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Merrick, NY-- Most jewelers would agree that there is virtually nothing more important than security when it comes to running their store and protecting their business interests.

I wanted to share in this short article our experience with creating a Jewelers Security alert group in the Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, NY areas.  I am hoping that you will agree it is a great idea to join a group in your area ( there are many around the country).

We are fortunate enough to have worked with the American Gem Society to put together what is known as the association's Long Island Guild. This year, we decided to extend the value of the group to its members by creating a security alert group within the guild, which is open to all members of the jewelry industry. 

The group has just recently launched and we already have some 60 members, the vast majority of whom are jewelry stores, but also include local suppliers. We are doing all of our communicating via the app WhatsApp. We were about to move forward with an email group, when Shawn Hematian of Roman+Jules suggested WhatsApp, and it appears to be the perfect approach.

As I write this, we are preparing to have a group meeting tonight at a local restaurant, where we will have dinner with a group of close to 30, listen to a talk by Wendy Goldberg on security and jewelry crime trends, and then hear from GIA expert Moe Kyaw on the fascinating subject of synthetic diamonds.

I highly encourage you to get involved in a group in your area if you are not already, or start a new group if one does not exist. These are truly fantastic security and networking opportunities for everyone involved.

Shoutouts: Thanks to the hard work of the team at Centurion, including Carolina Quiroa, Tricia Locasto, and Vita Ferrantello, and Guild board member Wendy Goldberg of SBB Insure and the rest of our Guild board, we now have a great start on a great new group to keep local jewelers safer. We also must thank the American Gem Society and Guild director Marc Altman and Guild Manager Meier Opakek for providing the platform and framework to make this possible. And of course, the support of Sheri Ihde and the Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company has been amazing, as has been The Jewelers Security Alliance, the industry's security expert organization, and its leader, John Kennedy, in all respects.

Thanks for your attention to this article, and we look forward to seeing you next week!