100 years of CJA: A walk down memory lane

by carly_midgley | February 16, 2018 8:40 am

In honour of the Canadian Jewellers Association’s (CJA’s) centennial year, Jewellery Business took a closer look at significant moments in the group’s history. From its formation in 1918 to its merger with Jewellers Vigilance Canada (JVC) this past June, explore the biggest and brightest moments in CJA history.

 

[1]

1918 to 1929

• The Canadian National Jewellers Association (CNJA) was established on September 25, 1918.
• At CNJA’s first meeting on February 19, 1919, the Executive Committee approved the fee structure for the new association. For example, it was established retailers with less than 10 employees would pay $2 per year. At the same meeting, it was decided a horological school would be established under the auspices of CNJA.
• On November 5, 1919, CNJA’s secretary reported there were 412 members in the association, up from 157 in February. By the end of 1920, there were 739. Members were comprised of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Without such things as e-mail or texts, they were kept informed through a series of bulletins, plus regional visits and meetings.
• In 1919 and 1920, CNJA established the Jewellery Publicity Campaign, an initiative designed to promote the jewellery business across Canada. It used the positioning line, “Gifts that last.”
• The first annual CNJA convention was held February 16 and 17, 1920, at the Windsor Hotel in Montréal. Resolutions included adoption of standard repair lists, abandonment of wholesalers selling goods at retail, establishment of a three-month guarantee against defects on new watches, and strong endorsement that daylight savings legislation be re-enacted by the government.
• In a letter written in the spring of 1920 to the Honourable Members of the Senate and House of Commons, the secretary of CNJA relayed the cost to an importer of bringing a $100 item of jewellery from the United States to Canada. The importer would pay 35 per cent duty, 7.5 per cent war tax, a 10 per cent excise tax, and a 15 per cent exchange on U.S. funds. In all, this means paying a 75 per cent premium on the original price, or $175.
• The most important items within the jewellers’ business in 1920 were watches, clocks, optical goods, and table silverware. Jewellery constituted a very small proportion of the lines handled by the average jeweller. In fact, as of 1917, only $724,833 of jewellery was imported into Canada from the United States. In the year 1919, 45 per cent of global imports were watches and clocks, while 25 per cent were diamonds and only three per cent were precious stones.
• The secretary reported travelling more than 32,187 km (20,000 mi) on CNJA business in 1920.
• At a meeting on December 7, 1921, a report was given on the operations of a gang that had robbed jewellers in Toronto and Hamilton by substituting cheap articles for valuable diamond rings. The secretary reported he had sent out a warning circular, and it was decided a similar warning should be sent to all members whenever the secretary was notified of such occurrences.
• In the 1922 president’s report, A .L. Wheatley said, “If every jeweller realized what the association has done for him/her personally, we would have no trouble in enlisting his/her wholehearted support. But he/she doesn’t. He/she has not had the matter brought to his/her attention forcibly enough. Let us do it this year.”
• On April 26, 1922, the organization’s name was changed to the Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA).
• During an Executive Committee meeting on September 13, 1922, past president M.C. Ellis presented a design for a country of origin stamp for gold and silver goods manufactured in Canada: a maple leaf superimposed on the letter C. The stamp was endorsed by the federal government with a change to the Gold and Silver Marking Act in 1923. It significantly improved enforcement of the act, keeping illegally marked low-quality goods out of the country.
• In 1922, following the suggestion of an Ontario retailer, the CJA Executive Committee instructed wholesalers and manufacturers to print price lists at a standard size of 184 x 108 mm (7 ¼ x 4 ¼ in.) so retailers could conveniently keep all price lists in a binder.
• CJA entered into an agreement with the Canadian Hardware and Implement Underwriters to supply mutual fire insurance for members in 1923. The benefit was a 30 per cent rebate on members’ insurance premiums with a five per cent commission paid to the association. Unfortunately, this program did not survive the Great Depression.
• In his remarks to the 1924 CJA convention, retiring president Arthur E. Rowland said, “Those who are in the jewellery business, but are not members of this association, reap the benefit of our work. The good results of our efforts we willingly share with them. We would not have it otherwise, but hope someday they might see light and become a part of us. I have recently read that service will be found to be the instrument which business big and little can effectively co-operate to advance the interest of all.”
• By February 1926, membership had grown to 852. There were three contributors to this significant growth: the promotional efforts of the Canadian Jewellery Travellers’ Association, the robust activities of provincial and district jewellers’ associations, and the executive committee, which travelled extensively across the country.
• The first CJA golf outing took place in Burlington in 1926.
• In 1928, a suggestion for a national slogan contest for advertising from A.E. Belyea of E. & A. Gunther Company resulted in more than 10,000 entries and the winning slogan, “Let jewellery add the finishing touch.”
• Membership peaked at 890 in 1928. CJA reported retail sales peaked the following year. However, by 1934, membership had dropped to 526, and retail sales for the jewellery trade equalled 63.1 per cent of the 1930 volume as a direct result of the Great Depression.

