EDITOR’S LETTER
by Olivier Felicio, Editor-in-Chief
The New Guard: How Canadian Jewellers Became the Voice of Jewellery’s Next Generation
For 147 years, Canadian Jeweller Magazine has chronicled an industry built on legacy, craftsmanship, and family tradition. But flip through this issue in 2025, and you’ll find something electric. This isn’t your grandfather’s trade publication. It’s the community engine for jewellery’s new guard—and we’re not apologizing for it.
The 23-Year-Old Leading a 50-Year Legacy
In a bright Vaughan showroom, Victor Commisso stands at the intersection of two worlds. At just 23 years old, he’s steering a half-century legacy his grandparents built with Italian gold and handshake deals. While most Gen Zers his age are figuring out entry-level jobs, Victor’s rebuilding a family empire with Instagram Reels, late-night DMs, and CAD software.
Let that sink in: 23. Running a multigenerational jewellery business. Making six-figure inventory decisions. Balancing grandmother’s stories with TikTok education videos.
“Jewellery from the 1980s still walks back in for repair,” Victor explains with confidence beyond his years. “But the customers sliding into our DMs at midnight? They’re researching lab-grown diamonds, asking about ethical sourcing, and expecting answers before breakfast.”
This is why Canadian Jeweller matters. We put a 23-year-old on the cover and said: This is leadership. Today.
Why This Magazine Is Their Platform
Victor’s story isn’t an anomaly—it’s a signal flare. Across Toronto, Danny Sapir is reimagining Yorkville luxury. At Nouvo Luxury Group, Alyssa Mancaniello is transforming operations with digital fluency. These young leaders aren’t waiting for their turn, and Canadian Jeweller has evolved from industry observer to community architect—the platform where they find each other, learn from each other, and realize they’re not alone.
Every profile, case study, and trade show recap creates threads between jewellers facing identical challenges: How do you digitize without losing the personal touch? How do you lead when you’re young enough to be mistaken for the intern?
When the lab-grown diamond shakeup hit—GIA abandoning traditional 4Cs grading, HRD Antwerp exiting LGD certification—established jewellers saw chaos. Victor’s generation saw pure opportunity. They’re not unlearning decades of assumptions; they’re building new frameworks from scratch. And CJ provides the analysis they need to turn disruption into a competitive advantage.
The Movement
Our look at Harry Rosen’s digital transformation—from 5% to 25% e-commerce revenue—reads like a survival guide for young jewellers inheriting family businesses. Their proprietary Herringbone platform proved that technology amplifies human expertise rather than replacing it. At 23, Victor doesn’t have 40 years of industry connections. But he has 40,000 Instagram impressions and customers who’ve never visited traditional stores—and that’s not a weakness. That’s his superpower.
That’s a movement.
Welcome to your magazine. Welcome to your community. Welcome to Canadian Jeweller—where jewellery’s next generation isn’t waiting for permission. They’re already writing the industry’s next chapter, one brilliant innovation at a time.
And we’re making damn sure everyone’s paying attention.
Olivier Felicio, Editor-in-Chief
