This article was originally posted on Novell’s wedding ring blog:

JCK Magazine’s Mark Smelzer wrote about the jewelry industry beginning to embrace Facebook. Since I have a pretty strong opinion on this subject, I have a lot to say and posted a response to the online article. However, my comments formatted into one giant blob-of-a-paragraph. The message is there, but it’s not easy to follow.

So, in case anyone is interested, below are the relevant parts of Mark’s article, and my response – formatted so it’s easier to read.

The Facebook Era Arrives
By Mark Smelzer — JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 3/1/2009
I’ve just returned from Tucson, Ariz., where I attended the Centurion show and the AGTA show. As always, the warmth of Tucson (figuratively and literally) was a terrific escape and the trip was a chance to see our friends in the industry. Topic No. 1, of course, was the economy and its continuing negative impact on the jewelry industry.

Amid the concerns, there were several fascinating topics of conversation, the most interesting being the rise of Facebook. Suddenly, everyone in the industry is talking about the hugely successful networking site and its impact on their personal and professional lives.
For an industry that once lagged behind the population as a whole with regard to the Internet, it seems we’re finally catching up. JCKonline.com’s traffic numbers continue to boom, with 162,000 unique visitors (individual persons) visiting our site in the month of January alone, our highest monthly traffic ever!

There is a particular sense of a watershed moment with regard to Facebook. It’s one thing for members of our industry to recognize the strategic importance of the Web. It’s quite another for them to incorporate the Internet into their daily personal lives. Through the use of this site and others, we’re finally realizing the role that the Internet plays for millions.

What does this mean to you, the retailer or manufacturer? It means that once again the paradigm has shifted (recall the shift from weekly magazines like Life to television), and once again you need to position yourselves where the traffic is.

Step 1 should be creating personal and business Facebook pages. Once you have a personal page, you can create a page for your business as well. As your network of friends grows on your personal page (you’ll be astonished at how quickly the numbers add up), you can invite them to become a “fan” of your business page as well. As your business fans grow, you’ll have a ready-made list of persons to e-mail on a continuing basis, to inform them of events, charity involvements, trunk shows, new product arrivals, etc.

None of this takes the place of your store or business’s actual Web site. In fact, you want to place as many links (and reasons to link) to your Web site as possible on your business Facebook page. Think of a Facebook page as plopping yourself in the middle of a busy freeway, in the hope of diverting traffic to your site. Go where the traffic is!

Read more at http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6640742.html.

My response:
The Facebook era not only has begun, but it probably can be said that it started a while ago, and it’s pretty much just now starting to be talked about in the jewelry industry. This is a good thing. Maybe even a great thing!

In an age where people like me are asked to either greatly reduce, reserve or even eliminate budgets, tools like Facebook are very valuable. Yes – it’s where the traffic certainly is. However, it should be noted that connecting with the right audience may take quite a bit of work. One page alone may not attract customers to your door automatically.

Novell put up a Facebook page about three weeks ago (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Novell-Design-Studio/45691939078). Over the next few months, I anticipate that I will have to put in a decent amount of time to really get it noticed. In fact, I may even say that promoting Novell wedding rings through a variety of social media channels (blogs, message boards, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, Flickr and many other news and linking websites) will be a big – if not the biggest – part of my job. If you wanna catch a lot of fish, then you definitely have to put your boat where the most fish are. And, of course, have the right bait. 

I am very happy to be hearing buzz within the jewelry industry about Facebook and social media in general. I look forward to the day when more manufacturers and retailers make an active presence known to existing and future customers alike. Personally, I want to be next to my competitors on many platforms. That way, consumers can easily compare and choose the manufacturer, product or even metal that’s right for them.

People like to use the term “branding,” but often I wonder if many of those who throw the term into conversations really truly know what “branding” is. At least with Facebook, your message needs to be clear and focused for it to have a chance to work. Even with my page, I know that I have a lot of tweaking to do as well. It looks to be a fun – and educating – journey to take.

“Good-bye” to relying on print ads and glossy brochures alone. “Hello” to more focused and multi-channeled messages.

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Facebook, Jewelry Industry News, news

Over on TheKnot.com’s bridal message boards, future brides have been chatting about new wedding songs and making suggestions. And one gives “Celebrate Early and Often” – a new wedding song for a new wedding generation – a ringing endorsement.

