to the editor (including one of mine) have been printed in the past few issues regarding the rapaport diamond report. here is something to put to your readers that has puzzled me for a long time. it seems there are many jewelers who think that rapaport’s price list has ruined the diamond business.

success in today’s market requires attention to balancing inventory levels,evaluating the effectiveness of marketing,adapting to fragmenting consumer tastes, identifying and communicating with current and potential customers and differentiating yourself from competitors jewelers across the country face a difficult environment not expected to change anytime soon.

ags offers video, scholarship the american gem society offers an educational video titled “how to buy a diamond,” custom-produced for each store to show to consumers. the eight-minute video explains the 4 c’s — cut, clarity, color and carat weight — and what to look for when shopping for a diamond.

de beers accepting diamond award entries the most exquisite diamond jewelry designs from around the world will be recognized in de beers’ 1998 diamonds-international awards. the diamond information center in new york city is now accepting entries for the awards, which are considered the “oscars” of the jewelry industry.

second best best products inc. the well-known catalog showroom retailer, has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors for the second time in five years. the case was filed sept. 24 in federal court in richmond, va., under chapter 11 of the united states bankruptcy code. as part of reorganization under chapter 11, best — whose biggest business is in jewelry and home furnishings — will cl…

it is morning in hweka, deep in northern myanmar’s kachin state. outside, the roar of the river below awakens us from our slumber, nudging us groggily into yet another day. already it has been four long days since leaving mandalay and exactly when we will reach our destination is still uncertain. nevertheless, we are unfazed, our spirits are high.

tourneau, one of america’s leading retailers of fine swiss and vintage collectible timepieces, has launched a major campaign to change affluent consumers’ attitudes about fine swiss watches and to increase the market for all upscale brands. “if the swiss watch federation won’t support the [u.s. luxury] watch industry the way de beers does for diamonds or the world gold council does for gold jew…

king of the hill gems: their sources, description & identification, 5th edition, by robert webster; revisions edited by peter g. read. 1995. 1,072 pages. $120. (jck data center au-052) to order call (617) 928-2500. during one of his rare visits to the united states, robert webster made a presentation at the museum of natural history in new york.

ethics and journalists.am i crazy for taking on this hot potato? it’s an uncomfortable topic among many journalists because the ethics rules we used to regard as being carved in stone are blurring in the face of increased competition in the publishing industry. why should ethics matter to journalists — or to you? retailers who read jck rely on us as a conduit for accurate information.

“the knowledge of gemstones and their behavior is an essential key to the future of idar-oberstein.” it’s a deceptively simple statement by master cutter gerhard becker, whose family business, friedrich a. becker, has cut gemstones in the region since the 1500s. it also underscores the german philosophy of steinkenner, or “gem-knower,” that has kept idar-oberstein strong for centuries in spi…

it struck me the other day that if, at any given time, we were to have a roll call of our editorial staffers, many would not be here to respond. but that’s as it should be. there was a time when we could give you a comprehensive view of developments in our industry with periodic trips in the u.s., occasional journeys abroad and numerous telephone interviews.

more russian synthetics on the way a new load of russian synthetic colored diamonds will likely hit the u.s. market next month. alex grizenko, president of russian colored stone co. in golden, colo., says he will begin to market synthetic yellow, blue, pink and red diamond rough and polished in december and will add “demantoid garnet green” colored diamonds several months later.

selling in the information age to prosper in the 21st century, retailers will need to know how to manage change and information technology, says a new report by management horizons, a business consulting and research company. an article on the report in women’s wear daily outlined the following points: victoriana making a comeback not all vanities have been consumed by the bonfire.

maybe its a ’90s thing. maybe it’s simply a matter of finances. regardless, more independent jewelers are remodeling their stores. and rather than hire outside designers, most are doing it themselves. a poll of the jckretail jewelers panel in august found that one in three jewelers (35%) have done at least some remodeling in their stores in the past two years.

(peter j. theriault is president of northeast gemlab, an independent jewelry appraisal company in camden, me. he enjoys tracking results of the jewelry, collectible watch and silver auction markets and has written for the maine antique digest, silver magazine and international wristwatchcollector usa.

batman’s reverso draws auction sale one of the five 18k gold jaeger-lecoultre reverso watches made to commemorate the watch’s use in the film batman forever fetched $9,000 in a recent auction at christie’s in new york, n.y. two of the watches were given to star val kilmer and joel schumacher, who directed the movie.

‘baume & mercier & me’ ads enter second year keep an eye out for heavy consumer advertising from baume & mercier during the holiday season. continuing its “baume & mercier & me” campaign that debuted last year, the company’s efforts to reach a somewhat younger consumer, especially fashion-aware women, is on track, says steven kaiser, president of david g.

bijorhca shows its classic side the french flair for chic presented a more classic face at bijorhca paris. as hints of color tinted the leaves along the grand boulevards of paris, the true colors of the french jewelry industry were on display at bijorhca paris. the fall edition was held sept. 6-10 amid a busy month of jewelry shows in europe and alongside major french men’s fashion shows.

“silver is the best material we have; gold is precious in value but not in effect. the character of silver is satisfactorily obstinate; it has to be conquered — and then it has this wonderful moonlight luster, something of the light of the danish summer night. silver can seem like twilight, or when it dews over, like ground mist rising.