JCK’s Rob Bates has released his list of 2011′s biggest movements in jewelry, along with Jennifer Heebner & Paul Holewa. You’ll have to check out the article over at JCK Online for Rob’s in-depth insight into jewelry’s retail world, but his observations (and predictions) are spot-on, in our opinion, and usher in a new, exciting year for jewelry next week.
1. Silver. ” Back in the day, many “fine” jewelers shied away from silver. Now it’s become a huge part of our industry, partly because of the gold price, and partly because it’s an affordable item during tough times. ” Our designer silver, especially the Officina Bernardi line, continues to be very popular with customers.
2. Diamond buying from the public. Many jewelers have amended those “we buy gold” signs to say “we buy gold and diamonds,” as JCK wrote in November. Raymond Lee Jewelers buys diamonds, and a significant portion of our diamond jewelry and loose diamonds come from customers, not dealers.
3. “Speaking of diamonds, they seem to enjoyed a solid year, sales-wise…. Colored diamonds seem particularly popular among high-end jewelers.” Our diamond sales have stayed strong throughout 2011, and our colored stones remain very popular.
4. That said, more consumers are looking at colored stone engagement rings. We’ve written before about this huge 2012 trend for engagement rings.
6. Jewelpops’ Kameleon line
7. Forevermark.
8. Pearls: “Freshwaters are really doing well in the price point category,” says Paul Holewa. Our luxury pearls, black pearls, and Mikimotos remain strong sellers.
9. Custom work So much of our inventory is already unique, but we still perform upgrades and custom work for customers on-site.
10. Retailers paring down vendors.
Visit JCK’s website to read the entire article, and some of the biggest trends that Rob, Paul and Jennifer are predicting for next year (hint, Great Gatsby’s remake is going to have a pretty huge impact, and we’re excited for that!)
Liz for Raymond Lee Jewelers, your source for jewelry industry news and jewelry auction updates, and South Florida’s diamond source.