She writes (as of March 4, 2009):
“Hello Everyone! I heard this song and fell in love with it - “Celebrate Early and Often.” I thought it was cool that the artist wrote it for her own wedding! It kicks into the perfect feeling after about a minute into the song and I can picture myself dancing to it with my soon to be hubby. 7 months to go! …Michelle”

Read more about, listen to and/or buy the song “Celebrate Early and Often.” 

blog, Jewelry Industry News, Wedding Music

“In This Challenging Economy,
Jewelers Want To Sell Products
That Capture The Consumer’s Jewelry Budget.”
– Bruce Pucciarello

This article first appeared in the jewelry industry trade publication – The Jewelry Book:

There’s no metal that better signifies love and commitment—or strength, purity, luxury and longevity. Since 1975, Platinum Guild International (PGI) has recreated a passion for platinum jewelry by supplying information, practical advice, support and expertise to educate jewelry manufacturers, retailers and consumers about the superior qualities of this metal. As PGI evaluates the market, they get the word out about platinum and help businesses tap the endless power of the platinum brand. PGI-USA has chosen to highlight some of the leading manufacturers of platinum jewelry. For the first in a series about the industry’s most inspired leaders, The Jewelry Book spoke with Bruce Pucciarello of Novell Design Studio.

by Jessica Teisch for The Jewelry Book

Platinum has captivated Bruce Pucciarello, owner of Novell Design Studio, since he was eighteen years old. At that time, he was working at a big New Jersey manufacturer working in the precious stone cutting department, crafting bridal products on the precision-engineered, Swiss machinery. “I liked the designing and technical expertise that go into the manufacture of a quality product,” says Bruce. “It’s a wonderful combination of art and engineering, with always something new to learn.” In 1986, after gaining further experience as a designer and machinist (and following a side career as a professional musician), Bruce joined forces with Victor Novogrodsky and founded Novell Design Studio in New Jersey. Today, Novell, a high quality, made in America jewelry manufacturer specializing in bridal jewelry and bands, is renowned for its flexible customization capabilities.   
 
Novell started to specialize in platinum in 1988—and this metal soon defined the company’s core. Novell first designed some 18 karat gold rings with platinum inserts, which increased the average men’s band profit. “Our retailers liked that and so did we,” says Bruce. “Once we started making jewelry in platinum,” he continues, “there was never a good reason for us to stop.” After two decades of experience, platinum has become the hallmark of Novell’s manufacturing facility. “As we became more adept at working in platinum,” Bruce explains, “we realized that any time we develop a new design or concept, we had to make sure that it works in platinum.” Novell works platinum into every style and discipline, from machine-made to hand crafting and casting. Novell has distinguished itself so greatly in platinum that its craftspeople prefer to work with this metal over any other.

Because of the superior qualities of platinum and its success using it, Novell remains firmly committed to this metal—not only for its purity, durability and strength, but also for the market it continues to generate. “Technology makes platinum more viable than ever,” Bruce explains. “It doesn’t matter whether platinum costs $800 or $2300 an ounce; there’s a strong market for platinum jewelry, especially bridal.” When important retailers respond to consumer’s desire to purchase platinum, they sell more and increase profitability. “In this challenging economy,” Bruce stresses, “retail jewelers need to sell products that capture every penny from a consumer’s jewelry budget.” Platinum, unlike other metals, “helps smart stores get at that profit.” Manufacturers also benefit from platinum sales: they become better manufacturing facilities because they have to improve their overall level of expertise in order to craft finer platinum jewelry.
 
Bruce finds that with platinum, success and customer satisfaction go hand-in-hand. “As long as we can make available almost any piece of jewelry in any kind of metal, we will continue to lead with platinum,” says Bruce. In this economy, that’s no mean feat. With its cutting-edge technologies and ingenuity, Novell “wrote a new list of rules, Bruce explains, which dispelled many myths about platinum, such as its difficulty to work with and its high cost. All our rules start with the words – we can. . .”
 
That attitude, Bruce stresses, is key to succeeding in this difficult economy—as are other factors. The new economy will demand better customer service, quality products and a price that makes sense.  Bruce sees creating jewelry in platinum as a great foundation for the successful manufacturer in this new business world. Unfortunately, Bruce laments, “there will be no rescue plan for the jewelry industry. We need to work it out”—that is, we must strengthen local American companies and communities, with fair work and fair pay—“and not a bail out.” Instead of the Golden Rule (“he, who makes the gold, makes the rules”), Bruce posits the Platinum Rule as a guiding principle: “He who works effectively, and labors to make a durable product that is also an object of beauty, will thrive. That is the future of American jewelry manufacturing, so he makes the rules. He, who has the platinum, has the tools!” For the jewelry industry, there’s no greater truth for the New Year.

