Gerald D. "Jerry" Sisk Jr. (February 2, 1953 – January 13, 2013) was an American

gemologist Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a specific interdisciplinary branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to ...

who co-founded

Jewelry Television Jewelry Television is an American television network specializing in the sale of jewelry. On-air and online, the network is mainly branded by its jtv initials in small caps, lower-case letters. It has an estimated reach of more than 80 million ...

(JTV) in 1993. Sisk also served as the

executive vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of Jewelry Television until his death in 2013.

Biography

Sisk was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and raised in the

New York City Metropolitan Area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. He began working in the jewelry industry as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

as a teenager. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, where he was a member of the Pride of the Southland Band as a student. Sisk, who spoke six languages fluently, was a graduate

accredited through studies at the

Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and s ...

(GIA). He traveled to approximately forty countries during his career. He was a national committee member for the Gemstone Industry and Laboratory Conference and a member of the International Colored Gemstone Association. In 1993, Sisk co-founded what would become Jewelry Television together with two partners and longtime friends, Bob Hall and Bill Kouns. Kouns was a jewelry expert, while Hall had spent his career in the

television industry Television (TV) is a telecommunications, telecommunication media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of signal transmission, ...

. The new

home shopping Home shopping is the electronic retailing and home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as Shop LC, HSN, Gemporia, TJC, QVC, eBay, ShopHQ, Rakuten.com and Amazon.com, ...

channel broadcast from a small studio in

Greeneville, Tennessee Greeneville is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of American Revolutionary War, Revol ...

, utilizing just one television camera. Eventually, Sisk and his partners moved to a larger, permanent television studio in Knoxville as business and viewers increased. Jewelry Television, which calls itself the largest retailer of loose gemstones in the United States, employed more than 1,200 people by the time of Sisk's death. Sisk's best known book, ''Guide to Gems & Jewelry'', has sold more than 15,000 copies, resulting in a second edition. In April 2012, the ''Jewelers Circular Keystone'', an industry

trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular tradesman, trade or industry. The collective term ...

, included Sisk on its "Power List of industry movers and shakers" within the gem and gemstone field. The magazine called Sisk the fourth most influential person in its "Gems and gemology" sublist. Within the Knoxville area, Sisk served as a former President of the Knoxville Opera Company and held a seat on the

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra in Knoxville, Tennessee. The KSO was selected among a competitive pool of orchestras in 2020 to perform at the Kennedy Center as part of the ''SHIFT'' Festival of American Orchestras. ...

. Sisk died in his sleep at his home in

Farragut, Tennessee Farragut is a suburban town located in Knox and Loudon counties in the State of Tennessee, United States. The town's population was 23,506 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. The town is named in honor of U ...

, on January 13, 2013, at the age of 59. He was survived by his wife of thirty-seven years, Karen Lawhorn Sisk, his mother, Elaine Sisk, and his sister, Melanie. He was buried in Concord Masonic Cemetery in

Concord, Tennessee Concord is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County, Tennessee, United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district (United States), historic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisk, Jerry 1953 births 2013 deaths Gemologists American television company founders American television executives 20th-century American jewellers University of Tennessee alumni People from Knoxville, Tennessee People from Farragut, Tennessee