IWJG September 2013 Las Vegas Show Report

September 14 through 17 was a CRAZY time in Las Vegas. Many of our members came in for the Mayweather fight on Saturday and they were not disappointed. Kevin Allen from Houston not only enjoyed the fight but got to spend some downtime with the boxer and had a good IWJG Show on top of it all. Tons of people came for the Mexican Independence holiday and then of course the crowds that came for the IWJG Show just added to the energy. There was a lot of energy at the Tropicana (right across the street from the fight at the MGM GRAND) and it didn't slow down until closing time for the show at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The show started off at a steady clip on Monday and the buzz stayed in the room all day long. There was still a lot of business being done at 5:30 and 6:00 on Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning was the same old Las Vegas story, members dragging in looking like they might have stayed out a little late, but by 9:30 the buzz was back and remained steady all day long. What kind of show was this... Try a "Tale of Two Cities". Burl Bullock (our founder) used to say "I had a great show!" We would say, "what was selling for you?" Burl's response sometimes would be "I wasn't selling, I was buying and I made out like a pirate. Hell, if I buy right I can sell anytime!" That was the way the show was for some of our members. We had too many great selling reports to publish all of them here and just as many great buying reports in diamonds, jewelry and watches... Members that came to the show to buy OR sell, generally did well. The following is what we were hearing:

Mark Nance from Houston had a good steady show. Peter Berlin reported in with a good show. Constantine Baksheeff, from Palo Alto, was attending his 3rd show and had a very good result. Dayan Avraham from San Francisco was on his way to Israel but wanted to say he had a good show. Baha Turker, the young successful dealer also from San Francisco, reported a very successful show from the buying and selling side. He was happy. Ed Techeli had a good show. Robert Ramos from Miami, had good solid show. His Monday was a little slower but Tuesday was good. Robert found some good buys at this show as well as selling good pieces. Natilio Saks had a good show. Ali Choker from Florida reported a good show that met all expectations. Mark Porcello had a good show. Doug Gruenberg reported in with a good show (and no flood this year). Maricela Reyes had a good show. Mark Santiago reported in with a very good show saying he moved rose and yellow gold presidents and gold and two tone datejusts. Ken Jacobs, from Los Angeles, reported a very good Las Vegas show. Jeff Knepper said "the show started a little slow for me but by the end I had a good show." Paul Duggan from Massachusetts called in a very good show. Felix Torres reported a good show. Adrian Kleiman's table reported a good show. Harry Setian said "Monday started a little slow but Tuesday picked up and finished good." Gary Zumalt reported a very good show. Armando Martinez was smiling and said his show exceeded his expectations especially when you consider the uncertainty in the global economy. Rafael Yaqudayev said he had a good show. Byron Eder had a good show. Ronnie Bullock reported a good show and Tommy Labret smiled and said "it was a good show!" If you know Tommy you can take him at his word. Dan Wiley (just one of our very good diamond dealers) reports that the Rupee situation in India has created a buyers diamond market especially in Melee. Dan thinks that will change in about 6-8 weeks so he is buying. Fred Hakimian reported in a good show considering the Rupee effect on goods. Last but not least, Michael Cortez of Michael Moses Jewelers in Newport Beach California attended their first show as a table holder. They think they might have priced their goods a little low because they sold their entire watch inventory in the first two hours. They report a very good show and will be back in Miami. When you are on the show floor, find our new members and welcome them to the IWJG. They are our future.

We shared a cab to the airport with Texas member Pete Moreno. Pete told us his show started off a little slow, but Tuesday afternoon he went out on the floor and got busy and bought and sold his way into a good show. It sounds like Pete and some of our other members are still following Burl's advice... Good advice for us all to follow. Never let your expectations of how the show marketplace should be, blind you to the way it actually is.

Pete, thank you for your insights into options for making the IWJG even better. We love hearing our member's ideas on how to advance the Guild. Thanks again, Pete.

We are blessed with the best dealers in the world and we want all of you to have the best shows possible. We publish these reports to give all of our membership an idea of what's happening on the entire floor, over the whole show. Your success has to come before we can be successful. That's the way it should be!

About the International Watch and Jewelry Guild (IWJG)
Since 1985, the IWJG has been conducting 12 to 14 annual cash and carry trade show events throughout the US. The members only shows are supported by over 8,200 of the world's foremost professional watch and jewelry dealers from 75 countries. The IWJG members and shows stake claim to hundreds of millions of dollars in watch and jewelry inventory. For general questions or information on becoming a member visit our website at www.iwjg.com or call us toll free at 800-554-4992. You can also visit us on Facebook at http://www.iwjg.net/facebook for more information or Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/iwjg.