Rob Wolcheck of Fox 2 News Detroit and Les Gold, President of American Jewelry & Loan, investigate a new product called Flex Tape. Will it get “fame” or “shame”? Find out by clicking ‘read more’!
Purchasing a diamond is a big decision — by limiting your shopping experience to the internet, there is no chance to “try before you buy”. In order to see that diamond you purchase online, you have to buy it…which increases the risk of fraud or ending up with an expensive item that you are unhappy with.
Find a stone that you want to buy online?
American Jewelry and Loan will set an appointment for one of our GIA Certified gemologists to show you comparable diamonds and/or jewelry pieces that are similar to what you find at online retailers. We will match the published price on a like-for-like stone. In the rare circumstance that we are unable to find exactly what you’re looking for and you end up purchasing the stone online after a consultation with one of our jewelers, we will pay you $100 (just show us the proof of purchase of that original online stone with specifications including cut and clarity).
Dear Fellow Pawnbrokers–
Thank you for inviting us to join you at your annual convention in Tulsa! This will be the first visit to Oklahoma for each of us and we can’t wait to spend time with each one of you. We are looking forward to sharing the story of our 40 years of business, lessons learned, and our vision for the future. We are also excited to hear about YOUR experiences and insights into the industry!
This unique opportunity for networking, education, and vendor exhibits all take place at the beautiful Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. We believe that events like this are invaluable for staying at the top of your game. The weekend kicks off with a golf tournament on Saturday, August 25th followed by a meet-and-greet and roundtable conversation from 4-8 pm. Then, we’ll be speaking on Sunday morning at 9am. We certainly hope you’ll join us and are honored by the invitation to join you.
Thanks again–we’ll see you in Tulsa!
Les and Seth Gold
The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) is pleased to name American Jewelry and Loan as the 2018 recipient of the NPA Outstanding Community Relations Award. Seth and Les Gold, of TruTV’s Hardcore Pawn, accepted the award at the Annual Awards Luncheon on July 10, 2018. The event was held at The Mirage in Las Vegas during Pawn Expo 2018, the only national convention and trade show for the pawn industry.
Celebrating 40 years of business in metro Detroit, American Jewelry and Loan has a long history of community involvement, which employs a three-tier strategy of business leadership, financial literacy, and charitable giving. Their Entrepreneurship Master Class provides low-cost training and mentoring to approximately 50 aspiring entrepreneurs. As volunteer mentors for Junior Achievement, the Golds give freely of their time to attend high school “Shark-Tank Style” pitches, offering business wisdom and insights as well as seed funds from “The Gold Bank.” As part of their commitment to workforce diversity, American Jewelry and Loan provides meaningful employment to adults on the autism spectrum.
The Golds recognize that financial literacy is an important priority for the Detroit region and have worked to help educate their customers and others about pawnbroking. Their “Financial Literacy for Alternative Lending Customers” course, now in its second year, represents a partnership with three national non-profit organizations and is the only one of its kind.
The Gold family is committed to supporting their community. Les frequently serves as a celebrity auctioneer and has raised $125,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters and almost $300,000 for Winning Futures, a youth mentoring program. Seth served as Honorary Chair of the Wigs 4 Kids Gala. In addition to welcoming summer interns from The Jalen Rose Academy, American Jewelry and Loan contributed $10,000 towards the scholarship fund of this charter high school, which serves the children who live in the same neighborhood as their Detroit store. To celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary, they gave a $10,000 gift to Junior Achievement of Southeastern to establish ‘The Gold Bank’ which will fund the entrepreneurial endeavors of Detroit’s youth for generations to come.
[from Yahoo Finance] This ex-Googler pawned her 24-karat gold jewels she inherited from her mother and sold some of her Google stock to launch her new
Chia-Lin Simmons doesn’t seem like the kind of person to launch a fashion-focused startup. “In my native form, I’m basically in a Google T-shirt and yoga pants talking to engineers,” Simmons told Business Insider.
And yet, Simmons is the founder of LookyLoo, an Oakland startup that is wholly centered on fashion. LookyLoo plans to use artificial intelligence to help women identify the proper fit while shopping for clothing, which would let women consult other women on the platform throughout the shopping process. Think of it as having an unbiased opinion at your fingertips when trying something on in a dressing room.
LookyLoo’s platform is in its infancy, with the app slated to go live across the US in September, but Simmons’ vision has already gotten some attention — she spoke at San Francisco Design Week in early June about AI’s role in the future of retail.
Simmons has yet to delve into funding rounds for her company, so no money has been raised yet. But to get the ball rolling on LookyLoo’s early development, Simmons sold some of her Google stock — and took the 24-karat gold jewels her mother had given her to a San Francisco pawn shop.
“This is how women founders move; we don’t get the benefit of the doubt,” Simmons said.
Simmons’ experience in tech spans more than 20 years. She’s held executive positions at Amazon’s Audible, Time Warner/AOL, and Samsung’s connected car business Harman before joining Google’s Play division in a global partner marketing role.
“Nobody turns down Google. They’re like the mafia,” Simmons said. “They call, you’re like ‘OK.’”
She and her two male cofounders, Rafael Saavedra and another who chose not to be named, have been around the block of Silicon Valley’s tech industry, a field known for being dominated by fresh-eyed and bushy-tailed 20-somethings.
“We’re not 22 and just graduated; we know what it means to build technology,” Simmons said.
She’ll kick off funding rounds for her company soon, but in the interim, she said she’s lucky to have been able to live off of her Google stock and the funds she made from her heirloom gold, a privilege unafforded to the majority of female founders in the startup territory.
“This is where most women’s businesses and startups fail, they don’t get that first vote of validation,” Simmons said.
Read full story: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-googler-pawned-her-24-192958661.html
As we recognize the 40th Anniversary of American Jewelry and Loan, we celebrate the life and legacy of its founder–Les Gold. Read more about his journey in his New York Times Bestselling Book, For What It’s Worth: Business Wisdom from a Pawnbroker.
Les Gold recently stopped by the Fox 2 News studios to share gift ideas for every budget with Jay Towers and the crew.
2018 marks the 40th Anniversary of American Jewelry and Loan. We’ve introduced The Lili Gold Signature Collection as part of our celebration of this milestone.
The design, Two hearts. One Journey, celebrates the journey that Les describes in his New York Times Bestselling Book, For What It’s Worth: Business Wisdom from a Pawnbroker, which he dedicated to Lili. In addition to sharing business wisdom, the book shares stories from the journey that they’ve shared.
Now, we want to hear other stories that fit into this same theme! Share a brief story (1,500 words or less) that either describes your personal journey or someone who authorizes you to share theirs, entitled “Two Hearts One Journey”. Add a compelling photograph and submit it via email to [email protected] between now and July 1, 2018. We’ll post the stories to our blog and social media channels and followers will vote for their favorite. Total ‘likes’ will be calculated alongside our judges’ scores in the following categories:
- Fan favorite: 40 points
- Message quality and originality: 20 points
- Photo quality and originality: 20 points
- Heartwarming story: 20 points
The three winners will receive a set from the collection: Small pendant, Set of Earrings, and Bracelet in Sterling Silver. Winners will be announced shortly after the contest ends, no later than July 30, 2018. Click HERE for full contest details and requirements.
