Trends in Jewelry Sales at Boutiques and Jewelry Stores

Demand for jewelry is growing, but the jewels themselves are shrinking. If there’s one trend that cuts across fine and costume jewelry, the quirky and the classic, it’s the current vogue for small, delicate baubles — often chains — that are meant to be layered.

“I think that into 2022, the trend will still be towards smaller pieces,” affirmed Kesia Re , owner of Melanie Grace Boutique in Sahuarita, Ariz. Her clients favor simple shapes in gold, sometimes with Western accents like turquoise, to layer and mix.

Creative design is the emphasis at Idaho Springs Mountain Gems in the Colorado town of the same name. “Right now it does seem that people like those smaller designs,” reflected Owner Ian Smith , who crafts unique silver settings for quartz and topaz jewelry.

The sized-down trend has even made it to bridalwear. At the Ben Bridge Jeweler location in Henderson, Nev., Manager Andrew Shick sees brides “asking for very dainty, narrow shanks on their engagement rings, often with little diamonds down the sides,” he said.

Overall, the best-selling line at Ben Bridge is Pandora. The girly chains and charms are “fun, well made, and reasonably priced,” Shick explained. “And they keep it fresh with new designs each year. Then they retire the old ones, which become collectibles.”

Another popular line is Armitron, the heritage watch brand that recently relaunched featuring electrostatic technology instead of batteries. On the fine jewelry side, white gold still dominates, with rose gold a runner-up at the Seattle-based outfit, a fifth-generation family business. Top styles include gold chains, especially for men, and diamond hoops.

And while online sales surged during the pandemic, Schick said customers are back shopping in person. “My customers want to feel and touch these pieces. They’re going to be putting out a great deal of money on something they’re going to wear every day,” he explained. “Jewelry is a very personal decision.”

Personalization is also a priority at Richter and Phillips Jewelers in Cincinnati, where an increasingly sophisticated social media campaign customizes marketing to niche audiences. Sales are strong for engagement rings and gold chains; yellow gold is soaring, along with diamond and ruby animal pendants. “Paper clip chains are especially popular,” observed Manager Christy Vigil .

But diamonds are out of fashion at Idaho Springs Mountain Gems. Instead, Co-Owner Andrew Clement sees customers looking for cheaper alternatives like birthstones or other white stones such as mois- sanite. “They want the shine of diamonds, but not the price,” Clement explained.

At the 1,000-square-foot store he bought five years ago from a former colleague, Clement crafts one-of-a-kind pieces set with natural minerals. Customer favorites include rose quartz for its healing aspects and beautiful color, and 17 varietals of topaz, such as Swiss blue or rainbow “mystic” topaz. “People like how unique the stones are, as well as our settings,” noted Clement, who has made jewelry since childhood. “Our inventory is always changing. Once something is finished, we break the original molds.”

Handcrafted designs are also the calling card at Silver + Salt, an artisan outlet at the Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Owner and Jeweler Christine Heidel crafts delicate pieces in gold, sterling or oxidized silver with raw gemstones whose flaws and inclusions are part of the allure. While prices range from $50 into the thousands, most purchases are in the $150 to $200 range.

For 2022, “I see yellow gold continuing to be really popular,” predicted Heidel, who works in a studio adjacent to her 250-square-foot retail space. The trend of layered chains — mixing different links, textures and twists — “is still going to be big into next year.” Heidel also sees a trend toward personalization: mixing and matching metals and personalizing chains with charms, birthstones, diamond letters and gemstone add-ons.

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Trends in Jewelry (From page 91)

The top seller this season at Silver + Salt is socalled “permanent jewelry” — pieces that are welded on and cannot be removed with a clasp. Most of these are “infinity bracelets, which are seamless, for a more streamlined look,” explained Heidel.

One trend with momentum is the fluidity between brick-and-mortar and online retail. After five years running Melanie Grace Boutique as a mostly online

“I love all the aspects of gold. Each nugget is completely unique; like snowflakes, no two are ever alike. I’m the first person who’s ever seen it. Sharing this with the rest of the world is my passion.” business, with select customers visiting her Oregon showroom, Owner Kecia Re relocated to Sahuarita, Ariz., where the e-commerce business continues while she hunts for space. Online merchandising became increasingly important as Melanie Grace’s in-person shopping was disrupted by COVID and the move.

“You want to style pieces well and take really good photos,” Re explained, “so people notice something, want it and feel an urgency to grab it.”

Online jewelry sales keep Northern Made Creations going year-round. After running a traditional storefront in Anchorage, Owner and Jeweler Steve Fuller gave it up for the flexibility to spend the off-season mining for gold nearby. “I can’t be sitting in a storefront once the Christmas rush is over,” he explained. In January, the business goes online-only; come summer, he sells his handcrafted gold nugget jewelry to tourists at Alaska’s busiest outdoor market. During fall, he sets up temporary shops at Anchorage malls.

“I love all the aspects of gold,” observed Fuller. “Each nugget is completely unique; like snowflakes, no two are ever alike. I’m the first person who’s ever seen it. Sharing this with the rest of the world is my passion.”

Fuller grew up mining silver and panning for gold in New Mexico.

His natural nugget wares are unique enough to defy retail trends, but earrings, as elsewhere, are consistently a top seller. “That’s just typical in the jewelry business,” he said. ❖

What Are Your Top Jewelry Display Tips?

Retailers adapt jewelry displays for maximum impact and appeal.

Sometimes, that means balancing beauty with price point. At Ben Bridge Jeweler in Henderson, Nev., Manager Andrew Schick thinks “about what’s affordable for my window — affordable luxury, maybe coordinating items,” he explained. “We don’t want one-time customers, but instead to be their jeweler for life.”

At Idaho Springs Mountain Gems in Colo., Jeweler Andrew Clement mimics the mountain landscape in displays that feature more delicate pieces in front, and larger items in the back. And in Cincinnati, Manager Christy Vigil goes for a minimal, uncluttered display at Richter and Phillips Jew- elers, with matching items shown together.

Jeweler Christine Heidel coordinates multiple chains on a single neck form, mixing metals and textures. “We don’t have a lot of space, so it helps that layering is a trend,” laughed Heidel, whose Seattle outlet, Silver + Salt, is just 250 square feet. Rings go on trays and earrings on stands to maximize space; Heidel also uses risers to display items at different levels.

Retailers without dedicated storefronts have to get even more creative. “A big part of it is having good signage,” noted Steve Fuller, whose artisan jewelry business, Northern Made Creations, has pop-up stores in malls as well as a booth at a summer outdoor market.

Indoors, Fuller spotlights his gold nugget pieces in well-lit cases left over from his brick-andmortar store. At the outdoor market, Fuller maximizes his booth’s 40 square feet by displaying gems alongside a gold panning concession, drawing in curious passersby.

While Melanie Grace Boutique is in transition — from an Oregon showroom to a Sahuarita, Ariz., brick and mortar storefront — Owner Kecia Re puts even more thought into the photos on her ecommerce site. “We’ll display our jewelry on black velvet because that makes it shine more,” Re said. “And I’ll arrange it on a mannequin, to give people an idea of what they could look like.” ❖