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: Do you sell charms and charm bracelets?
WILLA DICKENS, CO-OWNER
HERTEEN & STOCKER JEWELERS
IOWA CITY, IOWA
“Yes, we do sell charms and charm bracelets. Of course, sterling is the best seller, but we do sell a few gold charms and charm bracelets — probably nine silver to one gold.
“We’ve always carried charms and I’d say probably they’re as strong now as they were 35 or 40 years ago. Most people buy some charms on a bracelet — at least one or two — to get it started. Customers are all age brackets. I know the bead thing is big but some of these charms are a little more unique and tell a story and I think that’s why people are buying them.
“A lot of the charms we sell are state-connected, like ears of corns, pigs, the state of Iowa. And a certain number of them are sports-related because we have a university here — the tiger hawk is their symbol and we sell a lot of those charms, many of which are worn as necklaces.”
SUSAN PURNELL, OWNER
KUHN’S JEWELERS
SALISBURY, MARYLAND
“We certainly sell charm bracelets — but not those Pandora bead bracelets — and we sell charms to go on them. I don’t think there’s a renewed interest in them necessarily. A few years ago, the Tiffany charm bracelet with the heart on it made charm bracelets hot and they’ve maintained a lukewarm status. But I wouldn’t say they’re hot right now.
“I sell them mostly as a graduation present or a baby present. We do the initial sale but we don’t get a whole lot of add-on sales. Heart and face charms are big. I sell silver predominantly and gold only occasionally.”
TIM VANSLOOTEN, SALES
THOMAS A. DAVIS JEWELERS
HOLLAND, MICHIGAN
“We stock them, but I haven’t seen an increase in demand. We sell them as wedding gifts, especially in the summertime. Customers buy a wedding charm and perhaps a charm for the honeymoon, or a dog, if they have one, or other personalized themes. For the most part, the charms don’t have gemstones and we sell mostly silver ones.
“People usually buy the charms for a bracelet and they’re bought mostly by younger people, either for gifts or for themselves. Some people collect charms. There are so many charms; it’s just what appeals to the individual — if they play music, or if they’re a cheerleader. We have a broad selection.”
VICKI HAUSER, CO-OWNER
HAUSER’S JEWELERS
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA
“We don’t stock as many charms because they’re so specific. We do the classic discs and hearts and things that can be engraved. I have seen an increase in interest recently. The gold charms appeal to older customers, because they can afford it, while the younger people opt for silver charms.
“Thistle & Bee has a lovely silver bracelet that’s like a ‘bride’ bracelet with all the accoutrements, the ring, the cake and all the things that go with being a bride. We have sold a few of those. But most of the time, customers buy the bracelet and then add on charms, because they do buy charms elsewhere, when they travel. We always put charms on bracelets for people but I’m not seeing as many bracelets from a long time ago, I’m noticing newer ones.
“In terms of which motifs are most popular, it’s really across the board. We are close to water, so nautical is always a popular theme.”
ROBIN HUNT, PRESIDENT/OWNER
ROGER HUNT & SON FINE JEWELRY
OCALA, FLORIDA
“Yes, we do sell charms and charm bracelets. I’d say they were selling ‘like usual,’ but we are selling more silver than gold. No one specific motif sells better than another and customers are all ages. They buy a bracelet and add charms to it, as well as purchasing just the charms. The sales tend to be more gift-oriented, such as a baby gift, birthday gift, graduation gift, that type of thing.”
STACEY STAUCH, MANAGER
CREWS FINE JEWELRY
GRANDVIEW, MISSOURI
“We haven’t done that many gold charms. We do stock the Rembrandt sterling silver charms and it’s just hit or miss with them. We carry the Storywheels charms, which come in gold or silver with diamonds and colored gemstones. They’re similar to Pandora in concept and they sell well for us. But as far as traditional charms, we don’t see them moving as much as they have in the past. I see it more with grandparents buying them for their granddaughters who are graduating high school or college. They’re buying bracelets and charms — just not as many as previously.”
NATE MURRIN, SALES MANAGER
E.R. SAWYER JEWELERS
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA
“I’d say that charms are growing in popularity. I would not say we have tons of people coming in specifically for them, but sometimes we do. They’re kind of add-on sales — people looking for a graduation gift or something like that. We sold some for Mother’s Day, but the majority of the customers are teenage girls or younger girls just starting out in the jewelry world — a first bracelet. Customers do add on charms that represent something they’ve done, like a vacation. We do have some people who fish through our scrap gold looking for specific charms, but not so much.
“We have everything from silver to white gold and yellow gold and gold-plated charms. We have Rembrandt charms and we also sell Hot Diamonds charms, each one of which has a little 1-pointer diamond, and, for some of our higher-end clients, the Aaron Basha Baby Shoes, which come in 18-karat gold.”
OLIVIA CORNELL, PRESIDENT
CORNELL’S JEWELERS
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
“It’s not that people are running out to get charm bracelets. It’s been kind of steady; usually we have a few sales every month or so. But I don’t see it as a really strong trend.
“We sell both gold and silver. It varies in terms of customers. They might have just gotten back from vacation and didn’t buy a charm there or want to purchase a graduation charm. We just had a customer celebrating his forty-fifth wedding anniversary come in. And he liked the idea of using a bangle bracelet, which we retrofit with a charm that had the anniversary on it. And then we’ll see a young girl, whose mom had a charm bracelet and feels her daughter should have one, too.
“We don’t stock all the charms, because there are thousands and thousands of them. But we work a lot with Rembrandt charms and they have this vast selection and their catalog is true to size. We usually bring out a coin so customers can visualize what the size will be. We did pick up a vendor, Alex Woo, who has charms and initials in gold or silver and with or without diamonds and we’re going to try to push that for the holidays.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - September 2010. To subscribe click here.