Articles and News
Brand News: Coronavirus Updates From Stuller, Rahaminov, GIA, More March 25, 2020 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY--As the coronavirus crisis continues, we’ll do our best to keep you current on what's open, what's closed, and special communications we receive from suppliers, retailers, and other industry personnel. If you have an announcement about your business’s operation, please contact Hedda Schupak, Centurion Newsletter editor, at heddaschupak@gmail.com, or (610) 393-1955. Here are the updates for this week:
Stuller Inc.
Lafayette, LA—Stuller Inc. (above left) has temporarily closed its global headquarters as of Monday, March 23, and will remain closed through Sunday April 12, 2020, in accordance with a stay-at-home order issued by Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards after the state topped 1,100 cases of COVID-19.
“It is difficult for us to be unable to fully serve our customers during this time,” said Stuller president Danny Clark. “Our long-term relationship with each customer is our most precious asset. We will stand tall at this moment and do the right thing for our country, our state, our industry, and our employees, and with anticipation look forward to the day when we can serve the industry once again.”
Stuller is committed to servicing all of their customers’ urgent needs through the phone and live chat. A limited staff of Customer Care associates will be available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time for general questions.
Check Stuller.com for the most up-to-date information or text ALERTS to 32078 to receive SMS updates for COVID-19 and other business critical alerts for Stuller.
“Ultimately, we believe temporarily suspending operations in our Lafayette facility is the right thing to do for our coworkers, our communities, and our country,” says Matt Stuller, founder and CEO. “We are committed to resuming normal business operations as soon as the stay-at-home order is lifted. We thank you for your understanding during this difficult time for all.”
Rahaminov Diamonds
Los Angeles, CA—Rahaminov has issued the following notice to its customers:
GIA Suspends On-Campus Classes In Carlsbad, Bangkok, London, and New York
Carlsbad, CA—In-person classroom learning at GIA’s campuses in Carlsbad, Bangkok, London and New York has been suspended at least through April 17. In a letter to clients, retail partners, alumni and students, CEO Susan Jacques said GIA will offer students in those locations several options for continuing their education, including leaves of absence and enrollment in distance learning programs.
GIA schools in other locations will follow the direction and guidance of local authorities, she said. Her letter also addressed GIA laboratory business and the industry well being. Excerpts read, in part,
“There is no mistaking the challenge of this moment.We recognize that the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation has brought about an unprecedented time for our global community. Our thoughts are with those who are most affected, either directly or indirectly, by the pandemic. The heroic selflessness of the first responders, doctors, nurses, researchers, public health experts and public servants who are working tirelessly to care for people in need and to prevent the spread of this virus is truly inspiring.
In response to the current situation, we’ve implemented a business continuity plan to prioritize and maintain key functions at every GIA location. I would like to recognize GIA’s incredible teams in Hong Kong and Japan, who have successfully kept their operations running since the onset of COVID-19. Though the spread of the virus has dramatically declined in those areas, we know that its effects are still strongly felt. What we learned from these teams during the height of their crisis has been invaluable and has helped inform our wider global response.
First and foremost, our business continuity plan ensures the health and safety of our employees. As the global effort to contain the virus increases, we have taken steps to reduce the number of people present at all GIA locations.
Following the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we have directed all employees who can perform their jobs remotely to work from home. To help protect those whose work requires them to be at a GIA location, we are maximizing social distancing by using alternate schedules and staff rotations to reduce the number of people at any location at any given time to 50%. These measures will be in place at least through April 17. We will continue to follow the direction of government authorities regarding further reductions or closures.
At our laboratories around the world, we continue working to deliver the highest levels of service possible and are working to expand the pick-up and drop-off services at many lab locations.
We are prepared to respond rapidly as conditions evolve. During this very difficult time, we are reminded that we are all connected and must each make firm commitments to do our part. Together, we will help bring about the end of this challenging situation and be ready to welcome the better days that follow.
Please be safe and stay healthy.”
Oscar Heyman
New York, NY—Oscar Heyman, which last week announced the closing of its physical workshop, sent this notice to remind clients they’re available for support:
Fortuna Auction
New York, NY—Excerpts of a letter from Fortuna Auction's CEO Herbert Saxon to clients read in part,
“I am writing you today not just as the CEO of Fortuna but as a concerned citizen of humanity and from a place of confidence, faith, and determination.
While our daily lives have been overwhelmed so quickly, we view this situation as an opportunity to step up as leaders in our industry and work together to battle this threat.
At Fortuna we are taking very specific steps in our efforts to combat this threat and protect our team and clients:
- Sanitizing our facilities daily
- Providing hand sanitizing stations throughout our facilities, including at all jewelry and watch preview showcases, and asking all previewers to sanitize their hands upon entering our showrooms
- Sanitizing all jewelry, gemstones, and watches immediately following any handling
- Providing sanitization tools and training to staff
- Monitoring updates from local, state, and federal authorities, along with guidelines and updates from health authorities such as the CDC, WHO, and others
At Fortuna, we are truly blessed to have a business that can interface with our clientele as effectively through our innovative technology as we can in-person. Whether this is your first time bidding with us remotely or you are one of our many regular remote bidders in one of the 54 countries around the globe, we want to ensure you that your experience will be top-notch at each step of the process.”
Fortuna also announced a new service, called Virtual Preview,via live video chat, WhatsApp, or Apple FaceTime. For information about this or any Fortuna service, call (212) 389-9040 or email bids@fortunaauction.com.
Gurhan
New York, NY—Designer Gurhan and his wife and business partner Fiona sent the following note to customers, along with “heart hands” and a virtual hug:
“We are all together in this moment in history… here at GURHAN we believe that we are stronger together. We send our love to all our friends – whether of our brand or in our personal lives - and to everyone else who needs a real hug right now. We will make it through this together.
Our love, Fiona & Gurhan”
Greenland Ruby and The Pink Polar Bear Foundation
Greenland—Excerpts from letter from vice president of marketing Hayley Henning read, in part,
“It’s at moments like this that we rely on each other as an Industry and stay in touch. Wherever you are, and whatever your situation, I’m thinking about you and wishing us all well as we take this time to re-evaluate, realizing what’s most important in our lives.
Although many of our Industry gatherings and trade shows have been cancelled, I’m convinced that when this crisis comes to an end, we will need to quickly pick up where we left off, in both personal and business life. While these may be challenging times for many, it may also be a chance to create opportunities, and offer the marketplace something exciting and completely different from anything they’ve seen before. This means that as an Industry we need to be as innovative as possible, and help to restore consumer confidence in time, and promote customer ‘call to action’ with creative storytelling and dynamic marketing. I do believe that after such a hiatus, consumers will be ready to spoil themselves (and others), and we need to be ready for it!
Please take care of yourselves and those around you. Stay healthy, stay in touch and all the best. For more information click here. Also, if you want to get a first glimpse at our brand new 40 second Social Media video, here it is!"