C J A N EW S

This month marks the Midwest Jewelry Expo! It is being held March 24th-25th at the Alliant Energy Center (1919 Alliant En-ergy Center Way, Madison WI). The Chi-cago Jewelers Association has agreed to be a sponsor of the event and as such will have a presence at the event, including a booth. We hope to have a large presence from Chicago and the Chicagoland area at this year’s Expo. Some of this year’s exhibitors from the area are Ernest Slotar, Inc., Gottlieb Brothers, Inc. and the Chicago Jewelers Association’s very own Berco Co. and Global Diamonds! This is an easy event to get to, as it’s a mere three hour drive up the interstate (if you’re local), so you will find a plethora of buyers and sellers from the Chicagoland area and plenty more from across the nation to do business with. And don’t forget the regulars who make the trade show circuits that you look forward to seeing at these events. You will be able to find whatever it is you may be looking for, be it big or small, from the 200+ vendors and dealers that will be in attendance this year. We are also broadening our audience grasp this year and making a concerted effort to inform the pawnbrokers in the Chicagoland area about this important and poten-tially lucrative event. The Midwest Jewelry Expo is a veritable treasure trove of findings, so there’s something for everyone. As an added bonus, if you register for the Midwest Jewelry Expo you will receive a one year membership to the Chicago Jewelers Association (a $100 value!) plus a free hotel night’s stay at the hotel sponsors of the Expo. Register now to receive these great offers. You can call the Midwest Jewelry Expo offices at (608) 257-3541 to register or call the CJA offices at (312) 834-0219 with any questions.

CHICAGO JEWELERS ASSOCIATION

March 2007

DEAR MEMBERS,DEAR MEMBERS,DEAR MEMBERS,DEAR MEMBERS,

E d i t e d b y : J e n n a D a l g e t y & R o b e r t L o g a n

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Alvin L. Bell Jr. (Freeman Jewelers) Vice President Howard Frum (Howard Frum Jewelers) Scholarship

Veronica Cardenas (Cardenas Asset Mgmt.) Past President Gary Dolinko (Mid-States Refining) Secretary Robert Sepiashvili (SEP Jewelry Tools) Treasurer

D. V. Rao (Atlantic Diamond Co.) Website Administrator Ross Merritt (Windy City Jewelry & Loan) Membership Director Don Strzepek (Tucker Co.) Board of Directors

Allen Lipscher (Global Diamonds)

David H. Levine (William Levine Fine Jewels)

M. Waseem (A & B Watch Repair)

Sheldon Shapiro (Sullivan Jewelry Co.)

Myriam Tashey (Professional Gem Sciences)

Vincent A. Innocenti, Sr. (The Berco Company)

Frank Ingram (Ingram Jewelers)

Tom Foody (Oro International, Inc.)

UPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTS

Tues., March 20th - Book review hosted by Alvin Sat. March 24th & Sun. 25th - Bell. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E.Gerber. Midwest Jewelry Expo. 4:30 p.m. at the eCenter, 1247-169th St. Madison, WI. Hammond, IN Wed., May 9th - CJA Trade Fair. 10 a.m. until Wed., May 23rd - CJA annual 4 p.m. 5 S. Wabash, 18th Floor, Chicago, IL meeting. Time & place TBD

$100 $100 $100 $100 oneoneoneone----year CJA mem-year CJA mem-year CJA mem-year CJA mem-

bership FREE for bership FREE for bership FREE for bership FREE for

any new retailer any new retailer any new retailer any new retailer

who attends the who attends the who attends the who attends the

Expo!Expo!Expo!Expo!

Midwest Jewelry Expo, March 24-25 Alliant Energy Center, Madison, WI

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Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 ● 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ● 5 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60603, 18th Floor

Please send completed form to:

BUSINESS NAME: _______________________________________ Mail: 28 E. Jackson Blvd. Fax: (312) 834-

TABLE (PLEASE CIRCLE): YES NO #408, Chicago, IL, 60604 0387

PERSON(S) ATTENDING: __________________________________________________________________________

FAX: _________________________ EMAIL:___________________________________________

RSVP TO THE C J A TRADE FAIRRSVP TO THE C J A TRADE FAIRRSVP TO THE C J A TRADE FAIRRSVP TO THE C J A TRADE FAIR

C J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHTSC J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHTSC J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHTSC J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS

We at the CJA want to do all we can to promote our membership. As you may have noticed, we run one to two “CJA Member Spotlights” a month, depending on the size of the newsletter. This is not exclusive to our Board of Directors but has until last month’s newsletter solely featured our BOD due to availability. The Chicago Jewelers Association would like to have a spotlight for each and every one of our members to help raise awareness about them, their business and their contributions to the industry. In an effort to do this, Jenna, one of the Executive Administrators for the Chi-cago Jewelers Association, will be contacting the mem-bership at large and briefly speaking with you to get infor-mation on who you are and what you do. These articles are a half-page, including header and picture, and dis-cuss topics relating to your business and time in the in-dustry. The Chicago Jewelers Association is here to help you and this is one large way in which we can.

CRIME ALERTCRIME ALERTCRIME ALERTCRIME ALERT

Are you guilty?

You sold items to one customer within a twelve month period for $10,000 or more in cash and didn’t complete an IRS Form 8300. You’d better look out, because Uncle Sam might catch you! The United States Treasury De-partment is currently auditing firms in the jewelry industry to apprehend money launderers and violators. Don’t be one! File that Form 8300 when required. You can find the form and download it at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8300.pdf For more information please contact the CJA offices at (312) 834-0219.

