When JCK was founded in July 1869 as the monthly ­American Horological Journal, with offices at 229 Broadway in New York City (now the location of the Woolworth Building), it was the first publication of its kind. An 1873 merger with The Jewelers’ Circular positioned it to acquire or vanquish a host of rival publications…

Walk the floor of any jewelry trade show and it’s clear: Our industry is sustained by important contributions from key countries and ethnic groups, from the diamond cutters of Mumbai to the manufacturers of Hong Kong. How did we get so global? It didn’t happen overnight. The American jewelry trade has always relied on an…

In JCK’s first 100 years, the metal’s price didn’t move much. But over the past 50, it’s been on something of a roller-coaster ride. For most of the 20th century, the price of gold bullion was set at $35 per ounce. In 1968, the London Gold Pool created a two-tiered system that let gold ­respond…

Long before jewelers despised e-tailers, they really hated department stores. And catalog showrooms. And even credit cards! When the American Horological Journal and The Jewelers’ Circular, the two earliest predecessors to JCK, debuted in 1869 and 1870, respectively, consumers could buy jewelry from one place and one place only: jewelry stores. Then came department stores—retail behemoths with…

Intent on marketing and selling its products directly to consumers, today’s watch industry is nothing like its former 19th-century self JCK’s earliest forerunner, a magazine called the American Horological Journal, is not what most people would consider an easy read. Founded in July 1869, the monthly publication featured 13 articles in its debut issue, spread…

We combed through years of articles for quotes about Cartier; Tiffany & Co.; Gearys; Ben Bridge; and Shreve, Crump & Low As the publication of record for the jewelry industry since 1869, JCK has chronicled the history and milestones of America’s most celebrated retailers, including brands still thriving in 2019. We poked through the archives…

The jeweler’s role has certainly changed over the past 150 years, not just in fine-tuning a store’s merchandise mix, but in defining—and redefining—how merchandise is classified and understood by consumers. Here, we examine the oft-changing—and ­ever-confusing—lexicon for costume/­fashion, bridge, demi-fine, and fine jewelry, and highlight the ways JCK has helped jewelers navigate the shifting boundaries…

In the early 1980s, only a handful of years after ­establishing his first jewelry brand, Flaircraft, Jose Hess made the decision to start stamping his own name on the backs of his designs. The switch had been a long time coming, recalls the German-born designer, whose family fled to Colombia to escape the Nazis. “I…

The diamond industry is so multifaceted that we could fill a whole issue with developments and innovations. For now, we’ll limit ourselves to the 5 biggest throughout JCK’s history.   1888: De Beers Is Formed In 1888, one year after JCK predecessor The Keystone Weekly was founded, there was an even more notable ­introduction: De Beers…

Since the mid-20th century, selling diamond rings to brides has formed the backbone of the jewelry business—and JCK has counseled retailers every step of the way The ancient Egyptians were the first to use a ring as part of the marriage ceremony or contract. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, a circle or circular mark is used to…

The most revealing thing we discovered when we surveyed the reigning engagement ring styles of the past 150 years? How many would be coveted—and considered marketable—today.   Victorian The discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1867 floods the market with rose-, old mine–, and old European–cut stones. Snake motifs—popularized by Queen Victoria herself—are de…

As retailers and designers gravitate toward their variety and accessibility, so-called semiprecious stones have moved from supporting players to starring roles For centuries, conventional wisdom when it came to the pecking order of jewels put diamonds and the “Big Three”—ruby, sapphire, and emerald—at the uncontested top of the heap. The remaining multitudes fell into the…

Three top retailers reveal how certificates changed the way consumers buy diamonds and gemstones The Information Age has unfolded across generations of JCK readers, and in few product categories has that proved as consequential as in gems. Over the decades, customers have evolved from buying diamonds and colored stones essentially on blind faith to researching…

As we look back over the past 150 years of JCK, it’s easy to indulge our nostalgia for the way things were. But equally tempting is the urge to look forward and indulge our imagination about the way things will be. Fifty years from now seemed like a good place to land. Rather than grapple…