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

12 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

Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson

When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren. For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish. "Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful." The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing." Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."