1. Keep the “sweet spot” covered at all times. Per jewelry sales expert and longtime INSTORE columnist Shane Decker, that’s 10 to 15 feet inside the front door, to the customer’s right. Someone always needs to be there, to greet anyone entering within five seconds.

2. Smile. People buy jewelry for happy occasions. They want to buy it from happy people.

3. Make everyone feel welcome. Every jeweler has a story about the guy in ratty overalls who dropped $15,000 on a ring — after walking out of the first store he visited, because they were snooty to him.

4. Avoid stale opening lines. “Can I help you find anything?” is just asking to be waved off, as is “Anything in particular you’re looking for?” Phrases like that make you sound like a salesperson, when you want to be an engaging person to look at jewelry with. Try an open-ended question that isn’t about business, whether it’s small talk (“How was traffic getting here?”) or a little more personal (“What are you up to today?”), as long as you ask with genuine interest.

5. Practice getting past brush-offs like “I’m just looking” by validating the customer and turning the brush-off into a question: “That’s great — please look all you want! So, what brought you in here to look?”

6. Introduce yourself. (You don’t need to ask the customer’s name until you’re further along; it can be a bit off-putting when they’ve just walked in.)

7. Ask if they’d like something to drink.

8. Offer to clean their rings while they browse.

9. Offer to throw away their trash — if they walk in carrying a cup or wrapper, or when they finish the soda you offered them. It’s a simple thing, but people appreciate being relieved of the responsibility so much.

10. Address both partners when waiting on a couple. Nobody likes feeling invisible.

11. Avoid making assumptions. “You’re so cute together!” is awkward when it turns out the bride is scoping out rings with her brother.

12. Keep your political, religious, and other potentially controversial opinions to yourself.

13. Compliment customers’ jewelry and other fashion choices. If something they’re wearing strikes you, mention it! Everyone likes to have their taste validated by a professional.

14. Master the “ask-listen-paraphrase” technique. Get information by asking your customer questions and then actively listening. Don’t be focused on what you’re going to say as soon as they stop talking. What words are they using? What feelings are they expressing? When it is your turn to speak, repeat what they said back to them to make sure you understand.

15. Let the customer do most of the talking. It’s easy for salespeople to get carried away with themselves — you want to show the customer how much you know, and talking feels like doing something. But you gain valuable insight and give clients time to think when you step back and listen.

16. Ask open-ended questions to get them talking. These usually start with “what,” “how,” or “why.”

17. Carry a notebook or tablet and take notes as you’re listening to customers.

18. Avoid asking how much they want to spend. It’s a good way to instantly rule out something they’d otherwise be willing to buy. They’ll feel guilty for going over the arbitrary number they gave you, and that puts a damper on the excitement.

19. Sit down for bridal sales. Even if bridal isn’t your store’s bread-and-butter, the “quest for the ring” is a special occasion for the couple. Always treat it as such.

20. Have champagne on hand to celebrate your bridal customers’ upcoming nuptials.

21. Show the most expensive item first. People often buy the first thing they look at.

22. Talk about emotions, not preferences or price. Less “If she likes rose gold, she’ll like this,” more “What do you think her expression will be when she opens the box?”

23. Take jewelry out of the case when talking about it.

24. Step out from behind the counter if it feels right to do so. Some clients want to maintain their personal space, but others will feel more comfortable without a barrier between you.

25. Share stories about the jewelry you’re showing. Even if it’s just a funny anecdote about the designer, stories linger in the mind and create a sense of connection.

26. Use plain language rather than jewelry jargon. Don’t assume customers don’t know the difference between a carat and a karat — but don’t assume they do, either. Standard industry terms like baguette, emerald cut, and melee can sound like Greek to non-jewelers, and leave them feeling embarrassed when they walk out. So if you say something like channel set, quickly point out what that means, and leave them feeling informed instead.

27. Say “Let’s see how it looks on you!” or “Can I see it on you?” This is the fairy godmother part of your job! It should be fun for everyone.

28. Take a picture of it on them. Then email or text it to them. Particularly if there’s a good chance they’re going to shop around elsewhere before deciding, this is a must. They’ll have a pic to remind them of the jewelry (and of you), and you’ve also deftly gotten their contact info.

29. Let them know when a piece is part of a set.

30. Return jewelry to the case before taking out another piece. Only one or (possibly) two pieces out at a time, max, if you don’t want to give your insurer apoplexy.

31. Stay with your customer. As soon as you flit off, the person who was just browsing will want you to take something out and be stuck waiting.

32. If the customer wants space, remain visible and available without hovering.

33. Practice team selling. When sales associates cooperate, you can save sales that would otherwise have been lost — and the whole store wins. Become seamless at assisting each other by bringing out stock from the safe room, turning over sales when the first associate isn’t jibing with the customer, and stepping in when your area of expertise is needed.

