Gaining Access to the Inner Circle of the Billion Dollar U.S. Jewelry Business

New York, NY, September 01, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Before David Yurman became the jewelry designer of choice by some of the most well accessorized women in the U.S., he had the support of Meeling Wong, his well-connected National Sales Director who played a strong role in the jewelry brand’s growth. She would go on to mirror her brand development expertise as President of John Hardy before striking out on her own as an in-demand fine jewelry consultant.

Cindy Edelstein established Jewelers Resource Bureau with the singular goal of supporting the growth of designer fine jewelry as a retail category, an artform and a community. She has since received multiple accolades from the Women’s Jewelry Association and other important jewelry organizations for her enduring commitment to seeing the accomplishments of emerging jewelry designer.

Cindy and Meeling are just two of the six fine jewelry experts participating in “The Jewelry Business: Launching Your Jewelry Brand in The U.S.”, a panel discussion held on May 2, 2012 at the New York office of the Quebec Government Delegation. Also participating were Theresa Poirier, National Sales Director of Fragments Showroom, one of the leading fine jewelry showrooms in the U.S.; Victoria Gomelsky, editor-in-chief for JCK Magazine and jewelry writer for the New York Times; Randi Molofsky, author of “A Girl’s Guide to Buying Diamonds” and respected fine jewelry journalist for multiple jewelry magazines including National Jeweler and W Magazine; and Karen Lee, Americas Area Manager for global accessories company S.T. Dupont and formerly National Sales Director for Chopard, a main competitor to Cartier.

Over the course of a comprehensive and highly informative hour, these authoritative voices of the U.S. fine jewelry industry shared their expertise to an audience of Quebec’s celebrated jewelry artists who were just beginning their journey into accessing the billion dollar U.S. jewelry industry. The panel discussed in detail the regional differences of the fine jewelry market so designers may plan their penetration strategy according to the desires of customers in New York vs. Beverly Hills vs. Dallas vs. Miami. They spoke in depth about working with department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus; working with independent jewelry retailers like Oster Jewelers, Hamilton Jewelers and Dorfman Jewelers; as well as working with online retailers such as Blue Nile and Gilt Group. The panel addressed questions on what these stores look for when choosing their vendors; what is essential for designers to include in their collection mix when approaching fine jewelry retailers; how to secure meetings with buyers without being Chanel Fine Jewelry; what to look for when selecting sales agents to sell their collection; how to establish fair terms with retailers that isn’t exclusively consignment or memo; and how to nurture the relationship with retailers once the business has started. The panel also spoke in great length about branding, marketing and getting the attention of leading magazine journalists and editors. By the panel’s conclusion, the audience received enough information to begin their journey into becoming the next Tacori or Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry.

The panel was moderated by luxury marketing and public relations expert, Lilian Raji, president of The Lilian Raji Agency. Ms. Raji’s agency also coordinated the panel and a series of other events in a week-long immersion of Quebec jewelry artists into the U.S. fine jewelry business, which also included the Jewelry Artists of Quebec Trunk Show & Exhibition, http://jewelryofquebec.lmrpr.com.

The Jewelry Business: Launching Your Jewelry Brand in The U.S. is available and accessible to all at http://thejewelrybusiness.lmrpr.com. Download a complete list of questions addressed during the panel at http://thejewelrybusiness.lmrpr.com/TheJewelryBusiness_PanelQuestions.pdf