Do You Or Don't You?

Nearly Half of Jewelers Stock Locally Themed Jewelry

Whether it’s local gemstones or jewelry featuring college sports teams, jewelers succeed with local merchandise.

Published

10 years ago

February 18, 2014

INSTORE Staff Instore March 2014 Issue

44% YES, I DO

Popular local/regional items are jewelry made to celebrate our heritage … pecan charms, Mississippi River pendants, books by local authors, fleur de lis anything. — Joanna Wurtele, Point Coupee Gallery, New Roads, LA
We are in Madison, WI, so we have a lot of Bucky Badger items. They make up only 1 percent of volume, but we would not be without them. — John Hayes, Goodman’s Jewelers, Madison, WI
We sell our Southern Alberta gemstone ammolite, and have done so for over 30 years. It accounts for about 7 percent of gross sales, and is created in silver, gold and gold-plated items. — Lisa Corbin, Tompkins Jewellers, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
We started crafting charms of the various historical monuments of the city in the ’80s and continue to release new charms each year. — Jonathan McCoy, McCoy Goldsmaith & Jeweler, Dubuque, IA
Our Montana Yogo sapphire rivals the Kashmir sapphire in color and quality. The price however restricts some buyers on larger sizes of this variety. — Murphy McMahon, Murphy McMahon & Co., Kalispell, MT
There is a large equestrian community here, so we carry horse-related items (horseshoe rings, pendants, earrings, items with bits and stirrups, etc.). — Ben Brantley, Ben Brantley & Co., Shelbyville, TN
We created the B+ bead for bracelets to help the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which offers financial aid to families of critically ill children. It has moved very well. — Nancy Carbonetti, Stephen’s Jewelers, Wilmington, DE
We have an extensive collection of officially licensed collegiate jewelry that we sell in our store, on our Facebook store, and at the football stadium on game days. We live in a college town and promote our collegiate jewelry to the community and alumni. — Annette Kinzie, Leonard Jewelry, Stillwater, OK
I had custom shamballa bracelets made with local team sport colors. I donate 100 percent of the profits to the team. — Dorothy Retzke, Krystyna’s Jewelry, Chicago, IL

56% NO, I DON’T

Tried it, but nothing seems to move to make the investment to do a special item worth the time and effort. — Lex Harrison, G M Jewelers, San Jacinto, CA
If the low-quality, low-price jewelry chain stores local to us carry it, we won’t. Besides, we deal with a lot of people from out of town, and it just does not suit their needs. — Deric Metzger, DeMer Jewelry, Oceanside, CA
Nothing of the quality that we demand is available. — Mark A. Young, Mark A. Young Jewelers, Oxford, MI

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.”