Ken Kleinhenz planned ahead this year. Knowing that 2025 would be a post-election year, with gold prices and uncertainty on the rise, the owner of Kleinhenz Jewelers in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, did his buying early.
“I did a lot of in-house purchasing through trusted vendors that have come through,” Kleinhenz tells JCK.
But come June, he’s making his annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the JCK and Luxury shows, where he plans to spend most of his time digging deep into one category in particular. “Specifically, I’m looking for those one-of-a-kind pieces that no one can compare or shop against,” he says.
The vendor that tops his list for those special wow pieces? “I 100% have to see Parlé because their one-of-a-kind pieces and those gemstones don’t translate well over video or conference calls,” Kleinhenz says. “We love their opals. What [creative director] Brecken [Farnsworth] has done with designing is remarkable. She’s added tremendous flair to the company. And I love their made-in-America Montana sapphires.”
Kleinhenz is also determined to visit his diamond vendors at JCK, including Beny Sofer/Roberto Demeglio and Martin Flyer, in part because he’s concerned that in the wake of the tariffs, some manufacturers may be switching their manufacturing locations and he wants to ensure the quality of their work does not decline as a result.
“The biggest thing comes down to how it’s made,” he says. “I look very hard at the mountings.”
There’s also the fact that diamond basics—think diamond line bracelets and necklaces, and diamond hoops and studs, in both natural and lab-grown varieties—are his top sellers. “What we sell here are everyday classics—that’s my bread and butter,” Kleinhenz says. “But I’ve got to have one-of-a-kind pieces for the wow factor. My staff gets excited to sell them.”
Gold has presented a challenge, to be sure, but Kleinhenz mitigates the metal’s high price by buying gold from the public and melting it for scrap value. At the show, he does not plan to buy gold jewelry for stock, preferring instead to purchase it on as as-needed basis.
Kleinhenz says he’s taking the ongoing strife over tariffs in stride. “You can’t jump to conclusions,” he says. “We got a letter from one vendor that said, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’ But everything that was talked about and threatened didn’t happen. We’ve got to go with the flow. But the situation will dictate who we shop with. Since I became owner in 2017, I’ve always sought out vendors made in America. I track that and I follow that. I’m proud to have a lot of made-in-America brands in my store, including Heavy Stone, Precision Set, and Simon G.”
While Kleinhenz’s Vegas itinerary is just three days long this year, he’s planning to make time for at least a couple extracurriculars. “As far as rituals go, breakfast at Bouchon is great,” he says. “I don’t drink so I’ll probably have some nonalcoholic drinks at the Ski Lodge, a speakeasy over at the Cosmopolitan. I’m a big skier—having a ski lodge in Vegas is amazing.”
Top: Earrings in 14k gold with green jade, Montana sapphires, and diamonds, price on request; Parlé
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