How Is Journey Diamond Jewelry Selling?

RAPAPORT… The 4Cs are not the only things that make a piece of diamond jewelry a sales winner. In an ongoing series, RDR explores the “3Ws” — what’s selling, what’s not and why — by going straight to the people who really know — jewelry retailers. Each month we ask a sampling of retailers to comment on the important issues that are facing the industry today.

Here is what they had to say this month when asked: Do you sell Journey Diamond Jewelry?

JEFFREY JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, DIAMOND CELLAR, DUBLIN, OHIO: “Yes, we are carrying Journey Diamond Jewelry. We’re both making our own and buying from suppliers. The reason why I would is pretty simple: De Beers has a pretty good track record. And if they start pushing an item, I want to follow. It just makes sense to me. I actually think they do a fabulous job of moving the market. And I think it’s a good story. It has a very nice sentiment. And that’s what our business is about. Jewelers, all businesses today, tend to be too transactional and they have lost the emotional and we need to get back to it. And that’s what De Beers ads do. They add a whole new dimension to how it’s perceived in the public.

“I’ve had a couple of comments, but I don’t know that I’ve done anything significant at this point. But it’s early. September and October are not my classically large months. I would say that for Christmas, a short time after Thanksgiving, we’ll start to see it. We’re planning to capitalize on that.

“We’re particularly going with the pendants right now. A pendant, or a locket or something worn around the neck, close to the heart, is generally a more sentimental piece. Rings are something that’s more fashion oriented while a pendant tends to be worn all the time or have special meaning. That’s why necklaces and pendants, but pendants in particular, are second only to engagement rings in the emotional arena.”

PHIL LEMON, CEO, LEMONS JEWELRY, WAYNESBORO, VIRGINIA: “We put it in and felt it was going to be a good category. People have been asking for it. We didn’t quite get our merchandise in before the ads broke and we did have people coming in before we got the merchandise. We started getting geared up for it in June. We didn’t go to the Vegas show, but we were aware of it and the vendors were talking about it. We’ve sold some pieces already.

“We’ve gone mainly with the pendants; we felt that styling was better for this category.

“There is a carry-through from the Past, Present, Future concept and that strong emotion. And this is just another way of expressing that emotion, I think. These two programs have brought emotions back. And people who may not have liked the three-stone jewelry might see Journey Jewelry as something more like what they have in mind. ‘I Forever Do’ last year wasn’t quite as significant, even though it was another way of saying the same thing. I think this will be a holiday seller — we’re counting on it.”

JAY MEDNIKOW, PRESIDENT, MEDNIKOW JEWELERS, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: “We have a few of the styles — a very few, not many. I have no experience with it yet; we’ve just started getting it in. The reason I’m not carrying more is that most of it is of a little more commercial nature and we’re a higher-end store. I can see it being a good thing for a more commercially oriented store. We chose the pendant that forms a sort of ‘s’ curve and tapers down.

“The emotional aspect is a great idea. We stocked the Past, Present and Future. The emotion behind that is a great idea, too, but that style of jewelry lent itself to much higher-end jewelry. We had that in great depth. We don’t even call all of it Past, Present, Future; a lot of it is just three-stone rings.”

DARREL QUINN, OWNER, QUINN’S JEWELERS, MORRISON, ILLINOIS: “I think it’s a great idea because rather than selling just a solitaire versus three-stone, now we’re going to sell at least four diamonds or more.
“We do find here that we’re about a year to a year and a half behind the trend, which is kind of nice because I can go to the Las Vegas show and I already know what will be selling, not this year, but next year.
 
“I’m starting to promote it just now; I’m running newspaper ads. We do have a few pieces of the Journey Jewelry in inventory. I’m finding that the longer Journey styles rather than the shorter ones are a little better. And every day, we’re getting more styles from different mounting houses as to what they’re coming out with.”

GARY HILL, PRESIDENT & CEO, LEO HAMEL & COMPANY, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: “We are stocking a little bit of it — most of the Hearts on Fire pieces and some generic pieces, pendants — and consumer response to it is very positive. We’ve sold some of it, but it’s not the hot new item yet. Whether it will be or not, your guess is as good as mine. They’re giving it an advertising push, but my experience has been that the three-stone ring last Christmas was really good, but it had built over time. Consumers take a while. I don’t expect it to be a big item this Christmas, but by next Christmas, people will be asking for it, if they keep pushing it that long.

“The only reason why people buy diamonds is the emotional aspect. If that were gone, they wouldn’t buy them. If the emotional aspect is enhanced, they buy more diamonds.

“I think it’s a good follow-up to the three-stone. Anybody who likes the Past, Present and Future concept will like the Journey concept. We had one lady say, ‘Journey, that’s an interesting name. It is a journey. When you started, you didn’t know at some point you had to be wearing hiking boots.’”

MARK UDELL, CEO, LONDON JEWELERS, GLEN COVE, NEW YORK: “We have not carried any of that product as yet. We haven’t gotten any requests for it at all. Our clientele is very sophisticated and wants designs that are cutting edge. They look for very interesting product and certain things don’t work for us that might be more toward the masses — that’s not our thing. In a more sophisticated design, it might work for us.”