Articles and News

Lighthouse Point, FL—If Bible scholars question whether the sins of the fathers should be visited on the sons, Florida courts may soon debate whether a jeweler should be responsible for the sins of its clients. Disbarred Florida attorney Scott W. Rothstein, who pled guilty last year to running a $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme, also was reportedly obsessed with jewelry and watches, according to this report in National Jeweler and was a frequent customer of SPD Group Inc, d/b/a/ J.R. Dunn Jewelers, which has one store and an online business. The jewelry Rothstein bought with his ill-begotten gains has been auctioned off to repay some of the victims of his scheme, but the trustee put in charge of his law firm’s bankruptcy proceedings is seeking to recover money from the jeweler as well. Sean Dunn, vice president of J.R. Dunn, says the store wasn’t aware of Rothstein’s illegal activities, and that honest retailers assume their clients also are honest. He hopes the suit will be dismissed. Read the National Jeweler article here.

New York—A moving tribute to the late Mort Abelson was held Monday, July 25 in the Design Center of the JA New York show. Abelson, who died earlier this year, was the founder of the design center during his lengthy tenure as JA’s show director.  JA’s annual New Designer of the Year award was renamed for Abelson in 2006, and he is credited with not only launching or furthering the careers of many well-known designers such as David Yurman, Steven Lagos, Whitney Boin, Alex Sepkus, and more, but he also is credited with redefining the jewelry trade show atmosphere into what is de rigueur today: hardwall booths, segmented pavilions, and a strong presence of international companies. Many designers who no longer exhibit at the show returned to the Jacob Javits Convention Center for the event. Meanwhile, the 2011 Mort Abelson New Designer of the Year award was presented to Robert Grey Kaylor of Boise, Idaho, a goldsmith who has been in business more than two decades but is new to the mainstream trade show circuit. Kaylor specializes in the use of antique building and/or railroad nails combined with precious gems and 18k gold.

Antique nails, 18k gold, and precious gems create this bracelet from Robert Grey Kaylor, named 2011 Mort Abelson New Designer of the Year during the JA Show on Monday, July 25.

New York, NY—Forevermark, the diamond brand from the De Beers group of companies, brought a sneak preview to New York a week ahead of its fall launch in the United States. Select members of the retail and media communities were invited to an exclusive Diamond Masterclass and “Diamond Connoisseur Retreat” pop-up boutique event at Milk Gallery here. Guests were treated to a rare view of some celebrity jewelry from the red carpet, and participated in a special class where they themselves were given a parcel of rough diamonds to examine and sort into piles of near-gem, makeables, and Forevermark-quality rough. (Temporarily given, that is—a team of security guards were standing by to make sure the parcels were given back!) The exercise emphasized how few diamonds qualify for the Forevermark, and was augmented by an audio/visual narrative of a diamond’s journey from mine to Forevermark display.