34. On that note, recognize when you and a customer aren’t connecting, and turn them over to a better-suited colleague without hesitation. Life is too short, and your energy is better spent on customers who mesh with your vibe.

35. When another salesperson enters the picture, introduce them right away and explain why they’re there — and then fill them in on the customer’s needs.

36. Stay out of other salespeople’s interactions with customers unless you’re invited over. Maybe you waited on them last week and want to know why they’re working with Carol today. But you and Carol can sort it out after they’re gone.

37. Refrain from complaining, gossip, or shop talk when a customer might hear you.

38. Show your customer something ridiculously expensive, just for fun. You’re not trying to sell it (although, sure, sometimes it happens) — it’s just, how often do they get to try on a $20,000 necklace? You’re creating an experience, one your customer will remember.

39. Let customers look through the loupe or microscope too.

40. Distribute a wishlist to every shopper. Even if they’re “just looking,” it’s better for them to leave a record of their favorite pieces with you — just in case.

41. Familiarize yourself with a variety of closing techniques, from the direct close (“Do it”) to the reassurance close (“She’s going to be smiling for a week when she sees this”), and figure out which ones work best for you.

42. Wait for the customer to let you know they’re done buying. It’s surprisingly easy to get so excited about closing a sale that you rush them to the checkout when they’d like to keep looking.

43. That said, take yes for an answer. When a customer has decided on something, stop showing them other options.

44. Try selling an add-on every time — they’re in the store and in the mood to buy. (Rule of thumb: An add-on shouldn’t cost more than half what the main purchase does. You don’t want to overshadow it.)

45. Stand by your prices. There are times it makes sense to negotiate or offer a discount, but cutting into your profit simply to close the sale is a dangerous precedent to set.

46. Face your bills in the same direction when making change for cash purchases. The people who care will notice if you don’t.

47. Hand out literature at the point of sale. Whether it’s an invitation to your next trunk show or trivia about the birthstone for the month, it’s one more chance to make an impression.

48. Offer to gift-wrap purchases.

49. Inquire about upcoming events the customer might need a gift for.

50. Collect email addresses and other contact info.

51. Validate parking when someone makes a purchase.

52. Walk customers out after making a sale.

53. Give them your business card.

54. Ask them to tell their friends about you.

55. Record your notes after making a sale. This is the key to building long, trusted relationships.

56. Send a thank-you note. Handwritten is still the way.

57. But for other communications and updates, feel free to text with customers who prefer that over phone calls or email — and many do.

58. Use email for receipts, order forms, approvals, and other such documentation, however.

59. Exercise discretion when you follow up. Every jeweler also has a story about the time they called to ask Mrs. Jones how she was liking her new bracelet. But Mr. Jones didn’t buy the bracelet for Mrs. Jones.

60. Proactively reach out to clients with gift suggestions ahead of birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.

61. Whenever you place a special order, set reminders to check on its progress and keep the customer up to date on its status.

62. Install a door counter to track how many people come in every day, so you have an approximate sense of your prospects and closing rate.

63. Set up a phone charging station near the front of the store with cables for Android and Apple devices. Customers will appreciate it, and you’ve given them a reason to linger and look.

64. Post the network name and password for your wi-fi where customers can see it.

65. Do a lap with Windex and wipe down cases and mirrors whenever you have a minute, especially after a rush.

66. Replace burned-out lamps immediately. Light is your jewelry’s best friend.

67. Tidy up the restroom every time you use it, and check it hourly.

68. Keep your own food and drink off of the showroom floor.

69. Leave your phone on silent or at your workstation when you’re on the sales floor.

70. Set out disposable masks for shoppers who want them.

71. Keep crayons, paper, and candy on hand, even if kids rarely come in. When kids have a good time somewhere, they tell their parents to keep going there.

72. Along with a standard first-aid kit, have OTC pain relievers, burn ointment, and an Epi-Pen on hand for emergencies.

73. Maintain a stash of menstrual products in the restroom. If a customer does happen to need one, you’ll be a lifesaver in her book forever.

74. Check your email and voicemail at least twice a day, and respond to customers before you go home, even if it’s just to let them know you’ll get back to them with more information soon.

75. Respond to all of your online reviews — the positive and the negative — courteously and honestly.

76. Take a beat before responding to the negative reviews, and run your responses by somebody else before hitting submit.

77. Use the U.S. Postal Service’s Registered Mail when shipping something that absolutely must not get lost or stolen. UPS and FedEx are faster but less secure.

78. Take photos when taking in a repair, get clear information about what is to be done — and then repeat it back to the customer before letting them go.

79. Check all prongs and settings before returning a piece of jewelry to the customer, even if all you did was clean it.

80. Examine every repair with the customer before handing it off to them, to ensure the work has been done to their satisfaction.

81. When a customer picks up a repair, again, check to see if there’s anything coming up they might need a gift for. Don’t waste those opportunities to set up future sales.

