Thoughts from the Desk of Oliver Smith - April 2019

Wow, what a week we have had in Scottsdale. Beautiful weather is hard to enjoy when we have this overhanging fear of an unseen enemy. We closed this past week in order to give our staff some time at home with their families, practice social distancing, and cleanliness. They have all been healthy and well. We hope you are also healthy and well.

A big shout out to our friends in the healthcare community and first responders. The amount of work we have witnessed over the past few weeks is nothing short of amazing. We in the United States come together when things get tough. We will get through this and get back to what we enjoy.

Plans for the future are sketchy at best. The Governor has called for Arizonans to stay home, and the team and I will be working to be available to you while still following these guidelines. We will be working the phones and our computers starting Tuesday, March 31st. Feel free to reach out to any of us below. It is time to get caught up on software training, new product up on the web site, designing new pieces, and generally keeping busy.

Questions about the Aspen Boutique should be addressed to Elizabeth Smith below.

Thank you for your continued support. As a small business owner for the past 40 years in Scottsdale we have developed many friendships and relationships. Support your local stores and restaurants if you can.... it means the WORLD to them.

Regards,
Oliver

Thoughts from the Desk of Oliver Smith May 2019

This is my 38th year in business. When I first started I worked out of a backpack. That was my office or store front. In 1985 I opened my store in Scottsdale.  550 square feet, and plenty of room! Ha! My clients came from word of mouth, we were all moving to Scottsdale.  

  
Driving home this week I saw a car on the side of the road with a flat tire. Someone was helping. It reminded me of a simple lesson I learned years ago. The tiniest act of civility can go a long way in your success. Our Mayor at the time was Herb Drinkwater. Herb was famous for his quick smile and his listening skills. During his term he would always stop and help people who were broken down on the side of the road. Never telling them who he was, just trying to help a fellow citizen. When they found out he was the Mayor, they probably told 20 of their friends. He just kept getting reelected. This act of charity exemplified his character. This is the character of a WORLD CLASS mayor! Small acts of kindness go a long way.  

Great ski season in the Rockies this year.  I got 19 days in, a personal best. Only one serious faceplant.

Business has been steady. Two things are exploding, estate jewelry and estate watches.  People want to trade in for new. Why not? They have been doing that in the automobile business forever. If you would like me to look at your jewelry and give you a quote, call us at 480-607-4444 and ask for Jodie to get on my schedule. Or for watches, ask for George Reid. Or just bring your pieces and stop by during business hours.  

Home inventory is down. Nobody would have predicted that two years ago. Everyone said we would be going into a recession right now. Check out the new Shea Homes community at the Ritz Carlton site near Lincoln and Scottsdale road.  

My shopping center is for sale.  It is owned by a R.E.I.T. in Iowa. We need a local landlord that understands this market. Know someone? 

Corinne rescued a dog last year. She's a hound, with a copper circle on her side that looks like a Penny. She's not taking over Stephanie's job but she has been a great social media model for us! When she grows out of her teenage years I'm hoping she becomes the shop dog.

Two first time teams in the final four. Basketball has gotten so big these guys know that it is a way to go from no money to a lot of money fast, it's a great job!  (Only if you are 6' 7'' at least). In the Pac-12, shout out to Tripp's team, the Oregon Ducks, mopping up the Pac-12 Championship and making it to the 3rd round of March Madness! Sun Devils played well too and would have won the Pac-12 but missed a shot at the buzzer. Two of my favorite teams playing well. 

Panerai announced a new submersible series.Check out our in stock pieces here! The Aspen boutique has been open for exactly one year.  Happy to be partnered with a brand that is doing so well. Design, pricing, craftsmanship, professionalism, and the new management team is fantastic. 

If you are looking for a boutique only Panerai email Elizabeth@oliversmithjeweler.com

Surprise of the season: A. Lange sales.  People are starting to realize that A. Lange & Söhne makes an incredible timepiece. The clean lines and classic design will remain current for generations to come. 

  
Spring training was great this year although a week earlier. Not my favorite move, does the regular season really have to be soooo long? 

Diamond prices are holding steady. Still down from 2012, but slowly creeping back up. Gold is still high at $1300/ounce, and platinum is historically cheap at $900/ounce.  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oliver 

Thoughts from the Desk of Oliver Smith October 2018

This month marks my 6th Anniversary carrying Richard Mille watches. An amazing manufacture of precision timepieces. Check out their beautiful website at www.richardmille.com. 
  
