JCK Voices

March 27, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (4)

Spring—the season of renewal—brings visions of warmer days, brighter sun, budding trees and new flowers. It also means it’s time for spring cleaning. Depending on your outlook, this is either a chore or an opportunity. While nobody likes washing windows or swabbing out the kitchen cabinets, the opportunity to sort out, pare down, and get rid of things you no longer need is good for both your psyche and your taxes.

In a jewelry store, spring is also a good time to do some cleaning. Apart from the physical plant—yes, we’re talking windows and light fixtures and the pile of old boxes in the stockroom—there’s also a good opportunity to clear out the safe and get rid of stale merchandise. Here are some ideas:

1. Melt it down. With metal prices t...Read More

February 6, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

The Centurion Jewelry Show, always a highlight on the early-season show circuit, wraps today. This year was the show’s seventh, and Howard Hauben, president of H2 Events, which produces the show, says this year's edition has more retailer attendees than ever before—and, despite the nervous-making economy, fewer cancellations. It feels like it, given the crowds on the show floor—and given that for the first time ever, yours truly was bumped from the headquarters Westin La Paloma hotel to the admittedly lovely but offsite Loews Ventana Canyon, I’d say he’s right. And, kudos to Howard and his team: as usual, this is a beautifully-organized event and a favorite destination for suppliers and retailers and press alike.

January 16, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Roxanne Reisman, a hobbyist jeweler from the Washington, D.C. area, sent us this photo of our newest subscriber. Vegas, a boxer/American bulldog mix, just loves JCK, and Roxanne swears he gets up on the couch with it by himself. We just had to interview him!

JCK: So, tell us about yourself.

Vegas: I live with my mom Roxanne and dad Jesse and my younger brother, Reno.

JCK: Does Reno read JCK too?

Vegas: I don’t like to share. He needs to get his own subscription.

...Read More

December 18, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

More of my charitable giving—sorry, humans—tends to go to animal-related causes. Not that I’m misanthropic (there are a few people-focused causes I support), but I am an animal lover and always have been. Sorting through the various charitable appeals this past weekend, I saw I’d collected quite a few calendars from groups like the ASPCA, the Humane Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and so forth. I flipped through the various calendars, appreciating the images and mentally ticking off which of our friends have children to give them to. Not that I don’t love the winsome pets or the stunning wildlife scenery, but I have enough calendars—and besides, I use my BlackBerry for scheduling everyth...Read More

October 11, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

If everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame, then JCK is still 14 minutes and 56 seconds away from its full allotment, but we sure can't argue with the first four seconds!
Entertainment Tonight's "Insider" segment did a brief report about former President Bill Clinton's appearance at the Audemars Piguet press conference yesterday at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York.  The watch company announced a $3 million pledge to the Clinton foundation and unveiled a special limited edition timepiece, the Equation of Time, limited to 42 pieces (representing Clinton's presidential number). 
The ET segment showed a screen image of the JCKOnline story about it, written by senior editor William George Shuster, for a good three or four seconds!  Plus...Read More