Wheat Ridge, Colorado police took a 50-year-old man into custody Wednesday following a two-month search.
In Memoriam: The People We Said Goodbye To In 2016
The jewelry industry, like the world at large, said goodbye to so many beloved figures this year.
New York--Every so often, there’s a year in which the world says goodbye to an unusually large number of pop culture icons, leaders and influencers.
In 2016, we mourned Prince, David Bowie, Muhammad Ali, actors Alan Rickman and Gene Wilder, author, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, author Harper Lee, former first lady Nancy Reagan, legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, award-winning architect Zaha Hadid, and astronaut John Glenn, among so many others.
The jewelry industry also lost many great people this year. National Jeweler remembers them below.
-----
She started the Jeweler’s Resource Bureau with her husband, Frank Stankus, in 1991, working for the next 25 years in a number of roles to help move the industry ahead and becoming something of a “fairy godmother” to the industry’s fledgling jewelry designers.
-----
He had a loyal following of customers, including the children and grandchildren of clients who had shopped at the store since it opened.
-----
In addition to building up his own mining site and connecting buyers from around the world with other local miners, he also was trying to establish a cutting school in Voi and elevate the East African gem trade. Though he died in the middle of some big projects, his spirit lives on in the film Sharing the Rough and through the work he started, which will carry on.
-----
He was 65. Parrish, who owned Parrish Photography, was known in the industry for his
-----
He earned numerous awards over his many years in the jewelry industry, including 19 AGTA Spectrum awards--five of them Best in Show honors--and four MJSA Vision awards. “Everything that Jim did, he did exceedingly well,” designer Naomi Sarna said.
-----
She made her U.S. trade show debut at Couture in 2013 and was named second runner-up in the Bridal category of the Couture Design Awards that same year.
-----
After graduating from Episcopal Academy in 1949, he began working for his father at the family jewelry manufacturing company, Byard F. Brogan, eventually becoming owner and president. He retired after being with the company for 60 years, and spent his free time working outside and maintaining houses.
-----
Zuckerman joined Seiko Time Corp. in 1974, becoming part of a team that made Seiko one of the top-selling watch brands in the United States. In 1988, he joined the Citizen Watch Company of America, where he was a key player in its establishment as a top brand in the market. He retired from the industry in 2010 when the symptoms of the disease began to show, but remained active in his community for as long as he could.
-----
Five years later, he suggested the relocation of the store to the city’s Country Club Plaza and also was responsible for opening the company’s second store, inside the Hawthorne Plaza shopping center in Overland Park, Kansas, decades later.
-----
His grandfather founded Cox Jewelers in 1886. Cox took over the family business in 1965 but retired in 2012. He was an AGS and AGS labs board member and received the organization’s Robert M. Shipley Award in 2011.
-----
Gannicott led the company through its growth period after discovering and starting the Diavik Diamonds Project and acquiring the Harry Winston brand in 2004. He also oversaw the acquisition of the Ekati diamond mine and the sale of the Harry Winston brand to Swatch Group.
-----
Lorenzo Yih, the chairman and CEO of the Lorenzo Jewelry Group, died in August at the age of 77. Though he started as an architect in Brazil, he later went to work as a colored gemstone trader, founding a manufacturing company in the 1980s before establishing Lorenzo Jewelry Ltd. in Hong Kong in 1987 and a retail jewelry brand in China in 2004. Yih also established GIA Hong Kong in 1994 and was the founding sponsor from 1994 to 2002.
-----
Clayton Poole, vice president of Tennessee retailer Peter D. Poole Fine Jewelers, died Aug. 20. He was 32. Poole worked as a senior account manager at Dell for seven years before deciding to join the company started by his parents. He moved to Carlsbad, California, to study at the Gemological Institute of America and started working at the store after completing his graduate gemologist degree in 2014.
-----
His caring and attention to clients laid the foundation for a long career in the jewelry industry, helping him open Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue in 1980, which now is run by his son.
-----
Cheng Yu-tung, the man responsible for the widespread success of Asian jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook, died in early October at the age of 91. He had relinquished control of his companies to son Henry Cheng four years ago after suffering a brain hemorrhage, but not before growing the company into Asia’s largest luxury jeweler, earning him the title of the “king of jewelry” in Asia.
-----
Wax carver James Bilello died in October when the boat he and another man were in capsized in the Long Island Sound. Bilello worked as a freelance model maker for high-end jewelers and jewelry designers for more than three decades, but had skills that went far beyond that, knowing jewelry design and model making inside and out.
