best of show

Retailers pick the top trends and must-have collections of the spring season

best of show #1
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At Centurion and AGTA in Tucson, IJO in February, and a later-than-usual JA New York Show in March, jewelers were more conservative than usual, faced with an uncertain economy and the price point pressure of record gold prices.
Given the economy, it's not surprising that some of the most popular collections at the show offered value and impact, often by using silver or other materials to make looks bold without breaking the bank. Many jewelers were also looking for new twists in bridal and other classics that sell rain or shine.
Despite the uncertain climate, there were definite bright spots. Silver was one of them: Leslie Greene's new silver collection received raves at Centurion, Pandora had crowds at IJO, and jewelers found a lot of new silver options at JA, too.
At the other end of the market, the high end is getting higher with more companies launching new limited edition luxury collections. For some stores serving wealthy consumers, the economy hasn't had much of an impact. The rare and the unusual is still in demand.
In this edition of "Buyer's Choice," we ask retailers to point out the bright spots in the market—collections that they feel will bring new opportunities in challenging times.
easy to wear
"I've been looking at the Emily Armenta collection for awhile and at the Centurion show this year I finally decided to buy it. It's very fresh and innovative. It's really easy to wear but there's a lot of sophistication. It's for a woman who buys jewelry for herself. It's a great look, they'll really like it. I especially like the new white coral and bronze pieces. Doris Panos also has some pretty things this year."
— Olivia Cornell, Cornell's Jewelers, Rochester, New York
mastering the mix
"We went to Vicenza and About J. At JA, we bought a lot from Ara Collection, we like their 24k gold and oxidized silver collection. First, it's 24k, which is a huge trend for us. I think it's 60 percent of our store right now. The oxidized color makes it fabulous and new. It's different, it gives it the edge. Our customers are stacking bangles up the arm and mixing them with link bracelets. I think we have 3,000 stackable bangles. It's all about the mix. Our store is known for being fashion-forward. Our customers are young, wealthy, and chic. We have to keep ahead and offer things that are original and unusual. Trends right now are wood; ancient coin jewelry; rose cut diamonds, colored gemstones, and black diamonds; Seaman Schepps-inspired shell jewelry; and Indian-style jewelry like Amrapali. It's all about layering and these trends all work together."
— Steven Bialos, Fran Lippy, Livingston, New Jersey
combination looks
"This spring, our colored gemstone jewelry sales have been on the upswing. Ruby, sapphire, blue topaz, and citrine are popular. The town has a population of about 6,000, we're about an hour out of Austin. Our customers like affordable 14k and 18k white gold micro-pavé rings and necklaces, usually $1,500 and under. Konstantino has done well for us, it's a great sterling silver and yellow gold look. The pieces are great for a casual look or to dress up for an occasion. We sold 18 William Henry knives during the holidays, the line was my best seller. They are higher end, well crafted gift items, some with gemstones and gold accents. Customers bought knives for themselves and as gifts for their sons and husbands."
— Rudy Moreno, Rudy M. Moreno Jeweler Gemologist, Marble Falls, Texas
turning to brown
"Two things at Centurion blew me away. They are similar but one is high-end and the other is more commercial. Both are dark chocolate-colored metal. When the economy is tough, people are looking for something that they don't have. The first is the chocolate gold at the Henderson Collection. It's unbelievable, the finish and color goes all the way through. It's 100 percent handmade. This is not competing with anything else, it creates new business. That makes life easier. The second line is Charriol's treated brown steel, which is a more affordable version of brown metal. We also sell chocolate pearls, brown with pink gems like morganite, brown with red. Brown is the color that's hot this year."
— Mark Leiman, Michaels, Waterbury, Connecticut
adding in silver
