2011 Marks Significant Growth

Posted on February 10, 2012 by The Kingswood Company

We were excited this week to distribute this press release regarding our growth in 2011. We are so grateful to all of our customers, old and new!

The Kingswood Company Announces Significant Growth in 2011

The Kingswood Company, the industry’s leading supplier of private-label fine jewelry care products, reported in January significant growth during 2011, with the addition of more than 130 new accounts. The company asserts that such growth reflects its focus on customized product offerings and superior customer service. Kingswood saw expansion in the United States, Canada and Asia.

“The economic realities of today require that we focus even more closely on our customers,” explained Kristie Nicolosi, President & CEO of The Kingswood Company. “We have sought to distinguish ourselves from our competitors with a wide range of customizable products offered by a staff unparalleled in the business. Clearly that approach is working.”

Building on a successful 2011, Kingswood plans to announce new product offerings in 2012 that will further differentiate the company from its rivals. Each new product offering expands the wide array of options available to customers, which allow them to design their own packaging using a variety of artwork, cleaning formulas, polishing cloths, container sizes and colors.

Headquartered in Columbus, OH since 1956, The Kingswood Company is a member of the American Gem Society, the American Chemical Society and the Private Label Manufacturers Association and is certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

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Imitation Jewelry Cleaner: A Dangerous Drug

Posted on January 27, 2012 by The Kingswood Company

While we usually write fun stories about beautiful, sparkling jewelry, now we have a darker story to share. In recent months, we have seen numerous news reports from around the country about synthetic drugs which mimic the effects of cocaine being sold as “jewelry cleaners.” These drugs were previously marketed as “bath salts,” but states began passing laws banning “bath salts” in an effort to combat the drug problem. In fact, “bath salts” were banned in Ohio in October of 2011. 

Unfortunately, in most areas where “bath salts” are banned, drug-makers have just continued production of the product but changed the name to “jewelry cleaner.” In this way, they are staying a step ahead of the law. These drugs are especially dangerous, because they can be purchased at legal retailers and have been linked to deaths in Ohio and elsewhere. 

You may be wondering how we know these products are not actually jewelry cleaner. To start with, this “jewelry cleaner” is priced at around $50 per ounce. We at The Kingswood Company sell the highest quality jewelry cleaners on the market, and they do not retail at anywhere near that price point. In addition, the imitation products are sold in a solid form like bath salts rather than a liquid. 

This is a terrible masquerade of a common consumer product. And a dangerous one. We are confident that law enforcement will catch up with the criminals again, but in the meantime, we hope you will help spread the word about this dangerous phenomenon. 

If you are interested in learning more, you can check out this story from the CBS affiliate in Harrisburg, PA: http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Synthetic-drugs-sold-as-various-substances-as/9VgSGB-u6k6IJNExR3hJZw.cspx.

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Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: Golden Globes Go Green

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Kristie Nicolosi

The awards season is upon us, and there will be beautiful jewels galore. The Golden Globes kicked things off on Sunday and did not disappoint. With actresses from both the big and small screens, we had even more gorgeousness to take in.

My favorite earrings of the night were worn by the beautiful Debra Messing. These amethyst and emerald three-stone drop earrings designed by Lorraine Schwartz looked fabulous with her red hair and hazel eyes. The combination of purple and green was an evident trend, with Julianna Margulies wearing it as well.

I also loved Julianne Moore’s emerald tassel earrings designed by Fred Leighton. They are classic and fresh for spring.

Both Debra and Julianne looked lovely in their emeralds. I know that fashion on the red carpet often drives trends for the year. Being me, when I look at the trend, I wonder if they people know how to clean it.

Emeralds are actually a relatively hard gem, as measured on the Mohs scale. A 10 ranks the highest (meaning a diamond, not Bo Derek), and emeralds come in at a 7.5 to 8. Opals, turquoise, peridot and coral are all softer than emeralds.

You may be thinking, “Great, that means I can’t hurt them.” Not true. Most emeralds are formed with natural inclusions or cracks within them, which makes the stones more susceptible to breaking along an inclusion line. So you should be gentle when cleaning to avoid damaging the stone along a fissure. This is a great example of why at-home ultrasonic machines are unsafe. Your pretty emerald could crack.

Also, emeralds are often treated with oils to minimize the appearance of inclusions and improve the stone’s clarity. So you should avoid cleaning methods that remove these oils, which will damage the look of the stone. Do not expose the stone to strong heat or steam, strong solvents such as ammonia or soak them for a prolonged period of time. If you do happen to damage the oil treatment, it can be redone or re-enhanced by a qualified jeweler.