“He told corny jokes and loved to make us laugh,” said Donna Distefano Thomas. “He had a courageous heart. Jim was a profoundly gifted wax carver and was a master at carving creatures.”
-----
Schreibman’s grandparents were watchmakers and jewelry manufacturers in Poland. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1931 with Richard’s parents, they started what is now Alson Jewelers, developing a chain of jewelry stores in Ohio, which Richard joined in 1961. The business is now run by his sons, David and Chad.
-----
After leaving the service, he went to work for his family’s jewelry company, running the store until 1999, when his son took over.
-----
With eight patents for his work, Caudill was instrumental in furthering the society’s research on light performance and developed the Light Performance Grading system.
-----
After helping run the family store for a while, Fiebig sold the business so he could live in Madagascar, marking the first of many trips he’d take for the colored stone industry. Following his death, a few things were named in his honor: Josephs Jewelers in Des Moines, Iowa, where Fiebig held his final job, arranged for a Madagascar lemur exhibit dedicated to him at the city’s Blank Park Zoo, and there are two separate scholarships given in his name.
-----
She started working with a small jewelry chain in 1940, helping grow it until she left in 1978. She went on to write for a number of trade magazines in retirement and helped start the Women’s Jewelry Association, which she remained involved in for the rest of her life.
-----
Meyer Weisman, founder of Grove City, Ohio-based Meyers Jewelers, died Dec. 13 at 89. He began his career in the industry at Harris Jewelers in Columbus as a teenager, returning there after serving in World War II. Then he moved to Rogers Jewelers, eventually taking over one of its locations in 1966 and renaming it Meyers Jewelers. His sons joined the business after college and continue to work at the store today.
-----
John Bailliere Joseph of Josephs Jewelers in West Des Moines, Iowa, died Dec. 13. He was 55. Joseph joined the family business in 1983 and was an active member of the American Gem Society, according to his online obituary. He also had a passion for colored gemstones that led him travel around the world, and was a business leader who cared about the well-being of his employees and truly viewed them as extended family.
-----
He was responsible for the formation of The Plumb Club as well as the “Party with a Purpose” event, which led to the formation of Jewelers for Children.
The Latest
PGI partnered with four new and seven returning designers for its annual platinum capsule collection.
Nicolosi, president and CEO of The Kingswood Company, previously sat on WJA’s board from 2011 to 2018.
Meet Ben Claus—grand prize winner of For the Love of Jewelers 2023 Fall Design Challenge.
Karina Brez’s race-ready piece is a sophisticated nod to the horse-rider relationship.
The men are allegedly responsible for stealing millions in jewelry and other valuables in 43 burglaries in 25 towns across Massachusetts.
“Horizon” invites individuals to explore the limitless possibilities that lie ahead, said the brand.
With Ho Brothers, you can unlock your brand's true potential and offer customers the personalized jewelry experiences they desire.
The jeweler credits its recent “Be Love” campaign and ongoing brand revamp for its 17 percent jump in sales.
Elvis Presley gifted this circa 1967 gold and diamond watch to Dodie Marshall, his co-star in “Easy Come, Easy Go.”
Concerns about rising prices, politics, and global conflicts continue to dampen consumer outlook.
May’s birthstone is beloved for its rich green hue and its versatility.
Jacqui Larsson joins Opsydia with nearly two decades of experience in the industry.
Last month in Dallas, David Walton pushed another jeweler, David Ettinger, who later died.
The “Tiffany Céleste” collection reimagines designer Jean Schlumberger’s interpretations of the universe.
The brand also created a 100-carat lab-grown diamond necklace in honor of its centennial.
Tim Schlick has been promoted from his previous position as COO.
It’s the second year for the event, slated to take place in October in Toronto.
Supplier Spotlight Sponsored by GIA
Sales will be paused while the relocation takes place over the next few months.
“SIS x MISA Denim and Diamonds” is a collaboration between the designer and celebrity stylist Misa Hylton.
The retailer is moving to a newly designed space in the same shopping center.
Gifts that are unique and thoughtful are top of mind this year, according to the annual survey.
The necklace is featured in the brand’s “Rebel Heart” campaign starring Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo.
The two organizations will host a joint event, “Converge,” in September 2025.
Big changes appear to be on the horizon for the diamond miner and its parent company, Anglo American.
Padis succeeds Lisa Bridge, marking the first time the organization has had two women board presidents in a row.