UP Your Influence - Leading Jewelers Guild

If you have been following this blog awhile then you know that I have a soft spot for “the local jeweler”.  You know the ones, the independent jewelry shop on the corner that half the neighborhood has used for generations. Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the meeting for The Leading Jewelers Guild.

LJG is what happens when a group of Independent Jewelry Retailers (across the country) get together and combine their buying power...their influence becomes National.

Mission Statement from their website:

Leading Jewelers Guild is a strategic alliance of independent jewelers that develops competitive advantages for its members.

Leading Jewelers Guild, an organization completely owned by its member jewelers, through its strategic relationships and collective buying power, offers their retail membership the opportunity to lower overall operating costs and increase buying power in a strong, relationship driven environment.

A full service merchandising and strategic planning operation, Leading Jewelers Guild is an invaluable marketing, catalog production and advertising resource dedicated to the overall business needs of the family-owned independent jeweler.

Their influence is obvious when you see the Brands that flock to their meeting. Most of you have attended a JCK Show or JA  but the really nice thing about this show is the size - smaller - more intimate.  You not only get a chance to see and touch, but you can have a conversation with the vendor and in some cases with the designer.

So what kind of brands does this show attract?

Straight from the JCK show floor - Sylvie Collection

   

...a Bridal favorite Leiberfarb (with the always delightful Anne Arnold) was there with their new yellow diamond collection that extends to pendants and earrings!

 

...and my show favorite - this two finger stunner from Hearts On Fire!!!

 

Since Bridal is a huge portion of a Jewelry Retailer’s business as you can imagine the show had several Bridal Companies represented...

  

  
   
     
   

and last but certainly not least these stunning Meteor Cut Diamonds from Lili...

    

That being said there was no shortage of great Fashion Jewelry...

  

Estelle Hedaya was onsite with the great new collections from World Trade Jewelry - Hershey Kisses and Scrabble...

   

...and now their NBA Collection...

 

Leiberfarb’s yellow diamond initials were just the perfect size to stack with the “petite letter 

pieces” that are so on trend today!

Variety Gem’s aptly named “Candy Collection”!

 

...I especially liked the blackened metal with the Blue Chalcedony...

While we’re talking candy, we can’t forget the Chocolatier...LeVian!

   

The ever popular Chamilia...

       

  

LOVED these Meteorite pieces from Fable...

 

 

 

Honora Pearl did what they do best...pearls in every color...

     

 

The stunning color of these Morganite pieces from Quality Color stopped me in my tracks...

 

...and while we are talking color...

 

For me the “Fashion Star” of the show was EFFY!  Two new collections were on view from the Celebrity favorite...

 

So - if you are a brick & mortar Jeweler looking to increase your ability to carry some of the major brands...and more importantly a support system that only a network of businesses can provide, check into one of the Jeweler’s Groups in your area.

For more info about the Leading Jewelers Guild

http://www.love-story.com/guild.aspx

contact Jimmy West (jimmywest828 at gmail.com)

Honora.com Offers Offline Ecommerce For Retail Partners

Honora is thrilled to unveil a new website just in time for the holidays. In addition to a sleek, simplified look and feel, the new website offers a unique feature that will benefit both the consumer and local retail partners alike.

The new Honora.com introduces “Offline Ecommerce” which allows a pearl jewelry consumer to quickly find the HONORA design(s) of their choice and seamlessly send product information, a full wish list or an advertisement, along with their contact information to the local HONORA Authorized retailer of their choice.

After only being live for a few hours, this new feature helped a HONORA.com consumer to quickly contact Tappers Diamond and Fine Jewelry, a local Honora jewelry partner in Michigan, to close Honora’s first “Offline Ecommerce” sale. According to CEO Joel Schechter, “we wanted to empower our customers to quickly browse our designs and then easily contact the retailer of their choice to buy in-store. This is a great way to enable visitors of our site to get a hold of our pearl jewelry while maintaining our relationships with our long standing retail partners.”

