When February rolls around, many in the jewelry trade are already in Arizona for some of the most popular gem shows of the year. And for numerous luxury retailers, the first stop is The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, home of the tony Centurion Jewelry Show. The pieces on display at this invitation-only event usually offer a peek at the bigger trends the industry will see at the Las Vegas jewelry shows in early June — the most significant finished-goods fairs in North America.
To wit, here’s a look at what was trending at this year’s edition of Centurion, which took place at the end of January.
Uncommon stone cuts
Unusual gem cuts are a compelling way to set your business apart. This is why designer and exhibitor Lisa Nikfarjam of Lisa Nik unveiled oversize kite shapes in her new Rocks collection.
“After Las Vegas last year, we needed to introduce a new shape, but we wanted to make it edgy and our own,” she explained at the show. She also knew she didn’t want a cushion or a pear. The result? A decidedly memorable kite silhouette that’s labor-intensive to create, but worth the expense.
“You lose a lot of material to get it to look the way you want,” she added.
Then there’s the proprietary Crisscut diamond from Christopher Designs — a nod to the crisscross pattern in the diamonds, not the name of maker Christopher Slowinski. His stones feature more facets than standard cuts, and the table and pavilion facets are closer together. This makes the diamonds sparkle more brightly, appear whiter and look bigger, according to vice president of sales Margaret Becker.
“Christopher has engineered light placement to give brides the effects they want most in their diamonds,” she said.
One-of-a-kind gems
When you work with lots of different colored stones, making one-offs becomes a routine. This is the case for designer Lika Behar, whose firm of the same name saw double-digit growth over 2017, thanks in part to diverse types of gems.
“People are responding to color,” she explained during the show. Her offerings included lots of turquoise and opal, as well as little-celebrated minerals with desert-landscape-like effects, such as jasper — all set in her signature two-tone silver and 22-karat gold.
“One-offs speak to our buyers,” added Scott Malouf, owner of retailer Malouf on the Plaza, which has stores in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Lubbock, Texas.
Larger-ticket purchases have also been making merchants happy. “We’re seeing clients buy bigger items at $20,000 and up [in] retail,” said Helene Pham-Whiseen of Dallas-based Eiseman Jewels while shopping in Behar’s booth at the fair.
Lesser-known colored gems have been a boon for Nikfarjam, who credits sales of spinel and morganite, among others, with an increase in revenue and a better Christmas season than 2016’s. At Centurion, she even gained new accounts with stores that are notoriously reluctant to pick up rising talents.
“Stores say sales are tough, but when I see reports, I know that color is selling,” she said.
Long, layering necklaces
Jeff Feero of jeweler Alex Sepkus opened up about robust sales at his booth, including of long, gemstone-set, multi-wrap numbers, and surreal gold face-motif beads inspired by a dream the designer had. He pointed to one particularly dramatic 38-inch number retailing for $26,000 in a nearby display window.
“There’s been great energy and orders at the show,” he said. “Long station [necklaces] are selling well — I can’t tell you how many we’ve sold in the past year with opals and sapphires.”
One surprise in the price-point arena was platinum. With some help from Platinum Guild International (PGI), jeweler Suna Brothers unveiled its exclusive distribution of the Platinum Born collection: 24 Japanese-made and imported platinum jewelry items retailing for $250 to $7,500. Many of the styles are long necklaces, and all are metal-intense, save for a lone necklace with tiny freshwater pearls. And despite the low sticker prices, the pieces pack a big fashion-forward punch.
“There’s nothing like it in the market,” explained Suna Brothers creative manager Danielle Barber, revealing that several orders had already been placed and would be in stores within a month.
“It’s a curated collection from different vendors, and more will be available by the Las Vegas shows,” added PGI-USA president Jenny Luker.
Image (left to right): Lika Behar necklace likabehar.com; Christopher Designs engagement ring christopherdesigns.com; Lisa Nik detachable hoop earrings lisanik.comArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - March 2018. To subscribe click here.