- Tim Murphy, Publisher, and Cheryl Kremkow, Editor-in-Chief

“This is a tool to make custom design possible for the sales associate,” says Matt Stuller, founder, president, and CEO of Stuller. “When the customer is part of the design processes it fuels the passion and excitement of jewelry. It’s not a commodity anymore.”

The new software, tentatively called “Counter Sketch” was previewed for 50 select retailers at the inaugural Stuller Owner’s Conference in Lafayette, Louisiana on July 14.  A beta version will be released to 100 retailers on October 12 this year and the software will be available in wide release in January 2010.  Pricing hasn’t been set yet.

“We want to create an experience where the customer doesn’t have to ask for custom design, it becomes part of the shopping experience,” explains Jeff High, founder and president of Gemvision. The design process in the new software starts with existing models of popular jewelry styles. According to Stuller, the goal is to launch with 1,000 to 1,500 different initial models. Each model can then be modified and adapted to suit the customer’s needs through an intuitive easy-to-use interface, creating an infinite number of possible customized designs.

Take a three stone ring design, for example. A salesperson, or even a customer, can use simple sliders to change the finger size, the center stone size and type, the size and position of the side stones, the angle and height of all the stones, the width and profile of the shank. As one attribute of the piece changes, all the others seamlessly adjust proportionately in real time to change the look of the piece to suit the customer’s requirements.

Once the customer is happy with the design, the sales person can calculate pricing and send the model to Stuller for manufacturing. Stuller offers the design as a casting, as a polished mounting, or set with gemstones from Stuller’s inventory, delivered in 5 to 7 days.

Although Counter Sketch allows jewelers with little or no custom design experience to offer the service, even jewelers who specialize in CAD CAM said the new program would improve the custom design experience for their customers. “It’s a game-changer that makes custom the new normal: the biggest change the jewelry industry’s seen since the introduction of CAD,” says Jim Tuttle of Green Lake Jewelry Works in Seattle, the largest Matrix user in the country.  “This is the beginning of the mass customization revolution. In what other industry can you essentially design something yourself and get a good quality product? Who would have thought that the jewelry industry would lead the way in the democratization of design?”

If camping is your thing, the 31st annual Antique Jewelry & Art Conference, known as “Jewelry Camp,” will be held July 17-19, 2009. Learn from the experts about buying, selling, appraising, and collecting estate jewelry. Speakers include Ulysses Grant Dietz, Michael Goldstein, Christie Romero, Gary Roskin, and Janet Zapata. The conference will be held at Hofstra University, Long Island, New York. For more information, call (631) 471-1922 or visit www.jewelrycamp.org.

Meanwhile, the New York State Jewelers Association will host its centennial anniversary with a gala dinner on July 25, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City’s Columbus Circle. Proceeds from silent and live auctions will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization which assists veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in overcoming injuries and returning to civilian life. New York Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon, national spokesman for Wounded Warrior Project, will also attend. For more ticket or sponsorship information, visit www.newyorkjewelers.org.     — Matthew Kramer

The course’s objective is to contextualize why offering a customer platinum first is a smart selling technique. Research shows that sales associates who show platinum to a customer as a first choice, and are confident in their knowledge about platinum, almost double their chances of making the platinum sale. It’s another useful program to help boost the confidence of sales associates as they sell those pure, rare, and eternal platinum bridal rings to those brides-to-be.

Before launching it in 2008, PGI test piloted the introductory program with over 100 sales associates from two leading regional chains and two independent retailers. PGI is also developing more on-line training programs and new modules will be added throughout the year. For more information, visit www.platinumlearning.com.    — Matthew Kramer

The “Job Success in Today’s Market” panel included John Green of Lux Bond & Green; Matthew Green, sales director of Europe, Middle East, and Asia for John Hardy; Joel Schechter of Honora; and Phyllis Bergman of Mercury Ring Corporation. It was inspiring to hear John Green speak about his family’s business, and the passion he has for his job. Joel Schechter’s “Top 10” list of qualities employers and job seekers should look for and have was equally informative. Speaking of passion, as Schechter mentioned, shouldn’t we all love Mondays? If you don’t, the next GIA career fair is scheduled for October 16, 2009, at its Carlsbad headquarters.

Looking towards the future, GIA has developed an on-line multimedia format for its distance learning courses in gemology and jewelry sales. This “eLearning” program is available for its Accredited Jewelry Professional diploma and “Diamonds & Diamond Grading” program. Courses include audio, video for hands-on demonstrations, interviews with experts, instructor lectures, and “see it for yourself” segments. For more information, call (800) 421-4250 or see a demonstration at www.gia.edu/elearning.

GIA also just became a member of the Responsible Jewelry Council, an international nonprofit organization committed to promoting responsible ethical, human rights, social, and environmental practices in a transparent and accountable manner. From the RJC to career fairs to eLearning, it’s reassuring to see GIA keep its vision focused on both the current and future generations of the jewelry industry.     — Matthew Kramer

Bench jewelers are certainly no strangers to getting their hands dirty. In fact, most are passionate about what they do and are constantly on the lookout for new tools, new tricks, and new materials. Whether through schools, events, or on-line, brushing up on your bench skills is surely one avenue to make your store stand out, to become unique in your community, to customize jewelry, or to become a master craftsperson.

