News 12 at 6, October 3, 2007

KNOXVILLE---Home shopping-type networks are getting to be a bigger and bigger part of the shopping industry.

There's one up and coming network that's making waves in an industry full of pearls and diamonds. It's called Jewelry Television.

Jewelry TV doesn't necessarily operate the way you think a home shopping-type network would. There are no celebrity guests or designers hawking their products. Jewelry TV is about jewelry, gems and nothing else.

When you walk into their studios you notice that it's part sales presentation as you hear one anchor say "For the last hour of the show, the price tag is..."

And then you notice it's part expert advice as another anchor says "This is the highest gold price we've seen in 27 years."

But there is also some goofy fun as another host says "This chain ladies and gentlemen...chain, chain, chain..."
(breaking out into the chorus of the popular song by Aretha Franklin).

It's all adds up to become Jewelry Television. An up and coming network with, yes, 24 hours of jewelry for sale on TV. A recipe that's making this network a $500 million dollar company.

What's really going on here goes way beyond the lights, the cameras and what you see on tv. In fact there's a lot more to the situation than you'll ever see on air.

"Thanks for calling J-T-V." a call operator said.

To start with when you place an order, you're likely to get of the many operators in the Jewelry TV Call Center. As many 400 operators are can be on hand to handle the calls.

They need that many operators because they have a lot of product. The shipping center is filled with 50,000 different types of jewelry. Whether it's rings, pearls or gems; if you want it, they've got it.

And organization is the name of the game. When an order comes in, it has to be easy to find. If it's not, the phrase needle in a haystack comes to mind.

Once your order is picked up and boxed. It's auto-packaged.

"We can process 35,000 packages in one shift." said Shipping Manager Kathy Ormand.

But those orders wouldn't come in without show hosts like Scott Parker who take a hands-on approach to planning out each show for you.

"This is what I call a baseball bat deal. You can only get it in a dark alley with a baseball bat." Scott said while pointing out an impressive price on a piece of tanzanite.

"It takes about 6 hours to put together a show." said show planner Angela Wilson.

That means keeping an eye on what's happening in the jewelry and gem markets around the world. And telling you about it.
If there's something hot on the gem market, you'll know it.

"That's the magic of our network." Scott said.

Unlike many other home shopping-type networks, the hosts on jewelry television are truly experts in what they're talking about. Many have gone to school to learn about it and several have degrees in Gemology, or the study of gems.

That means you're getting a jewelry lesson included with your sales pitch. Not to mention a chance to buy some great jewelry.

Jewelry Television is on our sister station "My 12" every night from midnight to 7 am or you can watch it online at http://www.jewelrytelevision.com