A star was born May 28 at Christie’s Hong Kong when this pendant sold for $11.2 million ($148,000 per carat)—achieving a world record as the largest internally flawless briolette diamond ever auctioned. The stone also received a name: the Star of China. (Buyer Tiffany Chen named it after her company, China Star Entertainment.) The D-color,…

There’s Something About Mary Esses In 2002, São Paulo transplant Mary Esses followed her future husband to the United States. Armed with a degree in marketing and experience running an art school in Brazil, Esses combined all her passions, debuting an eponymous line in New York City (her new home) in 2004. Her signature fabric-like…

British Invasion Stephen Webster, a 37-year veteran of the jewelry industry and Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, proved his royal worth in June when he brought a contingent of up-and-coming designers—part of the British Fashion Council’s Rock Vault jewelry initiative—to Couture in Las Vegas. Webster carved out space in his…

Jade to Order Sixth-generation diamantaire Jade Lustig knows sparkling stones and how to fashion them into covetable collections. Her family business, De Beers sightholder Trau Bros., has a New York City–based division called S. Trau that sold loose stones. But when cutting facilities migrated to other countries, Lustig, who’d joined S. Trau in 1998, temporarily…

Leave it to Coomi Bhasin to create flowery earrings in girly pink hues that feel as grown-up as a Cartier timepiece. The ­Mumbai-born designer, whose Coomi line is known for its innovative use of texture and nature-inspired motifs, married an uncommon trio of materials—conch pearls, diamonds, and pink sapphires—in these magnificent drop earrings. “Every spring…

Watch for these folks at the Sept. 11–15 Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair: (Above)1. 18k white gold ring with 9.74 ct. Brazilian Paraiba tourmaline and 0.47 ct. t.w. diamonds; $42,300; Lorenzo Jewels, Los Angeles; 213-233-4207; ljintl.com   2. Snake cuffs in silver, black rhodium and silver, and 18k yellow or rose gold-plated silver; $440–$500;…

The Italian port hosts VicenzaOro’s exclusive About J, Sept. 4–7 Early this month, 197 buyers from 39 countries will descend on the storied Italian city of Venice for an exclusive buying event known as About J. Just don’t expect jewelry to be the sole draw. “Going to Italy enables you to see how the Italians…

Some jewelers say online companies should have to collect sales tax just like they do. But that will take legislation—which may not be a sure thing If you ask retailers like John Henne, they say the Internet sales tax issue is all about fairness. “We’re not afraid to compete with the Internet,” says the president…

Building and beautifying your website doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, it doesn’t have to cost a cent. Here’s how to start and how to add those bells and whistles. When it comes to online retail, success versus failure could be summed up with the age-old adage “Beauty is power.” Gone are the…

We sent five writers—all under the guise of being real shoppers—to five ­jewelry stores to evaluate each on customer service, ambience, and product selection (on a scale of 1–5, with 5 being tops). Here’s what their secret missions revealed. Edmund T. Ahee Jewelers 20139 Mack Avenue Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. Edmund T. Ahee Jewelers is…

Want to know what your customers are thinking? There’s software—and, soon, probably an app!—for that. Facial recognition technology is just one of the innovations of the store of the future. The jewelry business is often maligned for lagging a few steps behind the larger retail industry when it comes to incorporating new technologies, customer experiences,…

You should be able to see the Spanish influence in Emily Armenta’s jewelry. But you should also be able to feel it. The Texas-based designer is influenced, more than anything, by the work of 20th-century Spanish poet-playwright Federico García Lorca and his idea of duende: “a power and not a behavior…the struggle that one must…

What’s trending and who’s advertising in the August issues W Pushing• Skinny brass and silver stacking ring–style necklaces; oversize hand-carved cameo pendant on silver chain (“The fall collections zoomed from minimalism to maximalism in seconds”)• Art Deco–era platinum and diamond bracelet; white gold and diamond rosebud earrings (“Flaunt your assets with these seductive pieces”)Advertisers Glashütte…

555 E. Durant Ave., Aspen, Colo. For a town of only 6,500 full-time residents, Aspen’s jewelry scene is remarkably crowded. There are some 25 stores that feature fine jewelry, making the competition among local retailers fierce. But Aspen Jewel Box owner Sarah Hunt has found a secret for success: Her intimate, uncluttered boutique, located in…

When born-and-bred Texan Joanna Latham relocated to Brooklyn from Amarillo last year, she left a piece of her heart—and a pile of jewelry—behind. So the 40-year-old mother of three opened Jo Latham, a fine jewelry shop-in-shop in October 2012 inside high-end Amarillo gift store Et Cetera. The tiny outpost, which is composed of two 5-foot…

If you’re selling yourself as a family store, have a family member in the store from open to close At Meyers Jewelers in Grove City, Ohio, family ownership isn’t simply a quaint fact designed to warm up a sales pitch—it dictates store protocol. Founder Meyer Weisman has a pact with his two sons, co-owners Jeff…

It’s Vine vs. Instagram in the great video showdown of 2013 If you love the artsy brevity of Vine videos—but struggle with finding ways to jam shots of your jewels into its 6.5-second format—you might want to consider a new product from one of social media’s most popular names. Instagram, the ubiquitous mobile photography app,…

Ask not what buyers can do for you. What can you do for them? There are a couple of things all store owners know about their websites: how many visitors they get and how many inquiries those visitors make. But what about visitors who don’t make inquiries, who visit but aren’t ready to buy? Your…

The 19-month-old Harrison Co. combines big customer service with small boutique charm 1. What has been your most memorable sale? I have an elderly gentleman client who was married to his wife for 35 years. They were vacationing in the Dominican Republic. They spent the whole day on the beach and had a great dinner…

Marie-Helene Morrow, owner of Puerto Rico’s Reinhold ­Jewelers, offers tips for maintaining mutually beneficial vendor-retailer relationships. 1. If I’m doing business, I have to click with the person to click with the jewelry. When I look into the cases, I see the people, not the pieces. It won’t work if I don’t have synergy with…

In any retail environment, a happy sales staff makes for more pleasant workdays. But it’s also good for business. Healthy staff morale “clearly impacts productivity, profitability, customer service, turnover, and theft,” says David Javitch, president of business ­consulting firm Javitch Associates. “Happy workers tend to be more productive. If morale is high, employees feel that…

Jewelry industry-related crime fell significantly in the first six months of 2013, according to the Jewelers’ Security Alliance. The New York City–based industry group logged 740 incidents in the first half of the year, down from 844 in the same period last year. The amount of dollar losses also fell, to $35.3 million, from $41.1…

Happy September! I’m writing from the American Airlines Admirals Club in Atlanta, having just finished two days at the SJTA Atlanta Jewelry Show. This fall is going to be full of major travel, as I’ve realized just how important it is to visit friends and clients in person, attend major industry events as a JCK…

My twin sister, Julia, is in the midst of setting up her own business, a custom illustration service called Drawn for You. She’s always had a knack for making charming, funny, and true-to-life drawings of her friends and our family, and after her personalized greeting cards started to earn a following, she decided to make…

1. Shows When LUXURY Privé debuted in summer 2011, it was hailed as the long-awaited luxury component of New York City’s jewelry market week. Three years in, the invitation-only show, which took place July 29–31 at The Pierre Hotel, upped the luxury ante with a new Designer Balcony featuring eight exhibitors, including BG Art—a fine…