82. Readily refer shoppers to your competitors for products and services you don’t or can’t provide. It shows that you’re knowledgeable, secure, and willing to put the customer’s needs first.

83. Reorder your fast sellers without delay. Neglecting to restock is the lamest reason to lose a sale.

84. Keep plenty of loose diamonds on hand, including large stones. Jewelers who don’t stock large stones don’t sell large stones.

85. Devote at least an hour each week to sales training, including roleplaying with other sales associates.

86. Continually broaden your product knowledge. Take online courses, research the gems you sell, and scour materials from suppliers. In a world where so much jewelry is bought and sold online, your in-person expertise is a major differentiator when customers are figuring out where to shop.

87. Set goals. Make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) and as easy or challenging as you want. But set them, so that you have a way to track your progress and achievements as a salesperson.

88. Wear the jewelry you sell. If you don’t love wearing it, how can you persuade someone else to?

89. Sell the jewelry you wear. If someone says she wants your earrings, let her know you can make that happen.

90. Keep your nails trimmed, use lotion, and invest in regular manicures. Customers spend a nonzero amount of time looking at your hands.

91. Close the store with at least one other person. Closing alone is dangerous for you, and also for the business.

92. Double-check that the alarm is set.

93. Build relationships with other local businesses. Explore service organizations, business associations, and the chamber of commerce. The larger your network, the more opportunities you have.

94. Underpromise and overdeliver. Giving yourself a buffer builds trust with your customers, because they learn they can count on what you tell them.

95. Educate. Jewelry isn’t just shiny rocks and metals — it’s science, engineering, history, and art. Seeing it through those lenses can inspire interest (and sales) among people who rarely wear it.

96. Tell the truth. An independent small business is nothing without its reputation and integrity.

97. Communicate. When something goes wrong — and something will — let your customer know, so they can regroup accordingly. People tend to be understanding about mishaps and mistakes, even big ones. But they’re much less forgiving about attempts to cover things up.

98. Maintain your sense of perspective. You’re selling jewelry, not operating a nuclear power plant.

99. Remember that the customer’s experience is actually more important than the product. The product is part of the experience, but what will keep them coming back is how good you made them feel. This is great news, because you have a lot of control over that.

100. Read INSTORE cover to cover each month — because if there’s one thing you can definitely be sure of, it’s that there’s always more to learn about selling jewelry.

The post 100 Things Every Jewelry Salesperson Should Know appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

From brightly colored gemstone statement pieces to over-the-top craftsmanship, there were many inspiring jewels among the winners of INSTORE’S 8th annual Design Awards.

Story by Jennifer Heebner

Another year, another wildly stunning selection of winners in the 2023 edition of the INSTORE Design Awards. Vibrantly hued colored stones, whimsical silhouettes (jellyfish!), and even a masterfully made pen—yes, a pen!— caught the eyes of judges and retailers who voted on all 246 entries. That number is yet another record sum for the competition, which offers a lot of visibility and prestige.

The judging panel for the 8th INSTORE Design Awards included six high-profile retailers and three well-respected media professionals. Each voted for their favorites by way of a “blind voting” process, while many more North American merchants cast their votes at instoremag.com to generate a “Retailer’s Choice” winner in each category.

Congratulations to all the winners! We hope readers will flip through these pages to appreciate the designs, and seriously think about which lines could be stocked in stores.

Diamond Jewelry
(Under $5,000)

Diamond Jewelry
(Over $5,000)

COLORED STONE JEWELRY
(Under $5,000)

COLORED STONE JEWELRY
(Over $5,000)

Colored Diamond Jewelry

Pearl
(Under $5,000)

Pearl
(Over $5,000)

Gold Jewelry
(Under $5,000)

Gold Jewelry
(Over $5,000)

Engagement & Wedding
(Under $5,000)

Engagement & Wedding
(Over $5,000)

Platinum Jewelry

Silver Jewelry
(Under $1,000)

Silver Jewelry
(Over $1,000)

Alternative Materials

Ring
(Under $5,000)

Ring
(Over $5,000)

Necklace
(Under $5,000)

Necklace
(Over $5,000)

Bracelet
(Under $5,000)

Bracelet
(Over $5,000)

Earring
(Under $5,000)

Earring
(Over $5,000)

Men’s Jewelry

Best Price Point

Fashion/Bridge Jewelry

Best Enamel

Personalized Jewelry

Lab-Created Diamond &/or Gemstone Jewelry

Best Statement Piece

Heart Motif

Rainbow Design

Cindy Edelstein Award

COUTURE’S Choice Award for INSTORE

Grand Prize Winner

INSTORE DESIGN AWARDS 2023 JUDGES

The post The INSTORE Design Awards 2023: Made of Honor appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

Steven Singer (of the legendary “I hate Steven Singer” marketing campaign) says sticking with his idea for more than 20 years is the smartest thing he ever did. “We keep everything under that umbrella even though we are constantly tweaking it. It’s never going away. It still has staying power.”

