Events & AwardsDec 20, 2024
Two Participants Complete Inaugural Ella Klein InternshipJamie Dunton and Gabriella Botelho are the first graduates of the program, created by the WJA Foundation and Julius Klein Diamonds.
SurveysJan 03, 2018
Jewelers Finish 2017 on a Strong Note
National Jeweler talked to 10 jewelers across the country, many of whom said holiday sales were up compared with 2016.
New York--The 2017 holiday season has officially come to a close, and reports are starting to come in on the final results for retailers.
To see how independent jewelers fared, National Jeweler’s editors called 10 retailers across the country Tuesday, with many of them reporting an increase in sales over 2016.
Here’s what they had to say about how things went, the standouts during the season and what they expect for 2018.
Northeast
Despite the fact that he was competing with a going-out-of-business sale from a competitor and another competitor’s “more aggressive” marketing for the holidays, J. Dennis Petimezas of Watchmakers Diamonds & Jewelry in Johnstown, Pennsylvania said the store met the sales goals it had set for the year.
“All factors suggested that it was going to be a challenging year, but it really came down to the last three or four days (before Christmas),” he said.
In fact, it was the sale of a riviere necklace on Dec. 23 that helped the sales numbers reach a goal with which Petimezas was happy; they ended the year with a 3.5 percent increase.
Though traffic was down for the store, the average ticket sale was up, and the extra shopping day provided by the way Christmas fell (on a Monday this year) also helped.
What surprised Petimezas about this holiday season, however, was that the high end and the lower end were strong, while the category he expected to provide the “sustainability” and which they promoted--the middle tier--lost ground.
But there also was one product in particular that stood out to him as helping them, somewhat unexpectedly, through the season.
Just before Thanksgiving, the store launched the “Magnificence” collection from Gem Star, which features a setting that magnifies a diamond’s size, and Petimezas said they pre-sold even more product than expected.
For Manfredi Jewels owner Roberto Chiappelloni, a positive energy among customers, as well as some good weather for Connecticut, resulted in a strong holiday season.
The season started out on a positive note with the Thanksgiving weekend and the trend continued, helped along by the extra full weekend of shopping the calendar provided this year.
All told, the retailer ended the year up 16 percent in sales when compared with 2016.
While he said foot traffic for the holiday season wasn’t that strong, he noted that people were shopping “very purposefully,” visiting the store with information and
ideas of what they wanted already.
Diamonds were a strong seller for the store, with bridal a standout for Manfredi after it increased its branded product in the category.
Chiappelloni also said they saw more activity in the lower end, particularly between $2,000 and $4,000. He said he believes this is because they got more young buyers this year; good news as they go into a new year and have more clients with which to build relationship in the future, he told National Jeweler.
Southeast
Jim Rosenheim, chairman of Tiny Jewel Box in Washington, D.C., said the holiday season was “brilliant” for them, noting the store’s sales were up 25 percent in the month of December.
He said the first half of the season was really strong for them, as were the few days leading up to Christmas. Sales of high-end watches like Rolex and Patek Philippe were strong all the way through, while the jewelry side “really kicked in the last two weeks (before Christmas).”
When it came to price points, Tiny Jewel Box’s customers were looking for everything this season, buying anything between $2,000 and $25,000.
Prior to holiday season, the retailer had upgraded its website. Though Tiny Jewel Box doesn’t sell online, Rosenheim seemed to think customers were responding positively to the updated site, in addition to radio advertising and direct mailings.
They also held a trunk show during the holiday shopping season, an annual event, and Rosenheim said it was the best show they’ve ever had, noting all the vendors that participated saw “robust” sales.
In the year to come, they will continue to upgrade the website and have a new marketing plan for later in the year.
“We’re hoping 2018 is as good as 2017,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Ocala, Florida, Jerry Gause of Gause & Son Jewelers said they also had a good season. Beating their sales goals for last year, the store ended up with 5 percent sales growth for December.
Echoing a sentiment shared by other jewelers across the country, Gause said the five days prior to Christmas day and last-minute shopping were vital in helping them meet their goal.
Though many of their regular customers didn’t come in to buy jewelry this season--a factor he thought could have something to do with the hurricane last fall making people cautious about spending--they did get a lot of new clients.
They also saw a positive response to the catalog they mailed out this year, with coupons included.
Gause said that with the economy seemingly in good shape and the stock market doing so well, barring any major event in 2018, they’re expecting 2 to 3 percent growth.
