Recently, El Paso, Texas, jeweler Susan Eisen had her first-ever virtual appointment with a client—in Georgia. “It was so much fun,” says Eisen, owner of Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry & Watches. “I asked the woman, ‘How did you find me?’ She was looking around [online] and liked what I had. It was someone I never would have met otherwise.” Eisen is just one of many retailers who has had to explore new sales territory during the COVID-19 pandemic. For many independent jewelers—whose ranks have shrunk over the past decade—the COVID crisis has been a gut check. When most of the country went into lockdown, the industry seemed poised for a shakeout. Jewelers faced a choice: They could either give up their business, or they could pivot and try to roll with some ver