Most advertising, he says, fails because it’s not consistent. “Most companies get rid of things that are working because the agency generates revenue by changing it. So they constantly change things that don’t need a change.”

Aucoin Hart | Metairie, LAA Great Work of Art in Every Box From Aucoin Hart

Tommy Aucoin

Aucoin Hart in Metairie, LA, had used the tagline, “A great work of art in every box from Aucoin Hart,” for years, but when it began to feel stale, they dropped it and didn’t use it for more than 10 years.

By 2018, though, after a lot of soul searching, they realized they wanted their tagline back, feeling their advertising had become too routine and sales-oriented, says third-generation owner Tommy Aucoin.

“In the merchant world, everything is about price and selection, and we were falling into that with some of our advertising,” he says. “We wanted to go back into what jewelry is. It’s emotional and meaningful.”

And the tagline that tied into “a great work of art” says a lot about who they are.

“We do a tremendous amount of manufacturing. We design in-house. We have two CAD designers and 14 jewelers on staff,” Aucoin says. In addition, New Orleans area residents are fascinated with art and design.

But if they were to bring it back, they wanted to bring it back memorably. “We wanted it to be stirring, to grab your attention, tap into your emotions and be profoundly romantic,” Aucoin says.

Aucoin Hart’s recent TV ad, which uses the French language exclusively and was shot in black and white, caused a stir in its local New Orleans-area market.

“We spent a lot of time with our ad agency [Brand Society of New Orleans] thinking about what makes us different. New Orleans is a very European city with a French heritage. We wanted to use the city as a backdrop. We also wanted to have a nod to our French heritage and be memorable, be iconic.”

Taking inspiration from French films, they opted for a cinematic approach. The agency was on board with telling a cinematic love story. But what they proposed seemed completely off the wall.

“They said, ‘We want to shoot it in black and white and we want to shoot it in French.’ I was like, ‘Wait a second, this is not going to work!’” Aucoin recalls. “My dad, who is still involved in the business, said, ‘No way!’”

The agency explained that the slogan would be in English, but that a love story could be understood in any language, and that having that language be French would be memorable, particularly with a romantic musical soundtrack.

A client focus group thought that having the commercials be a mix of French and English would make it sound more like a language lesson than a love story. So, they went with the idea of a French language commercial shot in black and white. But prior to the big Thanksgiving 2022 launch, Aucoin says, everyone was nervous.

“The first commercial we launched was a bridal commercial, because everybody can relate to it. Engagement, anniversary, Christmas, are all about love and care and emotion.

“The feedback from the beginning was that it hits a cord with everyone and pulls an emotional string; it makes them smile.”

Longtime customers said they loved it (“they called, came in and emailed to tell us”), but the commercials, reinforced by radio ads in two languages, and social media, also are now regularly pulling in new customers. “When we probe and ask, ‘What brought you in,’ referrals are always No. 1, but even if it’s a referral, a close second was, ‘We saw your commercial and we love it.’ And if it’s not a referral, it’s a commercial.”

“We now know that this is the very base of this campaign that has legs for many years,” Aucoin says.

Steven Singer Jewelers | Philadelphia, PAI Hate Steven Singer

Steven Singer

When Steven Singer first introduced his now famous “I hate Steven Singer” marketing campaign to Philadelphia, it was designed to seem like someone really was trying to destroy his reputation.

The message looked like it was scrawled by graffiti artists on the Steven Singer Jewelers storefront. Everything else from the website to voicemail appeared to have been hacked or destroyed by hostile forces. Singer had kept the plan to himself and did everything in the middle of the night, using stick-ons that looked like graffiti paint for the windows. “There were rumors I was a drug dealer or cheating on my wife, which is what I wanted,” he recalls. “Nobody knew what was going on.”

After Singer appeared on the Howard Stern radio show, which had just expanded its reach from New York to Philadelphia, it became clear the hate campaign was self-inflicted.

Since that auspicious beginning, he’s continued to make the most of “I hate Steven Singer,” proclaiming that message on banners, billboards and radio spots.

In 20 years, he’s given away at least 10,000 “I hate Steven Singer” T-shirts. Other swag includes a pencil with an eraser on both ends, post it notes that are black; golf balls that are green and bottomless coffee cups. Pre-pandemic he was famous for events, including the world’s largest bubble bath; he was also the principal sponsor for the largest indoor eating contest, which drew 24,000 people.

Singer has spoken at industry events, communication and marketing classes, small businesses and chambers of commerce around the country.

The concept and the national advertising (radio and billboards) in which he’s invested have helped his business grow exponentially. Sixty staff members work in the store and more than 100 work remotely on e-commerce. “We have a real online business,” Singer says. “We have people who do live chat with customers. We don’t farm it out or have a call center. It’s usually people who have worked in our store previously.”

