Tips and How-To

Big Diamonds Are Back – And You Can Profit From the Trend

Jewelers are reporting fewer but bigger sales.

Published

6 years ago

October 12, 2017

Chris Burslem

Bigger diamonds are becoming more important for more jewelers.

In 2011, 11 percent of jewelers were generating the bulk of their diamond dollars from gemstones that were 1.5 carats or larger. By 2014, that had climbed to 14 percent. This year, according to the 2017 Big Survey, it was 19 percent.

Big Diamonds Are Back – And You Can Profit From the Trend

Our figures mirror those found by other industry observers, which show jewelers across the country reporting fewer but bigger sales, especially in diamonds.

INSTORE columnist David Brown’s Edge group has found diamond sales have rebounded from a low of 44 percent of store sales in 2008 to 55 percent this year. For some ideas on how to best deal with these changing market trends with your staffing, marketing and inventory management, read David’s recent column on the subject here.

Check out the chart below. You can see all the results of the 2017 Big Survey in the October edition of INSTORE.

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Chris Burslem

Chris Burslem is Group Managing Editor at SmartWork Media.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”