Tools and Services

Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum Reopens and More of This Month’s Service News

Plus, the newest catalog from Royal Chain.

Published

2 years ago

March 22, 2022

INSTORE Staff Instore April 2022 Issue

Museum Move

The University of Arizona’s Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum recently reopened in its new space in the Pima County Historic Courthouse. The new location is three times the museum’s previous size and is just blocks away from the Tucson Convention Center. The move was made possible in part by a gift from Allan and Alfie Norville, who co-founded the annual GJX gem and jewelry show. arizona.edu

Ask Zuri

Lab-grown diamond marketplace The Art of Jewels has created a new artificial intelligence price comparison tool designed to assist consumers in choosing the best deal on a lab-grown diamond. The tool, named Zuri, is an advanced AI that does the work for the consumer in a matter of seconds, allowing shoppers to easily compare available lab-grown diamond options. theartofjewels.com

Latest and Greatest

Royal Chain has released their 2022 spring catalog! The new collection is focused on inclusiveness in honor of the brand’s new slogan, “Diversity + Experience.” Highlights include bold Mariner and Panther links inspired by Lady Gaga’s House Of Gucci costumes and plenty of gold to satisfy the high demand it saw in 2021. royalchain.com

A Worthy Cause

Congratulations to Kimberlee John, the Spring 2022 recipient of the FIT Art Smith Memorial Scholarship! The $50,000 Art Smith Scholarship Fund was created to support Black students attending the FIT Jewelry Design Program. The Endowment is supported by a group of 50 jewelry industry brands and is open for donations. Email randi@forfuturereference.com

Fixing Repairs

Reshyne is a repair service management platform that allows retailers to streamline every aspect of repairs by offering end-to-end visibility for teams, workflow management, and customer services like the ability to place and pay for orders, print shipping labels, get order status updates, browse branded menus of services, and more. reshyne.com

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”