RAPAPORT... The 4Cs are not the only things that make a piece of diamond jewelry a sales winner. In an ongoing series,
Rapaport Diamond Report explores the “3Ws” — what’s selling, what’s not and why — by going straight to the people who really know — jewelry retailers. Each month, we ask a sampling of retailers to comment on the important issues that are facing the industry today. Here is what they had to say when asked:
Is designer jewelry selling and are any pieces more popular than others?
RICHARD NEUSTAEDTER, OWNER
NEUSTAEDTER’S FINE JEWELRY
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI“I find that a lot of loose diamonds are selling. I think people are looking for something substantial that isn’t going to be losing its value. And they are looking for pricing. Most jewelers are surviving on bridal. Customers are not coming in looking for necklaces or bracelets that often.”
JAY SIMMONS, OWNER
SIMMONS FINE JEWELRY
MERIDIAN, IDAHO“It’s certainly not as strong as it was, but yes, I think it’s definitely holding up for us. We carry John Hardy, Roberto Coin. We’re still doing well with it but they are the more moderately priced items. John Hardy is probably our number one line because it’s sterling and gold. Roberto Coin is all 18 karat and we’re still doing well with it.
“Earrings are always the strongest — earrings and pendants and then bracelets, in that order. The strongest thing, which everyone is talking about, is bridal. With our watches, we carry Cartier, Breitling and Tag Heuer and they’re still selling. You just have to be excited and eager about it — because not only has the consumer pulled back a little bit, but so have salespeople. We’ve really worked hard with our salespeople to make sure they’re still showing pieces, because that’s what sells them.”
SCOTT BERG, VICE PRESIDENT
LEE MICHAELS FINE JEWELRY
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA“Obviously, the basics are what are selling the best right now. We still are selling designer fashion jewelry. But I think you have to be very selective with whom you partner today. The David Yurmans of the world are great partners and have been very solid for us and are still selling well. However, some of the gold fashion houses are in bankruptcy and you don’t know where they will end up. So right now is a very teetering situation — you have to question where you want to invest and how much. You always want to keep your store fresh and I think fashion jewelry does that and it gives your consumers something unique and different to look at. But then again, you don’t want to invest in a partner who might not be around.”
BRIAN S. MERKLEY, PRESIDENT/OWNER
MERKLEY KENDRICK
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY“We’re more of a conservative, traditional type of jeweler than a fashion jeweler. We’ve gotten into that category a little bit with pieces in yellow gold with different finishes — brushed and hammered and things like that — in rings and bracelets and earrings. The designer is Susan Blake of New York. That seems to be doing fairly well, but that’s as fashion-y as I get. The earrings probably do best. Hollywood’s not helping us a lot with the ladies not wearing necklaces like they used to. I’ve seen pendants slow down, when traditionally that’s been our forte in diamond merchandise.
“As far as diamond jewelry, the only fashion items would be in bridal and that continues to be strong for us. The minipavé and bead-set stones and the halo designs are what we seem to be selling repeatedly.”
TOM HART, OWNER
HART JEWELERS
GRANTS PASS, OREGON“On the designer end, our own designs are holding up. We do a lot of custom design work here. But we also carry Hearts on Fire and Simon G., Forever10 and some other lines. And those lines have softened up somewhat. But as far as our own design work, it’s actually increased — mostly in bridal, engagement rings primarily. ”
BARBARA LEIGH, CO-OWNER
LEIGH JEWELERS
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA“We’re in a higher-end community and they are not buying bigger things. I would say, as far as designer goods, it has not really been great. But we’re a resort community and we’re quiet from June through basically most of November. Rolex has been fairly steady, so that’s been good, but everything else has been quiet. We have been selling some higher-end pearl and diamond strands; anniversary and diamond eternity bands have been selling. Diamond studs are always good; that’s been pretty steady and hasn’t really dropped off at all. Earrings are a big seller in pretty much every category. There’s been no interest in yellow diamonds for almost a year and colored stones are sporadic. Our customers don’t want other people to know they’re being frivolous in these economic times.”
BRAD KOEN, OWNER
JOE KOEN & SON
AUSTIN, TEXAS“I think with the economic situation, more and more people are looking for the bargains that aren’t designer pieces but where they still can find the look they want. Only engagement and bridal are selling. ”
BRENT POLACHECK, PRESIDENT
POLACHECK’S JEWELERS
CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA“Designer fashion jewelry is not selling right now. What’s keeping Polacheck’s going is the watch business. We’re trying to figure out a way to get our jewelry business back on track; we try every day. We carry fashion jewelry but jewelry just seems to be off this year in general.”
OLIVIA CORNELL, PRESIDENT
CORNELL’S JEWELERS
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK “We’re in the middle of a major expansion in our store, which is not conducive to the most ideal shopping experience. So our business has been off. I feel some of it is because of the economy and some of it is because of the construction. The first of June, we opened part of our new showroom and I have noticed an increase in sales already. We’re up from last year by about 10 percent — a lot of it’s in bridal.
“Some vendors are doing well and others are not. There’s a young designer Emily Armenta who has done okay and John Hardy in silver has continued to be very strong. In summertime, we sell more silver than we do anything else, because people are more casual; so my silver designers are doing well. I’m selling more fun fashion, semiprecious color stone rings. And earrings are always a fun thing to have in summertime to spark up a new outfit, or a long chain. For instance, a woman came in wearing a beige outfit and hot pink shoes and bought sapphire earrings and a very fun, inexpensive pink quartz ring. And when someone important gets married and everyone wants to get dolled up, or there’s an important fund-raiser, that spurs on certain collections.
“In terms of diamonds, Hearts on Fire is doing well — not necessarily in jewelry but we’ve had a lot of people excited about Mémoire diamond wedding bands and that type of thing. Bridal has been very important to us.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - August 2009. To subscribe click here.