supplier news salesperson wins krementz contest. krementz & co., newark, n.j., chose kara petta of frank jewelers, freeport, ill., as the winner in the krementz mystery shopper program in february.a “mystery shopper” visited 200 krementz accounts last summer pretending to look for a gift.

cubic zirconia, unlike some of its predecessors in the lookalike game, has now been around for almost three decades. despite some bumpy times, it has continued to grow in popularity. that kind of staying power can provide insights that can be applied to a jeweler’s business. we recently had the opportunity to speak with a number of mass merchants around the country about their cz business.

because diamonds and diamond jewelry account for nearly 40% of jewelry store sales, understanding the market can be critical to your success. in this four-part report, jck examines increasing competition for better-quality diamonds, the advantages of stressing cut in selling diamonds, the success of de beers’ new diamond solitaire necklace program – complete with a pictorial of new …

there’s a new breed of sophisticated diamond customer. slightly more than 15% of retail jewelers say many customers asked for well-made diamonds in the past two years, based on a recent poll of the jck retail jewelers panel. many of these customers are willing to pay more for a well-cut stone, compared with almost none five years ago.

have we at last found the next tennis bracelet? that icon of success start-ed as a fad, grew into a trend and finally reached “classic” status all because chris evert lloyd dropped her diamond line bracelet on a tennis court. since then, the quest for another product with that kind of staying power has been the industry’s search for the holy grail.

it was sunny in switzerland this spring, good for visitors to basel 97 and an apt symbol for the show itself. “i’ve seen more visitors and exhibitors smiling at this year’s fair than i have in several years,” says michael mamie, director of the basel fair, which operates the show.

pulsar set to relaunch into the stars inspired by the celestial origin of its name, pulsar is preparing a major relaunch this fall that will feature light-powered watches, titanium watches and jewelry styles. in addition to 70 new styles now being shown to retailers, a large-scale marketing program and print and television advertising campaign is set to commence.

the world gold council is switching channels. its annual report points out that mass merchants – discount stores, department stores and non-store retailers such as qvc and the home shopping network – all had better growth in gold jewelry sales in terms of dollars and units than independent jewelers and chain jewelers.

jck’s fourth annual retail design contest showed that many jewelers have made a commitment to offer their own unique and creative designs. the contest drew a record 224 entries in three retail price categories. designs were judged on creativity, wearability, salability and innovative use of materials.

mjsa presents jewelry design awards toprofessional and aspiring designers six jewelry designers won honors in the 1997 american vision award competition, sponsored by the manufacturing jewelers and silversmiths of america inc. “the art of design is in transforming ideas into a look and feel,” says james f.

the seed of an idea planted in the late 1980s has finally come into bloom. smack in the middle of acres of flower fields, with a view to the pacific ocean in front and of the mountains behind, the gemological institute of america is digging its roots into carlsbad, cal., a seaside community north of san diego.

merchandising aids engelhart diamonds offers a new diamond sales planning tool called dia-score. the paper-and-pencil instrument is designed to help you evaluate your diamond inventory in terms of past sales, current strengths and future plans. engelhart diamonds, 8 s. michigan, chicago, il 60603; (800) 621-2004, fax (312) 332-4088, e-mail engelhrt@mcs.

your computer screen asks you to type your credit card number and send it into the black hole of cyperspace, and suddenly an image of a 13-year-old computer genius cracking codes from his bedroom flashes into your imagination. how safe is your payment information? many jewelers now conduct daily transactions over the internet, but some are still concerned about the issue of security.

the day was saturday, the weather stormy and the time 1:30 a.m. the place was a vacant office space above a nationally known retail jewelry store in a large eastern city. the office space had been rented for two weeks by burglars. the only noise, other than the wind-driven rain pelting the windows, was a saw cutting through the floor – the ceiling of the jewelry store below.

german jewelry’s innovative design and quality has long been prized by knowledgeable u.s. jewelers and consumers. but concerns about higher prices and a dearth of german companies in the u.s. limited german jewelry’s market here. until now. spurred by europe’s recession and the lucrative u.

(pdonahue@chilton.net) did you ever wonder what one of the most prominent, powerful international jewelers is concerned about during these waning days of the 20th century? i received an inside peek in april when robert mouawad, for whom the new gemological institute of america campus is named, invited me to geneva to complete an interview begun at the basel fair.

de beers executives have been shuttling back and forth to zaire in an attempt to keep their formal rough diamond marketing contract with miba, the state majority-owned mining operation. other companies, including american mineral fields, have moved into to the country to try to induce rebel leader laurent kabila to throw them the diamond marketing contract.

ags marks 60th conclave during its anniversary, the american gem society looks at the challenges of today and tomorrow education. sharing challenges and solutions. promoting ethics, excellence and service. this was the recipe for the first american gem society conclave, held at the palmer house in chicago in 1937.

the word “bohemia” shimmers with romance, evoking images of wild-haired maidens skipping around maypoles or free-spirited artists starving in picturesque garrets. but for those in whom the passion for collecting antique costume jewelry burns with a hard, gem-like flame, “bohemia” means something else entirely.

revisiting a gemstone butterfly called spectrolite does spectrolite, a trade name for labradorite, have a nationality, an identity? the gem appears to be fighting nationality and identity problems, says don pier of gpg trading, a new york city company that markets the finnish spectrolite labradorite in the u.

[editor’s note: robert weldon has been photographing gems and jewelry for over a decade, initially at the gemological institute of america as a staff photographer, slide custodian and research librarian. since then, his work has been published in more than a dozen publications worldwide.] keeping a photographic record of a beautiful or unique piece of jewelry is the next best thing to own…

[editor’s note: this is the second in a two-part question-and-answer column on consumer resale appraising. the first, (see jck, march 1997, pp. 130-131) covered basic considerations. this column deals with broader but equally as important issues.] a potential client indicates he is in a temporary financial bind and requests your opinion on the “fair resale value” of some jewelry.

if you worry about too much competition, stay away from fourth street in santa ana, cal. eight jewelry stores operate in a four-block stretch in the heart of downtown santa ana, a city of 300,000 about 40 miles south of los angeles. all eight report they are healthy and doing good business. five are independents, three are units of chains.

in this column, members of the jewelry industry can state their views, wax poetic or otherwise pen their thoughts in slightly longer form than the traditional letter to the editor. we welcome your submissions. please send them to p.j. donahue, jck, one chilton way, radnor, pa 19089; fax (610) 964-4481, e-mail pdonahue@chilton.

expand into the suburbs and entice first-time buyers with ads showing affordable jewelry: it’s a formula that helped tiffany & co. hit an earnings home run in 1996 hundreds, possibly thousands, of people in palo alto, cal., will enter a tiffany & co. store for the first time this month.