Use imagery to prevent stone-switching fraud

Kay Jewelers, one of the largest jewellery chains in the US became the centre of controversy over allegations of switching diamonds in customer’s jewellery.  Signet Jewelers Ltd., the owner of the Kay, Zales and Jared jewellery chains, denied they are…

Augmented and Virtual Reality: The Brave New World of Retail

Augmented Reality is an exciting new tool for distributing information through “beacons”, close-proximity, wireless broadcast points.  These beacons connect to smartphones, smartwatches, and other wearable technology.  By itself, it has tremendous potential. Combined with virtual reality, smart mirrors, virtual fitting…

Augmented reality: The Jewellery Store of the Future

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.    …

Does your business have a future?

In 2015, according to the Jeweller’s Board of Trade, the US lost over 700 retail jewellery stores. The decline in our industry has been steady for over a decade. More than 30% of all retail jewellery doors have closed since 2000. This…

Is the Customer Always Right? Maybe Not

This phrase has been the mantra in retail as long as I can remember. “The customer is always right” was originally coined in 1909 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London. The phrase was meant to assure…

Young and looking for a job? Read this!

This is a tough time to be young and starting a career in retail jewellery. Too many stores are closing and the competition is fierce. There are plenty of career advisors who will tell you all of the things you are supposed…