Ninety-one percent of poll respondents said that they’ve increased or maintained their level of custom jewelry sales in recent years.
New York--The majority of jewelers who took our latest poll reported that custom jewelry is a category that’s growing, as they recognize it as a way to set their business apart while maintaining margins.
National Jeweler/Jewelers of America conducted its Product Pulse survey between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2, with a total of 173 respondents.
The poll opened by asking jewelers if they sold custom jewelry in their stores. Out of the 173 respondents, 166 (96 percent) said yes.
Of those 166, the highest percentage, 30 percent, said that custom accounted for 10 percent or less of their overall sales.
It is, however, an area of increasing sales and opportunity for independent jewelers, poll results indicate.
More than half of survey takers--53 percent--said custom jewelry sales have increased in recent years, while 38 percent said they have stayed the same. Only 9 percent reported a drop in custom sales.
When it comes to the types of custom pieces jewelers are creating, the vast majority of respondents reported that they make more rings, specifically engagement rings, than anything.
Many of these rings, poll results indicate, are created using diamonds that customers either bought online or inherited.
“I had three (customers) last week alone (who) brought in diamonds they bought online for me to set into their rings,” one jeweler wrote.
Another said most of his or her custom business is “redesigns of grandma’s items into a wearable piece,” with “an upswing of young men having grandma’s diamond and resetting it into an engagement (ring).”
One respondent said their custom orders are mostly for anniversary gifts and special occasions, adding that the “(importance of the) anniversary is drastically understated in our industry. This category is the largest percentage of my overall business.”
Jewelers said one of the main advantage of custom jewelry is that it gives them a product that customers can’t shop online, allowing them to make better margins. The greatest percentage of survey takers, 43 percent, said their margins on custom jewelry are 50 percent or better. When asked to list the main advantage custom work gives the independent jeweler, answers included better margins, relationship building and the fact that making a piece highlights what it is that makes jewelers, well, jewelers--the ability to make jewelry.
One survey taker summarized it nicely by saying this: “Custom work gives the jeweler the advantage of ‘one-of-a-kind’ pieces that can’t be discounted by the internet and chain stores. Design skill
and quality becomes a part of the equation. It allows the jeweler to build a relationship with the customer.”
Another said that taking custom orders makes them feel like they are part of another profession entirely.
“We are hired to create a one-of-a-kind design, as opposed to selling from our case or catalogs. Sometimes, I feel a bit like a contractor building or renovating a house!”
September Sales In the poll, respondents also were asked about sales for the month of September, and the results were mixed.
A total of 43 percent of survey takers said sales were up year-over-year in September while 36 percent said they were down.
National Jeweler/Jewelers of America conducts its monthly Product Pulse poll in conjunction with the Business Pulse survey.
This month’s Business Pulse asked jewelers about the biggest challenge facing their business today. Their response was published Tuesday on National Jeweler.
Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.
