Jewelers for Children Celebrates 20 Years With Annual Event

Jewelers for Children (JFC) held its 20th annual Facets of Hope event on June 3, during Jewelry Week in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Honorees were Bill Luth, executive vice president of Kay Jewelers at Signet Jewelers, and Jeffrey Cohen, president and CEO of Citizen Watch America. The evening also featured a watch giveaway and silent and live auctions. JFC announced it had raised $1.95 million to support its charity partners for the year, bringing the grand total of funds raised to $55.5 million since 1999.

“What an amazing milestone for the charity and particularly for our industry,” said JFC board chair Pam Mortensen, in a press release. “I don’t think any of us could have imagined 20 years ago that we would be marking this occasion and to be announcing such an amazing number.”

Gala attendees bid on original paintings by artists Reena Ahluwalia and Shreya Mehta, as well as a gold and diamond replica of BB-8 from the new Star Wars series. Guests were also given updates from the children benefited by the charity, who had attended the event in years past.

It was announced at the event that Jewelers for Children will pledge the $1.95 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish America, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the National CASA Association. A portion of the funds has also been committed to Make-A-Wish International for wish-granting in India, to the Santa-America Fund, as well as to the Organization for Autism Research—a new relationship for JFC this year. Finally, $50,000 will be reserved for local grant rewards, which will be decided upon by a social media voting campaign later this year.

For more information and to see photos from the event, visit jewelersforchildren.org.

Pictured at top, from left to right, back row: Joe Thompson of Hodinkee; Jeffrey Cohen of Citizen Watch America; Bill Luth of Signet Jewelers; Seth Hobbs of Signet Jewelers; front row: Pam Mortensen, Jewelers for Children; Pamela Heisler, and Abby Richins.

 

Empire Safe Introduces 3 New Lines at JCK Las Vegas

Industry supplier Empire Safe debuted three new product lines at this year’s JCK Las Vegas show, all featuring TDR safes, in an aim to further combat burglary attempts.

The new products from Empire are reportedly the only European-certified safes with TDR castings in the body and door, which have been successful in preventing burglaries. The company is recommending that these safes replace the recommendations for the TL-30 and TL-30×6 safes, which have been burglarized throughout the country with disk cutters, a method of burglary reportedly on the rise.

“The real issue is that 90-plus percent of the jewelry industry relies on low-security ‘TL’-rated safes to protect their inventory overnight,” says Richard Krasilovsky, president of Empire Safe. “These safes have been the primary target of burglars for the past 35 years,  but due to the introduction of a lethal tool [the disk cutter] that’s readily available to consumers throughout the country, more of these safes are being broken into than ever before and are now considered obsolete. For the last 40 years, the only safes that could stop burglars are ones that are very expensive, which has prevented jewelers from purchasing them.

“We have been working since 1981 to develop safes to fulfill the needs of the majority of the jewelry industry, and are introducing three new lines of high-security safes to fill a huge void in the marketplace,” Krasilovsky continued. “We’re only scratching the surface, but have come across many applications where no other safe in the industry could fulfill the customer’s requirements.”

The new products include the Diamond TDR 3900,  featuring a superior TDR casting design and boltwork locking mechanism, designed to be torch- and drill-resistant, passing Europe’s “six-sided attack test.” This model is designed for residences and office buildings where space is limited.

The Diamond TDR 4000 features a thicker TDR casting than its predecessors and will be offered at discounted pricing for its first year of production to new customers. Small, medium, and large models are offered, suitable for customers with limited spaces as well as large office buildings.

Finally, the Diamond TDR 5000CD, equivalent to the TRTL-30×6 safe but reportedly more affordable, is also available in multiple sizes for virtually any application. It features thick TDR casting ideal for jewelers and high-end residential applications, as well as for cash-handling business, executive offices, and others.

For more information on Empire’s new line of safes, visit empiresafe.com.

 

GIT Announces Finalists of 2018 World Jewelry Design Awards

Entries to the 2018 GIT World Jewelry Design Awards

The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT) announced the finalists of its 12th annual GIT World Jewelry Design Awards, selecting five proposed jewelry designs to enter the final round of competition.

The theme of the contest this year, “The Pearl of Wisdom—Illumination From Under the Surface,” aims to promote a wider recognition of pearls. Final designs will compete in the last round at the 62nd Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair on September 7.

In total, 333 proposed designs were submitted—157 from Thailand and 176 from overseas. That total was narrowed down to 20 designs in round one, and now the final five remain, and will be transformed from paper to jewelry as they are made into tangible pieces. “Each one will be beautiful and unique in their own way, showcasing the ability of designers that can use different materials creatively,” said Duangkamol Jiambutr, director of GIT. “We are excited to see how beautiful the designs will become as jewelry pieces.”

Contest winners, which will be divided into two categories—one based on a panel of judges looking at the final five designs, the other, a public vote of the 20 proposed designs of the penultimate round—will receive a total of $9,000 in prize money. For more information on the contest or to vote, visit git.or.th.

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