Summer’s not over yet! And there are lots of hot topics to discuss, from an expert-led webinar focused on maintaining financial solvency in today’s retail climate to a podcast presenting the best tactics for selling customers on lab-grown diamonds.
Plus: a late-summer jewelry sample sale; a history lesson on Cartier’s work for the maharajahs of Baroda, India; and more.
SHOP
Greenwich St. Jewelers sample sale: Through Aug. 31
You only have a couple more days to shop this rare event, in which the downtown NYC jeweler is offering nearly 400 items up to 70% off. Many of our editors’ favorite designers are included in the haul, including Polly Wales, Zoë Chicco, Megan Thorne, Jane Taylor, and Kavant & Sharart, among others. More incentive to shop: 10% of net proceeds will be donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Kimberly McDonald boutique in Atlanta: Ongoing
Fans of the designer’s beautiful, bespoke gemstone jewelry and home decor (hello, geode-themed wallpaper!) now have a new brick-and-mortar location to shop in Atlanta’s tony Buckhead Village outdoor shopping mall. The boutique literally opened yesterday so grab your mask and be among the first to check it out.
LISTEN
New Plumb Club Podcast Episodes: Starting Aug. 31
Two new episodes from the Plumb Club’s podcast series drop on Monday evening: In “Lab Grown Gemstones and Diamonds,” Monica McDaniel, vice president and marketing director of Chatham Created Gems & Diamonds, provides a historical overview of created gems, explains the technical differences between the various gem creation processes, and offers tips on how to succinctly and confidently engage customers who are curious about lab-grown diamonds as an option.
“Diamond Trends in Today’s World” is a conversation with Jeffrey Cohen, vice president of sales for KGS Jewels, a DTC sightholder with one of the largest diamond cutting factories in the world. He’ll discuss the top engagement ring trends among consumers, from the most popular shapes and quality factors to the enduring appeal of composite heads (aka halos and clusters).
LEARN
“Money Talks” Webinar: Starting Sept. 1
This prerecorded Jewelry Independent Summit explores how the financial decisions that retailers and designers are making in 2020 will affect their businesses in 2021 and beyond. The lineup of speakers includes Todd Reed, Jane Taylor and Cleo Zancope of Jane Taylor Jewelry, Diana Schade of Saks Fifth Avenue, Ali Dumont of Von Bargen’s Jewelry, and other seasoned industry pros. You do have to buy a ticket to attend the event ($150), which can be viewed starting on Tuesday for 90 days.
“The Cartiers and The Maharajahs: At Home With the Maharani of Baroda” Webinar:
Sept. 4 at 9 a.m. ET
This talk, led by Francesca Cartier Brickell, a sixth-generation descendant of the Cartier family and author of the book The Cartiers (reviewed here on JCK‘s All That Glitters blog), will focus on Jacques Cartier (the author’s great-grandfather) and his visits to India in 1912. Brickell will speak with the Maharani of Baroda, Radhikaraje Gaekwad (pictured second from l., above), about the connection they share, thanks to the gem-rich legacy of their ancestors.
Top: If it’s September, someone is celebrating a birthday. Get those sapphires in your display cases stat! Blue sapphire earrings in 18k white gold, $5,060; Nam Cho.
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