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1 week ago | 
jckonline.com | Victoria Gomelsky |Rob Bates |Annie Davidson Watson
At the jewelry shows in Las Vegas earlier this month, diamonds and yellow gold were the undisputed power coupling. We saw bold gold dome rings peppered with diamonds, mixed cuts of colorless rocks strung like lights on ’80s-esque chains, and gem-set hard bangles galore. Elongated cuts, such as movals and marquises, were plentiful, but so, too, were basic round gems that seduced us with their brilliance.
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1 week ago | 
jckonline.com | Rob Bates |Annie Davidson Watson |Karen Dybis |Brittany Siminitz
Luxury conglomerate Kering has appointed Italian automobile executive Luca de Meo (pictured) CEO, effective Sept. 15. The Paris-based company owns Gucci and Saint Laurent, as well as four jewelry brands: Boucheron, Pomellato, Qeelin, and DoDo.De Meo comes to Kering after 30 years in the auto industry, most recently serving as CEO of French carmaker Renault, from which he resigned last week. He has never worked in the fashion business.
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1 week ago | 
jckonline.com | Annie Davidson Watson |Karen Dybis |Brittany Siminitz
Sotheby’s New York achieved its highest-ever sell-through rate for a multi-owner jewelry auction at its High Jewelry event on June 13, with an impressive 95% of lots sold, for a combined $31.4 million. The day before, Phillips had to withdraw the headline piece—a 3.03 ct. fancy intense pink diamond, estimated at $1.2 million to $1.6 million—from its New York Jewels auction because bids did not meet the reserve, though the auction house reported solid results for other lots in the sale.
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1 week ago | 
jckonline.com | Karen Dybis |Rob Bates |Brittany Siminitz |Annie Davidson Watson
The first showroom opened by the 1916 Company since it was formed from the merger of several watch and jewelry brands highlights how the company hopes to make its stores community gathering spaces. The showroom at 102 E. Montgomery Ave. in Ardmore, Penn. (in the Philadelphia area) comes in at 7,500 square feet and features a large, landscaped outdoor space where people can hang out and the retailer can host events, says John Shmerler, global CEO of the 1916 Company.
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1 week ago | 
jckonline.com | Rob Bates |Brittany Siminitz |Annie Davidson Watson
The natural diamond business should see bright days ahead, but it has to change with the times, panelists said during a session on “The Future of the Diamond Industry,” held June 11 during the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) presidents’ meeting in New York City. “Change is here,” said Moshe Salem, WFDB vice president. “If you’re ready to change and pivot, grab a device and learn how to use it…. The natural business will come back, but it won’t be the same.
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1 week ago | 
jckonline.com | Annie Davidson Watson |Rob Bates |Karen Dybis
From June 19 to 27, Christie’s will hold its highly anticipated Joaillerie Paris online sale, featuring nearly 250 lots with a combined estimate of $8.3 million to $13 million (€7.2 million to €11.3 million). This exceptional auction celebrates the best in classic and contemporary jewelry, drawing on the legacies of such design houses as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Fabergé, and René Boivin.
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1 week ago | 
jckonline.com | Brittany Siminitz |Annie Davidson Watson |Rob Bates |Karen Dybis
As expected, artificial intelligence was a hot topic at the JCK show in Las Vegas, including at JCK Talks seminars on how jewelers are effectively using AI in design and day-to-day operations. The benefits of AI are astounding, but there are plenty of concerns around it, too. A big one is the potential for AI to make certain jobs obsolete—including those like yours truly’s, in journalism. Could AI really do what we do, covering an industry so built on human connection?
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2 weeks ago | 
jckonline.com | Annie Davidson Watson |Karen Dybis |Rob Bates
A Fabergé desk clock that has been passed down through descendants of Queen Astrid of the Belgians is going on the block June 19 at the Piguet auction house in Geneva. Created in 1907 by Fabergé master goldsmith Henrik Wigström, the clock is expected to achieve between $36,000 and $60,000 at auction. It bears the marks “H.W.” and “Fabergé,” indicating its origin in Wigström’s workshop at Fabergé, jeweler for the Russian Imperial court.
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2 weeks ago | 
jckonline.com | Karen Dybis |Annie Davidson Watson
With its new online reality series Diamond Divas, the all-female team behind New York City–based brand Shahla Karimi hopes to show the world what it is like to work in fine jewelry and all of the humor that comes with this career. The first two episodes of Diamond Divas—”Mike’s Big Year” and “Practice Makes Perfect“—along with a sizzle reel are now available on Shahla Karimi’s social media platforms. The series is produced by Sophia Strawser, Jesse Korman, and Shahla Karimi COO Christina Biaggi.
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2 weeks ago | 
jckonline.com | Brittany Siminitz |Karen Dybis |Annie Davidson Watson
Today’s Britt’s Pick is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction—and if you recognize that line, you, too, may be currently living in a jewelry Twilight Zone. I mean that in the best way, of course. Jewelry Week in Las Vegas is like an otherworldly experience, where time moves faster than usual and, whether from exhaustion or pure diamond-laced ecstasy, you have to keep asking yourself if any of it is real.