Midwest
In Avon Lake, Ohio, a community west of Cleveland on Lake Erie, Peter & Co. Jewelers shifted its marketing for the last six weeks of the year.
Owner Theresia Oreskovic said the store spent more money advertising on Google and Facebook and less on traditional outlets, like television and newspapers.
The result: After a strong year, the store finished with a holiday season that was up 20 percent over last year and is up 28 percent for the year as a whole. Foot traffic increased year-over-year as well, though Oreskovic didn’t have that number immediately available Tuesday.
When asked why she thought her store did so well, particularly given all the reports about the death of brick-and-mortar retail, she said the store’s strategy is to keep consistent hours, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Customers never have to wonder what the hours are on any given day at Peter & Co. Jewelers, and the store is still open late enough to be convenient for people to stop on their way home from work.
“We try to evaluate what is it that drives people to shop a different way. In the end, it’s always convenience, it’s always a time thing.
“In the long run, people still like the actual shopping experience.”
In Toledo Ohio, Jeffrey Mann of Jeffrey Mann Fine Jewelers said the beginning of the holiday season--post-Thanksgiving--was the strongest time for his store sales this year, rather than the days leading up to Christmas, but he has no complaints.
Compared to last year, “we were up nicely,” Mann said. He thought that a better overall economy likely contributed to that.
“We did very well with large diamonds,” Mann continued, “(and) diamond bracelets always do well with us as well.”
Branded lines also found a following at Mann’s stores; he introduced Marco Bicego in the late fall and thought it was a good fit for his clientele, but the response exceeded his expectations.
Forevermark was also a hit. He said: “We found great success with the Forevermark Tribute collection. We were advertising that pretty heavily. For the first time in a while, Forevermark got it right with the product mix and it seemed to go very well.”
South Central
Jewelers in Texas and Arkansas said they had a good Christmas--good, but not great.
In San Antonio, Texas, Aaron Penaloza, of C. Aaron Penaloza Jewelers, said estate jewelry sales were strong, which helped boost profitability over last year even though November-December sales volume was no better.
He said customers like estate jewelry because it is 20 to 30 percent less than an equivalent new piece and because they can’t find it anywhere else. It is not, as he put it, “the stuff Jared has.”
Estate jewelry also cannot be price shopped online, though when asked about that aspect of selling the category, Penaloza said this: “The people who go shopping with their cell phone out, that’s not our customer. We stopped chasing those people.”
He added that the store is, instead, spending its promotion and advertising dollars on a “better prospect.”
When asked if he worries about what abandoning a younger demographic could mean for the future of the store, Penaloza said while that is a concern, the millennials are getting older as well (the oldest members of this generation are now in their mid-30s) and are seeing the value in shopping with an established jeweler who has a good reputation and quality merchandise.
Meanwhile, in Arkansas, “It wasn’t the barn-burner I was expecting, but we had a very good Christmas,” said Craig Underwood of Underwood’s Fine Jewelers in Fayetteville.
The store was celebrating its 60th anniversary. Underwood was expecting a double-digit sales bump like he saw when the store celebrated its 50th anniversary, but what he got was a single-digit year-over-year increase in sales. Customers were buying diamond basics and engagement rings, as well as fashion earrings and necklaces at the store, which sells only custom and private-label jewelry under the Underwood brand.
Underwood said he realizes now he was overly bullish given where the market is for most of the industry, but said his store did pick up a healthy amount of new customers in 2017.
Overall, both he and Penaloza said they are optimistic about the year ahead.
Penaloza said people seem to be more positive and willing to spend money so, barring a major catastrophe, “I think it’s going to be a good year.”
West
Stephenie Bjorkman, CEO of Sami Fine Jewelry in Fountain Hills, Arizona, said that holiday sales were good this year, similar to last year.
“We were busy, busy the whole month of December,” Bjorkman said, noting the store saw a lot of foot traffic.
She said diamond earrings were a big hit this holiday season, particularly Gems One earrings that “are basically diamonds that appear bigger with the setting.”
Bjorkman said that in terms of special promotions, her store participates in the Gems One flyer program and provides “no-strings-attached gift certificates,” in which the amount is determined by what the customer spends in store, typically in the range of $50 to $100.
A state over, Mike Butterfield of Butterfield Jewelers in Albuquerque, New Mexico said his holiday season was also pretty good overall though, “it wasn’t record-breaking.”
