Love is in the Air

By Astra Houff
Sales Associate, Valley View Mall


Now that springtime is in full bloom with all the beautiful colors of the season, many couples turn their focus on love and romance. June is the month where so many hearts choose to begin their lifetime journey together. What better way to show her just how special she is than to give her the gift of eternal beauty and brilliance … a Fink's diamond!

Whether you choose a designer brand or prefer a gorgeous, classic"It's a Fink's Diamond" engagement ring, you are guaranteed to have the most perfectly cut, prestigious diamond that money can buy!

I love designer Ritani, whose perfect creations display exquisite detail and make a signature statement. The Ritani Endless Love ring in platinum represents Past, Present, and Future ... it's romantic and very vintage for the lady who loves that look. This ring is a modern classic.

From our exclusive collection, you can't miss this very unique solitaire, mounted on a platinum band of channel-set diamonds. This is one that every lady enjoys trying on! Whether this is a new beginning with your special “one”, or you are celebrating a lifetime of memories, the best way to show your passion and love, is to find that perfect Fink's diamond that tells her just how perfect you think SHE is!!!

When we say, "It's a Fink's Diamond," our customers know they're getting only the best. Fink's proudly carries only the highest quality diamonds because our own certified diamond buyer holds our diamonds to a higher standard. He states that our diamonds not only have to look “good” on paper, but they must also PERFORM … that is, how they sparkle, how brilliant they shine and how well they are cut. This is what separates our beautiful diamonds from the rest out there.

Whether you choose from our huge selection in stock or let us help you design your own diamond ring, you'll see why buying your diamond with Fink's Jewelers is the sound decision so many couples have made for over 75 years.

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Items mentioned in this blog:
Ritani Endless Love ring
Fink's .5 ctw Solitaire with Diamond Eternity Band
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Astra has been with Finks for 5 years. She successfully completed the Bronze and Silver classes for Tag Heuer and attended the David Yurman conclave last year in New York. She's a mother of a fourteen-year old son who's into band and track, married to a wonderful guy named Ray.

Vicenza, Verona, and Venice ... A Sneak Peek at this Fall's New Gold

By Kristie Lipscomb
Fashion Jewelry Buyer

Thinking about May as “Gold Month” reminds me of my FABULOUS trip to Italy as a guest of Roberto Coin. I attended the Vicenza Gold Fair where I viewed designer lines from all over the world. Vicenza is considered the “gold capital of the world.”

I had the honor of meeting and spending time with the ever so passionate and innovative jewelry designer, Roberto Coin. It was truly an honor and a pleasure. After spending time with Roberto and his lovely wife Pillar you can clearly see where Roberto Coin’s slogan “Happiness as an Address” comes from. Italians know how to do it right!

Roberto Coin scheduled tours for our retail group in Vicenza, Verona the Venice. Each city was so fascinating and interesting.

In Vicenza we attended the show for two days and toured Roberto Coin’s corporate headquarters and one of the factories…very interesting. Their processes and techniques are really innovative. Verona is said to be the city that inspired Shakespeare to write Romeo and Juliet.

Saving the best for last…Venice! You just walk down the sidewalks humming “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s Amore” or at least I did anyway, ha! The waterways and history behind the city are fascinating. We took gondola rides, had a drink at the infamous Harry’s bar and shopped until we dropped.

I met so many interesting and wonderful people, made new friends and experienced a trip of a life time thanks to Fink’s Jewelers and the hospitality of Roberto Coin. Ciao!

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Click here for a sneak preview of a new Roberto Coin collection introduced at the Vicenza Fair, arriving at Fink’s Jewelers this fall.
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Kristie, shown here with Italian jewelry designer Roberto Coin, has been with Fink’s Jewelers for 8 years. She holds a BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) in Marketing from Radford University. She will be attending the upcoming JCK Las Vegas 2008 show May 30 - June 3, selecting the newest, most luxurious jewelry for our collection.

