Gem Quiz

I’ve Been the New Black Since Roman Times

My dark secret owes itself to a mix of sugar and acid.

Published

8 months ago

October 6, 2022

INSTORE Staff

I’ve Been the New Black Since Roman Times

SINCE ROMAN TIMES, gem traders have used a mix of sugar and acid to stain me a single, invariably dark color. The result is that despite a rather bland natural color — a bit like a fingernail — I am associated almost exclusively with black. I became a mainstay of Victorian mourning jewelry, an Art Deco staple, and today am probably the most popular gem used in men’s rings. The new black? I’ve been cool forever.

Who am I?

Time for More “Me Time”? Time to Call Wilkerson

Rick White, owner of White’s & Co. Jewelry in Rogers, Ark., knew it was time to retire. Since the age of 18, jewelry had been his life. Now it was time to get that “me time” every retailer dreams about. So, he chose Wilkerson to manage his going-out-of-business sale. White says he’d done plenty of sales on his own, but this was different. “Wilkerson has been a very, very good experience. I’ve had the best salespeople in the history of jewelry,” he says. “I recommend Wilkerson because they are really the icon of the jewelry business and going-out-of-business sales. They’ve been doing it for decades. I just think they’re the best.”