Modern Jewelry Trends

Even though jewelry sales, especially women’s self-purchases, have suffered in the economic downturn, a recent study shows that the underlying desire for fine jewelry is still strong.

In fact, gold jewelry ranked in the top three most popular items for women’s discretionary spending according to World Gold Council’s 2008 survey, What Women Want: Global Discretionary Spending Report, conducted by an independent research firm, GfK. The survey of 1,068 American women, aged 16 to 65, demonstrated that gold jewelry has continued to maintain its appeal for U.S. women, despite a squeeze on spending power, a volatile and rising gold price and increased competition from other consumer goods, which was already evident in April when the research was conducted. Gold ranked below only “short breaks” and “increasing savings.” Gold outranked spending choices like a “meal at a nice restaurant” or “beauty/spa treatment.”

According to the survey, the relatively high recent price of gold has actually increased its desirability. Women who noticed the increasing price over the past year were most likely to agree that the current price reassured them of the value of their gold jewelry: 68 percent of consumers who noticed a price increase said that it reassured them that “What I buy and own is valuable” while 67 percent said “gold jewelry is a good investment.”

The survey also showed that while the ownership of gold has increased among those interviewed in the U.S., with 94 percent owning gold jewelry compared to 90 percent in 2005, the main competition for consumer discretionary spending does not come from other fine jewelry. Rather, it comes from other “must have” accessories such as mobile phones and other personal electronic goods. Ninety-six percent of women surveyed own mobile phones or personal electronics, up seven percent from 2005.

According to the survey, gold has a perceived longevity, purity and value that set it apart from other luxury goods. It is differentiated from other jewelry by its relatively transparent investment value. At the same time, gold’s aesthetic qualities are acknowledged as versatile and suitable for everyday wear. In contrast to gold jewelry, which has clear financial value, other luxury consumables were viewed as having short-term aesthetic appeal and therefore lacked the investment value and the longevity of gold.

Looking to pump up your platinum sales this holiday season? Platinum Guild International has created a variety of marketing campaigns for both the consumer and trade on the local and national levels to convey the importance and desirability of platinum. The fashion and bridal platinum push is on. And with platinum prices making it a real bargain, it’s perfect timing for customers to fall in love with platinum.

Highlights of PGI’s push include a love story contest on CBS’s “Virginia This Morning.” Four finalists’ stories were read on-air and viewers voted on-line for their favorite. The winning couple received a pair of platinum wedding bands valued at $6,000 by Per Amore from Schwarzschild Jewelers in Richmond, Virginia. Retailers should take note that it’s never too early to plan those 2009 bridal and Valentine’s Day promotions.

In addition, PGI partnered with Elle and celebrity wedding planner Robert Smith, and launched platinum microsites with Elle.com and Brides.com. In Smith’s webisode on Platinum.Elle.com, he reviews different platinum ring styles.

New fashion and bridal ads featuring testimonials from platinum consumers will also run in Elle, Cosmopolitan, Modern Bride, and Martha Stewart Weddings throughout the holidays and 2009. For more marketing campaigns, sales tips, and technical support, visit www.platinumguild.com.

Looking for some gems and jewelry from Thailand but can’t get away? Despite some airport political protests that have made headlines recently, the next Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair will be open for business as usual from February 25-March 1, 2009, at the Impact Exhibition & Convention Center.

In the meantime, the Thai Gem & Jewelry Association has developed a new on-line sourcing project. The service is designed for international buyers to efficiently and conveniently source Thai gems and jewelry. The site includes registration, private buyer meetings, e-mail subscriptions, and news services. You can also set up meetings in advance of the next fair. Categories include precious and semiprecious gemstones, rough stones, jewelry, diamonds, pearls, and gold.
“The service is a perfect tool for prospective buyers who require a roadmap for navigating the Thai gem and jewelry industry,” says Somchai Phornchindarak, CEO of the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair. “The massive size and varied supply of the Thai industry is one of our greatest strengths, but it can be overwhelming for visitors.” - Matthew Kramer

Although this may only a problem for you if your other pet peeve is too many photographer’s flashbulbs going off in your eyes, it is tricky to match fine jewelry to rhinestone-encrusted dresses. The rhinestones are so sparkly that they can have the unfortunate effect of making even expensive jewelry look a bit cheap. (For those of you who think rhinestones themselves always look a bit cheap, this may not be an issue, since they will match perfectly.) But Mariah Carey actually solved this problem at the recent 2008 American Music Awards. To up the difficulty factor, she matched that blingy dress with what appeared to be a rhinestone-encrusted microphone.