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jewelry book, Jewelry Industry News, news, novell, Platinum, wedding bands

From CNN.com:   
A diamond unearthed in the southern African nation of Lesotho could yield one of the largest and highest quality round polished diamonds, according to a statement from company that found it. A mining company unearthed this 478-carat diamond in the southern African nation of Lesotho.

Experts in Antwerp, Belgium who analyzed the 478-carat stone determined it to be of the highest color grading available for a white diamond, said a statement from Gem Diamonds Ltd., the company that found the stone.

“What makes it more remarkable is the color and quality of this stone,” said diamond consultant Neil Buxton.

“It’s a D color, which is the highest possible graded color you can get, and we believe there is a chance — a very good chance — of getting a 100-carat plus” round stone with the highest color and clarity rankings.

Read more of “Huge diamond hailed as record breaker“…

diamonds, Jewelry Industry News

From National Jeweler Network:

Tucson, Ariz.—A new report by a market research Web site for the wedding industry shows that engagement and wedding ring sales are slated to increase 13.4 percent over the next five years.

According to TheWeddingReport.com, engagement ring spending will total $6.1 billion in the United States in 2008, with another $2 billion in spending on wedding rings for brides and grooms.

This $8.1 billion bridal market will increase to $9.2 billion by 2013, a growth of 13.4 percent over five years.

The vast majority of both engagement and wedding rings will contain diamonds, and more than two-thirds will be white gold.

The report also sheds some light on the habits of those popping the question.

According to the report, December is the most popular month for engagements, and Saturday is the most popular day for popping the question.

Couples typically begin their bridal ring research more than six months before their wedding, with style and cost the top two factors influencing their purchasing decision.

Read more about the bridal market 9.2 billion dollar forecast…

bridal market, Jewelry Industry News, news

If you are considering purchasing a tungsten wedding band, then you may wish to pay attention to this news article that is featured on National Jeweler’s website. In particular, look at the comments of the left-hand side. It seems there is a lot of debate about the conditions and facts that surround tungsten. One big company has been controlling much of tungsten’s main source in China, and licenses it to other manufacturers. They also seem to be over inflating the price as well. 19% of all wedding bands sold are tungsten wedding bands. So as it grows in popularity, it might be a good idea for more and more consumers to get to really know their tungsten wedding band facts before they go into the jewelry store to make a purchase. After all, Novell believes that an educated consumer is the jewelry industry’s best costumer.

Download “Choosing the Right Metal for Your Bridal Jewelry,” a free PDF brochure to help you learn more about many of the common metals used in creating wedding bands.

Here are some of the highlights from the comments section:

“…85% of all tungsten is mined in China where we cannot do the kinds of inspections that we do in the mines around the world that mine precious metals and diamonds. Other tungsten mines in the world, controlled by the Chinese mining companies have records of human abuse and dangerous work conditions. So here is this one product that is replacing a lot of better “Made in America” product and is hardly up to the GREEN standard that we are expected to honor for precious metal.”

“I am quite aware of Walmart’s position in the market. They are merchants, not jewelers, and will likely crush those who pretend to try and compete with them because they will not be undersold. Jewelers who try to compete with them on similar product such as Tungsten, or whatever else like it they are trying to pass off as jewelry, will simply not survive in their wake. Continue to sell Tungsten and line the pockets of everyone but yourself. You may be out of business soon, sorry to say. I spoke with a jeweler just last week who told me he can’t remember the last time he sold a gold wedding band. How sad.”

“Today, you can buy CZ’s, gold(colored)plated rings, imitation pearls, color enhanced glass(fake sapphires), & tungsten and titanium at the Flea Markets for $18.00. The kiosk mgr says they sell between 30-40 a weekend. They have them in every size. She doesn’t do size exchanges, nor warranty, she has 1-2 returned to her per month, then just makes them buy a new one. Her supplier is in LA. Wal-Mart has TU (tungsten)  retailing for $49.99, ladies and gents same price. They are lighter weight so I believe they are not 850TU, but is the mixed TU that quality gold offers. Doesn’t matter, they sell a few hundred a month per store. Because, they don’t warrant them as a precious buy, and that the jewelry stores are ripping them off.”

“There’s a reason why its called an “alternative” metal. As a jeweler you can decide what and what not to sell (and service)….but if the customers seek an “alternative” and are educated on how to take care of any delicacies (as ALL jewelry has issues with) and know what it is they are buying…..isn’t it silly to for a jeweler to not offer an “alternative” to simply expand the selection?”

Read more comments on the National Jeweler website.

Jewelry Industry News, news, wedding bands