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First, a quick note: On March 11 at 1:30 p.m. ET, I will be moderating a webinar put on by Canadian Gemlab called “Future of Natural and Laboratory-Grown Diamonds,” which features knowledgeable folks from Swarovski and Borsheims, plus veteran industry experts Dan Scott, Garry Holloway, and Antoinette Matlins. Register here.
Also, we are really excited about this week’s podcast, a chat with Alexander Lacik, CEO of Pandora. He has a lot of great insights about brand building, attracting younger consumers, where his company may have gone wrong, and how it’s coming back. Check it out here. It’s so good I even included some bonus cuts.
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Norman Landsberg (pictured), a 47th Street institution who sold jewelry out of his 15-foot booth for 72 years, died Feb. 13 of COVID-19. He was 94.
Landsberg, who also owned Landsberg Jewelers in Rye Brook, N.Y., garnered such a strong reputation and devoted clientele that he became one of the few 47th Street jewelers never mind booth jewelers to sell high-end designers like Penny Preville and Christopher Designs.
“That was unheard of on 47th Street,” says son Jonathan. “It still is.”
Jonathan remembers that when his father offered bagels on Saturday mornings, there would be lines outside the exchange.
Born in the Bronx in 1926, Norman Landsberg spoke seven languages, and served as a translator for the U.S. Army during World War II. He intended to go to law school, until a friend came to him looking to make a ring. Norman consulted his uncle, a diamond polisher. The one sale led to others.
Norman Landsberg, Jeweler With a Friendly Touch, Dies at 94
He designed and sold jewelry for 72 years from a booth in the diamond district in Manhattan. He died of Covid-related pneumonia.
Norman Landsberg at his booth. He was known for his friendliness, custom designs and the spread that he laid out on Saturday mornings.Credit.via Landsberg family
Published March 1, 2021Updated March 8, 2021
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others
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Liberace wanted something opulent but wasn’t specific, so together, jeweler and pianist designed a ring a miniature, upside-down candelabra, featuring five dangling, marquise-shaped diamonds that evoked the branched candleholder that was a fixture on Liberace’s piano.
The Dec. 30 edition of
The Boris Rock Show featured a tribute to Leslie West who passed away on Dec. 23 at the age of 75.
The Dec. 26 edition of
Greasy Tracks also honored West. Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here.
Best known for his work with the band Mountain, West, born Leslie Weinstein, began his recording career in 1964 with The Vagrants, a Long Island-based band that also included his brother, Larry, on bass and vocals. The group, which blended blue-eyed soul with rock, recorded a handful of singles and played the metro-New York City club circuit before breaking up in 1968.
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Leslie West (Getty Images)
American rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Leslie West, whose sound, both on the guitar and his voice, created the unique identity of the rock band Mountain, died on Tuesday, December 22. West was 75. His death was confirmed by Dean Guitars. âWith a heavy heart, we are saddened to hear about the passing of #Dean Artist and part of the Dean family, Leslie West. Legendary and one of a kind. Rest In Peace,â said the official page of the company, which was quoted by Dean Guitars CEO Evan Rubinson, who shared his personal condolences, writing, âTo a man that I truly loved more than most â the funniest, most honest guy Iâve met.â