It was during my show-hopping about Tucson while investigating gems that i discovered AGS Conclave was likely to be held in Nashville this calendar year! I had been instantly thrilled due to the fact that meant I didn’t have to travel quite considerably to show up at and that i was also desirous to show everyone how great Audio City is (and ideally men and women would understand why I do not need to go to LA or NYC). I like Nashville and AGS did an incredible work deciding upon this city as their 2018 location, and from chatting with a number of folks at Conclave, several ended up arranging a mini-vacation to coincide along with the meeting, which really says lots!
With most trade demonstrates or jewellery gatherings, I experience like I’m usually in a very hurry-I have appointments for being present for and frequently hurrying to generate them punctually, and i never have way too substantially the perfect time to have a significant conversation. AGS Conclave was the exact reverse of all people feelings for me this calendar year and despite the fact that a good deal most likely needed to do together with the over-all indisputable fact that absolutely everyone there was there to discover, connect and network fairly than market, pitch or bait, I also imagine Nashville’s laid again vibe also rubbed off on to the event’s ambiance. It had been basically Exciting and i really like finding out, so obtaining the class plan to the day each and every morning of the 3-day event was kind of like having psyched about my 1st working day of college every yr. There have been courses for everyone, regardless if you are a income affiliate at a jewellery retail outlet, a supervisor, a gemologist/total gem nerd, an appraiser, or even a jewelry historian. For somebody like me attending, I guess you currently know the types of lessons I picked – all the kinds concerning jewellery historical past, estate and classic jewellery, and i even took an in-depth course on Opals because they can be my most loved gemstone and i had to know extra!
It’s been per week since Conclave and i’ve at last arranged all my notes through the seven lessons I took above the program of two times. I did many note-taking and felt like I was in higher education once more…I also did some live-tweeting, therefore if you abide by me on Twitter you could have go through those tweets, otherwise you should adhere to!
So here is what I acquired:
Pinpointing and Dating Jewellery Circa 1900
Speakers: Suzanna Martinez & Starla Turner of Lang Antiques
1 – Arts & Crafts (1870-1920s) movement, Japan’s influence of floral motifs (like the iris), travels, Egyptian Revival all were being a part in the turn-of-the-century and experienced effects on the jewelry being created at the time.
2 – Botanical forms, Celtic “whiplash” lines, distinctive leaf patterns, moonstones, pearls, pale amethysts, cabochon turquoise, nontransparent enamels, all characteristic of Arts & Crafts jewellery. Diamonds had been quite unimportant at this time.
three – Important intellectuals all through the Arts & Crafts movement: John Ruskin and William Morris.
4 – Demantoid garnets had been discovered in 1853, Kashmir sapphires ended up discovered in 1882, Lightning Ridge opals discovered in 1890s
5 – Art Nouveau period is all about the Feminine Female Fantasy. Sensual, ethereal, erotic…strong women are being portrayed. Pink tourmalines from North America, star cut demantoids (star cuts indicate they can be original from Russia), black opals (Marcus & Co.), Mississippi River pearls, peridot, polychrome enamel are all characteristics of Art Nouveau jewelry.
6 – Plique a jour, transparent enamel with no backing becomes really popular.
7 – Art Nouveau is a great contrast through the Victorian Era, where women mostly wore black, gray or lavender. Art Nouveau jewellery embraces color, insect jewelry, dragons, bats…etc.
8 – Important turn-of-the-century jewellery houses: Louis Comfort Tiffany, Massreira, Lalique, Fouquet, Marcus & Co., Paulding Farnham, Henri Vever, Gaillard, Riker Bros, Krementz, Durand, Henry Blank.
Old European best engagement ringsDiamonds at the Auction Market: From the Divine to the Sublime
Speaker: Gail Brett Levine
1 – Georgian Era diamonds: silver-topped, foiled again (foil is often discolored from age, making it appear far more yellow than it actually is)
2 – Back again facets are the key to differentiating Old European cuts vs. Old Mine cuts. Link to Tweet which features a photo with the presentation.
3 – New rose cuts are hitting the market. Never confuse these using the original old cuts. The new rose cuts are typically cut in India and have these characteristics: thicker frosted girdle, symmetrical facets, lack of abrasions.
4 – Old Mine cut diamonds have a cushion outline, high crown, small table, open culet.
5 – The book Diamonds by Jack Ogden is a new release that is highly recommended!
De Beers Group Insights to Influence Your Marketing & Selling Strategies
Speaker: Charles Stanley
1 – Online jewellery profits are up 26.3% in 2017, however still not as high as categories like electronics and apparel.
2 – 19% of diamond jewellery pieces were being acquired in 2017 via online product sales.
3 – The “Amazon Effect” has helped online jewelry sales.
4 – “Social shopping” is up 24% which is defined as shopping for things by browsing Instagram, Facebook, etc. People today spend two times additional online than in brick & mortar stores.
5 – Transform your retailer into an immersive experience, bring your brand to life.
A World of Opals
Speaker: Frank Farnsworth of Parl Gems
1 – Opals are COMPLEX. There’s four important categories for evaluating opals: body tone, play of color, pattern, and intensity
2 – The size with the silica molecules of every single opal determines the color.
three – You should shop opals with water, if an opal gets way too dry it will crack, which is called Crazing.
