Tucson, Thoughts on 2022, and More of Your Letters from February

• I want to give a shout out to Peter Morfino and the whole crew at Ptak Brothers in appreciation of their Loving Embrace program. I recently watched a happy customer leave with her sparkly new CWB-U in 14K white, size 4.25 with zero curve. Then I realized that for our little store, Loving Embrace has never been what I would call a Hot Seller. We have never had a month where we have sold a massive number of them, but as I look back over the years since Peter first called me on the phone to present the program, it dawned on me that to the best of my recollection, we have never had any issue with them. The quality of the rings are consistently top notch. We have never had loose diamonds, wrong sizes, a wrong model, or any other hassle I can think of. Ptak delivers when they say they will, if not a day or two before. Nope, not a Hot Seller at Chimera Design; I would refer to Loving Embrace as a “consistent winner.” Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. — Cliff Yankovich, Chimera Design, Lowell, MI
• Congratulations for all hard work you’ve been putting into each edition. I love the magazine. You’re an invaluable helper with your articles and showing excellent images. Thank you to all the team; keep going in the same way with the big spirit. — Arturo Carrera, Eclipse Jewelry, San Diego, CA
• Greatly appreciate for being a very informative magazine ❤️👏 we learn something new every issue. — Kim Thu Nguyen, Unique Jewels, Webster, TX
• I’m in Tucson as I write this and I’m so happy I came. It’s so nice to see some familiar faces again! And to be able to just BUY stuff in person! We had dinner with another store owner last night, and just to be able to compare notes on the last two years is exactly what I needed. We all wonder how 2022 will go; we don’t have faith it will be a repeat of 2021, but hey, who the heck knows anything anymore! — Laura Kitsos, Gem Jewelry Boutique, Oak Park, IL
• I’m not sure if things will continue on the upswing, so we are being careful on buying and spending. I plan to take vacations and not have a jeweler or owner in the store. Possibly having to close a week, we always worried we couldn’t survive without key people or with closing. It won’t be easy, but I refuse to miss any tournaments or events my grandchildren are in, after missing two years during COVID. And when people give us 1 star for being closed, I’ll just try to ignore it. — Christine Matlack, E.G. Landis Jewelers, Boyertown, PA
• Could not decide about traveling to Tucson. I was not going, but last minute I decided to go! It is my absolute favorite, most inspiring trip of the year, and I so missed it last year. I have found more amazing, beautiful color than any time in the past 15 years! Makes me very hopeful for 2022. — Linda McEathron, Design House, Waco, TX
• I have all twenty years of your magazine all stored in my office. — Barry Fixler, Barry’s Estate Jewelry, Bardonia, NY
• We kept buying inventory in 2021 right up until the week of Christmas. It is all paid for now and puts us in a great spot starting the year with our inventory levels. We have been able to avoid some of the price increases by continuing to buy in the 4th quarter. In 2022, we will only buy fill-ins this first quarter and be cautiously optimistic going forward. January started slow but finished strong with a really nice 25 percent increase. Your magazine is great because of the interaction with jewelers. You hear what we say, and we appreciate that. I enjoy reading what other jewelers have to say. — Scot Caniglia, Josephs Jewelers, West Des Moines, IA
• We are optimistic about 2022, hoping to continue big increases! That said, we want to find ways to streamline our processes, deal with aged inventory, and focus on better selling practices this year! — Lucy Conklin, Toner Jewelers, Overland Park, KS
• I don’t know about others, but I’m starting to refuse repair jobs when someone calls and asks or brings me something they bought online. “I just bought a ring online, but can you size it for me?” NO!! The little profit that goes into providing a service for someone who isn’t a customer will never lead to anything but a headache and isn’t worth it. If they didn’t give you a thought to buying the ring from you in the first place, then they’ll never come back after you provide a service for them. Some say it brings in new customers; I say it’s garbage. I keep track of that kind of thing — I can tell you that it very rarely pans out. Consumers are going to have to learn to buy local again to receive the service that follows the sale. When more jewelers start understanding this and stop catering to the manipulating, then things will change for the better. — Marc Majors, Sam L. Majors, Midland, TX

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