Headlines

Jewelers of America Pushes Spinel As Official Birthstone of August

Trade group marketing new birthstone to consumers.

Published

7 years ago

August 2, 2016

INSTORE Staff

A trade group is attempting to market the new birthstone to consumers.

Jewelers of America (JA) is marketing spinel as an official birthstone for the month of August, the national trade association announced, launching a campaign that targets consumers in print, on social media and on other mediums.

JA is also running a sweepstakes to generate further consumer awareness of spinel. One winner will receive a pair of 18K gold and red spinel earrings from Carelle’s Stacked Collection, valued at $1,250. The sweepstakes is running through Aug. 19 at 12 p.m. EST. Sweepstakes rules are available on the contest page.

JA has created a variety of materials for JA members to use in their own marketing – both announcing spinel as an August birthstone and promoting the “Spectacular Spinel” sweepstakes. Available for download are email HTML, email or web images, printable signs, social media graphics and revised digital gemstone leaflets.

“As an industry, we have a great opportunity to capture consumer excitement, wonder and enthusiasm for jewelry,” says JA President & CEO David J. Bonaparte. “It is our hope that everyone will join together in announcing spinel as a new birthstone for August, and the industry will have one united voice and message about birthstones.”

For more information on the promotional opportunities related to spinel’s public launch as a new August birthstone, visit JA’s website.

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.”