Business as Usual

RAPAPORT...

A wide range of exhibitors  — dealers whose specialties range from loose diamonds and gemstones to estate jewelry and watches to collectibles, sculptures and even some vintage costume — sets the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show apart from other jewelry venues in the city in June. Unlike most of the other trade events, this show is characterized by major amounts of dealer-to-dealer purchases and trades. As one exhibitor laughingly put it: “Even if no one walks through the doors, we still do a lot of business.” Organized by DMG World Media, the show included 306 exhibitors and attracted approximately 6,000 buyers, a slight increase from 2008.

This year’s show enjoyed closer proximity to the established Couture and JCK shows by moving to Bally’s Hotel & Casino from the Rio. The latter hotel, filled to capacity by the World Series of Poker, had proved too congested for the trade-only gathering. In 2010, the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show will move again — this time to the MGM Grand.
The timing of this year’s show elicited both positive and negative reactions. The five-day run began Thursday, May 28, two days before JCK opened, allowing buyers to attend both. For some dealers, however, observation of the Sabbath and Shavuot ate two days out of their exhibition time.

Commenting on this problem, Winona Kress, Joseph Gad & Co., New York, said, “We started with good traffic on the first day, but then lost two days for the holiday. But there was good energy Sunday; we made a lot of new contacts, but not great sales.” Joseph Gad, an emerald dealer, said this show is usually very strong for him. “We used to do Couture, JCK and Luxury, but I gave them all up to do this one. This show brings us really good retailers and dealers.”

Overall, jewelry designs at this show ranged from low-key treasures from preVictorian times to the classic elegance of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels to the over-the-top bling of Jacob & Co. Interestingly, there were a number of designs of more recent vintage from Oscar Heyman & Bros., Nouvelle Bague, Hammerman, Orlando Orlandini and Kieselstein-Cord — some of whom were exhibiting new designs at the other shows.

Highs and Lows
According to many of the dealers, it was either very high-end or low-end pieces that showed the most activity — however, the definition of “high” and “low” depended on the company. For Michael Goldstein, president of his self-named New York firm, small antique rings in the $1,000-to-$3,000 range were very strong. According to Goldstein, the bridal business is “huge,” and any rings that can be sold as either engagement or wedding bands are popular.

Olivia Garay, New York, a first-time exhibitor, said she shocked some dealers with her selection of product that ranged from vintage costume jewelry to big-name estate pieces. Garay said she did $10,000 in sales of Bakelite jewelry the first couple of days and also sold some high-end pieces from Buccellati.

 “The smaller items have been strong,” observed Jorge Chamizo,  McTeigue Since 1895, New York. Smaller items at this company, priced under $20,000, were good sellers. “There is a good value on diamonds,” said Chamizo, who lists his sales pyramid in this order: jewelry, colored gemstones and diamonds. Overall, he said his company sold what it expected to sell, although “our expectations were better for this show, but confidence is not there.”

Principals at Scarselli Diamonds, New York, whose showcases were filled with dazzling, large white and colored diamonds, were very disappointed. “We started to see some interest in colored diamonds because color is keeping its prices,” said Nino Scarselli, president. “But still, money is tight and there is less inclination to buy.” He predicts there will be a continued shakeout in the diamond market before business once again flourishes.

Edward Faber, president,  Aaron Faber Gallery, New York, has a unique take on the current market. He noted reborn interest in exotic colors, such as jade and oxblood coral, and growing popularity of jewelry with “exaggerated fantasy” themes, such as harlequin images and characters from commedia dell’arte. “People are looking for relief; they want something to smile about,” he said.

Another strong direction for this dealer and gallery owner is what Faber calls “New Luxury,” artist/designer pieces made with simpler materials such as silver, gold and lesser-known gemstones in which color is used for effect rather than value. He cited Marilyn Cooperman and Michael Zobel as top names for this one-of-a-kind jewelry retailing from $5,000 to $20,000.

Branded or Not
Paul Lubetsky, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Windsor Jewelers, Inc., New York, said his firm is largely recession-proof because it covers such a wide swath of the market. “We are completely versatile; we buy and sell everything from colored diamonds to Italian closeouts.” During the current downtime, Windsor focused on buying branded closeouts from top names. The company sells the goods on very close margins but turns over huge amounts of jewelry at shows, in its New York showroom and on its website.

“Right now, the super-high-end is very liquid, and discounted brands are very strong,” said Lubetsky, noting that for Windsor, “signed, good pieces priced over $100,000” and general merchandise in the $1,000 to $5,000 range are best sellers.

Chris Mulloy, owner of Chris Mulloy Antiques, Palm Springs, California, disputes the wisdom of buyers’ preference for signed pieces. “People are looking at overpriced design pieces. The name doesn’t matter if the look is right.” He said the average person doesn’t care who signed a piece of jewelry as long as it is beautiful and well made. Mulloy’s best sellers at this show were Art Nouveau and Deco bracelets, which he said are a great value. “I can’t replace these pieces for the prices,” he concluded.

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - July 2009. To subscribe click here.