Paul Anka, David Foster, Barbara Mandrell among 2026 Kennedy Center Honors recipients. The event will be held on December 7th in Washington, D.C. President Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees have announced the lifetime achievement Honorees who will be recognized for the 49th Kennedy Center Honors: Paul Anka, David Foster, Andy Garcia, David Mamet, and Barbara Mandrell. The Honorees will be celebrated on December 7th at a gala ceremony held for the first time at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors has celebrated the lifetime contributions of some of the world's most influential artists in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures and television. This year's celebration will be hosted at Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE)'s Capital One Arena, a world-class, next-generation sports and entertainment destination and a fixture of downtown Washington, D.C. Together, the Kennedy Center and MSE teams will transform the arena to capture the elegance and spirit that have defined the Honors ceremony for generations. This year's Honorees were chosen based on the recommendation of the Kennedy Center's Special Honors Advisory Committee (SHAC), whose members include former Honorees, distinguished artists and members of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, under the leadership of Chairman President Donald J. Trump. "We are recognizing amazing artists whose lifelong work has shaped American culture and inspired generations of audiences," states President Trump. "We are proud to honor this year's class and to continue a tradition that has defined the Center for nearly 50 years." Boeing is the Exclusive Underwriter of the Kennedy Center Honors Gala. Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline of the Kennedy Center Honors. Tiffany & Co. is the Official Medallion Partner of the Kennedy Center Honors. Anka is a legendary singer-songwriter whose career spans more than six decades. Beyond his own era-defining hits like "Diana" and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," he penned iconic standards for others, including the English lyrics to Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and Tom Jones' "She's a Lady." Foster is a prolific 16-time Grammy Award-winning producer, composer, and arranger who shaped modern popular music, producing landmark records for Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Andrea Bocelli, and Michael Bublé. Mandrell is a Country Music Hall of Fame member, multi-instrumentalist, and two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year. A dominant force on radio charts and television through the late 1970s and 1980s, Mandrell bridged traditional country and mainstream pop with hits like "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" and her popular variety show Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters. She officially retired in October 1997 and has rarely made public appearances since. Garcia is an acclaimed actor and filmmaker whose filmography includes memorable performances in The Godfather Part III (which earned him an Academy Award nomination), The Untouchables, When a Man Loves a Woman, and the Ocean's franchise, alongside his contributions to Latin music and heritage in cinema. Mamet is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director renowned for his sharp, rhythmic dialogue ("Mamet speak"). His defining works include Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow, American Buffalo, and film screenplays such as The Verdict and The Untouchables.

Tiffany & Co. takes consumers behind the scenes. The jeweler gave the public backstage tours of its flagship store and its design and innovation workshop as part of LVMH's open house. Tiffany & Co. was part of LVMH's Les Journées Particulières, a three-day event that gives consumers access to its workshops, factories, and vineyards. Tiffany & Co.'s tours took place in New York City, with participants visiting either the Design and Innovation Workshop (pictured) or its flagship store on Fifth Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Tiffany & Co.) New York - For the first time in four years, Tiffany & Co. participated in Les Journées Particulières, LVMH's company-wide event that gives consumers a behind-the-scenes look at the processes that goes into making the luxury products it sells. Held Oct. 16 to 18, Les Journées Particulières - The Special Days - took place in more than a dozen countries and included tours of vineyards and wine cellars, as well as the workshops where LVMH brands make their perfumes, clothes, leather goods, watches, and jewelry. Tickets to Les Journées Particulières are free, and LVMH releases them in waves online about three weeks before the event. For Tiffany & Co., consumers were given a behind-the-scenes tour of either the brand's Design and Innovation Workshop or The Landmark, its flagship store on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. For both tours, the focus was on one iconic design, Tiffany & Co.'s "Bird on a Rock," conceived by Jean Schlumberger in 1965 and reimagined in 2025 by the brand's current Chief Artistic Officer Nathalie Verdeille. Participants got to see how the bird is developed at the Design and Innovation Workshop, while consumers who visited the flagship store witnessed the final stop in the bird's flight path, a Tiffany & Co. store. "The Bird on a Rock, is light, ethereal, and includes the most precious stones, selected with the most extraordinary precision," Christopher Young, Tiffany & Co.'s creative director and vice president for global creative visual merchandising. "One of the first iterations combined yellow and white diamonds perched on a lapis-lazuli stone, in a subtle blend of fantasy and extreme elegance that, in my eyes, symbolizes [Tiffany & Co.'s] savoir-faire." This year marked the sixth time LVMH has offered behind-the-scenes tours of its brands; the first Les Journées Particulières took place in 2011. The last time Tiffany & Co participated was in 2022. This year was the first time Tiffany & Co. offered a tour of its flagship store, which reopened as The Landmark in April 2023 after extensive renovations. Other LVMH-owned brands holding open houses for the first time included the historic Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, and Casa Loewe in Madrid. The theme for Les Journées