Volume 1 Issue 13
June 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

Our trip to Las Vegas happened! It is the largest jewelry show in the United States with over 3,000 vendors participating. We agreed to participate in JCK’s educational program at the show. We joined two illustrious members of the jewelry community: the CEO for the Jeweler’s Vigilance Committee and the CEO of Polygon. The audience actively participated in questioning us about building and maintaining web sites. We were also one of 150 jewelry stores invited to Couture at the Wynn. We made new friends and visited with old ones. Seal gave a private performance to the Couture group. He now is designing a men’s line of jewelry. Personally, I think the wisdom of his words echoed by his voice is sufficient.

My father always carried a “Double Duck” knife. In Montana, there are many uses for this tool. His adeptness of use fascinated me. If he were alive I’d gift him with one of the newest additions to our lines of fine jewelry and art, a William Henry knife. These knives are functional art. Each is numbered and many are limited additions. William blends precious metals, stones and exotic woods into his creations. Most of our gifts for men are custom designs and seldom seen in the store. We now have a treasure to gift for Father’s Day, Graduation and special occasions.

It is interesting to see the changes in the way jewelry is made. With platinum selling for over $2,000.00 an ounce and gold flirting with the $900.00 mark other metals are coming into play. We met the owner of the Stillwater mine in Montana. It is one of the largest producers of Palladium. The chairman of the Palladium Alliance International John Stark, graduated from my Alma Mater, the University of Montana. He invited us to visit the mine in the fall. Palladium will never be platinum, but it is slowing replacing it in jewelry stores. We are also seeing blends of metal usage. It is not uncommon to find silver with 18K yellow gold and 14K yellow gold. As appraisers it makes our work more challenging. As jewelers it makes collections more interesting.

Thank you again for your patronage and friendship. We appreciate all of you.

With love,
Lornie and Rose