Gerald D. "Jerry" Sisk Jr. (February 2, 1953 – January 13, 2013) was an American gemologist who co-founded Jewelry Television (JTV) in 1993.[1] [2] Sisk also served as the executive vice president of Jewelry Television until his death in 2013.[1]
Sisk was born in New York and raised in the New York City Metropolitan Area.[2] [3] [4] He began working in the jewelry industry as an apprentice as a teenager.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he was a member of the Pride of the Southland Band as a student.[2]
Sisk, who spoke six languages fluently, was a graduate gemologist accredited through studies at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).[1] [2] [3] [5] He traveled to approximately forty countries during his career.[2] He was a national committee member for the Gemstone Industry and Laboratory Conference and a member of the International Colored Gemstone Association.[3]
In 1993, Sisk co-founded what would become Jewelry Television together with two partners and longtime friends, Bob Hall and Bill Kouns.[1] [2] [3] Kouns was a jewelry expert, while Hall had spent his career in the television industry.[2] The new home shopping channel broadcast from a small studio in Greeneville, Tennessee, utilizing just one television camera.[2] Eventually, Sisk and his partners moved to a larger, permanent television studio in Knoxville as business and viewers increased.[2] 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.[2]
Sisk's best known book, Guide to Gems & Jewelry, has sold more than 15,000 copies, resulting in a second edition.[1] [3] In April 2012, the Jewelers Circular Keystone, an industry trade magazine, included Sisk on its "Power List of industry movers and shakers" within the gem and gemstone field.[2] [6] The magazine called Sisk the fourth most influential person in its "Gems and gemology" sublist.[6]
Within the Knoxville area, Sisk served as a former President of the Knoxville Opera Company and held a seat on the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.[2]
Sisk died in his sleep at his home in Farragut, Tennessee, on January 13, 2013, at the age of 59.[1] [3] He was survived by his wife of thirty-seven years, Karen Lawhorn Sisk, his mother, Elaine Sisk, and his sister, Melanie.[1] He was buried in Concord Masonic Cemetery in Concord, Tennessee.[2]