1

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.)

Larry Hyman

(Lubin-Bergman Org., Inc.)

C J A N EW S

CHICAGO JEWELERS

Published by the Chicago Jewelers AssociationPublished by the Chicago Jewelers AssociationPublished by the Chicago Jewelers AssociationPublished by the Chicago Jewelers Association

GOODBYE, BUT NOT FAREWELL

Thank you for allowing me to serve as president of the CJA these last two years.

It has been my extreme honor and pleasure to help revitalize an organization made up of

so many wonderful people that I have grown to call friends. Some of them have gone

beyond holding a membership with the association and honored me by serving on our

Board of Directors. To those of you, I cannot thank you enough. I hope that my service

represents a continued change of direction for our organization and its diversified

community, that serves all groups in our society and industry. We should all be proud to

have been able to participate in taking this first step.

The reason I have decided to support new leadership is that I have personal

issues in my life outside of the Chicago Jewelers Association that would hinder my ability to continue in this office. I

am not able to fully dedicate the attention and time that it deserves. My personal issues are serious in nature, ranging

from the health of my mother to new goals and fewer responsibilities in my business.

I have several pieces of advice for those of you who plan to remain in the business. It is very important to

find ways to survive in this ever-changing economy. Embrace change. Profit is not solely derived from the old

methods that seem to have always worked, but they can also be drawn from new methods. Emulate people with

winning strategies. Constantly review your work results and, more importantly, be willing to learn from and correct

them when needed.

I am supporting and endorsing Larry Hyman and his slate of officers in the upcoming election at our Annual

meeting, which I hope most of you will attend. If elected, I think he will be a great president. He will continue our

progress in restoring our organization to the prestigious position it once held in the community.

I will remain a member of the CJA and support its activities as long as I am a business owner. I am looking

forward to seeing you at our Annual meeting. I wish all of you the best of luck.

Sincerely,

Soon to be Past President of the Chicago Jewelers Association,

Alvin L. Bell Jr.

PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR ANNUAL BANQUET MEETING ON

THURSDAY,

MAY 22, 2008

6:00 P.M.

516 NORTH CLARK ST.

2

Howard Frum JewelersHoward Frum JewelersHoward Frum JewelersHoward Frum Jewelers 5 S. Wabash, #814, Chicago

“WANNA BUY A WATCH?”

“WANNA SELL A WATCH?” (312) 332-5999 www.howardfrum.com

I Want Your Business !

Help Wanted! Chicago Fine Jeweler, upper Michigan Avenue, seeks experienced sales professional. Our ideal candidate comes with: GIA degree, and experience in repairs, custom jewelry, appraisals, and estate sales. Part time available. Please call (312) 337-3500 or email resume to: hhco@flash.com. Also seeking a messenger for package delivery.

Annual

Statements

All business owners should review his or her annual statements to compare between year to year and cost to cost results to see changes. Have an accountant explain how your results; compare specifically to your industry and other trends. Good or bad, your results enable you to understand your business’ needs and point out problems that need correcting. Possible solutions can even be drawn. Doing this annually is a must, but if you can afford performing this assessment weekly, monthly, or quarterly it is even better. Numbers tell a very clear picture. Learn to see it.

JEWELRY

FASHION TRENDS

Fashion do and don'ts always catch our

attentions. Spring is coming so retailers

are stocking their shelves with what in

considered “in” this season. Even jewelry

has a fashion trend to follow and ballots

are in.

This seasons hottest must haves are:

Hoop

Earrings

BRACELETS

3

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

Normally this section of the CJA Newsletter is used to “Blow your Horn” and tell the membership how the “Spotlight” member could perhaps become an effective Vendor for other members. While as a full line diamond merchant, I’d like to do that…I feel I can be of more benefit by telling a little story. We just completed a two day “Compliance Review” conducted by an Internal Revenue Examiner in our offices. The agent was here to check compliance with Form 8300, “Report of Cash Payments over $10,000 received in a Trade or Business”. I believe that we are the first dealer/wholesaler in Chicago’s jewelry community to be screened, but it was very clear to me that I won’t be the last. If you are baffled at what I am talking about…it is The Patriot Act. I can thank the past President of the CJA, Gary Dolinko, for getting us started on the path to get through the ordeal and coming out with a “Well done” from the examiner. We attended the CJA sessions 2 years ago on the Patriot Act and subscribed to the Compliance Kit sold by the Jewelers’ Vigilance Committee. We followed the instructions and put in place a program that had much of the data required by the review. Many records are required and a simple statement like, “We don’t have any cash sales over $10,000” won’t cut it with an IRS agent with 22 years of experience. You and your company can be easily put into a situation to provide: 1. Every Bank Statement 2. Every Deposit Slip 3. Every Invoice 4. Every cash receipts journal, accounts receivable records, etc In addition, this is all about IRS Form 8300 and your ability to not only know how to fill it out, but to understand the 6 pages of instructions and be able to convince the examiner that you do!. Oh, I forgot to tell you the penalty if you don’t use Form 8300 when you are supposed to: 1. If you intentionally do not file the form 8300 when necessary the fines start at $25,000 !!! 2. Every Deposit Slip 3. Every Invoice

