RAPAPORT... Colored diamonds remain a niche business for most U.S. retailers. That said, jewelers who invest in creating high-quality and unique pieces and then support that jewelry in their marketing are finding success.
Marion Halfacre, owner of Traditional Jewelers in Newport Beach, California, finds that the colored diamonds he sells tend to be large. The yellow diamonds he sells are 5 or 6 carats or more. However, he has been selling pink diamonds that range in size from 1 carat to two-and-a-half carats. In addition, he sells a lot of jewelry with melee pinks and yellows.
What’s given Traditional Jewelers real momentum in colored diamonds is the fact that it has its own line of colored diamonds, the Natalie Tara Collection. It’s named for Halfacre’s daughter, a 22-year-old college student who works for the store on a part-time basis. She works on the marketing and advertising of the line. It’s a youth-oriented campaign — one ad features her riding in a Mercedes-Benz and showing her Natalie Tara jewelry. The collection includes pink and yellow line bracelets, rings and earrings. They often feature smaller diamonds. The collection does well with customers ranging from their 20s to their 40s. Larger, more expensive yellow diamonds do well with customers in their 50s and 60s.
Halfacre markets locally and regionally and finds colored diamonds a “good way to get a conversation going” with younger consumers. He wants to grow this piece of his business.
Halfacre finds colored diamonds an important niche, but said that his main goal as a jeweler is “making ladies happy with beautiful diamonds, no matter what the color.”
Color for All OccasionsMarc Solomon, first vice president of Solomon’s Fine Jewelers, which has two stores on Long Island, New York, sells a wide variety of colored diamonds. These include champagne, yellow, blue and other colored diamonds.
“As a fashion house, colored diamonds are in the merchandise,” said Solomon, who is immediate past president of the New York State Jewelers Association. But colored diamonds are not limited to fashion. Solomon sells colored diamonds in engagement rings and recently sold a fancy intense yellow engagement ring. Colored diamonds also do well for anniversary rings, earrings for bridesmaids and for special occasions—such as for the mother of a bar mitzvah boy.
Solomon’s Fine Jewelers incorporates colored diamonds in its merchandise and markets it. The company is putting a full page of colored diamonds in an upcoming catalog. Solomon is a strong believer in using quality stones and that credo holds true for both colored and the more traditional white diamonds.
Yellow FavoredRobert La Perla, president of La Perla Fine Jewelers in West Hartford, Connecticut, and president of the Connecticut Jewelers Association, finds that yellow diamonds are the most popular colored diamond with his clients. He’s seeing interest in red diamonds and has used small colored diamonds as accents, usually around a white brilliant diamond.
Colored diamonds continue to represent a relatively small piece of his business and La Perla estimates that colored diamonds represent less than 5 percent of sales for the average jeweler on the street.
“However, with the rage in colored stones in general, there’s still an interest in colored diamonds,” La Perla said. He sees some fancy intense yellow diamonds in engagement rings or three-stone diamond rings.
Colored diamonds aside, LaPerla said microset and filigree remain hot and platinum remains the setting of choice.
Michael Hahn is president of the Wedding Ring Shop in Honolulu. As his store’s name implies, his business has a narrow focus. He has found that colored diamonds are really for the second-time bride or older brides.
“They want something that not everybody has; they want a ring that is more unique,” he said. “They’re more adventuresome as far as design goes and they’re into a larger diamond.”
Since color is shown off best in larger stones, the larger the stone, the more striking the color.
“If you want a nice fancy yellow center stone, it’s going to look good only if it’s more than 2 carats,” said Hahn.
Colored diamonds are also popular as anniversary gifts or as an upgrade.
“Sometimes a fancy yellow is a really nice change because they’ve had the white diamond and want something different,” he said. Fancy yellow is more popular than cognac and Hahn’s clientele prefers natural over treated diamonds.
Younger brides will opt for colored diamonds as an accent in their rings. They’ll use pink or yellow melee around center stones, but still want the traditional white diamond for the center stone.
The Marketplace
• Colored diamonds are still a small piece of the business.
• Yellow appears to be the most popular colored diamond.
• Pink is popular as accent stones.
• Mature market goes for large yellows.
• Younger brides like colored accents.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2006. To subscribe click here.