Articles and News
Brand News: Josette Patterson Interviews Marion Fasel; Sylvie Collection Helps Harvey Victims; More September 13, 2017 (0 comments)
Josette Patterson Interviews Marion Fasel, Legendary Jewelry Author
Corona Del Mar, CA—Although it’s part of the website dedicated to her husband Mark Patterson’s jewelry, Josette Patterson’s blog offers rare insight into the jewelry industry as seen through the eyes of influencers in all sectors.
Her latest blog post is a far-ranging interview with Marion Fasel (left), the author and jewelry historian who gained renown for her long-running column in InStyle magazine. Fasel originally co-authored the InStyle section with Penny Proddow, another renowned jewelry historian, until Proddow’s death in 2009, after which she continued alone for some time until leaving InStyle a few years ago.
Now Fasel is at the top of her own masthead with The Adventurine, a magazine dedicated to all things jewelry. Here, she and Patterson discuss everything from Millennials to digital marketing strategy to building brands and all the changes both the jewelry and greater retail industry are still grappling with, and will be for some time to come.
Click here to read Patterson’s interview with Fasel in its entirety.
Sylvie Collection Seeks Donations To Harvey Aid; Will Match Funds Up to $15K
Dallas, TX—Sylvie Collection, as a fellow Texas company, has offered to match up to $15,000 in donations for relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey victims. Click here or on the image below to donate.
Temple St. Clair Jewelry Added To Louvre Permanent Collection
Paris, France--An 18k gold eight-ring pendant with multicolored sapphires designed by Temple St. Clair has been chosen by the Louvre to be added to its permanent collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, a museum of the decorative arts and design located in the museum's western wing. Titled “Tolomeo” and part of St. Clair's Celestial collection, the pendant is inspired by first century astronomer Ptolemy’s hypothesis that the Earth was at the center of the universe.
St. Clair's "Tolomeo" pendant in 18k gold with multicolored sapphires. Image: National Jeweler
St. Clair becomes only the third American artist to receive permanent placement in the Louvre's collections. The other two Americans are glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany (who also served as the first design director of Tiffany & Co., the famed jeweler founded by his father, and Pennsylvania-born sculptor Alexander Calder.
Read more in National Jeweler.
Recent Reports Still Show Mixed Bag For Retail, Especially Mid-Level Brands
New York, NY—A recent CNN Money report titled “Consumers Splurge On Bling, Not Bacon” sounds like the jewelry industry is riding the crest of a retail wave. Indeed, both Signet and Tiffany, the industry’s two premier public companies, did post improved sales results in their most recent quarterly earnings. And both a better-than-expected Las Vegas show season and a new DPA study showing Millennial women expressing preferences to buy one good item over many cheaper items suggest jewelers should have a solid fourth quarter.
Still, the report shows a continued evolution of the retail marketplace. While certain recently-struggling retailers (Best Buy, Abercrombie & Fitch) are doing better, others like Sears, Macys, and Kohl’s are still challenged by Amazon and declining relevance of mid-market department stores. Even some mainstream grocery brands like Smucker’s and Hormel reported less-than-stellar results, while upscale cookware purveyor Williams-Sonoma turned in a strong performance, in line with consumer demand for healthier, better quality food.
Reverse Osmosis: Digital-To-Tactile Launches Of Note
Merrick, NY—Further proof that digital and tactile are more symbiotic than competitive: Amazon is bringing its smart home goods to a Kohl’s near you, while online watch publication Hodinkee is launching a twice-yearly upscale print version this fall.
As reported in National Jeweler, Amazon will offer its “smart home experience” at 10 Los Angeles and Chicago-area Kohl’s stores. The dedicated spaces will give consumers an opportunity to try the Kindle Fire tablet, Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Amazon Fire TV, among other devices. In-home consultation with a specialist and installation also will be available.
Meanwhile, Hodinkee, which started by Benjamin Clymer as a watch blog in 2008 and quickly rose to distinction as a robust website with news of all things watches (and was the only watch publication invited to Apple’s Cupertino headquarters for the official launch of the Apple Watch) has produced its first print magazine. The 160-page inaugural issue is designed more like a coffee-table book than a traditional magazine, and in addition to its features on, of course, luxury watches, dips into other luxury categories watch lovers might theoretically enjoy, such as automobiles, travel, and more. The magazine is being offered in two versions: the standard version has a gray cover and can be preordered on the Hodinkee website for $27; it will ship September 27. A limited-edition version with a matte black cover already sold out all 500 copies.
For now, the publication will be sold through the Hodinkee site and plans limited distribution through upscale partners like the American Express Centurion Lounges and select Intercontinental hotels.