Sales were down a little compared with the year prior, though 2016 proved to be an outlier: December of that year was surprisingly strong despite a neighboring independent jewelry store’s going out-of-business sale.
“I didn’t think we were going to meet last year’s numbers,” Butterfield explained, so instead he used 2015 as a benchmark, a year in which sales were more average.
“We beat (2015) quite nicely,” he said, noting that his store experienced “a very peppy kick-off after Thanksgiving,” then a lull, followed by the biggest rush right before Christmas.
Butterfield noted that in the $200 to $500 range, silver brand Belle Etoile did well with his clientele, and colored gemstones priced in the $500 to $1,700 range were popular.
Above that, he said that Heartstar Diamonds have “really been resonating,” and “are about the nicest diamonds anyone could find.”
Diamonds were a strong seller for the store, with bridal a standout for Manfredi after it increased its branded product in the category.
Chiappelloni also said they saw more activity in the lower end, particularly between $2,000 and $4,000. He said he believes this is because they got more young buyers this year; good news as they go into a new year and have more clients with which to build relationship in the future, he told National Jeweler.
Southeast
Jim Rosenheim, chairman of Tiny Jewel Box in Washington, D.C., said the holiday season was “brilliant” for them, noting the store’s sales were up 25 percent in the month of December.
He said the first half of the season was really strong for them, as were the few days leading up to Christmas. Sales of high-end watches like Rolex and Patek Philippe were strong all the way through, while the jewelry side “really kicked in the last two weeks (before Christmas).”
When it came to price points, Tiny Jewel Box’s customers were looking for everything this season, buying anything between $2,000 and $25,000.
Prior to holiday season, the retailer had upgraded its website. Though Tiny Jewel Box doesn’t sell online, Rosenheim seemed to think customers were responding positively to the updated site, in addition to radio advertising and direct mailings.
They also held a trunk show during the holiday shopping season, an annual event, and Rosenheim said it was the best show they’ve ever had, noting all the vendors that participated saw “robust” sales.
In the year to come, they will continue to upgrade the website and have a new marketing plan for later in the year.
“We’re hoping 2018 is as good as 2017,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Ocala, Florida, Jerry Gause of Gause & Son Jewelers said they also had a good season. Beating their sales goals for last year, the store ended up with 5 percent sales growth for December.
Echoing a sentiment shared by other jewelers across the country, Gause said the five days prior to Christmas day and last-minute shopping were vital in helping them meet their goal.
Though many of their regular customers didn’t come in to buy jewelry this season--a factor he thought could have something to do with the hurricane last fall making people cautious about spending--they did get a lot of new clients.
They also saw a positive response to the catalog they mailed out this year, with coupons included.
Gause said that with the economy seemingly in good shape and the stock market doing so well, barring any major event in 2018, they’re expecting 2 to 3 percent growth.
Midwest
In Avon Lake, Ohio, a community west of Cleveland on Lake Erie, Peter & Co. Jewelers shifted its marketing for the last six weeks of the year.
Owner Theresia Oreskovic said the store spent more money advertising on Google and Facebook and less on traditional outlets, like television and newspapers.
The result: After a strong year, the store finished with a holiday season that was up 20 percent over last year and is up 28 percent for the year as a whole. Foot traffic increased year-over-year as well, though Oreskovic didn’t have that number immediately available Tuesday.
When asked why she thought her store did so well, particularly given all the reports about the death of brick-and-mortar retail, she said the store’s strategy is to keep consistent hours, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Customers never have to wonder what the hours are on any given day at Peter & Co. Jewelers, and the store is still open late enough to be convenient for people to stop on their way home from work.
“We try to evaluate what is it that drives people to shop a different way. In the end, it’s always convenience, it’s always a time thing.
“In the long run, people still like the actual shopping experience.”
In Toledo Ohio, Jeffrey Mann of Jeffrey Mann Fine Jewelers said the beginning of the holiday season--post-Thanksgiving--was the strongest time for his store sales this year, rather than the days leading up to Christmas, but he has no complaints.
Compared to last year, “we were up nicely,” Mann said. He thought that a better overall economy likely contributed to that.
“We did very well with large diamonds,” Mann continued, “(and) diamond bracelets always do well with us as well.”
Branded lines also found a following at Mann’s stores; he introduced Marco Bicego in the late fall and thought it was a good fit for his clientele, but the response exceeded his expectations.
Forevermark was also a hit. He said: “We found great success with the Forevermark Tribute collection. We were advertising that pretty heavily. For the first time in a while, Forevermark got it right with the product mix and it seemed to go very well.”