The store remodel is finished. We were able to move things around to create better seating areas and freshen up the look. A big thanks to Veronique for her eye, and Jodie for running the logistics! 

  
The estate department is really growing. George is doing a great job with the watches. We can purchase one or one hundred watches. I'm interested in your jewelry and diamonds too. Gold is still high at $1200/ounce. 

John McCain's passing was time to reflect on the character of men. It was nice to see someone get recognized for their civility.  
  
LeBron coming to the west coast is really going to make the Lakers impossible this year. Not that he really plays until April....  
  
Stephanie has been my model for the past five years, and Veronique and Nikki did a great job working with her to create this year's winter campaign. Here is a fantastic new picture you will see soon in a publication. 

  
If you signed a guy to a one year contract (Sam Bradford) to be your quarterback, paying him $20M for just one year with $15M guaranteed, it looks like you really are trying to make a successful team right? But then he loses the first three games and you pull him....now you look like an idiot for paying him that much. It's a fickle game.  
  
Zero leadership at the City of Scottsdale right now. A few quick reasons...

Someone needs to come out and champion a $15M Desert Discovery Center, not $60M. The past bond elections have been a failure due to lack of leadership, now they want to raise the sales tax to pay for roads and infrastructure, which is usually covered by the property taxes (hence bond election), dumb idea. Sales tax increase will fail.  
  
Pew research says that now 1 in 6 people are married to someone of a different race or ethnicity. Awesome to see growth in this area! 
  
Ben, my watchmaker, is finally getting the recognition inside the industry that he richly deserves. The guy is an amazing watchmaker!

Kriess, furniture store from California, reopened in our shopping center this week.  www.kriess.com 
  
Are you following us on Instagram? 

Have you seen our unboxing videos on YouTube? 
  
Cool new Kunzite pendent. We have so many new pieces...come check them out!

  
Save the date for the Holiday party at OSJ! - Friday November 16th.  

Save the date for Cars and Cigars - Sunday December 16th. 

If you haven't been in a bike shop lately you have to stop in. There are so many cool models for all kinds of terrain. Also, the Tour de Scottsdale is this Sunday, the 7th of October. 
  
The new Due Panerai in 38mm makes a great gift idea for our female customers. Hint hint!

Thoughts from the Desk of Oliver Smith April 2018

Happy Spring!

This past week Sprouts opened in our shopping center. We are very excited to have the pull of an anchor neighbor. Actually this is the first time we have been in a shopping center with an anchor for 35 years. Scottsdale is in another growth mode. The cycle continues! Please continue to support your local neighborhood stores and all they have to offer.

Many brands are starting to roll out boutiques. In the jewelry business this is a store that only sells one brand. This week I took over the Panerai Boutique in Aspen. For a life long skier this was a big day! Panerai and Oliver Smith have been great partners since the brand was introduced to the US in 1998. The boutique is in a beautiful building in the main shopping area. If you visit Aspen you have to come to the boutique and hangout on the 2nd floor, the view of Aspen mountain is incredible!

Our store remodel is underway in Scottsdale. We will be adding bigger spaces for our brands, like this new Jaeger-LeCoultre case, and more seating for our clients.  

Congratulations to Villanova for running the table in NCAA basketball! Those Catholics were never known for Bball when I grew up back in Philly. I do remember when they discontinued their football program in late 1970's, freshman Howie Long had to transfer to keep playing. 

25% of malls in US will close in 5 years, malls grew at twice the rate of the population from 1970-2015, according to Credit Suisse. 

How about all the 'for rent' bicycles in town. The city needs to study the best options to store the bikes as they are scattered all over town. As a cyclist, I never thought I would say they are an eye sore, but they are! Great idea, and I love to see people riding them, but it's out of control. 

Read a great book the other day, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. Also have been enjoyingThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson. The guy makes some important points! 

I sketched about 75 new designs and have put them into production this past quarter. Looking forward to showing you some of my new jewelry!  

Congratulations to the SUSD Robotics Team as they head to the World Championships with the help of the Scottsdale Charros. 

Congratulations to Charro Jeff Meyer, the Chairman of Cactus League, for another successful season, Scottsdale people giving back! 

Thoughts from the Desk of Oliver Smith December 2017

Happy Holidays!

As you know I have been fortunate to go to my in-laws place every summer in Carpenteria, below Santa Barbara. The Thomas fire came pretty close to their property but they were spared. It's remarkable to think of the devastation a wildfire can cause. I'm sure many of you have been effected at one time or another by all manners of life's trials and tribulations. The holidays are a time where we can count our many blessings. I have been very blessed and I want to thank everyone for your continual support. 
 