5 S. WABASH PROJECT5 S. WABASH PROJECT5 S. WABASH PROJECT5 S. WABASH PROJECT Spectrum Properties, the owner of the Mallers Build-ing (5 S. Wabash) in Chicago, IL is currently in the bidding process with three outside contractors for an ambitious, and largely lucrative project that will benefit the tenants of the Mallers Building. Spectrum is looking to revamp their Mallers Building website (http://www.jewelerscenter.com/) and use it to showcase merchandise and tenant information. Specific details on this will be forthcoming after the bidding is concluded. This will be a huge step forward for the promotion and advertising of its tenants and here’s to the suc-cess of the project!

TIP OF THE MONTHTIP OF THE MONTHTIP OF THE MONTHTIP OF THE MONTH

Always try to sell your merchandise for replace-ment cost plus profit or you’ll find yourself out of inventory sooner than you think.

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To provide a forum and business re-sources for the jewelry industry so that industry mem-bers can exchange fundamental infor-mation and inno-vative ideas.

C J A MISSION C J A MISSION C J A MISSION C J A MISSION STATEMENTSTATEMENTSTATEMENTSTATEMENT

CONTACT INFOCONTACT INFOCONTACT INFOCONTACT INFO

For any questions comments and concerns with the Newsletter or CJA in general, please contact Jenna at:

28 E. Jackson Blvd., #408 Chicago, IL 60604 Phone (312) 641-5201 Fax (312) 834-0387 web: jenna@chicagoja.org http://www.chicagoja.org

Advertising: The oft forgotten money maker

As some of our membership knows, the CJA runs ads in our monthly newslet-ter. You can see the evidence in this newsletter, for example. What some of you don’t know is that our newsletter goes out to around 800 jewelers and related businesses in the Chicagoland area and beyond. If you are looking to broaden your client base, advertising in the CJA newslet-ter is a wonderful way to accomplish that. No matter what area of the busi-ness you are in, any exposure is good exposure. Referrals are a great way to bring in new business. What does it take? Send us an ad that you would like to run, or we can work with you and fabricate one from scratch. The fabricated ad will also be avail-able to the company for future use. The ad space is 2 1/2” by 3 1/2” and will print black & white, but be available in color once we post our newsletter back issues on the CJA website. Ads cost $150 to run per month. If you would like to advertise in our newsletters please contact Jenna at (312) 834-0219 or jenna@chicagoja.org.

ADVERTISING AND YOUR BUSINESSADVERTISING AND YOUR BUSINESSADVERTISING AND YOUR BUSINESSADVERTISING AND YOUR BUSINESS

PAST C J A PAST C J A PAST C J A PAST C J A ADVERTISING ADVERTISING ADVERTISING ADVERTISING SPONSORSSPONSORSSPONSORSSPONSORS

Global Diamond Co.

(312) 726-5500

A & B Watch Repair

(312) 263-9047

Professional Gem Sciences

(312) 920-1541

Windy City Jewelry & Loan

(773) 777-7222

Sullivan Watch & Jewelry Co.

(312) 332-1489

Atlantic Diamond Co.

(312) 236-8521

One Service, Inc

(312) 924-7860

Oro International

(630) 834-4017

CCI Industries

(312) 563-0743

SEP Jewelry Tools

(312) 541-4554

The Berco Co.

(312) 782-1050

Howard Frum Jewelers

(312) 332-5999

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Frank Ingram, owner of Ingram’s Windy City Jewelry & Loan, is a man willing to reinvent himself. He started as a sales-person in 1966 for Jerry & Morry Jewel-

ers & Pawn. In 1971, Frank decided to work as a manufacturer representative, working with Larry Bright & Norm Critman. One year later Frank bought out owner Jerome Berger and took over the managing operations of Jerry & Morry Jewelers & Pawn. After 11 years, a fire burnt down the store, leaving Frank to go back to work-ing as a manufacturing representative. In 1983, Frank Ingram decided to rebuild his jewelry & pawn shop, and opened Ingram Jewelers & Pawners, Inc. at 4234 W. Madison Street here in Chicago. In 1995, business had improved allowing Frank to open up his 2nd store, D. Angelo’s, at 6920 S. Stoney Island in Chicago. 2005 marked his merger year with the Windy City Group, started by himself, Ross Merritt, Lee Amberg and Mark Wolf, making his company Ingram’s Windy City Jewelry & Loan. During his time in the business, Frank Ingram has been involved in, and served on the boards of many organiza-tions. Notably, he is a founding member of the Illinois Pawnbroker Association, started in 1990. He is currently the Vice President of this association. Also, he has been a member of the National Pawnbrokers Association since 1992, serving on its Board of Directors; he is presently on its Board of Trustees. Ingram’s Windy City sells many different types of jewelry, all of which come from pawning. Diamonds are sold wholesale, when supply permits. They also offer a jewelry repair service at D. Angelo’s. Please stop by their lo-cations today to view their wide array of merchandise and meet their friendly sales staff. You will be sure to find exactly what you need at Ingram’s Windy City Jewelry & Loan.

Ingram’s Windy City Jewelry & Loan - 4234 W. Madison St. · Chicago, Illinois · 60624 · 773-638-5414

INGRAM’S WINDY CITY INGRAM’S WINDY CITY INGRAM’S WINDY CITY INGRAM’S WINDY CITY JEWELRY & LOANJEWELRY & LOANJEWELRY & LOANJEWELRY & LOAN

Frank Ingram

C J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHTC J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHTC J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHTC J A MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Jewelers - Wholesalers - Pawnbrokers Repair Shops - Manufacturers

YES YOU !

If you don’t know what your competition is doing you’ll miss important information on how to improve your business. What’s his/her price, cost, inventory value, employee training? What’s yours? Get out of that funk and find out what’s going on around you by starting at the Midwest Jewelry Expo. See what’s selling at what price and who’s doing well and why. Be an innovative businessperson or learn to become a successful copycat.

-The Chicago Jewelers Association