Articles and News
Brand News From Jewelers UnBLOCKed, Oscar Heyman, Forevermark, Mark Patterson, More July 16, 2014 (0 comments)
Jeff Mills Joins Jewelers UnBLOCKed
New York, NY—Jeff Mills has joined Jewelers unBLOCKed as relationship executive. He will be responsible for expanding the company network in the luxury jewelry marketplace and in addition, will focus the firm’s association with premier insurance brokers serving the jewelers block and personal collector space.
He joins Jewelers unBLOCKed with 20 years’ experience in management, underwriting and claims roles. Previously, he was vice president of commercial operations for Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, and before that held a series of management positions including vice president, claims.
“Adding a focused relationship executive to the team is a significant step in our expansion,” said Jewelers unBLOCKed president and CEO, Patricia Low. “Jeff’s extensive industry knowledge, expertise and broad talent are a welcome addition as we continue to build out capabilities.”
Forevermark To Launch In UK And Ireland
London, United Kingdom--Forevermark, which has enjoyed successful launches in Asia, North America, the Middle East, Australia, and Turkey, and has a presence in 1,300 high-end retail stores in these regions, ironically has not yet been launched into any retailers in its own backyard.
No more: the brand announced Monday that it will be expanding into the United Kingdom and Ireland for fall 2014. They will be the first markets in western Europe to sell Forevermark diamonds. Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd., which successfully launched the brand in Australia and Canada, has been appointed as the only licensee partner and will be working with a select number of retailers to bring Forevermark diamonds to the region.
Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier said, “London is home to Forevermark’s global headquarters, so this is a very important launch for us. Although only six years old, Forevermark is already well established as one of the world’s leading diamond brands available in over 1,300 high-end retail stores in 29 markets around the world. We are delighted that the UK and Ireland will soon be joining us on this incredible journey.”
Oscar Heyman To Be Subject Of Museum Art Book
New York, NY--At long last, the "jeweler's jeweler" is going to have its biography published. Oscar Heyman Bros., the 102-year-old firm that has created pieces for the likes of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., and others, as well as its own label, has won many accolades and is usually mentioned in any lecture about important jewelry of the 20th and 21st centuries. Many articles also have been written about the famed but low-key jewelry house--which once even sent a representative careening through the streets of New York City to get a piece of jewelry to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton at Idlewild (now JFK airport) before their plane took off for Africa.
But still, ironically, no book has ever been written about the colorful history of the company, founded when 13-year-old Oscar and 15-year-old Nathan Heyman, who had trained in the atelier of Peter Carl Faberge, escaped a Russia that was becoming increasingly hostile to Jews and brought their rare jewelry-making skills to America. The rest, as they say, is history.
And now the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is going to tell that history in a new glossy book. The project first was conceived in 2007, but the recession shelved it until recently. Shortly before the JCK Show, Oscar Heyman Bros. put out a call to clients, collectors, and dealers, asking for the loan of their pieces for the book. A total of 150 came in, quite to the surprise of Tom and Adam Heyman.
JCK's Jennifer Heebner recently blogged about the upcoming book, which at press time had no publication date announced.
Martini glass brooch made with rock crystal quartz, gold, and precious gems. Photo: JCKOnline
Erika Winters, Pricescope Editor, Subject Of Mark Patterson Blog
Corona del Mar, CA—Josette Patterson, author of Mark Patterson Jewelry’s blog, says, “I never thought that my curiosity about jewelry blogs would have taken me so far. I have met and read and interviewed so many interesting people, all from different backgrounds with the same confluence – jewelry. After all, the art of adornment goes back to the prehistoric man when shell beads were made to be used as a personal ornament.” Her latest blog entry is an interview with Erika Winters, editor of Pricescope.com, who became enamored of jewelry when her husband proposed to her. Her desire to learn more about the symbolism of her engagement ring morphed into a career in the jewelry industry.
Erika Winters, subject of Josette Patterson's latest interview.
Read Patterson’s interview with Winters here.
Jewelers Mutual Again Named Among Top 50 Insurance Companies
Neenah, WI—Jewelers Mutual has been named to the 2014 list of Ward’s 50 top-performing insurance companies, for the fourth consecutive year. The award recognizes outstanding financial results in the areas of safety, consistency, and performance over a five-year period from 2009-2013.
"This recognition by the Ward Group means so much to our company, and we look forward to sharing the news with our policyholder members," said Darwin Copeman, president and CEO of Jewelers Mutual. "Achieving this honor four years in a row is no easy task, and we are proud of our ongoing work to further fortify a strong, financially secure mutual company ready to protect the jewelry businesses and jewelry owners we serve."
Ward Group is an Aon Hewitt company and the leading provider of operational and compensation benchmarking and best practices services for insurance companies. The firm analyzes staff levels, compensation, expenses, and business practices for all areas of insurance company operations to help companies measure results, optimize performance and improve profitability.
For the Top 50, the firm analyzes the financial performance of more than 3,000 property-casualty insurance companies and identifies the top performers based on objective data and subjective quality measures of the previous five years. Each Ward's 50 company has passed a rigorous set of safety and consistency screens and achieved superior performance based on the five years analyzed. This is the 24th consecutive year Ward Group has conducted the analysis.
For a complete list of the 2014 Ward's 50 companies, visit wardinc.com.
MTB Names Michael Barlerin Associates To Handle Sales and Marketing
New York, NY—Manfra, Tordella & Brookes, Inc. (MTB) has appointed Michael Barlerin Associates, LLC (MBA) to provide sales and marketing services for its line of bullion based jewelry and promotional products. MTB’s diverse product line is produced by Swiss-based refinery and fabricator PAMP and includes such items as gold and silver ingot pendants, packaged precious metal ingots that can be customized, and a silver calendar suited for corporate gift giving.
Manfra, Tordella & Brookes was founded in 1957 and is a full-service precious metals product distributor. It is the sister company for PAMP, a leading bullion brand, and is headquartered in the International Gem Tower in New York City.