The online business a decade ago was 50/50 with the store. Now online is four times the size of brick-and-mortar and continues to grow. “We’re not anywhere near any kind of a ceiling,” he says.

Steven Singer is the longest running continuous advertiser on the Howard Stern Show since Stern made the move to Philadelphia, the only advertiser who is a jeweler and the only sponsor who has appeared on the show. “I’m very lucky to be a part of that,” Singer says. “Very lucky to ride on his coattails.

For the last 20 years, retailer Steven Singer has used the “I hate Steven Singer!” tagline as an ironic and catchy message that has made him a household name in Philadelphia.

The branding idea was inspired by a customer who hadn’t bought any jewelry for his wife since he gave her an engagement ring. Twenty years later, for her 40th birthday, he purchased a diamond ring from Steven Singer and threw her a surprise party. The wife’s response to the birthday gift and party was enthusiastic, and nine months later, the couple, who had two adult children, were in the store with news of a new baby. The wife said she was very pleased with her jewelry and said “I love Steven Singer Jewelers!” The husband joked, “I hate Steven Singer! We’re up all hours with midnight feedings and diaper changes.”

And with that baby, a legendary marketing campaign was born.

Britten Wolf BVW Jewelers | Reno, NVExtraordinary, Never Ordinary

Britten Wolf

Britten Wolf of BVW Jewelers in Reno, NV, says he doesn’t want to be “the guy yelling from a bully pulpit” about racism, diversity and inclusivity, but he does emphasize as strongly as possible that everyone is welcome in his store.

“Having two gay sons, I get to see all that (discrimination) firsthand. And I’m lucky enough to be in a diverse family, where I have black step-kids.”

The first commercial he made in 2016, a 30-second spot shown in local movie theaters, emphasized that love is love no matter a couple’s gender or sexual orientation. He received overwhelmingly positive reactions to the ad, in which two young women become engaged with a traditional diamond ring from BVW Jewelers and celebrate their love and commitment with a kiss. The first weekend it appeared on social media, it generated more than 20,000 impressions on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. The day after it ran, a couple came in after seeing the video and paid for the commercial by ordering custom rings.

Reno-based BVW Jewelers’ recent commercial focuses on a black family drawn to Nevada during the Gold Rush.

“And we were considered edgy,” he says. “I don’t see it as edgy. I see it as realistic.”

He recently teamed up with Bryon Evans Films and ADJ Visions production Co. to make a commercial for regional television, with the theme of the universality of family heirlooms. The narrative focuses on a black family drawn to Nevada during the Gold Rush, who face discrimination throughout generations of their history, but pass down a cherished piece of heirloom jewelry.

“We wanted to tell a story that was based in love, while still acknowledging the past and the legacy of those that came before us,” says Darius Devine, director, co-writer, and co-producer.

“Black families have historically been excluded from the fine jewelry market, and with that means often a lack of family heirlooms,” says Wolf. “We wanted to honor the importance of family legacies and share the message that jewelry is for everyone — it’s not just about romantic love, but celebrating family love, people of all races, and love for all genders and identities. All people experience love, and we support the representation of love for all people, including those who have often been underrepresented, like people of color and LGBTQIA+ people.”

The heirloom piece shown in the video is the West African “Mpatapo” symbol or the “knot of pacification and reconciliation.” Mpatapo represents the bond or knot that binds parties in a dispute to a peaceful, harmonious reconciliation. The goals for this commercial include honoring the history of black ancestors while shifting the narrative to share new stories of hope and positivity for the future.

Koehn & Koehn Jewelers | West Bend, WIRock Your World

Andy Koehn

Andy Koehn’s “Buy Like a Guy” podcast has been a process of trial and error for Koehn & Koehn Jewelers of West Bend, WI. In the beginning, he thought promoting his podcast on social media with revealing photos of beautiful women was the way to go, but now he says he was “dead wrong.”

In fact, he’s been so dissatisfied with his original podcasts that he deleted them and started over. “So much of what I was doing at the beginning was wrong. Titles were terrible, sound quality sucked. I started on my phone and just thought this would be fun.”

But he’s upgraded the production quality, resolved those technical issues and is confident that the original idea of appealing to regular guys who are not at all comfortable in jewelry stores is a valid marketing concept. He keeps most of the podcasts to five minutes.

“I would hear the same questions over and over again from guys when they were looking for engagement rings,” he says. “They care about jewelry when they need it, and other than that, there’s not a deep interest in knowing more about it. Jewelry stores are so foreign they don’t know what to do and they get a little freaked out. The No. 1 fear is they’re going to get something that she’s not going to love.”

Koehn set out to answer these questions and clear up those concerns in the form of the podcast, which has a casual, conversational tone, as if he’s been asked by the guy sitting next to him on a barstool what he should look for in a diamond. So he doesn’t avoid “swear words” when they seem to be a natural part of the conversation, and he uses humor when appropriate.