Mariah boldly offset all that sparkle with something even more eye-catching: a wide invisibly-set diamond and platinum cuff by Siera worth $250,000. The cuff’s almost seamless wall of diamonds effectively outshone the rhinestones and made diamonds look, well, brilliant. Mariah’s diamond pave hoops, with stones effectively covering the entire surface, worked well also. So are you wearing rhinestones on your dress? Go ahead and wear diamonds. Just make sure you are wearing a lot of diamonds.

When Blue Nile sued Yehuda Diamonds in February this year for “misleading statements” on its web site comparing Yehuda clarity-enhanced diamonds to diamonds sold by Blue Nile, it started a chain of events in motion that may end up damaging the emerald market. How could an ongoing online diamond language dispute end up hurting emeralds? Does this gorgeous green gem just have bad karma?

In November, Yehuda Diamonds got its revenge at Blue Nile, filing suit against the online jewelry retailer (and sending out a press release today) claiming that it sold emerald jewelry to consumers without disclosing that the emeralds are enhanced. The Yehuda suit says that disclosure is required by FTC guidelines: “Such filled emeralds are far less valuable than non-enhanced emeralds, rely on an enhancement process that is not permanent, and typically require special care when cleaning, facts that Blue Nile did not disclose to its customers.”

That language is important because the FTC guides require disclosure of gemstone enhancement when the treatment is not permanent and requires special care. Retailers are also required to provide information about the special care needed. Although disclosure of gem enhancement is obviously a good idea in all cases, application of the language of the FTC guides is a bit more fuzzy. Take heating for example. Arguably the guides do not require disclosure of heat because it is general practice, permanent, and does not require special care.

Are enhanced emeralds “far less valuable” than non-enhanced emeralds as Yehuda claims in the suit or are non-enhanced emeralds the exception? Emeralds have always been odd man out when it comes to treatment. Emeralds treated with traditional natural volatile oils, which slowly evaporate, have long been considered more prestigious and valuable than emeralds filled with permanent epoxy resin fillers. Gem labs, however, generally don’t identify the fillers present in an emerald but only the amount of filling present.

Included as an exhibit in the complaint against Blue Nile are copies of Gemological Institute of America reports confirming that emeralds sold in September 2008 by Blue Nile have “moderate clarity enhancement.”

The suit asks the court to order Blue Nile to “cease making false and misleading statements and to offer a full and complete refund to any consumers who wish to return emeralds or emerald jewelry items purchased from Blue Nile.”

“The process of enhancing an emerald or a diamond is a common trade practice used by jewelers to provide consumers comparable gems at a more attractive price,” says Dror Yehuda, president of Yehuda Diamonds. “The issue arises when retailers, such as Blue Nile, fail to adequately inform their customers that the gems or jewelry items they are purchasing have been treated.”

Yehuda told National Jeweler that even though his company doesn’t sell emeralds, he views all pieces of jewelry as competing with each other. “Blue Nile is competing with me on the online business of jewelry,” he said, adding that he is demanding a jury trial in the case. (Although one imagines he might be a bit more flexible if Blue Nile were to make that other lawsuit go away, hmm?)

Blue Nile’s web site now includes language on emerald enhancement. But it’s not on the product page, it’s buried in the education section so I don’t get the sense that they are running scared. And Blue Nile isn’t very serious about colored gemstones anyway: they don’t even provide carat weight for emeralds or other gems, just the millimeter size, which is kind of weird, especially since the carat weight of side diamonds and diamond pave are given.

What does your website say about gem enhancement and gem care? If you sell online, it’s definitely time to take a look at all the fine print.