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IJO Show Spring 2023
Happy Friday, Stall & Kessler’s friends. We’re excited to share some wonderful news with you this morning. We’re celebrating with Brandon, our craftsman of 25 years, as he was awarded second place overall in a recent custom jewelry competition. He achieved this award (his 15th!) from the Independent Jeweler Organization competition in early March. The photo above was his winning piece, and we wanted share more information about this lovely necklace. Additionally, Melissa attended the jewelry show where Brandon’s necklace was awarded, so we’ve added some notes about her time in Orlando, FL as well. We hope you'll join us in congratulating Brandon for his high achievement and enjoy reading more about Melissa’s trip as well!
Q: What is your favorite feature of this necklace?
I really like the versatility of this necklace. This design can be easily changed by selecting varying colors of metal and/or the surrounding gemstones. I put diamonds in the halo for now, a lotus garnet in the center bezel, and chose a tri-tone look. That said, we’ve had conversations with others who like this concept but would want to make the entire piece one color of metal, have different surrounding gemstones, or select a different center gemstone.
The other really cool thing about this necklace is that each “circle” rotates a full 360 degrees! This means that you can wear the necklace with all gemstones facing out OR you can use a combination of solid metal “rings” with gemstone ones.
Q: Can you tell us more about the colored gemstone in this piece?
The center gemstone is a lotus garnet. This gemstone is unique in that the mine where they were found for a number of years has since closed. There are few lotus garnets on the market these days, and we’re lucky enough to have one in this custom necklace! Lotus garnet is the pink variety of garnet. It’s a warm toned gemstone that ranges from blush to deep pink.
Q: What is the Independent Jeweler Organization?
The Independent Jeweler Organization (or “IJO” for short) is an organization designed to unite folks in the jewelry world. They serve as a launch pad for partnership for small businesses and wholesale jewelry providers. Stall & Kessler’s actively participates in two jeweler organizations, IJO and RJO. This participation allows us access to exclusive vendors, unique educational experiences, and companionship with others in the wonderful world of jewelry. We’re excited to share more details about the trips our staff will take this year to attend jewelry shows hosted by these organizations!
Q: What was your biggest take away from your recent trip to Orlando for the IJO jewelry show?
There are so many cool trends that are up and coming in the jewelry industry. I was able to attend one seminar about salesmanship that was helpful for my role at Stall & Kessler’s and another about social media presence. Overall, I really enjoyed picking out a lot of new pieces of jewelry for Stall & Kessler’s. Plus, the location wasn’t awful *wink*.