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 in mid-March: Do you stock silver-and-diamond fashion jewelry and how are your customers responding to it?
GARY WERKHEISER, PRESIDENT
WERKHEISER JEWELRY
BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA
“I don’t really stock it; I have a couple of pieces from Thistle & Bee. I haven’t really gauged any demand for it from my clients. For most of my customers who want diamonds, 14-karat gold would be the step-down from platinum, so they do 14-karat gold.”
HARVEY FOX, PRESIDENT
N. FOX JEWELERS
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK
“We do carry a couple of silver designers who have diamonds in some of their pieces. They are smaller diamonds in the silver pieces, which makes them more affordable, in the $300 to $500 range, which is a good price category that does well for us. We’re constantly adding to that area; it’s definitely growing with us.”
JAN FERGERSON, CO-OWNER
FORD, GITTINGS & KANE
ROME, GEORGIA
“Yes, we do and yes, it does. This area has definitely expanded for us in the past two or three years. Designers like Alisa Unger and Alisa are two different companies that both have been doing beautiful work in sterling silver and diamonds. Their craftsmanship is quality and they’re using nice diamonds so it’s a good mix. And Slane & Slane has been using sterling silver and diamonds. Customers love it — it’s a great price point and they know they’re still getting quality and a fabulous look and they don’t feel like they’re compromising. They’re still getting a quality metal. I do think we sell more of the bracelets with diamonds.
“Sterling silver is still well thought of, although sometimes it’s a little more casual look than diamonds and gold or diamonds and platinum. Someone else who’s doing a great job with sterling silver jewelry is Vachi, manufactured by the My Way Jewelry Company. Vachi is using colored gemstones and sterling silver at great price points. And it’s very well branded; every single piece has the name in a beautiful branded plate on it so the customers are wowed by it because they see it’s well done and that somebody cared enough to put their name all over it.”
MARK LEIGH, OWNER
LEIGH JEWELERS
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA
“I stock very, very minimal amounts of it. However, I will stock more of it. We’re a high-end store that never really got into silver until this fall. But because of the economy and to create price points that are more palatable for some of my customers, we decided to pick up some nice lines, and we did. And we did very, very well with them. So we restocked for this spring a little bit more extensively and some of the pieces do have diamonds in them along with colored gems; chunky bracelets and necklaces and earrings, things of that nature. They all sell equally well.
“My attitude was one of reluctance initially because I thought it might lower the store, yet the success ratio and the profits and the customer who didn’t walk out of the store without something in his hand convinced me that it was a viable thing to do.”
MICHELLE SHETLER, CO-OWNER
SHETLER AND WADE
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
“We stock it very, very minimally. We are more of a high-end type of jewelry store, more gold and platinum than sterling silver.”
ANDY KOEHN, OWNER
KOEHN & KOEHN JEWELERS
WEST BEND, WISCONSIN
“We do stock it. We put in a brand called Slane & Slane. They do color and silver but they do have some diamond and sterling pieces, and they are doing well. I find bracelets and necklaces are selling the best, followed by earrings and rings.
“We went into this category to try something different, we were looking for a cool brand. It was not to hit a lower price point. I don’t have any plans of expanding beyond this.”
LOU CERVINI, CO-OWNER
CHRISTOPHER’S FINE JEWELRY
PAWLEY’S ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA
“No, we do not stock it for our store. We’re an upper-end store and we usually use white gold. We’re not trying to match the world with price points right now. And that’s what it’s all about, the lessening of gold weight, lessening the quality of the metal and the whole shooting match. That being the case, we haven’t decided to follow that suit as of yet. As far as we know, our customers have not asked for it and as far as we anticipate, they will not be asking for it.”
MARSHALL VARON, CO-OWNER/PRESIDENT
MORGAN’S JEWELERS
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA
“I don’t have anything in stock with sterling and diamonds; it has to be sterling and gold with diamonds. Maybe this fall, we might find something exquisitely done that we would get into but we don’t have it currently. It’s something newer because of the price of everything but we just haven’t jumped into anything we like so far.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2010. To subscribe click here.