To reinvent yourself, your job, or your business is easier said than done, but training and networking conferences can be a good first step. The sixth annual Bench Jewelers Conference will be held April 23-26, 2009, in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Millennium Hotel. The conference will feature seminars presented by working master jewelers on topics such as lasers, alternative metals, casting, integrating technology, jewelry repair tips, palladium, pave setting, photography, pricing, fabrication, stone setting, and more. Other sessions will look at how to increase profitability, the future of the industry, and Internet marketing. And for a little break from the bench, watch the Cardinals play the Cubs at a Southeastern Findings-sponsored night at the ballpark.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get to the bench and fire up that torch (wear your safety gear), turn on that laser (watch where you point that thing), or even boot up some CAD-CAM software! For registration information, call Brad Simon of Bench Media at (864) 680-4416 or visit www.benchconference.com.

Now Rio Tinto has announced an even more exclusive event for an even rarer prize: elusive blue diamonds.  The Argyle mine produces a very tiny quantity of blue diamonds, which are even rarer than the pinks.  And on April 8, for the first time, the company will devote a tender to the blue and violet diamonds from Argyle, sourced from several years of production at the mine. The “Once in a Blue Moon” sale includes both fine individual stones, matched pairs and a selection of smaller sizes. The collection will be showcased in Perth, Hong Kong, and Tokyo before bids close on April 8.

On Friday, March 6, 2009, the Women’s Jewelry Association will host its sixth annual “Women in the Know” Conference at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Actress and jewelry designer Jane Seymour will deliver the conference’s keynote address entitled “Translating Talent in the Arts to Jewelry.” Perhaps most recognized for her TV role as Dr. Quinn, Seymour recently created the “Open Hearts by Jane Seymour” fashion jewelry collection for Sterling Jewelers.

Other presentations during this year’s conference include sessions on strategies for succeeding in a downward economy; how research can improve business; creating a sustainable career; and using on-line social networks to promote your products or services. There will also be a lunch presentation by some of the women of The New York Times best-selling book The Necklace: Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives, by Cheryl Jarvis.

If you still haven’t gotten your fill, an afternoon keynote panel discussion entitled “Passion with Purpose” will be comprised of a selection of women who have successfully built their businesses while making contributions to important charitable, social, and environmental issues. Panelists include Lita Asscher of Royal Asscher of America, Janet Goldman of Fragments, and designer Kendra Scott.

Women in the Know runs from 8:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday, March 6, 2009, and is open to all industry professionals. Pre-registration is $200 for WJA members (prior to February 27) and $225 for non-members. For more information, call (708) 361-6266 or visit www.womensjewelry.org.

In a statement on Friday, the GJEPC explained its action as a defensive move to protect the interests of the industry: “This will also send signal to the banking system that the diamond industry will not increase its indebtedness at the time when our downstream colleagues continue to meet consumer demand, a demand heightened by the inherent value which consumers attach to our product.”

The move has support in India and in the diamond manufacturing industry worldwide. At the Antwerp Diamond Symposium on Monday, Moti Ganz, President of the International Diamond Manufacturing Association, called the GJEPC’s move “a brave and important step.” World Federation of Diamond Bourses President Avi Paz also called for miners to decrease production and manufacturers to reduce buying in his speech in Antwerp.

The rough import ban will essentially shift the credit pressure upstream to the mining companies. If India’s large diamond manufacturers respect the ban, they will have to cancel or delay commitments to buy rough from producers. As Vasant Mehta, the Chairman of GJEPC puts it, “Our move will basically cause fewer rough to enter the diamond pipeline and the producer companies will thus indirectly share in the financing burden and contribute to a faster restoration of normalcy in an otherwise healthy business.”

Adhering to the ban would prevent DTC sightholders and Rio Tinto Select Diamantaires from accepting December rough allocations. There is a DTC sight scheduled from December 8-12.

“If customers of the producers take goods at the next sale, they will not go against the trade and send it here. We can not control or monitor it, but I believe everybody is unified in this,” Sanjay Kothari, the past chairman of the GJEPC told PolishedPrices.com.

As you might expect, diamond producers aren’t wild about the idea. “As we announced at the last Sight, De Beers is fully prepared to reduce production to reflect the prevailing level of demand for new rough diamond supply from our clients,” says Lynette Gould, De Beers Group Media Relations Manager. “We do, however, believe that our clients are best placed to decide upon their short-term rough diamond requirements and, as a result, the ‘blanket ban,’ between the 25th of November and the 30th of December is an unnecessarily blunt remedy.”

“The health and dynamism of the Indian diamond industry is important to Rio Tinto,” says Jean-Marc Lieberherr, Rio Tinto’s General Manager of Diamond Sales and Marketing. “We have had a long and mutually beneficial association and we remain as committed as ever to this relationship. Our approach continues to be to work very closely with our Indian and non-Indian customers to find together the best way forward, in the spirit of partnership. We have great confidence in the future of the industry and in the inherent value of our product, and as we face short term challenges, we also all have an opportunity to build a stronger business together.”

The measure also may be criticized for decreasing employment in India. In addition to further weakening companies that do not have enough rough stockpiled to keep operating during the month, the ban is also like to affect many of the hundreds of thousands of people employed in India’s gem and jewelry industry. Even before the import freeze, Surat layoffs have been estimated at 50,000 cutters. Many diamond cutting factories that closed for Diwali in mid-October have remained closed and are likely to stay that way through the end of the year.

Mehta says that many factories should be able to continue operations during the month. “Our members have sufficient rough diamonds in stock to minimize the impact on our labor force,” Mehta says.