Registration is Open for JA’s First National Convention

New York—Jewelers of America has announced the agenda and opened registration for its national convention, slated to take place this July in New York City.

A first for the 113-year-old trade association, the convention will be held July 28 and 29 at the InterContinental New York Barclay on 48th Street at Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Registration is $695 for JA members and $995 for non-members and is open now on Jewelers.org/convention.

A $200 discount is available for those who sign up to attend by April 30. Convention attendees also will receive a special room rate at the InterContinental.

Jewelers of America announced late last year that it would be holding its first national convention in 2019.

JA Board Chair John Henne told National Jeweler at the time of the announcement that the board felt there was a need for an education and networking event for jewelers, especially given the rapid pace of change in the past decade.

The conference agenda includes the following keynote addresses.

“Election Outlook 2020,” presented by Charlie Cook

Cook is the editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report, a political analyst for the National Journal Group and an analyst for NBC News. He will offer his take on the turbulent election season to come, with control of both the White House and Congress at stake.

“Key Investment Trends to Watch,” presented by Michael Vaknin

There is no doubt that the economy, both globally and at home, influences consumer mood and spending. Vaknin, chief markets economist for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, will share key investment themes to watch and potential short and long-term impacts on the overall health of the retail sector based on the most current macroeconomic outlook.

“Buying Trends & Value Propositions,” presented by Neeraj Mehta

Neeraj Mehta, CEP of Synchrony’s Payment Solutions platform, will discuss the jewelry path-to-purchase journey and how to leverage technology and digital practices to improve the customer’s experience. Jewelers can discover the trends in consumer purchasing behavior across channels and make investments to focus their businesses on their customers.

In addition, there will be numerous breakout sessions on topics including lab-grown diamond detection and sales; understanding consumers today; and the connection between the policies that come out of Washington, D.C. and retail, as well as Retail Innovation and Diamond Detection Labs where attendees can get hands-on with technology.

“The speaker lineup is carefully crafted