When you’re plotting your 2023 JCK show agenda, keep all these experiences, keynotes, and topics in mind. Plus: 23 new jewels from your favorite (and soon-to-be-favorite) exhibitors.

To make the most of your time at JCK Las Vegas, you’ve got to mix things up. Sure, abide by your rituals (say, breakfast at the Venetian’s Grand Lux Café followed by a cruise through the Design Collective), but don’t forget to embrace all that’s new. Here, we offer suggestions for events, products, and conversations—at both JCK and Luxury—not to be missed.

1 / In keeping with the show’s focus on innovation, the Innovation Hub, introduced in 2022, is bigger and better this year. Located on level 2 (booth 19141), the hub is your go-to spot to learn all that’s new in the jewelry industry and in retail in general. The area will once again feature the Showcase Stage, home to all the JCK Talks educational sessions, but it’s expanding to accommodate the all-new Social Stage, a content creation and demo area with cutting-edge technology vendors showcasing their products, and companies exhibiting in the Retail Innovation zone.

2 / Calling all social strategists. Think of the new Social Stage as a mini university on the show floor dedicated to helping you understand the dynamics of brand building and engagement online. The area will play host to influencers dishing out tips on how to create compelling social content and have it seen by as many people as possible. Visit JCK2023.com/socialstage to see the full lineup of discussions and the influencers leading the charge.

3 / The Retail Innovation zone is moving up—from its historic home on level 1 to the Innovation Hub on level 2. The area will feature five exhibitors—such as Reshyne, a cloud-based software provider dedicated to helping retailers manage repairs—that focus on the future of strategy and technology in the retail space. Check out JCK2023.com/innovationhub for more information.

4 / Remember when De Beers introduced Lightbox, its headline-making lab-grown jewelry brand, at JCK Las Vegas in 2018? Organizers are keen to replicate the excitement surrounding that launch at this year’s show through the new Breaking News track, a dedicated offering of sessions taking place on the Showcase Stage at noon Friday, June 2, through Sunday, June 4. For all the news that’s fit to print, tweet, story, and TikTok!

5 / Also new at the Showcase Stage from Friday, June 2, through Sunday, June 4: tracks on Hot Topics (10 a.m.) and Retail Experiences (4 p.m.). Also look to the Showcase Stage to see dedicated tracks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2 p.m.) and Sustainability (3 p.m.). That’s not all: Last year’s Trends, Marketing, and Innovation tracks are back, at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m., respectively. Find the full events schedule at JCK2023.com/eventschedule.

6 / On Wednesday, May 31, at 8 a.m., in the Palazzo Ballroom (level 5), Rudy Ruettiger, the Notre Dame football player whose life and career were the inspiration for the 1993 tear-jerker Rudy—“I’ve been ready for this my whole life!”—will deliver Luxury’s opening keynote (open to Luxury retailers and exhibitors only). Be ­prepared for him to exhort the crowd with his motto “Dream Big, Never Quit.”

7 / A three-time Olympic ­gymnast, an Olympic gold medalist, and the first Black U.S. gymnast to ever qualify and compete in an Olympic Games, Dominique Dawes will address the Luxury crowd on Thursday, June 1, at 8 a.m. in the Palazzo Ballroom on level 5. From the importance of embracing a team mentality to how to use failure as fuel, “Awesome Dawesome” will share motivational tips sure to engage and inspire.

8 / JCK Rocks returns to its familiar Sunday-evening time frame, though this year it shares the Palazzo Ballroom with the Jewelers for Children mixer, which runs 6–9 p.m. Come for the networking and stay for the headliner, Andy Grammer (“Honey, I’m Good”), scheduled to perform after JFC wraps up.

9 / Set your alarms: From 8 to 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 3, in the Palazzo Ballroom on level 5 of the Venetian, Johnny Cupcakes (aka Johnny Earle), founder of the world’s first T-shirt bakery, will deliver a JCK keynote address titled “Creating Customer Obsession and Memorable Experiences With Limited Resources.” Showgoers who heard Earle at Luxury in 2019 will recall his invigorating presentation, filled with clever and offbeat ideas for driving traffic and sales.

10 / Luxury veterans, a familiar name returns to the show this year: Hearts on Fire is bringing the heat with a bold new bridal collection that plays to the emotions of love—passion, intoxication, nuance, and complexity—“with a fresh, current sensibility and timeless appeal,” according to a spokesperson. “The designs are focused on enhancing and elevating the brilliance of the Hearts on Fire diamond, reflective of the individuals’ inner sparkling spirit.” We do!

11 / Get ready for JCK Pro 2.0. Those who join the benefits program prior to the show (for $199; $249 at show) will be eligible for a badge upgrade that provides access to an on-site lounge, dedicated registration area, dedicated business center, reserved seating area for JCK Rocks, a lunch voucher, and, best of all, bonus trend content year-round. For more info, visit JCK2023.com/discoverpro.

12 / After the queue to register for last year’s show curled down the corridor into the Venetian, show organizers learned their lesson about registration. In addition to the level 2 registration area, attendees will be able to get their badges on level 1.