Particulières 2026 was Aux Racines du Rêve, or The Source of Dreams. "By inviting the public into the iconic spaces of our maisons, Les Journées Particulières offers insights into the ways in which we fulfill our mission to 'The Art of Crafting Dreams,'" said Antoine Arnault, LVMH's head of Image & Environment. "Workshops, châteaux, family estates, time-honored stores, vineyards, and gardens... this is where inspiration is born, techniques are passed down, and excellence is built to last. This year, we are inviting you to explore the source of dreams, to go back to their origins, roam the land where they come to life, and meet the people who shape them." In total, LVMH opened the doors to 45 of its brands, with experiences spanning 71 venues in 13 countries. In addition to the behind-the-scenes tours of Tiffany & Co. in New York, LVMH's Watches & Jewelry division held open houses at the Bulgari boutiques in Rome and Place Vendôme in Paris; the Repossi store on Place Vendôme; Chaumet's private townhouse on Place Vendôme; the Fred boutique on Rue de la Paix in Paris; and the Louis Vuitton and TAG Heuer watch manufacturing facilities in Switzerland. Editors' picks. Sponsored by Michelle Graff is the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication's coverage both online and in print. More on Majors Brought to you by The latest. Spectrum's "Best of Show" honors went to a 101-carat Paraiba carved to look like Medusa that has a magnet-activated LED light. Our Halloween Pieces of the Week are four "Eye" pendants, each set with colorful gemstones. The Rolex-owned retailer's new 4,700-square-foot store's façade honors the Pacific Northwest's evergreen forests. Brought to you by A Diamond Is Forever's holiday campaign reimagines natural diamond icons for a new generation celebrating individuality. Get into the Halloween spirit with this roundup of 13 spooky jewels. Weekly Quiz Oct 29, 2026 Test your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions. Tiffany & Co.'s latest ambassador makes her debut in its "Love Is a Gift" holiday campaign. For her annual Halloween story, Senior Editor Lenore Fedow highlights bewitching jewels fit for a witch that go from day to unholy night. Brought to you by Built on Relationships. Refined by Craft. Crime Oct 28, 2026 Jaythan Gilder was found guilty of robbery and grand theft after stealing and then ingesting nearly $800,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. jewelry. Consumer confidence remains on the long-term downward trend that's persisted over the past few years, said a Conference Board economist. The holiday campaign includes key jewelry trends, a curated holiday gift guide, and resources to help jewelers prepare for holiday shoppers. The "Icons" holiday campaign spotlights four classic diamond jewelry styles reimagined in "Desert Diamond" tones. Solomon Brothers, which has three stores in the Metro Atlanta area, said it may continue to acquire other independent jewelers. The fine jewelry brand raised $2.3 million at its annual gala that supports the nonprofit's fight against blood cancer and blood disorders. The annual fundraising event is slated for June 6, 2027, at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. In her "Vantage" collection, Lau explores heritage, identity, and inner strength through designs featuring blue-green Guatemalan jade.

From saving gold to wearing it: Vietnam's new middle class. In my last post, I wrote about how Vietnamese families treat gold like a savings account. But something interesting is happening as Vietnam gets richer. Gold is slowly moving from the drawer to the wrist. The same metal is starting to play a second role: not just protection, but self-expression. To me, this shift says a lot about how a country changes once people have money left over after the essentials. A middle class growing fast. The numbers behind this shift are striking. McKinsey found that Vietnam's "consuming class" grew from under 10% of the population in 2000 to about 40%, and could reach roughly 75% by 2030. That is about 36 million new middle-class consumers in a single decade. GNI per capita rose to about $4,970 in 2025, pushing the country into upper-middle-income territory. You can see the change in what people buy. Car ownership roughly tripled in 13 years. Global brands like Tiffany & Co. and Montblanc have opened their first stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. From "how many grams?" to "how does it look?" For older generations, the first question at a gold counter was purity and weight. Design barely mattered, because the ring might be sold again someday. Younger, wealthier buyers are adding new questions. Does it match my style? Can I wear it to work? Is the brand one my friends recognize? PNJ, Vietnam's largest jewelry retailer, shows how local players are responding. The company earned about $1.3 billion in revenue in 2025, up nearly 34%, with retail now making up almost 70% of sales. It has been moving toward larger stores and has called personalized customer experience a key part of its strategy. That sounds a lot more like a fashion retailer than an old-school gold shop. Culture doesn't disappear. It layers. Here is the part I find most interesting from a cultural environment angle. Rising income does not erase the old values. It stacks new ones on top. Many middle-class buyers still want high-karat gold that holds its value. They just want it to look good too. Price also remains the top deciding factor for many Vietnamese consumers, according to a 2026 survey summary. That creates a tricky opening for foreign brands. A Western jeweler that only sells 14k or 18k "fashion" pieces may look stylish, but it can feel like a weak investment to a Vietnamese buyer. Local brands that combine purity, resale value, and modern design are often better positioned than the big global names. The takeaway. When a market gets richer, it is tempting to assume consumers will start acting like Western shoppers. Vietnam suggests otherwise. The middle class is spending more, but it is spending through its own cultural lens. The winning products respect the old meaning of gold while giving people a new way to show who they are. Do you think rising income makes consumers more "global," or just more confident about their own traditions? I'd love to hear your take. AI disclosure: I used ChatGPT to help research and draft this post.