Whether you are growing your store’s estate department or just launching one, there are certain vital aspects to building a strong offering. These include procuring pieces that fit the cyclical trends of antique and vintage jewelry, ensuring the styles mesh well with your existing contemporary designs, and providing your salespeople with the knowledge and tools to sell them.
“The vintage conversation is in the zeitgeist. Therefore, there is a real space for contemporary retailers to integrate vintage jewelry into their inventory,” says Randi Molofsky, founder and owner of brand-development agency For Future Reference. While her business mainly represents modern independent designers, she recently expanded it to include a curated vintage selection for stores looking to launch estate collections.
“Besides the idea that pre-owned is good for the planet, there’s the romantic essence of jewelry that has withstood the test of time,” she explains. “And it certainly reinforces the fact that fine jewelry does not lose its value, but…continues to bring joy to new generations of owners.”
A taste for the unique
“Our estate offerings continue to grow every year,” says Laura Freeman, owner of jeweler Broken English, which has stores in Los Angeles and New York. “More and more clients desire pieces that are one of a kind or that have some sort of history. They also want something unique from their friends and their peers.”
As demand goes up, she continues, “it’s also important to have a variety of styles and time periods within your estate selection that mix well with each other and with the modern jewelry designers you carry.”
The internet connection
Social media has played a huge role in creating a new customer base for older pieces with character — those that offer a sense of nostalgia yet still seem fresh and relevant. Mary Leppert of retailer Metalmark — which has stores in Denver, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona, as well as her home base of Carmel, Indiana — has witnessed the effect social media has had on the growth of her estate departments.
“Customers who aren’t familiar with certain periods or styles can find them on Instagram,” she says. “There are also hashtags that are keeping lesser-known designers of different periods alive and inspiring the consumer to look into these houses that are more accessible than the renowned brands.”
Knowledge goes a long way
All the interviewees agree that the consumer has become more educated about antique and vintage jewelry over the past five to 10 years.
“Our antique and vintage clients are very knowledgeable, especially if they have been purchasing pieces over a long period of time,” says Freeman. “They know what they are buying. They also know the collectible pieces. Therefore, we have learned from each other and have grown our selection based on our own aesthetic as well as what will be desirable to our customers.”
An estate department is a natural fit for Croghan’s Jewel Box in Charleston, South Carolina. “Our store is over 100 years old and sits in a historic town that attracts millions of visitors every year,” explains second-generation co-owner Rhett Outten. “It makes sense for us to carry antique and estate jewelry because we love history, our customers collect it, and visitors are here to embrace it. For us, it is part of the culture to mix the old with the new.”
What’s popular?
Molofsky has been making an effort to expand consumers’ vintage horizons.
“Traditionally, retailers have focused on signed pieces from renowned houses, but my goal is to introduce jewelry lovers to unsigned pieces from as early as the 1920s through the 1980s,” she says. “There’s tremendous value in older fine jewelry because the production costs were lower, as were gold prices, and we aren’t artificially pumping up the prices to reflect the current market.”
Style-wise, she continues, “there is interest in ’60s, ’70s and ’80s statement pieces with bold silhouettes set in yellow gold. There’s a return to large button earrings, collar necklaces, oversized bangles, and chunky cocktail rings featuring bold gemstones.”
Broken English sells “quite a few Victorian lockets, rings, brooches, diamond cluster earrings, snake pieces, and different periods of chains,” reports Freeman. “I also believe people are drawn to the ’70s pieces because they are sleek, sexy and timeless. The signed pieces that do the best for us are Cipullo, Cartier, Tiffany, Bulgari, Belperron, and anything with a French hallmark.”
As for Croghan’s Jewel Box, “most of our large sales are in rings: vintage engagement styles, colored-stone cocktail looks, signet and crest rings,” says Outten. “We find that people are drawn to the uniqueness and craftsmanship of these pieces more than the desire to own a signed piece. Additionally, Victorian earrings and chunky gold pieces from the ’50s through the ’70s are always a hit.”
Leppert’s sales predominantly come from English reverse crystal, Victorian watch chains, ’60s and ’70s tubogas and Italian-made chains, and bold, wide bracelets.
Sales staff should familiarize themselves with time periods, maker’s marks, hallmarks, and provenance, she advises. “It’s imperative to train your team so they are armed with all of the information they can offer. It definitely helps and can perhaps close the sale.”
Supply and demand
“The desire for certain signed pieces has upped the prices,” Freeman admits. “Cartier and Tiffany zodiacs and Bulgari Monete necklaces are so collectible now. Anything [by] Cipullo sells before it hits the floor. Some items are priced at a premium because you can’t find them anymore.”
At Croghan’s, says Outten, “we mark things up fairly and try to offer reasonable pricing. We let the value stand on its own.”
Antique and vintage jewelry as a whole is getting harder for store owners to source.
“Selling these categories is a lot of work: scouring the market, appraising, and knowing your history,” says Molofsky. “Most retailers don’t have time for that extra work. I’m hoping to bring our trusted retail partners this service and provide new estate finds so they can sell with confidence.”
Despite the challenges, Freeman believes that “in this day and age, having a dedicated case for antique and vintage is an investment all retailers should consider.”
Four styling and display tips
1. Arrange by color
Doing this “draws the eye into a case and holds the customer’s attention longer,” suggests Metalmark’s Mary Leppert. The display “can be from a range of different periods, which teaches clients they don’t have to stick with one era.”
2. Combine estate with complementary newer designers
“Temple St. Clair, Single Stone, Elizabeth Locke and Marla Aaron, all inspired by history, mix well with antique pieces in the store,” says Rhett Outten of Croghan’s Jewel Box, who often pairs or layers estate items with modern ones in her displays.
“Some of our contemporary designer collections give a nod to the past, seamlessly mixing in with antique and vintage pieces,” affirms Laura Freeman of Broken English.
3. Distinguish the antiques
“Our antique and vintage jewelry is housed together in a special section of the store,” says Outten. “We then curate by category. We also use antique boxes when possible for special pieces and have signage explaining [the pieces’] significance.”
4. Get creative
“There are no rules when it comes to combining modern and estate,” says Randi Molofsky of For Future Reference. “You can show an 1890s cuff with a modern Harwell Godfrey bangle, or a major 1960s collar necklace with a Buddha Mama Hamsa pendant.”
Main image: A bracelet with colored crystals in 14-karat yellow gold, circa the 1950s to 1960s. (Metalmark)
This article is from the July-August 2024 issue of Rapaport Magazine. View other articles here.
Stay up to date by signing up for our diamond and jewelry industry news and analysis.
WhatsApp
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn