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Locked, Loaded, and Liable: What Every Jeweler Needs to Know About Security Right Now
Location: Cobb Ballroom E - 8/21/26, 3:15 PM - 8/21/26, 4:15 PM (US/Eastern) (1 hour)
Howard Stone (Jewelers Mutual), Chris Sellers (Jewelers Mutual)
Howard Stone (Jewelers Mutual), Chris Sellers (Jewelers Mutual)

The numbers don't lie — and they're alarming. The jewelry industry reported $144.7 million in crime losses in 2025, even as the total number of crimes declined, because the crimes that are happening have become dramatically more violent and more sophisticated. Violence against jewelry industry personnel rose to 27% of robbery events in 2025, up from 17% the year before. Robbers are displaying guns more often. Vehicles are being driven through the fronts of occupied stores. Pepper spray is being deployed at five times the rate it was just a year ago. 

Join us for a frank, eye-opening morning conversation with security and insurance experts from two of the jewelry industry's most trusted resources — Jewelers Mutual and the Jewelers Security Alliance — as they break down the current crime landscape and give you the practical, actionable intelligence you need to protect your store, your staff, your customers, and your livelihood.

The conversation will cover:

  • The New Criminal Playbook — Sophisticated organized groups, many linked to South America, are casing stores during business hours disguised as construction workers, then entering overnight through rooftops and shared walls, using torches and angle grinders, and in some cases deploying Wi-Fi jammers that knock out communications up to 120 feet away. What does this mean for your specific store location — strip mall, standalone, or mall-based?
  • What Criminals See When They Walk Into Your Store — The red flags that tell a criminal your store is an easy target, and the simple, low-cost changes that make you a harder one. Showcase placement, closing procedures, camera strategy, staffing patterns — small decisions with enormous security consequences.
  • When Every Second Counts — How to train your team to respond in the moment, and why the instinct to chase or resist could cost someone their life. JSA consistently advises against chasing criminals leaving a store, as armed accomplices are often waiting outside — but do your employees know that? 
  • The Insurance Reality Check — What your policy actually covers (and what it doesn't), how security investments affect your coverage and premiums, and what documentation and procedures you need to have in place before an incident occurs — not after.
  • Cyber Crime: The Threat You Can't See Coming — Physical robbery isn't the only danger. Phishing, ransomware, business email compromise, and financial fraud are all increasing threats to jewelry businesses — and many independent jewelers don't realize their standard policy may not cover them. 
  • Building Your Security Ecosystem — Alarms, cameras, safes, guards, staff training, law enforcement relationships, insurance coverage. How all the pieces work together — and where most independent jewelers have dangerous gaps.
Your store represents years of hard work, deep customer relationships, and real community trust. Protecting it requires more than a good alarm system — it requires knowledge, preparation, and the right partners in your corner. This session brings those partners to you, in one room, ready to share everything they know.

About Howard Stone

Howard Stone, Vice President of Global Asset Protection and Claims at Jewelers Mutual® Group, joined the company in January 2024 with over 30 years of progressive loss prevention experience. He has held leadership roles at Macy's, Old Navy, Anchor Blue Stores and The Wet Seal.

Most recently, Stone was the Director, Loss Prevention & Operations, at Amazon in Seattle. In this role, Stone was responsible for leading Amazon's Loss Prevention team of over 2,000 associates who were responsible for theft investigations, risk analytics, physical security, auditing and awareness. Stone graduated from St. Thomas University in Miami with a BA in Communication Arts.

Mitigating risk, preventing loss, and providing consultation are central to Jewelers Mutual’s dedication to its customers and the jewelry industry. Howard and his team are redefining the company’s risk services offerings, including loss prevention, to create a best-in-class approach for protecting the jewelry industry.

About Chris Sellers

Chris Sellers, Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Jewelers Mutual® Group, joined the company in February 2026 with more than 30 years of information technology and security leadership experience. He has held senior executive roles at Wolfspeed and Intel Corporation, where he led global IT infrastructure, engineering, and information security organizations across manufacturing, engineering, and enterprise environments.

Most recently, Sellers served as Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Wolfspeed. In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s security and compliance program, aligning the Board of Directors, Audit Committee, and executive leadership around a structured risk management program to identify and manage risks to the company and its customers. His scope spanned U.S. government contract compliance, global compliance and privacy, and the technology roadmap for efficient, effective security. He established an executive Security Steering Committee to unify the entire company under a single security strategy across all products and services. Earlier in his career at Intel, Sellers held a series of general management and executive roles, including General Manager and CISO of Intel Information Security.

Safeguarding customer trust, managing risk, and strengthening security are central to Jewelers Mutual’s commitment to its policyholders and the jewelry industry. Chris and his team are advancing the company’s information security and compliance program to deliver a best-in-class approach — protecting the data, systems, and relationships that Jewelers Mutual’s customers depend on.