South Central
Jewelers in Texas and Arkansas said they had a good Christmas--good, but not great.
In San Antonio, Texas, Aaron Penaloza, of C. Aaron Penaloza Jewelers, said estate jewelry sales were strong, which helped boost profitability over last year even though November-December sales volume was no better.
He said customers like estate jewelry because it is 20 to 30 percent less than an equivalent new piece and because they can’t find it anywhere else. It is not, as he put it, “the stuff Jared has.”
Estate jewelry also cannot be price shopped online, though when asked about that aspect of selling the category, Penaloza said this: “The people who go shopping with their cell phone out, that’s not our customer. We stopped chasing those people.”
He added that the store is, instead, spending its promotion and advertising dollars on a “better prospect.”
When asked if he worries about what abandoning a younger demographic could mean for the future of the store, Penaloza said while that is a concern, the millennials are getting older as well (the oldest members of this generation are now in their mid-30s) and are seeing the value in shopping with an established jeweler who has a good reputation and quality merchandise.
Meanwhile, in Arkansas, “It wasn’t the barn-burner I was expecting, but we had a very good Christmas,” said Craig Underwood of Underwood’s Fine Jewelers in Fayetteville.
The store was celebrating its 60th anniversary. Underwood was expecting a double-digit sales bump like he saw when the store celebrated its 50th anniversary, but what he got was a single-digit year-over-year increase in sales. Customers were buying diamond basics and engagement rings, as well as fashion earrings and necklaces at the store, which sells only custom and private-label jewelry under the Underwood brand.
Underwood said he realizes now he was overly bullish given where the market is for most of the industry, but said his store did pick up a healthy amount of new customers in 2017.
Overall, both he and Penaloza said they are optimistic about the year ahead.
Penaloza said people seem to be more positive and willing to spend money so, barring a major catastrophe, “I think it’s going to be a good year.”
West
Stephenie Bjorkman, CEO of Sami Fine Jewelry in Fountain Hills, Arizona, said that holiday sales were good this year, similar to last year.
“We were busy, busy the whole month of December,” Bjorkman said, noting the store saw a lot of foot traffic.
She said diamond earrings were a big hit this holiday season, particularly Gems One earrings that “are basically diamonds that appear bigger with the setting.”
Bjorkman said that in terms of special promotions, her store participates in the Gems One flyer program and provides “no-strings-attached gift certificates,” in which the amount is determined by what the customer spends in store, typically in the range of $50 to $100.
A state over, Mike Butterfield of Butterfield Jewelers in Albuquerque, New Mexico said his holiday season was also pretty good overall though, “it wasn’t record-breaking.”
Sales were down a little compared with the year prior, though 2016 proved to be an outlier: December of that year was surprisingly strong despite a neighboring independent jewelry store’s going out-of-business sale.
“I didn’t think we were going to meet last year’s numbers,” Butterfield explained, so instead he used 2015 as a benchmark, a year in which sales were more average.
“We beat (2015) quite nicely,” he said, noting that his store experienced “a very peppy kick-off after Thanksgiving,” then a lull, followed by the biggest rush right before Christmas.
Butterfield noted that in the $200 to $500 range, silver brand Belle Etoile did well with his clientele, and colored gemstones priced in the $500 to $1,700 range were popular.
Above that, he said that Heartstar Diamonds have “really been resonating,” and “are about the nicest diamonds anyone could find.”
More on Surveys
The Latest
CollectionsDec 20, 2024
Piece of the Week: Retrouvaí’s Ring for CharityIn the spirit of giving, Retrouvaí will donate $4,000 from the sale of this ring to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
IndependentsDec 19, 2024
Michigan’s DeVries Jewelers Unveils New Location in Time for the HolidaysCo-owner Dan DeVries shared what it’s like moving into a space triple the size of its old store and how it feels to be a “real jeweler” now.
Brought to you by
De Beers Group Launches Holiday Campaign for Natural Diamonds‘Forever Present’ campaign revives the iconic A Diamond is Forever tagline and celebrates the diamond dream.
CollectionsDec 19, 2024
State Property Transforms Spain’s Generalife Gardens into JewelryAlong with the latest “Gardens” collection, the brand has released limited-edition designs offering more indulgent pieces.
Weekly QuizDec 19, 2024
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
CrimeDec 19, 2024
Alleged Jewelry Thieves Attempt Rowboat EscapeThe man and woman are accused of stealing jewelry from a shipping container then trying to flee by paddling a small boat out into a bay.