The Handbag Theory

It’s common knowledge that women notice other women. Women notice sooner when another woman changes her hairstyle, has on the latest trend or just looks great overall. Our Director of Sales Training, Charlene Hudson has been overheard saying that when a woman has on a fabulous pair of shoes or a cute sweater she’s going to tell them. And she does on almost a daily basis! Her reasoning? Women put effort into how they present themselves. If someone is going to spend hours getting her hair the perfect mix of chocolate and caramel brown and it looks good, let her know! Not enough people in general, women in particular are acknowledged for their style effort.

Realistically, most (but not all!) men shop for function and most (but not all!) women shop for function too, but also spend time making certain their purchases fit their style. Women also encounter purchases that are slightly more involved than those men face, like handbags, jewelry and shoes. Often, the jewelry industry is indicative of other high-end retail trends.

In the fall 2007 issue of Accent Magazine Marc Fink was asked what the biggest change in the jewelry industry was in the past 25 years, his answer:

“Self-purchasing women, the power of women in the workforce, two-income families. Women are empowered today and they don’t need permission to buy a piece of jewelry; they buy it for themselves. They treat themselves if they want to. When I first joined the business, it was much more of a gifting business. Society has changed.”

He goes on to explain how Fink’s employees are top-notch in their customer service and sincerity and quotes long-time employee Marie Compton as saying, “We like to out-nice the competition.”

JCKonline.com’s Caroline Stanley recently posted on her blog a post titled, The Handbag Theory – Do Women with Great Handbags Shop for More Jewelry? What a great concept?!?! The woman with the high-end, designer handbag is the type of woman coming into Fink’s, knowing what she wants and purchasing her own jewelry, then telling her friends about the experience.

Mr. Fink was spot on in his assessment of female self-purchase shoppers. Women know what they like, typically know what they’re in the market for and respond to a positive customer service experience. Check out the article and let us know what you think.

Spring Fever

As the weather slowly warms, we tentatively start looking forward to late evening walks, long summer days, sundresses, sandals and shopping for baubles that match!

The most comprehensive source for scoping fashion trends is the internet. Obvious, right? Right. So, take a look at your favorite clothing retailers’ sites and see what’s going on this year. You’ll probably find prints galore, whether in an abundance of color or just two or three perfectly paired tamely together, interesting patterns are all over everyone. Stripes, checks, florals, ruffles are taking over much attire as the weather warms and the jewelry trends are falling in line, just as they should.

Working from last fall’s trends, this season layering necklaces, cocktail rings and animal and nature inspired jewelry are the most current fashion staples. Whether it is subtle like the John Hardy Kawung Collection and David Yurman’s Renaissance Collection or bold like some of the silver, gold and gemstone creepy crawlies and literal animal prints we’ve seen in the past year, nature is now in a big way.

So enjoy the current state of sunshine with colors and prints that will set you apart and as always, it’s all up to your personal style so just have fun.

Just a Click Away

So often you know what you’re looking for, but don’t know the designer. Or you may have a specific look in mind, but don’t know exactly what needs to be purchased to achieve it. Maybe, you’ve seen something on a television show or red carpet but can’t quite seem to remember if they were pear-shaped or round drop earrings.

With the invention and further expansion of the internet, the search is being narrowed! Some major magazines like People, InStyle, and Lucky already have tools on their websites that allow consumers to click on a celebrity image and learn more about what they’re wearing. Site like SeenOn.com and Like.com are taking the search an easy step forward.

Like.com does a “likeness” search so that if you’ve seen a great handbag or pair of shoes they’ll pull from a MASSIVE amount of internet knowledge and show similar items. A visual search is also available so when you see a pair of red platform pump you have to have, just go to shoes and color.

SeenOn.com offers a more celebrity centric approach with categories like TV, Movies, Music, Products and most specifically Celebrities and sub-categories for red carpets, network shows and so on. And those Oscar looks mentioned below, check them out here.

Update: JCK's Style360 blog does a thorough coverage of many of the women's fashions at the Oscars here.