67 E. Madison St.

Ste. 1814

Chicago, IL 60603

4

The Other Reason to Own

Gold By James Turk of Goldmoney.com Everybody knows that gold is an inflation hedge. That’s why most people buy it. They know from experience that the purchasing power of all national currencies is being constantly eroded by inflation and the exponential use of credit. But they also know that their purchasing power is preserved by owning gold.

For example, the price of crude oil has been rising for sometime, but when the cost of a barrel of crude oil is viewed in terms of ounces or grams of gold, its price is essentially unchanged. In other words, the dollar price of crude oil and the dollar price of gold are both rising more or less lockstep. By owning gold instead of US dollars, you can today purchase basically the same amount of crude oil as at any other time since 1945. In other words, gold is an inflation hedge. But that is only one of gold’s advantages. There is also another valuable reason to own gold, and significantly, this other reason is becoming increasingly important. Gold is also a catastrophe hedge. Gold enables us to protect our wealth from a financial meltdown because it does not have counterparty risk. The monetary and financial system is rapidly spinning out of control. We are witnessing the unwinding of decades of reckless credit expansion. Borrowers – corporations, hedge funds, homeowners, etc. – who no longer have the financial capacity to repay their debts are defaulting on their obligations in increasing numbers. In that environment, the safety of one’s wealth becomes paramount, to protect against the catastrophe of default in all types of financial assets. In short, promises are being broken, so in an environment in which financial assets are becoming increasingly doubted, one needs to own tangible assets. Own things instead of promises, and there is only one money that is not dependent upon someone’s promise and that’s gold. So buy gold; it is the best catastrophe hedge. But also buy gold

�

����������������� ������� ������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������������������������� ���������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� !�"�����������#�����$%%&����������������� �������������������������������������'�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

5

ANNUAL BANQUETANNUAL BANQUETANNUAL BANQUETANNUAL BANQUET

Maggiano’s 516 North Clark St. (312) 644-7700

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Agenda

Meeting/Election 6:00-6:30 Cocktails 6:30-7:30

Dinner 7:30-9:00 Cost Members RSVP - $ 15 CALL CALL ((312) 834-0219 At the Door - $ 20 Non-members - $ 30

Past CJA

Advertising

Sponsors

A&B Watch Repair, Inc. (312) 263-9047

Chicago Watch Brokers (N. Green & Sons) (312) 759-8777

CPS Sports (312) 346-2646

Howard Frum Jewelers

(312) 332-5999

LBO Financial, Inc.

(847) 673-4900

Mid-States Recycling

and Refining, Inc. (847) 298-0010

SEP Jewelry Tools

(312) 541-4554

Sullivan Watch Repair Co., Inc.

(312) 332-1489

The Berco Jewelry Co.

(312) 782-1050

United Precious Metal Refining, Inc.

(716) 683-8334

Windy City Jewelry & Loan

(773) 638-5414

6

Your options for membership:Your options for membership:Your options for membership:Your options for membership:

_____ One Year ($100$100$100$100) _____ Two Years ($150$150$150$150)

Payment Option:Payment Option:Payment Option:Payment Option: Checks, please to : Chicago Jewelers’ Association P.O. Box 6379

Chicago, IL 60680-6379 Your Contact Information:Your Contact Information:Your Contact Information:Your Contact Information: Contact Name: Contact Name: Contact Name: Contact Name: ______________________ Business Name: Business Name: Business Name: Business Name: _______________________________ Phone/Phone/Phone/Phone/: ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) _____________________/ / / / EEEE----MailMailMailMail: ________________________________________

FaxFaxFaxFax ___________________

Benefits for Your Business: Benefits for Your Business: Benefits for Your Business: Benefits for Your Business: Personal & Business growth, Networking Events, Seminars, & Online Forums