13 / Can’t figure out where to grab lunch or dinner? Don’t miss delicious new restaurants at the Venetian, including Wakuda (high-end Japanese) and Miznon (grab-and-go Israeli). And for more bar, restaurant, and recreation ideas, check out our “Here’s to Las Vegas” feature on page 150.

14 / Gyan Jaipur, a fine jeweler based in India’s legendary Pink City, is making its JCK debut in the American Pavilion under the banner of its parent company, Gem Plaza. Look for top-quality colored stones—from the classic to the offbeat—in contemporary settings that leverage the Dhaddha family’s generational history in the gem and jewelry business. Be sure to ask about the Gyan Museum, a 10,000-square-foot space located adjacent to the showroom in Jaipur dedicated to displaying patriarch Gyan Chand Dhaddha’s eclectic collectibles (“treasure trove” does not begin to do it justice).

15 / To mark its 40th anniversary, the Plumb Club’s 51 member companies are making good on their mission to educate retailers and help them do better business by releasing the findings of a comprehensive research study they conducted this year with the assistance of trendspotter Paola De Luca (aka The Futurist) and Qualtrics, a survey and analytics firm. The study consists of two parts: a look at emerging phenomena influencing the jewelry market (gender fluidity, post-pandemic consumer behaviors, omnichannel retail, and sustainability, to name a few), and a survey of more than 2,000 men and women ages 25–60 aimed at understanding how consumers engage with jewelry. Marketing director Michael O’Connor will share the key findings on the Showcase Stage on Sunday, June 4, at 11 a.m., but showgoers are encouraged to visit a Plumb Club member to receive a copy of the full survey.

16 / Retailers face a perennial challenge when it comes to hiring. To help provide solutions, JCK is creating a dedicated area at the entrance to the show floor on level 2 called the Career Zone. Equipped with screens that will showcase open job positions, the zone will host a networking event on Sunday, June 4, at 2 p.m. to help connect people looking for work with potential employers.

17 / The Design Collective is getting a glow-up. To fete the area’s new look and feel, stop by on Friday, June 2, at 2 p.m. to “Meet the Designers” in the DC lounge. And at 3:30 on Friday, we’ll be toasting the winners of this year’s Jewelers’ Choice Awards.

18 / Check out the Jewelry Loupe Project in this year’s Design Collective on level 2 (at the Women’s Jewelry Association booth, #10043). A jewelry business ­development program for emerging designers ­administered by WJA and supported by De Beers Group, the initiative, which this year spotlights six emerging designers, provides access to experienced industry professionals who can help newcomers—­particularly BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, people with ­disabilities, and those from ­diverse ­backgrounds—design and introduce their first collection, and develop ­marketing strategies and business acumen to become seasoned ­professionals in their own right.

19 / The Natural Diamond Council is once again teaming up with red-carpet jeweler Lorraine Schwartz to present the 2023 class of designers participating in the Emerging Designers Diamond Initiative. From May 31 to June 5, look for all six designers—Amina Sorel Fine Jewelry by Amina Sorel, Bernard James Jewelry by Bernard James, Gwen Beloti Collection by Gwen Beloti, Jevela by Jessenia Landrum, Rosario Navia, and Metal x Wire by Symoné Currie—at the Luxury show.

20 / The Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) is ­dedicating its annual JCK breakfast—on Friday, June 2, at 8 a.m. in the San Polo Ballroom on level 3 of the Venetian—to an important but oft-overlooked topic: designing, selling, and marketing jewelry and timepieces for people with disabilities. Expect to hear about topics such as adaptive jewelry, best practices for hiring people with disabilities, and how a simple ­mindset shift can help shape your business and its DE&I strategy.

21 / If you didn’t make it to the VicenzaOro fair in Italy this year, the JCK show is bringing Italy to you. In the new Italia section (formerly Bella Italia), discover some 100 Italian jewelry brands, from industry stalwarts Giovanni Ferraris, K di Kuore, and Sanalitro to newcomers whose jewelry embodies a uniquely Italian blend of tradition and technology.

22 / Think of the Gems pavilion at JCK as a mini-Tucson in the Nevada desert. The AGTA section—home to such names as B&B Fine Gems, Evan Caplan, and Kimberly Collins—is bigger and better than ever, with more than 125 brands displaying their endlessly colorful wares. Remember: Gems opens Thursday, June 1, one day before JCK.

23 / And how’s this for newness? More than 250 brands are making their JCK and Luxury debuts this year. There’s no way anyone can visit them all, so you’ll just have to return in 2024, won’t you?

Top: 14k white gold necklace with 7.11 ct. pear-shape aquamarine and 0.85 ct. t.w. full-cut diamonds, $11,385, artistrylimited.com; necklace with 6.98 ct. pink tourmaline, 0.41 ct. t.w. baguette diamonds, and 1.5 cts. t.w. round diamonds in 18k white gold, $25,319, yaeldesigns.com