He’s also invited guests, including a local business owner, to join him on the podcast. “The subject was ‘what you hate about jewelry stores.’ And he’s the one that put it in my brain, that ‘this is a lot of money to spend, and I want to make sure she is going to be happy.’”

Often, it’s women who find the podcast first and make sure their significant others watch it. “I have gotten sales off of the podcast,” he says. “It’s nice to see your marketing work.”

Alara Jewelry | Bozeman, MTDang, We’re Good!

Babs Noelle

In 2015, Babs Noelle of Alara Jewelry in Bozeman, MT, advertised her clearance event as a divorce liquidation sale, which, in truth, it was. She had decided to liquidate her assets to reach a divorce settlement. Exterior signage included three big yellow banners that announced: “Public Notice Divorce. Everything Goes. Up to 70 Percent Off!” Catchphrases included: “Help me wash that man right outta my hair!” and “We’re liquidating the assets and splitting the sheets!”

“It was honest,” Noelle says. “It was simple. It was transparent. People know what a divorce is, and many know what kind of financial havoc it can wreak.

“I’ve had customers bring in out-of-area visitors, and they tell the story about it, right here in the store. Usually, their comments are peppered with compliments indicating they think I’m a marketing genius. I always take the opportunity to tell them, my decision to come out and call it a Divorce Sale was actually about being transparent and authentic, because who doesn’t like their jeweler to be both of those?”

Alara Jewelry’s advertising almost always features tongue-in-cheek copy designed to highlight the store’s approachability.

Still, her most successful advertising campaign has been waged in the public restrooms of Bozeman. “All the time, I get people from restroom advertising,” she says. “The bathroom ads have continued to be an awesome source of business, and we love that we can separate the ads by men/women. The #MeToo movement has certainly meant that we’ve tiptoed away from some of our racier themes.”

She also advertises on the back cover of the local downtown directory. “Nearly every tourist to downtown Bozeman grabs one of these. It’s more cheeky than edgy, although the bragging is a bit in your face.”

Thacker’s Jewelry | Lubbock, TXA Bridal Showdown

Joe Thacker

Joe and Ann Thacker’s West Texas jewelry store is in Lubbock these days, but the heart and soul of their business is 75 miles away in dusty Roaring Springs (pop. 214), where the company was born, where its jewelry factory remains, and where Joe’s family has had a presence for 130 years.

So, it made sense to return to Roaring Springs to film an idiosyncratic commercial. In “Bridal Showdown,” brides-to-be show off the size of their Thacker engagement rings in scenes reminiscent of a Western movie. A voiceover declares Thacker’s Jewelry the finest and fairest “this side of the Mississippi.”

Thacker’s Jewelry’s “Bridal Showdown” commercial borrows on themes made famous in Wild West films.

Thacker says it perfectly reflects the vibe of the store and the history of the business.

“We have partnered with Bottom Line Marketing for a number of years, and after years of getting to know us and our area of Texas, the team at Bottom Line worked with us to come up with these commercials,” Thacker says. “The commercials were a hoot to do and have been received very well in our market. West Texas to me is still old Texas. Big cities are not Texas, in the sense of the Old Texas. My family was in business in hardware, furniture and farm supply in Roaring Springs for 80 years. It’s about that small-town friendliness.”

While Thacker’s has a jeweler on staff and a shop for general bench work at the Lubbock location, custom work (both hand carving and CAD/CAM) is done at their factory in Roaring Springs. Before going to work for Thacker’s, two of the bench jewelers were working cowboys with artistic leanings.

The Thackers offer curious clients a behind-the-scenes education.

“If you get lost and you happen to find yourself in Roaring Springs, we do give tours of the factory,” Joe says. “It’s very much off the beaten path, and you have to be going there or going to another small community to pass through it. But it’s amazing that busloads of people will go there to tour the factory, to see the gold poured, to see them setting diamonds.”

Jackie Brooks, owner of Bottom Line Marketing, says the concept for the commercial came from a visit to Roaring Springs and her own tour of the factory. “Thacker’s is not like your normal jewelry store,” she says. “We wanted to feature girls who are proud to wear their engagement rings from Thacker’s. They’re local and they wear cowboy boots, and they want a big ring. It’s who their customer is.”

Size is definitely a priority for those customers. Thacker’s sells 3- and 3.5-carat lab-grown diamonds as well as mined diamonds.

The post These 6 Retailers Took a Risk on Offbeat Ad Campaigns That Paid Off appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

“It was a diamond that piqued my interest and grabbed me, a 2-carat mine-cut diamond, a darker stone,” he says. “I wondered, ‘What is this cut?
Is it real?’ I’d only seen brilliant cuts before.”

For Jordan, his father Steve, and his brother Nicholas, every day is a treasure hunt at Once Upon a Diamond in Shreveport, LA. He describes their inventory as mixed up and interesting with no apparent rhyme or reason, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. “In one case, you can see a century of styles: 1940s, late 1800s, retro, modern, mid-century, a piece made two years ago. It’s a fun way to look at jewelry.