[2]

1930 to 1939

• A resolution at the annual meeting on February 11, 1930, had CJA seek to make the crimes of those guilty of smuggling public to the press. At the time, this was contrary to the policy of the Department of Customs.
• In September 1937, the first CJA Jewellery and Gift Fair was held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.
• In October 1938, CJA officially assumed the responsibilities of the Jewellers Security Alliance (JSA). With JSA came more than $8000 in funds, which more than doubled CJA’s assets.

1940 to 1949

• A Retail Jewellers Vigilance Committee was formed in 1941 to investigate the problem of wholesale retailing, where wholesalers sold directly to the public.
• CJA had a member appointed to the Wartime Prices and Trade Board in 1941. This board provided regulations affecting price, set certain limits on special-order work, and restricted credit, resulting in lost business.
• On April 1, 1941, the Hurricane Campaign was initiated, aiming to raise $50,000 to purchase two Hurricane Fighter planes for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). By November 11, 1941, CJA had raised $89,984. In spring 1942, at Rockcliffe Base near Ottawa, CJA presented RCAF approximately $110,000 (about $1.7 million in today’s dollars).
• In 1942, it was reported resurgence in membership had resulted in a 233 per cent increase over the previous four years. The association stood at 1390 members.
• The industry continued to face headwinds in 1943 as a result of the war effort. In addition to the restrictions brought about by the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, CJA members were also facing obstacles from the National Selective Service (which caused 30 factory workers and several watchmakers to be transferred into war work) and threats to business from a 25 per cent retail sales tax.
• In 1943, the forward-looking CJA established a Post-war Planning Committee to address the issue of a rehabilitation program for returning soldiers, among other considerations.
• Planning began for the Canadian Jewellers Institute (CJI) in 1944, with the purpose of providing educational facilities for the teaching of any and all crafts and trades related to the jewellery industry.
• On January 29, 1945, during his opening remarks to more than 300 members and guests at the annual CJA meeting, president C.R. Strachan observed “that soon the war clouds of Europe would lift and that we might be restored to an era of peace…and that the jewellery trades were in a healthy state and that we had travelled through the war years without serious impairment.”
• The first CJA office was opened in 1946, and a permanent secretariat was formed to address CJI and the growing work of the association.
• In 1946, CJA produced an honour roll listing more than 1300 members of the trade who were on active service during the war.
• 1946 was a particularly good year for wholesalers and manufacturers as retailers restocked their stores, no longer under any restrictions from the war effort. There were 1570 members, with 753 in Ontario alone.
• During the 1947 annual meeting, a motion was passed to create a Vigilance Committee to deal with misleading or fraudulent advertising.
• In 1947, CJA membership grew to 1604 and 78,280 pieces of mail were sent from the association’s office.
• In March 1949, the federal government removed the 25 per cent retail sales tax and replaced it with a 10 per cent manufacturers’ tax.
• CJA members were asked to place war loan displays in their windows to support the war effort.

