Supreme impact

do the same thing so-called straight couples do all the time—exchange jewelry to demonstrate their love for each other.

Dan Schweiterman, of C. Kirk Root Jewelry in the very liberal Texas town of Austin, said his store always has been a supporter of the gay community. They’ve been selling jewelry to same-sex couples for the last four or five years, as couples traveled to other states to get married or wanted rings to show they were together, married or not.

He said while he hasn’t seen a “huge jump” in business right away, he hopes the ruling will boost his business over time.

El Paso jeweler Susan Eisen, also a same-sex marriage supporter, said the same.

She’s been selling jewelry to same-sex couples for years and noted that people aren’t “knocking down the doors” right now to buy wedding bands just because of the Supreme Court’s decision. Like Schweiterman, though, she remains hopeful that she’ll see a bump in business a little further down the road.

3) Some states aren’t going quietly. One Tyler, Texas jeweler I interviewed, Elliott Herzlich of Elliott’s Jewelers, said that the clerk’s office there is refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and similar reports are surfacing in other states, including this one about a Kentucky couple that ABC News published Thursday.

He said he hasn’t had any same-sex couples come in since the ruling but, to be fair, Tyler’s not exactly a diverse community. Herzlich said he’s only served two same-sex couples in the 10 years he’s owned the store.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not open to it. Like all the jewelers I spoke to on Thursday, Herzlich said he supports love and the freedom for people to marry whomever they like, and he is against discrimination of any kind.

“What if somebody said, ‘I don’t like short, middle-aged, chubby men who are losing their hair?’ (in my store),” he said, referring to himself. “I couldn’t go a lot of places then.”

4) Are jewelers just looking at a lot of wedding band sales? In doing his analysis, Gassman bases his final impact figure—about $150 million a year, or three-tenths of 1 percent of total U.S. jewelry sales—on the assumption that many same-sex couples will be exchanging wedding bands only. I think this is a hard one to nail down, to be honest.

It’s mostly true for gay couples, yes. (Despite the requisite article that pops up every year, I don’t really think the “man”-gagement ring really ever caught on.) However, my friends mentioned above exchanged diamond rings.

Also, as Eisen pointed out to me, it’s not just about bridal jewelry. There’s also birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions for which couples of all kinds can exchange jewelry, and more people being allowed to get married equals more anniversaries.

So, will this amazing ruling have an impact on the jewelry market? Yes it will, but not on the same level it would have when same-sex marriage remained outlawed across much of the land just a few years ago.

Like I said above, though, it’s nothing put a positive for the market. After all, it never hurts to have more love in the world, especially if you’re a jeweler.