Jewelry is a billion-dollar industry that has been around for centuries. There are a variety of sectors and components in the jewelry business, but most people only think about it from a consumers perspective.
We were fortunate enough to speak with Dion Smith the CEO of AJC Jewelry, which is the only black-owned jewelry manufacturing company in New York’s prestigious diamond district. Hip-Hop culture has championed jewelry for years and even created the phrase “bling bling,” that’s recognized in the dictionary. However, the celebration of jewelry has been as purchasers not as profiting businesses. Dion is the execption to that.
In episode 67, Dion gave us an inside look into the extremely secretive world of the jewelry business. He explained exactly what jewelry manufacturing is, went over the value of gold and discussed if it should be used as an investment and he covered the do’s and don’ts of jewelry collecting, investing and purchasing. He also covered his journey from growing up in the South Bronx, to having a million-dollar jewelry business in the diamond district.