4 – Some sources of opal: Australia, Ethiopia, Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Indonesia, Slovakia, USA, Japan (synthetic)
5 – Opal breaks light, when a prism scatters light
6 – Sometimes opal is cut not exactly flat or calibrated because cutters often “chase the fire”
7 – Ethiopian opals are Incredibly porous so be careful when wearing them-they can soak up water in the shower and change color.
Estate Jewellery Forum
Speakers: Mike McTeigue, Louis Smith, Don Walsh
1 – Estate jewellery is a sector just about every jewelry store should be selling! There are several ways of acquiring pre-owned jewellery, starting with buying over the counter, from the public (your customers).
2 – Have resources (go to antique displays, community with others, trade and buy with other stores and dealers). Find out as much as you can, but normally know there are experts out there willing to offer guidance and help (sometimes with a fee).
three – In case you can create ways of selling and unloading old inventory, that is a key to success. Get creative…one example used was have a one-day flash sale where everything is 10% off with the first two hours, then goes to 15% off for that next two hours, then 20% off the next two hours, etc.
4 – Know how to buy (there was a sheet passed out called How to Buy Jewelry Around the Counter), know where to buy, and how/who to market to.
5 – There was a deep discussion regarding values, such as a fair market value vs. retail replacement value…appraising jewellery for insurance purposes vs. making a person an offer to buy a piece. The key is for being as open as possible when explaining all of the different values simply because jewellery actually has many different values. Communicate clearly with your client, whether you are an appraiser or buyer and figure out what they are wanting to accomplish.
6 – There’s not much too lots of things in this world that you can take and turn into cash within one day…jewellery is important mainly because of that and will generally be in demand.
Under(standing) the Influence: Legally & Ethically Hiring Bloggers and Influencers
Speaker: Barbara Palumbo of Adornmentality, What’s on Her Wrist
1 – There are numerous different types of “influencers” from celebrities, to athletes, to your average mom that lives next door. There are significant differences and it should be noted which platforms these influencers use to get their content out there…do they have a blog? Do they have a YouTube channel? Are they solely on Instagram? There is a difference!
2 – While using the rise of Influencer Marketing, and in the event you can be a brand or retail store that is wanting to branch out into hiring an influencer, you should be aware that there are FTC Guidelines which should be followed both on your end and the influencer’s end. This includes strict guidelines of how an influencer cites that they have been paid to promote something.
three – We went above different ways of how one particular blogger disclosed being paid wrong, including burying her disclosure within the caption, using vague terminology like #Partner #Spon #Collab and disclosure SHOULD BE within the 1st 2-3 lines in the caption (so you do not really have to “expand” the caption in order to see it).
4 – Instagram and Facebook now have an advanced feature where you can tag business partners so influencers can truthfully disclose paid partnerships, something which will fulfill FTC guidelines and keep your followers trusting you as an influencer. This also includes Instagram Stories far too!
5 – When wanting for an influencer to partner with, check out their social media pages and blog to see if they’re disclosing correctly before approaching them. Same goes for influencers: if a brand approaches you and asks you to purposefully leave off disclosure, a red flag should go up (you can simply just refuse to work with the brand OR explain FTC Guidelines).
6 – Lots of questions from the audience (which prompted a bottle of Tennessee whisky to get thrown to each person with a question) .. one question prompted the idea of hiring local influencers and micro-influencers should you certainly are a small business or retail store, which is a great idea. These can be found through hashtags on Instagram (local, popular hashtags) or browsing your local lifestyle magazines.
From Bombshells to Bling: Jewels from the 1940s & 1950s
Speaker: Gina D’Onofrio of Heritage Auctions
1 – Popular design motifs of 1940s jewellery: matching suites (bracelet, brooch, rings, earrings all matched), ribbons, bows, scrolls, asymmetrical, crest of a wave, 3D sculptural, Patriotism, flowers, large and bold in scale, mostly brooches and bracelets due to what was popular in terms of fashion.
2 – Semi-precious gemstones reigned supreme, lots of big citrine, smokey quartz, real silver chainamethyst. Synthetics ended up popular. Most pieces ended up done in GOLD, yellow, rose, white and green gold. Platinum was restricted from 1940-1945.
3 – Double pronged hinged clip mechanism was invented in 1937 making this pretty popular.
4 – Earrings on the 1940s: clip ons, typically made to match a brooch. Bracelets from the 1940s: gas pipe or tubogas style, belt buckles, brick work links, cover watches, all have been popular. Rings in the 1940s: massive, sculptural with large semi-precious gemstones.
5 – 1950s jewelry characteristics: not a plain gold surface in sight, diamonds and white metals become popular, straight baguette diamonds, pierced open, lighter mounting, textures inspired by fabrics, big cats, reptiles, shells, cornucopia, spiral, snails, corkscrew, feathers, pearls are dominating.
6 – Lots of gemstones being reset, diamonds are fully back en vogue (no longer vulgar to wear diamonds for the duration of the day), yellow gold and colored gemstones for working day wear, platinum and diamonds for night. Mikimoto pearls, rubies/turquoise/diamonds, topaz/emerald, all popular gemstones.
7 – Necklaces with the 1950s: collars, bibs, chokers, waterfall and cascade motifs. Earrings with the 1950s: day to night styles. Bracelets on the 1950s: woven styles, fewer stiff cuffs, tassels, Victorian Revival bracelets, WIDE, wicker work bracelets. Rings with the 1950s: large cocktail styles, cluster, bombe, bypass.
To discover far more about AGS Conclave, visit the American Gem Society website.