"We went to JA primarily to look and to compare prices to reprice our inventory. We did add in some silver and silver and gold. We did buy Starhaven. I think it will be a great line, it's a real home run. It's silver and gold with gemstones and nicely priced to retail between $500 and $2,000. We've all got to add in lower price points. We looked at the Jules Bryant line of 14k gold jewelry. It's very pretty. We also looked for some new sources of diamond hoops which did well over the holidays, along with stacking bangles. We're always looking for new diamond fashion, bracelets, and icicle drop necklaces. This time of year we are looking for ideas to get ready for Vegas."
— Ernest Moody, Moody's, Tulsa, Oklahoma
pearls and paraiba
"I always enjoy Tucson. I love working with color so I find it easy to sell. We did extremely well with pearls this holiday. We sold seven big strands of Tahitians and goldens. Pearl earrings did well, so in Tucson I bought a lot of pearls. I bought some of the new Ikecho pearls on necklaces from A&Z Pearl. I also bought a lot of zultanite, the new color-change gem. It's very attractive. I also bought a lot of Paraiba from both sources. I've sold quite a few. I explain the difference, why one sells for $16,000 per carat and the other for $8,000. People love a story. When you can show a customer a colored stone and tell a story it really piques their interest. When you explain that the original source of Paraiba isn't really producing anymore they understand why it's rare."
— Ronald Arends, Aires Jewelers, Morris Plains, New Jersey
building traffic
"Our store is 50,000 square feet, so we have a lot of room for collectibles. When we took out our bridal registry department, we added some lower-priced lines that we thought would generate traffic. Pandora has been a big success. We knew the silver would sell well to young women but we've been surprised to find that the gold line does very well. It's attracted an older, more well-to-do audience than we expected. We asked our customers about handbags too and they told us about Vera Bradley. They have been a huge success. Not only have they attracted new customers who end up buying jewelry, they have become a very profitable business on their own. Last year, we sold over 11,000 Vera Bradley handbags. At one event, we sold about 800 bags in one day."
— Mark Motes, Smyth Jewelers, Timonium, Maryland
spring sorbet
"Sorbet colors have been popular, all the blues and greens. The spring greens, aquamarine, green beryl, mint quartz, light green peridot, the lighter colored tourmalines. We've been selling pink sapphire and rhodolite combinations, as well as amethyst and peridot designs. We are primarily focused on custom designs and do our own custom faceting. Customers are looking for special and unique one-of-a-kind items, not just what you see on the home shopping channels. Right now I see a gap in the middle price range, it's either the lower end up to $250, and then $1,200 and higher. The pastel colors are in right now, and we'll see the more vibrant colors in the summer."
— Silvia Rutherford, Westgem Gallery, Wheatland, Wyoming
classic appeal
"At the JA show, I focused on bridal. We added Lieberfarb—great classic designs and the quality is incredible. We bought both platinum and palladium. We stock ArtCarved palladium and it sells very well. Sometimes customers need to do their own research. I lay out the benefits for them and encourage them to look at the palladium web site and nine times out of ten they choose it. We also added Beverly K.'s pretty vintage style line. The antique-inspired look is still popular. We carry Dana-David, Toby Pomeroy, Gabriel & Co., and Nancy B. We added Toby Pomeroy's 'EcoSilver.' I like the cuffs in hammered matte silver sprinkled with diamonds. Dana-David had some fun new pieces including a new hoop twisted in the center with pavé. Hoops will definitely continue to be strong this year."
— Jennifer Gandia, Greenwich Jewelers, New York
coming and going
"Our number one earring is an inside-out diamond hoop from Jye with diamonds. We first saw them at the JCK show last year in a smaller version. We did a redesign with Jennifer to add diamonds to both sides so you can see them coming and going. We sold 17 pairs of these hoops in December, ranging from $12,000 to $26,000 each depending on the carat weight. The woman has to try them on and look in the mirror. We now have a few newer styles from Jye that have more diamonds, including a pair with eleven 90 point diamonds on each ear. Our store also does well with fancy yellow diamonds. We have about seven rings that are 10 to 15 carats each. We also have a $2 million natural pink. Fancy colors are luxury. Yellows are usually an upgrade or a right-hand ring."
— Richard Hammond, Winston Jewelers, Newport Beach, California
author: BY CHERYL KREMKOW, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AND MATTHEW KRAMER, MANAGING EDITOR - Modern Jeweler




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