Izzi Krombholz puts her own spin on antique and vintage jewelry with Haus of Mourning.

“That’s what grabbed my attention, the variety of it,” he says. “People started coming to see us to find that variety rather than just the contemporary, normal pieces you see everywhere. No matter how strange or unusual, there’s somebody out there for it. We are never afraid to take a chance on an interesting piece.”

Brown learned much of what he knows about estate jewelry organically, by frequenting antique jewelry trade shows, particularly in Las Vegas and Miami. “I’ll walk along an endless row of dealers and see a piece that piques my interest,” he says. “When you have a conversation with the dealers, you see they are just as interested as you are, and they can tell you all about it.”

In INSTORE’s 2022 Big Survey, only 7 percent of respondents identified “estate” as the category that most helps them stand out from their local competition.

Josh Perry of Perry’s Emporium in Wilmington, NC, a business founded on estate, says he would love to see more retailers get into the category rather than scrap everything they buy, if they buy over the counter at all. “They could make more money and a lot fewer treasures would be destroyed,” he says.

Lauren Priori, who owns four stores in the Philadelphia area and Washington, D.C., specializes in custom engagement rings. But one of her four stores is devoted exclusively to estate jewelry. “Estate is amazing for a lot of reasons,” Priori says. “A lot of stores are not comfortable buying because they’re not sure how to price things, but there is a huge competitive advantage if you are able to buy. I’d encourage people to figure out what the market value is. People need cash now and the margins can be great.

“We’ll buy anything from broken chains to huge diamonds, it runs the gamut,” she says, although most of what she’s been selling have been 1950s and 1960s era bracelets and cocktail rings with large gemstones. “We have been seeing a trend in yellow gold, but estate is so personal that it’s a little less trend driven.”

Finding a niche in antique or vintage styles can open up a whole new market segment.

Izzy Krombholz’s Haus of Mourning combines Goth fashion with Victorian jewelry to make a style statement.

Krombholz Jewelers in Cincinnati, where Izzi Krombholz works with her father, Lee Krombholz, has carried secondhand jewelry for more than 70 years, specializing these days in 1960s to 1990s vintage. “Our estate business is our No. 1 gross-profit-producing category,” Lee says. “It is a business that takes years to develop, because you must become known as a trusted buyer in your marketplace. The key is to be able to buy quality jewelry locally and then supplement it with fill-in jewelry from national dealers.”

Last year, Izzi started a secondary business called Haus of Mourning, which features Victorian jewelry, along with Goth clothing and lifestyle items. At 32, Izzi was searching for a more polished, mature version of the Goth aesthetic that didn’t make adults look like teenagers.

“I love mourning jewelry,” Izzi says. “Victorians were so sentimental. The Mourning Period happened when Queen Victoria lost her husband, and that became her embodiment in a way, an expression of mourning. Jet and onyx became super popular. The jewelry was literally dark.”

Izzi looks for gems and jewelry that have potential to be repurposed. “I love turning stick pins into ring tops or making little charms out of them. I do keep some antique pieces as-is, but other things that we wouldn’t sell as-is, I re-create.”

Whether estate clients are shopping for Victorian mourning jewelry or an Art Deco engagement ring, they want to stand out from the crowd with their jewelry choices.

“It used to be that everyone wanted to look like their neighbors, their peers,” says Beth Bernstein, author of The Modern Guide To Antique Jewellery. “That’s not true anymore. And antique jewelry is instant customization.”

Bernstein says it’s important to recognize that while estate is an all-encompassing word for the department, to be called antique jewelry, it must be at least 100 years old. The term “vintage” takes over where antique leaves off and continues to about the 1980s. “You need to know this to make sure your clients understand the difference.”

Estate has the potential to be an important profit center, and buying it over the counter can be a valuable service to offer clients. Vadim
Krivitsky of Oak Gem Fine Estate and Designer Jewelry says your clients may be offended if you tell them the same treasure you sold to them for a premium price is now worth nothing to you. “Retailers have to know how to handle their client who says, ‘I would like to sell this.’ If it’s a piece they bought from you and you charged them $30,000, how do you offer $10,000 with a straight face?”

When in doubt, ask a trusted expert, says Krivitsky. “If it’s an Art Deco bracelet, I can say it’s worth $20,000, but based on the experience of a jeweler who isn’t knowledgeable about estate jewelry, it may look to them like $3,000.”

Ross Nacht represents the fourth generation of Bernard Nacht & Co., a jewelry wholesaler based in New York City. “Everything is one of a kind,” he says. “That gives you the advantage, because if it’s here in your case today, it might not be there tomorrow.

“Find a vendor who is a trusted partner and who can provide all of the information needed about each piece, including information about its time period. That gives the sales team on the floor a bit more confidence.”