This feature is only one of several new additions to the new Honora.com, including a new, robust, easy to navigate catalog as well as an improved education section and an entire area of the site dedicated to fans of HONORA Pearls. “We wanted to create a web based platform that reflects our brand, was easy to use and gives us the capability to grow as the web continues to mature,” says HONORA President Ralph Rossini.

You can find out more about the new features on Honora.com by clicking here.

About Honora

With a history of over 60 years in the jewelry industry, Honora now stands as the largest Freshwater Pearl Jewelry company in the United States. Honora’s focus on creating colorful and affordable pearl jewelry has helped open pearls up to the largest audience in the 100+ years of cultured pearls. The Honora brand is available at fine jewelry locations worldwide and select e-commerce platforms.

For more information, please visit us at:

Honora.com - www.Honora.com

Facebook – www.Honora.com/Facebook

Twitter – www.Honora.com/Twitter

Honora Pearls Declares It's "TIME" to give!

It is that time of year when we traditionally look for worthy causes to donate time and money to. When the plight of those less fortunate is brought home every time we sit down to a family dinner in a warm house.

In the spirit of the season the folks at Honora are taking on a HUGE project! For those of you who follow the Social Media platforms, you know that Honora Pearls has invested mightily with a presence on Twitter, Facebook and their own Honora Blog...well they are hoping that this investment will pay off in the fight against Childhood hunger in the US!

Honora Aims To Raise $30,000 For Children’s Hunger This Holiday

Honora is working with Share Our Strength, a national charity seeking to end childhood hunger by 2015, to raise $30,000 to fight Children's Hunger using Social Media outreach.

Honora is using the last two weeks of the holiday season as an opportunity to give back to those who are truly in need this year. To encourage donations, anyone willing to give $30 dollars or more to Share Our Strength will receive a black genuine leather and mother-of-pearl floating Freshwater Pearl watch courtesy of Honora valued at $100 MSRP.

“No matter how challenging this year has been we must seek out opportunities to give back to those who are truly in need,” says Joel Schechter, CEO of Honora Industries, Inc. “Helping children who go without just felt like the right way to end the year.”

Honora will offer these watches to the first 1,000 people living in the United States who donate. Visit The Honora Blog on Monday, December 14^thto find out all of the details behind our “Time to Share” initiative with Share Our Strength.

Pearlescent Skin from Honora and Bare Escentuals

Honora and Bare Escentuals Team Up

For New Product Launch

October 28, 2009 – New York City – Honora has teamed up with Bare Escentuals, the makers of the #1 mineral makeup in the world, to create an exciting new selection of pearl products.

Much like Honora’s focus the top 3% of the Freshwater Pearl Harvest, Bare Escentuals is committed to only using the purest ingredients in their 100% pure bareMinerals. This mutual dedication to high quality was the initial inspiration for the collaboration between these two brands.

“We always strive to introduce new and innovative products featuring our Freshwater Pearls,” says Ralph Rossini, President of Honora Industries, Inc. “Having the opportunity to partner with a world-class company like Bare Escentuals to create a new and exciting product is everything we could hope for.”

What began as a request from Bare Escentuals CEO Leslie Blodgett for pearl powder to incorporate into their new Beautiful in Pearls Kit quickly became a full-fledged product concept. Honora CEO Joel Schechter and Ralph Rossini decided to create an exciting new color collection of pearls called Barely Blush to coordinate perfectly with Bare Escentuals’ newest selection.

Beautiful in Pearls makeup and the Barely Blush Pearl Collection will be unveiled on Saturday, November 7^th beginning with a new Today’s Special Value from Bare Escentuals on QVC. Be sure to check out Honora.TV the first week of November to learn more about this unique pairing of makeup and jewelry.

About Honora

With a history of over 60 years in the jewelry industry, Honora now stands as the largest Freshwater Pearl Jewelry company in the United States. Honora’s focus on creating colorful and affordable pearl jewelry has helped open pearls up to the largest audience in the 100+ years of cultured pearls. The Honora brand is available at fine jewelry locations worldwide and select e-commerce platforms. For more information, please visit us at:

Honora.com - www.Honora.com

The Honora Blog – Blog.Honora.com

Facebook – www.Honora.com/Facebook

Twitter – www.Honora.com/Twitter