RetailRap

September 1, 2017
By Phyllis Schiller

STEVEN GOLDFARB “Diamond jewelry is stronger than ever. So we’re doing more of that. It’s a little more fashionable pieces, which is a sign that the economy is better. People aren’t sticking to just basics. Bracelets, lots and lots of bracelets, is a strong category, bangles like Roberto Coin’s Pois Moi. The wild card category for us is ‘natural gems’ — citrine, topaz, meteorite that you just polish as it comes out of the ground. We’ve been doing very well with that. These are in addition to the bread-and-butter diamond studs, straight-line bracelets, solitaire necklaces, inside-out hoop earrings and basic pearl jewelry. It’s leaning a little more back to gold or white gold rather than silver; 50% of what we sell is white, 30% to 35% is rose, and yellow is beginning to creep back into the mix.” PRESIDENT ALVIN GOLDFARB JEWELER BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON

CYNTHIA GOULD “Last year, we didn’t have enough tennis bracelets. So I’ve been collecting those. And diamond stud earrings and pendants were real hot in 2016 and still are. So it’s the diamond aspect and not so much [colored gemstones], and absolutely nothing in sterling or silver. And people don’t seem to be buying pearls much. I’ve been homing in on more precious diamonds and bracelets, and yellow gold, not rose gold. “I’m trying to do a little bit of everything. Even with my diamond bracelets, the least expensive one I have is about $1,500, and [the prices go] up to about $20,000. I’ve had a few people come in asking about bangles, plain yellow gold ones, so that’s another category. And inside-out diamond hoop earrings, really big looks. That’s basically what people have been looking for in my area.” OWNER GOULD’S DIAMONDS & JEWELRY ANOKA, MINNESOTA

CRAIG UNDERWOOD “We have a great selection of colored gemstones… Of the big three — emerald, ruby and sapphire — sapphire is our best seller, followed by ruby, and then a distant third is emerald. Blue topaz has been very good, and aquamarine has been strong this past year. We’re also seeing peridot and green tourmaline and a little bit [of] yellow sapphire and yellow beryl. We have seen an increase in non-white diamonds for engagement. Raw diamonds have picked up, and a few black diamonds as center stones, and a little bit of sapphires selling for bridal. “We’re not doing much at all in silver for fashion. We have some white gold, but if you look at our fashion, right now it’s dominated by yellow gold and rose. While the vast majority of what we sell in bridal is white, I’m sensing that it is moving more and more strongly toward yellow and rose gold.” PRESIDENT UNDERWOOD’S FINE JEWELERS FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS

EILEEN HOPMAN “I bought some fashion lines at JCK that were attractive and had lower to higher price points. A lot of our customers are in the $100 to $300 to $500 range, and I bought mostly for that. I’ll fill in with other pieces closer to Christmas. I invested in primarily silver lines, such as Elle, adding some of their watches; Officina Bernardi, a sterling and plated-sterling line; and Slate & Tell, sterling pieces that can be personalized. I also ordered Carla gold earrings. My experience is that we sell less gold than we used to, although we have seen a little uptick in yellow gold. If we were doing 90-10, white to yellow, we’re doing 80-20 now. In bridal, we reordered Gabriel & Co.’s stacked bands, not just for Christmas, but because they’ve already been selling. More mature women have been coming in wanting to update their look with these. Sometimes they’ll buy more than one. White and rose gold seem to be more the trend, and a little yellow. “We’ve had a good year… The summer’s been a little quiet, but I’m feeling confident that we will do fine for the holidays.” CO-OWNER HOPMAN JEWELERS ELKHART, INDIANA

Images (clockwise): Steven Goldfarb, Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler; Craig Underwood, Underwood’s Fine Jewelers; Eileen Hopman, Hopman Jewelers; Cynthia Gould, Gould’s Diamonds & Jewelry