Emeralds can safely be cleaned with a liquid cleaner formulated especially for delicate jewelry, one that does not include ammonia or any strong solvents. You can soak it for a short amount of time and then dry and buff the piece it with a polishing cloth.

Both Debra and Julianne’s earrings are made of mixed stones (Julianne’s have diamonds and Debra’s include amethysts). While those stones are stronger, because they are combined with emeralds, the pieces require the more delicate care. Always remember to clean based on what is safe for the most delicate gemstone, metal or setting in any piece.

I was so excited by the beautiful jewelry on display at The Golden Globes. While most of us don’t get to borrow goodies from Harry Winston or Neil Lane for the night, we can borrow from the looks for ourselves. I can’t wait to wear my sparkling clean emeralds this spring. Do you have any favorite emerald pieces you plan to get out of the vault?

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They Live to Deliver

Posted on January 6, 2012 by The Kingswood Company

The art and science of shipping is a mystery to most of us. You wrap up a package, call or drop by the shipper, and poof, it is off. Most of the time, it reaches its destination, and you never have to think or worry about it. But when you think (or worry) about it, the fact that most what we ship gets where it’s going is pretty amazing.

We at The Kingswood Company ship stuff - A LOT OF STUFF. Our shipper is integral to what we do, so when FedEx offered us a tour of their facility, we jumped at the chance to see the process in action! About half of all the boxes we ship and about 95 percent of all our shipments are shipped via FedEx. As a team, we were thrilled to learn about how our product is handled once it leaves our dock.

We got to watch “the sort” from way up on high, which was fascinating; this terminal processes 15,000 packages per shift during regular business and up to 30,000 packages during the holidays. We also got to see a truck loaded with some of our product. Some of our boxes were upside down (yikes, it’s full of liquids!), but that was an opportunity to talk with the Terminal Manager about the importance of keeping our boxes upright.

We know that is not usually a problem for FedEx, because very, very few of our boxes come back to us with damage or leaking. This is helped by the very sophisticated packaging we have developed to help prevent leaking. In addition, 99.8 percent of our boxes are delivered on time – an impressive statistic that helps us meet our very high customer service standards.

Thanks to the folks at FedEx for taking the time to show us around. It was an experience we won’t soon forget.

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Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: Visiting the Peacock

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Kristie Nicolosi

On Saturday, December 17, I was a guest on the NBC4 Today show in Columbus, Ohio. It was fabulous spending some time with Mindy Drayer walking through the do’s and don’ts of jewelry cleaning, dispelling some “old wives’ tales” and sharing how to get your jewelry sparkling for the holidays. She even tried to get me to give up our trade-secret formularies!

Check out the clip of the segment and let us know what you think. Do you have another question you’d like to see answered? Maybe Mindy will have us back for a follow-up!

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Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: FAQ

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Kristie Nicolosi

I have one of those jobs where people don’t always “get” what I do. I get asked pretty funny questions about my job sometimes, so in case any of you are curious, here are some answers.

Q:  Do you work from home?

No, I do not make jewelry cleaner at home….in my bathtub! 

Q:  One time, I got this great jewelry cleaner at the fair! Do you sell it at the fair?

I do not sell The Kingswood Company jewelry care formularies at state fairs countrywide. We are not Sham Wow.  The person who sells it at the fair probably did make it at home in the bathtub!

Q: Can you drink it?

We drink it all the time!  Fountain of youth, baby, fountain of youth.*

*For insurance purposes, we do not actually drink it.

Q: Does your jewelry cleaner come in purple?

We’re workin’ on it!

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Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: How Does She Do It?

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Kristie Nicolosi

I saw the trailer for the movie “I Don’t Know How She Does It” and realized that I have heard versions of that statement said about myself on a number of occasions. I am sure that every mom, whether she works outside of the home or not, has heard it.

How do I do it? The easiest answer is that I love what I do. We all want to involve our kids in what we love. So I have figured out ways to incorporate my daughter into my life at work. Eva has her own desk here, with a computer and some software, like Pixie, on which she loves to “work.” Not to out myself for violating child labor laws, but Eva also has some little jobs at The Kingswood Company for which she gets paid. She enjoys these, really!

