Ka”“ching: Vegas shows signal healthy year for jewellery

by charlene_voisin | August 1, 2012 9:00 am

By Jacquie De Almeida

 

Who says what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

The dazzling play of colour of Ethiopian opal, the soft hues of morganite, and art deco-inspired designs were just some of the styles buyers couldn’t help but bring home from the Las Vegas shows.

While the world’s economists keep a close eye on the euro zone, the jewellery industry appears to be on track for a successful year, judging by the packed aisles at JCK Las Vegas and Couture 2012.

Fashion jewellery remains a significant category, with exhibitors incorporating design techniques that create the impression of luxury. It’s a tactic Italian company, Rebecca, turned to when designing its latest line.

Its use of a laser to carve out miniscule peaks and valleys into bronze mimics the look of embedded diamonds.

Carlo Scalzo, whose company Diamond 2 Scalzo Bros. distributes Rebecca in Canada, says high precious metal prices continue to be a concern, with consumers trending toward the appearance of luxury at an affordable cost. For retailers, however, Scalzo says it’s a tougher sell. They’re looking for high-volume sales in diamond jewellery, which they believe will give them better margins. The trick, he advises, is to have a good range of product for those times when diamond jewellery is not on the customer’s wish list.

“Everyone would like to sell a piece of diamond jewellery a day, but we all know it doesn’t happen,” he says. “Consumers want to be able to switch up their jewellery, and they look for affordable pieces that allow them to do that.”

Known for her oversized gemstone cocktail rings, U.S. designer Erica Courtney says she is happy to see colour is much more prevalent than it used to be.

    

“Colour adds a personality to your look,” she tells Jewellery Business from her booth at Couture. “If it looks good on you, it might not look as good on someone else, and therefore, it’s special to you. Colour adds a special dimension to your wardrobe and it can become your signature piece. Sometimes people say they’d rather wear only diamonds so they match everything, but if your eyes pick out a certain colour, it will look good on you because it’s likely one you wear all the time.”

The right-hand cocktail ring spans Cleopatra to Kate Middleton, says Niveet Nagpal, owner of Omi Gems. “I think it speaks to every woman’s individuality,” he says. “It’s about how it makes a woman feel when she tries it on. It’s about creating a blend between a stone that comes from nature and the art of the piece’s design. When you put those together, it speaks to the person on a deep level.”

With the economic troubles in the United States levelling off to a certain extent, Nagpal says he’s noticed a trend toward brightly coloured stones, perhaps reflecting a more positive attitude toward the future. Demand in the $50,000 to $100,000 market appears strong, he adds, pointing to Europe’s ongoing economic problems as the catalyst for the wealthy to move to more tangible assets.

“You can’t wear a stock portfolio around your neck,” he says. “I think people want to enjoy their money a little more. It’s not an investment per se, but when you’re talking about a high-pedigree coloured stone, then it is an investment or at least a place to park your money that you can also enjoy.”

Masis Hagopian, owner of Makur Designs in New York City, says he’s picked up several new accounts, including Canadian retailers, with his blush-coloured morganite designs set in pink gold. Like other gemstone exhibitors, Hagopian notes strong sales up to $3000 retail and from about $7000 and higher. The mid-range, however, remains slow.

    

“The $5000 sale has disappeared,” he says. “The middle-class buyer has reduced their budget. We’ve had to alter our designs to using smaller or bigger stones to fit those ranges.”

Although Europe continues to make headlines, it also appears to be a strong influence among exhibitors, notably Stuller, Inc., and Belle Étoile, who both looked to Italy for inspiration.

Hoping to put a different spin on its new lines, Stuller sent its design team to the Vicenza fair. Not only did they incorporate the architectural lines and curves of northern Italy, but techniques that create the appearance of a solid gold design.

Why turn to Italy and not another part of world for inspiration? “I think those are the designs that eventually end up in the United States,” says Ashley Brown, Stuller’s executive director of marketing services. “That type of Etruscan or Byzantine design seems to be everywhere. The experts are predicting this to be the hot trend for the next few years.”