All or Nothing

When you buy jewelry, is it all part of a master plan, buying a whole suite or piece to complete a suite, or do you mix and match what you like and just “make it work”? Some people just have a flair for putting on anything, mixing and matching different brands, different metals, different stones . . . and making it look great! Meanwhile . . . everyone else is stuck working hard for an effortless look. What’s your style?

Many times on the red carpet, celebrities will wear one stand-out piece and maybe accent with a few smaller pieces. The Oscars are Sunday night, so we’ll see what the trend is this year. In the meantime, take a look back at Oscar red carpet fashions from the 1930’s all the way up to the past five years.

Happy Valentines Day!

5 Days and Counting. . .

Less than one week and yet another holiday is upon us once again. For cup half empty guys Valentine’s Day can incite fear and dread, but for cup half full guys it’s seen as the perfect chance to redeem yourself after that Christmas gift bombed in front of her WHOLE, ENTIRE family. Who knew a deep fryer wasn’t on her list?!? Everyone loves chicken wings, right? And she may even use it to make you some chicken wings, meaning everybody wins! Right.

In a recent Jewelry.com survey, 50% of women expected to be disappointed this Valentine’s Day with the gift they received. In all fairness though, when asked what they really wanted, 50% also said diamond jewelry and we all know women don’t always ask for what they really want, so the guys aren’t completely to blame. In the survey, 90% of participants admitted that at some point they had bought themselves diamond jewelry for Valentine’s Day in the past. So maybe it just that expectations are high, but never verbalized, or that guys are just focused on practicality and function (and really, nothing will make your life better than getting her something she loves), or maybe it’s a combination.

This time around it might be best to stick to the list, and if she doesn’t have one, all Fink’s Jewelers are stocked with wish lists cards to make life a little easier.

Seeing Stars. . .

Sometimes we see stars. Real, live stars hanging around Fink's events and employees. We hadn’t mentioned it? That’s cause we know how to play it cool, or at least hide our excitement until the photo is taken.

Short Pump’s Vicki Robinson with John Travolta:


MacArthur Center Manager Dan Schaffer with John Travolta:


SouthPark’s Anna Gordon with Rusty Wallace:


Watch Buyer Mitch Skaggs with Tiger Woods:

In this corner we have. . .

Yellow gold! It is undeniable that trends filter down to different parts of the country at different times. After all, we see magazines coming from New York telling us the hottest jewelry right now is yellow gold and images of celebrities wearing yellow gold everywhere, but the average Jane in Middle America loves her white gold, platinum and silver pieces she wears every day.

But wait, just a few years ago weren’t we all supposed to be wearing white gold, platinum and the high-end high quality new and exciting silver brands according to the fashion powers that be? Are you outdated, unfashionable if you still wear the lighter hued metals? Do you have to update to yellow gold? What if you have your great-grandmother’s heirloom pieces from the first half of the 20th century? And you LOVE wearing them? It’s not like the green eye shadow that was the hot color of spring 2006, jewelry can be an investment (especially the matrimonial kind), and something many women build their jewelry wardrobes around!

Change is never easy, especially when the change being proposed is something as personal as jewelry, a keystone of your personal style. Are you expected to buy the hot, new trend every season? Of course not, unless you want to! But adding pieces throughout the year that you love and will wear for years to come never goes out of style! Bottom line, everything old is new again and will be 10, 15 and even 20 years from now too!

Technology, wonderful technology. . .

Since mentioning our change over to a new operating system in the last post, now is the perfect time to introduce an integral part of the switch as well as the Fink’s family.

Rhonda Ellis is celebrating her first anniversary with Fink’s this month! She is our internal auditor and deals with not only the stores, but every one in corporate if there is a question about the new system. . .

I've heard many folks say that “nothing stays constant except for change”. The statement seems to hold very true for our company after reflecting over the past year. With a new store opening, two established stores moving and one of the stores closing the doors, our company was also introduced to a new computer operating system this year.

Craftsman for Windows, known as C4W, is a program with a Microsoft® Windows® operating base. This provides Fink’s employees with the more common Windows® appearance and functionality that many are already used to seeing on their home computers.