What are you doing Sunday the 17th?  Come to our 14th Annual Cars and Cigars! 

Stop by from 12pm - 4pm for some BBQ and listen to the Herndon Brothers band from Handlebar J's...while you are cruising the cases for that stocking stuffer of course!

Drive your collectible car too, and see all the other amazing vehicles!

Love to see ASU Bball knocking off #2 Kansas this week. The Bobby Hurley influence is the real deal. Will the Herm Edwards hire succeed too? Hope so...

We are excited to introduce Ryan Belton to our staff. Ryan is a hometown product that grew up in Scottsdale and has been groomed by Tourneau over the past few years. Now he can add diamonds and OSJ jewelry to his knowledge base. He's already sick of hearing 'Is Oliver here?' LOL. Come by and introduce yourself. 
 

Gold has been hovering at $1250 for most of this year. 
 

Congratulations to Steve Walker for 10 years of service in the repair and manufacturing department at OSJ. Here he is getting a watch from OSJ. Dilly Dilly! 

Diamond prices have gone down for the past 3 years but now seem to be holding steady. Time to buy?! 

The last 6 months have been great for sales in the store. People are feeling better and buying things. 

Plenty of work still to be done on the old Scottsdale jean space in the center of our building .... a grocery store is set to open in March. I'm not allowed to say who, but it rhymes with pouts. 

Don't forget you can shop OSJ online at any time!  www.oliversmithjeweler.com 


Have a Happy New Year!

Oliver Smith

Thoughts from the Desk of Oliver Smith

Aimee and I are celebrating our 30th Anniversary this month! She has raised 3 wonderful kids and been a real steady partner. Recently we were out to dinner with some friends and the next day the guy said to me 'I can see Aimee wears the pants in your family'. The success of a good relationship is knowing when to stay quiet and let the other lead. Of course I did mention it to Aimee and every now and than I have to pretend to be hiking my pants up, when she tells me to do something. Ha! keeping the humor is pretty important too. 

After 35 years years in business I have decided to close on Mondays! From this point forward we will be open Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Sunday and Monday. Being open for only 5 days a week will make scheduling easier and my mental state more relaxed.

The discussion over the $60 million Desert Discovery Center (now called Desert Edge) is heating up. After years of study it is probably going to come to a vote by Scottsdale citizens. Stay tuned. 


Diamondbacks have been really fun to watch this year. Congratulations to whomever decided to trade for J.D. Martinez. He hit four homeruns in one game the other night!

Sprouts is opening right next to me. Work has begun on the demolition of a 30,000 square foot space in the center of my shopping center. The owner plans to rebuild a space for Sprouts. Plans are to open in March. Lucky for me my friend Adam Mays is doing the construction work and have been extremely understanding of my needs.

Alma closed in my center... now something new 'Urban Kitchen' to open soon.

Amazon owns 7% of the US retail market. There is a trend by Millennials to shop in stores more because they want the experience!

In order to give you a better experience at OSJ we are beginning a store remodel. We will be creating a few more seating areas were you can enjoy a more intimate environment to look at jewelry and watches. Work is to begin shortly. I'm using Jere Plank again, from Archicon, he did our original design of the store in 2007.

Last week a client came into the store with a ring she bought from a competitor up the street for $15,000. It was such an egregious overcharge for a ring that we would have charged $6,000. The jewelry business has changed, and you need to do your homework.

George Reid, my new watch guy, is doing a great job for OSJ. Please stop in and say hello and ask him to put you on his WATCH WORDS email blast list that talks about the watch industry and new products in the store. Or email him here.

Consumer confidence is the highest in 16 years!  No amount of bad leadership can cripple this economy or this country....you just have to keep working.  

Diamond prices are still flat or some would say depressed. Good time to buy. Gold is getting a little hot at $1340/ounce. We are still looking to buy estate jewelry. Please continue to send me your referrals. I promise to take good care of your friends and neighbors. Send Jodie an email to get on my schedule.

Lastly we are looking for someone to help us in the sales department. Must have at least five years experience selling jewelry locally. Let me know if you have a good person.   

OSJ is proud of the value we represent to our clients. After 35 years in an extremely competitive business we have grown 30% this year alone. No one sells custom designed high quality fine jewelry for a better price than we do!

Sincerely,

Oliver Smith