Thoughts from the Desk of Oliver Smith
Morganne Stewart
Diamond market has hit bottom! It feels like things are getting better in the diamond business. The rough site in December was $240M, which is not much, but than the January site was $540M, a huge increase! Many of you wanted to sell your diamonds this year and I told you to wait, well it should be good in another 6-12 months. The extra diamonds in the pipeline have been consumed!
ASU basketball is going well this year with the new coach, Bobbie Hurley. The Pac 12 championship is coming up the second week in March and it's a wide-open field! All of the action will take place at the MGM in Vegas. Seriously, this would have never happened even 10 years ago.... Now you can bet on all the games! Have you seen ASU's curtain of distraction? It takes place in the second half of the games during the opposing teams free-throw attempts where the students try to distract the shooter with hilarious stunts. This particular week they had a very important guest...
Our brand ambassador Billy Horschel switched to PXG golf clubs this past month. Billy is extremely talented and is excited what the PXG clubs can do for him. We also produced a new commercial with Billy for the Phoenix Open, have you seen it?
Our new website just went live a few weeks ago. I appreciate all your referrals and commerce over the website so be assured we will always take good care of you. We will also continue to build content. Soon all the watches we have in stock, new and old, will be up on the site! Along with all of my jewelry creations! www.oliversmithjeweler.com
Sixty-five percent of paper is recycled today compared with 34 percent 25 years ago. We finally got recycling in our shopping center... I guess better late than never!
Apple has $215 billion in cash. Isn't that ridiculous! Who on their board thinks they, the investors, don't deserve some of that? If they would distribute that it would jump start the economy. Too much cash in too few hands. Do I sound like a Socialist? I'm not a Socialist but this is a problem.
Some of you have asked me what's up with Internet watch sales. It's called Phishing, meaning that almost all of the gray market sellers don't have the watch in stock. They advertise a low price to get your interest and then once you show interest, they will send you what they have or worse, a slightly worn version, which is referred to in the industry as a 'slider'. Always give your authorized dealer a chance. Call me direct and I'll take care of you.
A few days ago I watched a TED talk about longevity and what creates a long life. It was very interesting as they had started the survey in 1942 with two hundred 20-year olds. Now there are only 7 guys left! You know what the biggest contributing factor was? Relationships. Those people that had the most number of relationships with family and friends lived longer. Wealth and fame had nothing to do with it. We are in the relationship business, which I enjoy, because I'm a long term planner. Here's the link to the talk.
We continue to advertise to buy your jewelry you are not wearing! We have some amazing estate pieces in house. Check out this beautiful Aquamarine in a handmade platinum mounting. A great value at $10,500 rather than comparable retail of $12,500. Watches too! Soon we will have it all up on our website Gold is still up there, about $1200 an ounce, a great time to sell!
Our Instagram account is growing. Please follow us and be the first to see new creations! Link here
My Dad pass away earlier this month he was 88. Thanks to those of you who reached out to me. Many of you had the chance to meet him over the years when he traveled out west to visit. He lived on a farm 30 miles northwest of Philly. My Mom tolerated the farming life, my Dad loved it! He was a leader that I have tried to emulate. He was President of his class, President of his Fraternity, Member of the School Board, Captain of his high school and college golf and basketball teams, President of the Historical Society, and much more. As a member of the greatest generation who lost friends in the war, he never forgot and never spoke of it. He was a man of great civility, I never heard him swear, and he kept good manners and grammar as a forefront of life. We need more men like Grand O. Men that don't care who gets the credit as long as the job gets done. Rest in Peace Dad.