Fink’s customers will also reap the benefits from the recent computer changes. Faster processing time, more receipt detail and on-hand, immediate customer history information are just a few of the benefits our customers will see. We all appreciate your patience as we are still learning and adapting to our new system.

Hats off to Todd Stafford, Vice President of Information Systems, and to Todd Peters, Senior Auditor and Systems Analyst, who spent many long nights and weekends working on this system, ensuring that everything was ready to go. Lots of caffeine and chocolate were essential to keep them going during this long and trying implementation!

As for now, I will prepare to put my “auditing” hat back on and step back from the IT world. Good bye for now and happy shopping!

~Rhonda Ellis
Corporate Offices, Roanoke

Good-bye 2007. . .

On this 31st day of December, many people take a look back at the past year. Some may make resolutions for the New Year; getting organized, losing weight and exercising more top many people’s resolution lists. The beauty of these resolutions is that we stay the same (same person, same place), but get to change. What better excuse to take the person you are and turn into the person you want to be? The advantage is that there are 365 in which to do so!

As a company Fink’s took on many new projects in 2007. All our stores were converted to a new operating system, we closed and opened and relocated some locations, and we launched a new website and blog but ultimately stayed the same company at our core through the value Fink’s customer’s have come to expect.

So what are your resolutions? Are you going dramatic or taking baby steps? Throughout 2008 you get to see ours unfold right here!

Feel the Rush

Being right in the middle of the holiday season it’s not uncommon to hear the question, “Have you finished your shopping?” With the Super Tuesday of gifting only four days away it’s a good time to look at the holiday shopping personalities of consumers.

Do you meticulously make a list months in advance, double-checking names to make sure all are accounted; then think of every conversation you’ve had with those people in the past year as to hints on not only their psyche, but what gift would suit them best? Or, do you just give gift cards to one and all? Is Black Friday the equivalent of your Super Bowl, or is December 24th? Are you just lucky in finding those perfect gifts in your everyday shopping? Or, will we be seeing you 3 days from now with a look of panic of your face looking for something to light up her face, perfectly wrapped and placed in a little black bag?

419 Holiday Designers' Showcase

The title of this post is just simply the title of the event. Nothing else seemed to do it enough justice to warrant that coveted title position and the excitement surrounding this special night. Some of the vendor representatives that attended were from Mikimoto, David Yurman, John Hardy, Breitling, Roberto Coin, DiModolo, Marco Bicego, Lady Heart, Ritani, and SUWA.

It was a night of great concentration. . . after all, with so much to choose from you want to make sure you get the right one, or maybe more than one. . .

After much thought and concentration, it was time to loosen up and celebrate!

Official greeter, Executive Assistant Connie Light.

This year it was decided by the powers that be that a fashion show was in order. . .so our Director of Sales Training, Charlene Hudson, took the reigns and made it happen!

Charlene in the background emceeing and VP Mark Bair being a gentleman, as always.

Immediately following that, there was a drawing for a custom designed ring or pendant from Ritani. . .

High fives all around!

Winner Shawn Best holding the diamond, with 419 @ Colonial manager Debbie Cochran.

With Harout Ritani choosing the perfect design.

And our love of delicious food has been mentioned hasn't it? This spread did not disappoint.

It was such a wonderful night for Fink's employees and our customers alike. We can't wait for next year!!!

Events, and Then More Events

This fourth quarter has been an especially busy time for Fink's Jewelers with planning, executing and enjoying our customer events. The next few posts will have photos from our events both at our stores and off site. And other event photos will be shown in the side bar to the left.

First is the John Hardy event held at the Charles Luck Stone Center in Richmond by Architectural Digest and Fink's. John Hardy's leading designer, Guy Bedarida, was present and brought along special one-of-a-kind pieces from the Cinta Collection as well as Hardy classics.

And those shots are just of the amazing jewelry. Here at corporate we LOVE good food, not to mention the great location!

And finally. . .these two ladies made the trek from Fink's corporate office in Roanoke to make sure things ran smoothly.

John Hardy Buyer Kristie Lipscomb & Marketing Director Lindsey Kirby