SourcingDec 19, 2024
The Second-Largest Diamond Ever Found Now Has a Name The 2,488-carat diamond recovered from a mine in Botswana has been dubbed “Motswedi” while its 1,094-carat sibling is “Seriti.”
Brought to you by
Advocacy and Excellence: How Jewelers of America Is Committed to Elevating Our Industry For over a century, Jewelers of America has been the voice of the industry and valuable resource to jewelers across the country.
SourcingDec 19, 2024
Gemfields Reports Record Ruby Auction Results Despite Challenges at SourceThe average price per carat hit a record high for the miner, which said it remains unaffected by the conflict in Mozambique.
AuctionsDec 18, 2024
Alexandrite Ring Sells for Record-Setting $1.9M at Sotheby’sThe nearly 17-carat stone made history for the color-change gem that, according to the auction house, is experiencing a “notable surge” in the market.
WatchesDec 18, 2024
Historic Titanic Pocket Watch Winds Its Way Back to Tiffany & Co. More than a century after survivors gifted a Tiffany timepiece to the captain of the ship that rescued them, the jeweler has reclaimed it.
TechnologyDec 18, 2024
Picchiotti Utilizes AI in ‘Spotlight’ Video CampaignThe videos highlight how pieces from the “Xpandable” and “Reversible Xpandable” collections put the wearer in the spotlight.
IndependentsDec 18, 2024
Industry Veteran Steve Feldman Set to RetireFeldman reflected on 45 years in the jewelry industry and clarified that it’s not a total retirement.
Events & AwardsDec 17, 2024
Chanel to Receive Gem Award for High Jewelry ExcellenceThe luxury brand is being honored for excellence in high jewelry design in its “Haute Joaillerie Sport” collection.
SourcingDec 17, 2024
Frank Circelli, Founder of Gem Shopping Network, Dies at 75Circelli was a pioneer in the world of TV shopping who is remembered for his passion for gemstones and his big personality.
AuctionsDec 17, 2024
Blue Diamond Fetches $8.8M at Christie’sThe nearly 6-carat stone headlined the recent jewelry auction, which also featured Mica Ertegun’s jewelry.
CrimeDec 17, 2024
‘Black Bin Crew’ Robbers Get 14-16 Years in Prison The three men, who got their nickname because they’d toss the jewelry they stole into black plastic bins, were arrested back in August.
TrendsDec 16, 2024
Marion Fasel’s New Book Delves Into the History of Engagement Rings“The History of Diamond Engagement Rings: A True Romance” is a 128-page small-format book containing more than 165 images.
WatchesDec 16, 2024
Take a Look Inside the New Rolex Boutique on Rodeo DriveGearys opened a 6,200-square-foot Rolex store with a design that pays homage to the brand’s connection to the ocean.
GradingDec 16, 2024
GCAL By Sarine Expands 8X to 2 More Fancy Shapes The diamond cut grade is now available for marquise- and pear-shaped diamonds.
SourcingDec 16, 2024
Diamonds Do Good Announces 2025 Award RecipientsDDG said the honorees’ business practices embody a commitment to positive social impact, industry innovation, and community empowerment.
TrendsDec 13, 2024
Selena Gomez Said ‘Forever Begins Now’ to Marquise Diamond Engagement RingEstimates on the size and value of the solitaire diamond, which is mounted on a diamond pavé-set yellow gold band, vary.
TrendsDec 13, 2024
Piece of the Week: Martin Katz’s Tanzanite Drops These half-moon tanzanite earrings totaling 25 carats are part of a special trunk show taking place this weekend in Dallas.
Recorded WebinarsDec 13, 2024
Watch: The Highs and Lows of 2024The National Jeweler editors recap the top news, the best jewels, and their favorite stories of the year.
AuctionsDec 12, 2024
Tom Brady’s Watches Top $4M at Sotheby’s AuctionThe highest-grossing lot of the sale was the retired QB’s Rolex Paul Newman Daytona “John Player Special.”
SourcingDec 12, 2024
Grizzly Emerald Auction Garners $22.4MRecent expansion initiatives at the Zambian emerald mine have shown strong production numbers, said Grizzly founder Abdoulaye Ndiaye.
MajorsDec 12, 2024
Mark Henry Appoints New Director of SalesCarrie Forman joins the brand to guide it into the next phase of growth with major and independent retailers in the U.S. and abroad.