Jim Grohn, president of Belle Étoile, says targeting the sophisticated woman looking to make a self-purchase was the reason for the Italian flair behind the company’s newest collections. The use of eye-popping enamel, rubber, and resin is geared toward bridging the gap between costume and fine jewellery with what Grohn describes as a “designer fashion brand.” While he says there are challenges with some retailers like department stores in categorizing this emerging sector as either costume or fine, he adds the market is shifting and jewellers are following suit.

“It’s about embracing change,” he notes.

Contemporary metals remain a strong market, which is why Edward Mirell dedicates 12 per cent of his yearly budget to product development and creating new methods for working these materials.

    

Like Scalzo, Mirell believes fashion brands can help provide a more well-rounded selection and appeal to a demographic looking for higher-quality contemporary pieces. For traditional retailers, however, this is a category they often overlook because it’s unfamiliar, both in technology and material.

So how do you get a traditional jeweller who is accustomed to buying gold to branch out into alternative metals?

“You try to get them to understand that all contemporary metals aren’t alike and all manufacturers aren’t alike. Just like silver and gold, they need to treat it like a category. It’s really tough, but the ones that do that are making good turnover.”

Despite the fact it recently announced it was reviewing its diamond business and possibly selling its mines, including Canada’s Diavik, Rio Tinto introduced ‘Diamonds with a Story,’ a new marketing campaign aimed at going beyond the four Cs and providing consumers with the human, geological, and cultural histories behind diamonds.

“Everyone wants to tell a story and everyone wants to hear a story. That’s how people connect,” says Jean-Marc Lieberherr, Rio Tinto Diamonds’ general manager for sales and marketing. “Diamonds are a story of life; they’re a story of eternity. They are a fascinating story and we just don’t tell it as an industry.”

Lieberherr says the overall story of Canadian diamonds is one of human persistence, both in finding the initial mines and building them. “Operating in the Northwest Territories is an amazing engineering feat,” he says. “In Diavik’s case, when you look at the dyke, by any standard, it’s about performance. For instance, in the summer, the dyke is refrigerated so that there is no difference in temperature and it doesn’t crack due to [extreme temperature variations].”

Business was brisk at Watches by JCK, a reflection of the strength of this sector. Bering, a first-time exhibitor at the show, celebrated its 200th retailer in Canada, a milestone that comes six months after the launch of the Arctic-inspired brand.

    

Company founder René Gross Kaerskov says striking the right chord with retailers goes beyond providing fashionable designs at attractive price points. Instead, branding techniques, such as Bering’s in-store furnishings reminiscent of the Arctic landscape, help tell a story.

“It creates an experience,” he said. “We encourage our retailers to use the displays so the watches themselves don’t disappear among the other brands the store carries. We also advise retailers to display four watches on each shelf so that it’s uncluttered, just like the Arctic.”

The growing trend toward fashion-oriented digital watches was also apparent. Donald Brewer, managing director of Phosphor, says the ‘Apple effect’ is migrating into watch design, with consumers looking for touch displays that change dials with a swipe of a finger. It’s a take on more complex digital watches that use buttons to change displays, what Brewer calls “a smarter watch.” It’s also familiar territory for techies and younger demographics.

“Customers are already accustomed to this type of user interface,” he adds.

The digital age is one avenue Yael Designs is leaning on heavily. Rather than spending thousands on researching consumer trends, the San Francisco-based company is using its Facebook page to see which sketches its 6500 followers—mostly luxury buyers—would like to see produced. Company CEO Yehouda Saketkhou says the tactic has provided interesting insight into what retailers believe will appeal to their customers.

“We can gauge interest before we make the model,” he says, adding Facebook also drives consumers to the company’s dealers. “It helps us tremendously and doesn’t cost anything.”

At show’s end, Reed reported a 21 per cent increase in attendance over two years. Coupled with smiling faces looking back from most exhibitors’ booths, indications are healthy holiday sales are on the horizon.

Now who wouldn’t want that under their Christmas tree?

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/features/ka-ching-vegas-shows-signal-healthy-year-for-jewellery/

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