What are the 3 best-performing jewelry lines that you carry?
ALLISON-KAUFMAN held onto the No. 1 position for the second year in a row, receiving 50 votes. Gabriel & Co. climbed into the second spot with 40 votes, followed by Stuller at No. 3 with 33 votes. Sylvie slipped to fourth place with 29 votes, while Ostbye stayed steady in fi fth with 25 votes. Results are based on the responses of 288 independent jewelry retailers to the question, “What are the three best-performing jewelry lines that you carry?”
What are the 3 best performing watch brands that you carry?
What jewelry or watch brand would you most like to add to your cases?
As they do every year, watch brands dominated the list with Rolex once again finishing top. It’s worth pointing out that almost a third of the respondents replied “None”, which was by far the most frequent response. The reasons given included a lack of interest in promoting brands, a focus on their own store brand, or “all the brands that I love the most are selling direct to consumer.”
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What do you think will be the next breakout trend in jewelry?
A resurgence of yellow gold, often in bold, chunky, and statement styles reminiscent of the 70s and 80s, was the trend seen as most likely to break out next. At the same time, the rising price of gold is a major concern, leading many to predict a shift toward more affordable alternatives, including silver, platinum, and other metals, as well as gold-filled, plated, and vermeil options. “Things are going to start getting ‘dainty’ (as in hollow, thin and flimsy),” noted one jeweler. One of their peers was more hopeful: “As gold goes to $4,000 and beyond, someone will come up with a new combination of gold and alloy that will be affordable, beautiful and durable.”
The lab-grown versus natural diamond debate was prominent. Some jewelers anticipate a comeback for natural diamonds, while others see continued growth for lab-grown diamond fashion jewelry, especially as prices fall.
Specific styles mentioned include vintage, estate, and antique-inspired looks, custom redesigns of old jewelry, and bezel settings. Elongated diamond cuts were also said to be gaining popularity, a trend many attribute to Taylor Swift. And then there was “anything flex or stretch” to fit individual finger sizes.
As for trends that were fading: layering and halos. “I’m thrilled that I haven’t been asked to do a halo design in 10 months!” said one jeweler.
Where are you most seeing the impact of tariffs?
What percentage of the products you carry are made in the USA?
Rank these qualities in a brand partner, from most to least desirable. (Ignore if you don’t sell branded goods.)
- Product quality 4.62*
- Willingness to stock balance 3.76
- Exclusivity 3.55
- Support 3.39
- Easy terms 3.12
- Brand power 2.61
*SCORES refer to the weighted average, based on the ranking assigned to each options.
Has the timing of when you do the bulk of your buying changed in the last three or four years?
| Yes, we now buy earlier in the year |
|
15%
|
| Yes, we buy later in the year |
|
13%
|
| No change |
|
71%
|
COMMENT: While the results indicated most jewelers had made no major changes to their buying patters, when asked to elaborate, the comments showed a signifi cant portion were moving away from reliance on a few large, scheduled orders toward continuous, opportunistic buying throughout the year, particularly of fast sellers. Some reported doing almost no Christmas-specifi c purchasing, as December “no longer gives us the big bump as it did 10 years ago.” In addition, more frequent buying, such as ordering weekly or daily, was favored because it it allows for “better cash fl ow and forecasting,” although it meant limiting purchases from companies with long lead times (6–8 weeks out).
What point of sale program are you using?
| The Edge |
|
51%
|
| Jewelry Shopkeeper |
|
6%
|
| Shopify |
|
4%
|
| QuickBooks POS |
|
4%
|
| Jewel360 |
|
2%
|
| WJewel |
|
2%
|
| Clover |
|
2%
|
| Square |
|
2%
|
| None |
|
9%
|
| Other |
|
18%
|
Have your buying patterns changed in the last three or four years in terms of:
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