1950 to 1959

• Norman J. Leach was appointed the first general manager in the history of CJA in 1951.
• In 1951, CJA announced a new group insurance plan for members with Federated Mutual Insurance Company in co-operation with Great West Life. This was the second attempt to provide the association with a benefit. By 1954, 1313 lives were protected under this plan.
• Membership hit an all-time high of 1896 between 1952 and 1954, with the CJA office sending more than 112,000 mailings—almost 30,000 of which had to do with CJI.
• By 1954, CJA had formed a Gem Standards Committee to make recommendations to the government for gems, similar to what is in place for precious metals.
• From 1952 to 1954, 257 students enrolled in the Retail Jewellers Training Course, the forerunner to the present-day Jewellery Educational Training System (JETS) program.
• The Vigilance Committee contacted a number of advertisers between 1952 and 1954, asking them to stop using objectionable words like “flawless” and “blue-white” in their diamond ads, except where the terms used could be supported by the merchandise.
• The annual convention was reduced from three days to one in 1955 at the request of the membership, who claimed they could not afford to spend three days away from their businesses. It was replaced with 12 regional meetings and attended by more than 1300 members and guests.
• In 1956, CJI published an all-Canadian textbook for the Retail Jewellers Training Course.
• From November 18 to 23, 1957, CJA sponsored a National Jewellery Week. One of the initiatives involved a Star Weekly supplement, for which $65,000 was spent. Across the country, more than 100,000 lines were purchased by retail members in local papers. An editorial kit was also produced and sent to 365 newspapers.
• In March 1957, a program was developed to make consumers more jewellery-conscious through a series of press releases, and tours of manufacturing plants were organized for fashion editors to see goods actually being produced.
• Throughout 1957, 11 conventions were organized with more than 2600 attendees.
• During most of the 1950s, primary issues were the damage that discount catalogues were doing to retail jewellers and the question of allowing manufacturers control of their pricing. Since price maintenance was outlawed, the jewellery manufacturing sector continued to lobby the federal government to rescind the laws and allow them to control the pricing of their products.
• In 1959, CJA members addressed the growing problem of ‘fly-by-night’ auction sales and their misleading jewellery practices through local bylaws at the municipal level. Led by the example of Winnipeg’s bylaws, a number of communities across Canada were able to enact similar changes.

 

[3]

1960 to 1969

• In the final meeting of 1960, the board of directors moved “all applications for membership in the CJA from firms outside of Canada shall be considered on the merits of each case, whether or not the firm has an establishment in Canada.”
• A 1960 survey indicated only six per cent of men and eight per cent of women bought gifts from jewellers. During the annual meeting, it was noted every effort should be made by CJA to find ways to improve the prestige of the jeweller in the public mind and get consumers back into jewellery stores for their gift buying.
• At CJA’s 1961 annual meeting, plans were announced for a new gemmological course written by two experts from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The recent entry of discount department stores and duty-free shops into Canada was also noted.
• During its 1964 annual meeting, CJA announced the plans for a November consumer contest draw named ‘Holiday in Europe,’ where the person to draw the winning ballot would receive a trip to Switzerland. There were 100 sets of luggage as runner-up prizes. A total of 660 retail stores participated, representing 159 municipalities.
• The excise tax was removed in the United States in 1965.

1970 to present

• Throughout the 1970s, CJA presidents such as Vernon Gale and Marvin Gerstein helped the association improve its internal effectiveness, particularly in the areas of education, trade relations, ethics, and government advocacy.
• In the early 1980s, Canada fell victim to troubled economic times. CJA membership was declining such that the national convention only drew 278 attendees, despite having respected guest speakers such as environmentalist David Suzuki and famed economist John Crispo.
• In the 1985 to 1986 fiscal year, CJA purchased Jewellery World Magazine. With the magazine came the return of John Theo to the role of general manager, following his first stint from 1975 to 1977. During Theo’s tenure, CJA modernized by purchasing its first computer, grew membership (with 106 joining in a single year), and further significantly increased profitability (with a $250,000 profit increase from 1986 to 1987). It also formed JVC in 1987.
• In 2006, the jewellery excise tax (JET) was finally repealed in Canada.
• In 2017, JVC combined with CJA.

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/features/100-years-cja-walk-memory-lane/

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