I do travel quite a bit on business, which is one of the joys of my job. At this point Eva does not travel with me; she has her own schedule at home. But I do look forward to traveling with her as she gets older, and when it doesn’t interfere with school and other commitments. She has a phenomenal rock collection, so when I travel, I like to bring back treasures for her collection. She has a rock from the Great Wall of China, one from Mt. Olympus and several beauties from the Tucson Gem Show. As soon as she is old enough, I will bring her with me to Tucson. She will love it!

Jewelry Cleaner in Sidewalk Chalk, by Eva Nicolosi

I don’t know what she will choose to do with her life, but for now, Eva loves to be a part of The Kingswood Company. We wouldn’t be the same without her. And for all of you wondering about when we will offer purple jewelry cleaner, Eva’s been mixing some up!

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Make It Easy!

Posted on October 31, 2011 by The Kingswood Company

Dentists really have it figured out. When you go in for your twice yearly check up, they clean the heck out of your teeth and send you on your way with instructions on how to keep them clean and healthy until your next visit. Out you walk, baggie in hand, with a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss, plus instructions to brush and floss twice a day.  Easy peasy.

We know from a survey we conducted that as many as 82 percent of women are not wearing a piece of jewelry because it needs to be cleaned. If their jeweler could make jewelry care as easy as tooth care, that statistic would be much lower. But when customers buy a new piece of jewelry or take a piece in for an annual inspection, they may not be getting such easy instructions.  Many customers walk out admiring a beautiful, sparkling piece, lamenting that it won’t look that good again until it gets another professional cleaning.

Jewelers might take a cue from dentists to make it easy on the customer. What’s not easy?

  • Don’t offer vague instructions like “put a few drops of ammonia in water.” The customer is thinking, “What? I don’t have ammonia. I could get ammonia, but how much water do I need? Do I use hot or cold water? How many is a few drops?” Easy doesn’t require a degree in science.
  • Don’t recommend a product that is made with harsh chemicals. Easy doesn’t require wearing gloves.
  • Don’t require customers to come back in as the only recommendation for routine cleaning. That’s not easy, because they have to make time, get in their car and come in. Easy doesn’t require a car trip.
  • Don’t suggest they clean their jewelry in boiling water. Easy doesn’t require pots, pans and time waiting for that watched pot to boil.

What is easy?

  • Do have information on your website to educate your customers on how to clean their jewelry. It’s easy when she doesn’t have to leave her desk.
  • Do offer a variety of cleaning formularies. You can help your customer find the safest way to clean every piece of jewelry from single stones to mixed metals. It’s easy when she can get the right information and product right from her jeweler.
  • Do offer a professionally printed cleaning instructions that can be given to your customer at time of purchase. It’s easy when she has the information right at her fingertips.
  • Do offer your customers an annual inspection and periodic cleaning in your store. It’s easy when she knows that her jewelry has been inspected and cleaned by a professional each year – no loose stones to worry about!

Sometimes when you are an expert, you forget what it is like to be a novice.  Dentists get this concept. They recognize that their patients didn’t attend dental school and they don’t expect them to be dentists. Your customers aren’t educated in gemology, and they don’t want to be. They just want to keep their jewelry looking beautiful.

Just like the dentist with her clever bag of cleaning tools, jewelry store customers can also leave with the correct tools and information to keep their purchases sparkling.

If you just…make it easy!

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A Sparkling Not Spooky Halloween

Posted on October 28, 2011 by The Kingswood Company

We at The Kingswood Company have always known that we have the best customers! Want some proof? An employee of The Gem Gallery went all out for Halloween, dressing up as… a jar of jewelry cleaner (private label, of course)! Thanks to The Gem Gallery for sharing the photo evidence. We are sure she must have won a “most creative costume” award somewhere. Happy Halloween to one and all; make it sparkle!

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MORPC Award Winners!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by The Kingswood Company

Last week, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission held their annual Summit on Sustainability and the Environment, an event that explores and celebrates efforts to “go green.” We at The Kingswood Company were proud to be nominated for a MORPC Sustainability Award in the Materials Management Category. Our efforts to improve environmental sustainability are an important part of who we are, and we will continue to do all that we can to minimize our impact on the environment.

Congratulations to The Kroger Company, Columbus Division, for receiving The Materials Management Award. They are to be commended for their outstanding efforts to reduce waste with their Kroger Compost/Recycling Program. We also extend congratulations to the winners in the other categories, including: Local Matters; Anheuser-Busch; the City of Westerville, Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative, The Ohio State University; and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Smart Growth Overlay.

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