There’s no good way to spin it: 2025 was a challenging year. Between the yo-yoing tariffs, the staggering surge in the price of gold, and the uncertainty caused by the Sturm und Drang of global politics, members of the jewelry and watch industries had a lot to digest this year.
The hosts of The Jewelry District podcast, JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates, had plenty to say about all of it. Below, we offer the top 10 most-listened-to episodes of 2025.
10. Episode 153: Guest Andy Koehn
Spirited, generous, and kind, Andy Koehn, owner of Wisconsin-based, family-owned retailer Koehn & Koehn Jewelers, was a hit with listeners. In this episode, the diehard classic-rock fan shares his philosophy about how a store is like a stage and its staff is like a band. He also shares some clever insights on what the diamond market needs now.
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9. Episode 146: Coping With Gold Prices and Tariffs
The editors explore the ramifications of the staggering rise in gold prices and share a strategy jewelers can use to offer gold at more palatable prices. (Hint: Think vintage.) It almost sounds quaint from the vantage point of December as gold approaches the $4,500 mark!
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8. Video Edition 1: JCK Show Trend Preview
In JCK’s first-ever vodcast, taped in advance of the 2025 JCK Las Vegas show, Victoria, Rob, and guest cohost Melissa Bernardo (aka JCK’s managing editor) discuss buzzworthy trends in categories from colored stones to diamonds.
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7. Episode 142: Tucson Gem Shows, De Beers, Signet, Audemars Piguet
Victoria and Rob talk all things color in this post–Tucson gem shows episode. Rob gives his take on why Signet’s largest shareholders called for a sale of the company and Victoria recaps the state of the Swiss watch industry in its halcyon pre-tariff days.
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6. Episode 138: Holiday Sales, Gold Prices, 2025 Color and Design Trends
In this mid-January episode, the editors weigh in on holiday sales results and what 2025 may bring for jewelers as tariffs loom under the new administration and gold prices remain high. (How’d we do?!)
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5. Episode 139: Guests Richard and Billie Hughes
Why is describing faceted colored gemstones “like trying to describe the wind”? How do experts really detect treated stones? The Jewelry District’s first-ever father-daughter guest duo, the cofounders of Lotus Gemology in Bangkok, give listeners an insider’s guide to the complex world of colored stones.
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4. Episode 141: Guest John Green
The president and CEO of Lux Bond & Green highlights his family’s 127-year retailing tradition and offers insights into noteworthy trends he’s seeing on the sales floor. (Hint: Don’t sleep on solitaire engagement rings or men’s jewelry.)
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3. Video Edition 2: Guest Susan Jacques
In JCK’s second vodcast, the outgoing president and CEO of GIA recounts her fascinating journey from growing up in Africa to a life-changing GIA course to an unlikely move to Omaha, where she helmed Borsheims and reported to Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.
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2. Episode 144: Guest J.K. Symancyk
What do the sporting goods and pet supply categories have in common with jewelry stores? More than you might think, says Symancyk, CEO of Signet Jewelers, who shares his professional trajectory from theater major and aspiring lawyer to the head of America’s largest jeweler.
1. Episode 151: Guest Beth Hutchens
Beth Hutchens, founder and creative director of FoundRae, talks to JCK about everything from how her childhood near the Mexican border inspired a lifelong attraction to mysticism to how she deals with copycats.
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