Kate Pearce is a New Hampshire-based jewelry designer and appraiser whose biggest source of profit was buying and selling estate jewelry before she retired from retail. “To be tactful, if it wasn’t anything we could use, we’d say, ‘It’s lovely but not for us.’ Or If it was a fantastic, high-end piece, but not something for our market, we’d offer to broker it for the client using our network of dealers and auction houses. A brokerage commission is assessed for this service.” She says it’s vital to confirm that the seller is the rightful owner of the items. Have an authorization/ agreement form ready for signature and verify the seller’s identity with government issued photo ID.

Although estate is not the primary focus of his business, Bill Warren, owner of Gold Mine Fine Jewelry and Gifts in Hudson, NC, has built a new customer base by hosting buying events that regularly bring in $100,000 over three-day weekends. He partners with John Angelo of All Facets Gemological Corp., whom he met on the jewelers Facebook group, Jewelers Helping Jewelers.

Warren always schedules a preview night and invites only five of his top estate clients, who enjoy the privacy and might spend $50,0000 before the event officially opens. “We live near a resort town,” Warren says. “The only way we get those people to come off the mountain and come see us is if we have an estate event.”

The estate side of his business was spawned in part because attorneys who hired him to evaluate estate jewelry often asked if he knew of anyone who would be a buyer for the jewelry. “So, I let them know that not only could I help them appraise the pieces, but I was a buyer as well. The result was a new revenue stream for the business.”

Craig Husar offers estate-buying events three times a year at Craig Husar Fine Jewelry and Designs, partnering with National Rarities of St. Louis. “There’s enormous need and incredible opportunity to buy estate jewelry from clients,” Husar says. “If you buy right, you can make nice margins on estate jewelry. It’s a differentiator that stands out.”

Krivitsky is primarily a retailer who buys jewelry at his appointment-only showrooms in New Jersey and Florida, and sells most inventory online, specializing in 1950s and newer, signed designer jewelry. Because he concentrates on brands such as Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari, he benefits from the millions of dollars those brands have already spent on advertising. “Maybe they saw a Tiffany Love Bracelet somewhere and they’re looking for that. It’s cut and dry. It makes their life easier and my life easier.”

THE
LEARNING
CURVE

Wholesaler Rebekah Anderson of Earth Pebbles Gemology has found her purpose in “saving” estate jewelry from being melted. “There’s depth and history and heft and story,” she says. “Jewelry shows a journey through someone’s life. Once they’re gone or they decide they don’t want it anymore, it’s cool that someone else can continue with that jewelry and add their story.

“If you’re going to source estate and vintage, you need to make sure you are purchasing items from someone who knows what they’re selling, has evaluated and graded the piece and done the math. Ask fellow jewelers who are carrying vintage and estate jewelry for referrals. Buy from trade shows. Most of the vendors have to be vetted in industry-only shows. Once you’ve found a couple of vendors you trust, ask them to educate you on the pieces that you’re buying. You don’t have to know everything, but you should know what era it is, what materials were used, and the story behind it. If you don’t know the full story, but you do know what era it came from, you can educate yourself on that era and how the jewelry was produced.”

Bernstein says it’s important to motivate your staff to learn each piece’s story and provenance. “Even if it’s not a famous maker or a signed piece, you need to know the provenance, the hallmarks, the country, the period. Certain hallmarks in England will let you know it was made in Birmingham in 1895, for example. You’re getting these pieces that have an instant story behind them. While you don’t need to personally become an encyclopedia of hallmarks, it’s a good idea to invest in books about hallmarks.”

Warren says it’s important to find the right partners to fill in any gaps in knowledge. “Even if you don’t think it fits your jewelry store operation, but you get a nice art deco piece in, there are all kinds of vendors who will buy the piece. Don’t be afraid to take a picture of a piece if a customer wants to sell it, shoot it to a dealer and just ask them.”

It’s Gretchen Schaffner’s job to sell online all of the over-the-counter buys her boss makes for Eytan’s Designs in Sherman Oaks, CA. Schaffner used to get frustrated trying to place jewelry in an exact time period until she realized she had unrealistic expectations. “We have a library full of books about vintage jewelry, and we’ve wasted a lot of time poring over them trying to find the answer on this or that bauble, and there is no definitive handbook that helps with dating jewelry that doesn’t have telltale hallmarks. We wish someone had told us early on, “Hey, put down the books, nitwit. Just narrow down a 40-year period, disclose the lack of clues, and move on!”

Eighty percent of what Julie Walton Garland of Walton’s Jewelry in Franklin, TN, sells is pre-1940s. She agrees that if you’ve done what you can reasonably do to ID the piece, it’s not doing anyone any favors to guess. “If you can’t point out a couple characteristics of the piece to back up what you’re saying, then you probably should not date it,” she says.

Josh Perry’s dad and uncles founded Perry’s Emporium by selling vintage jewelry out of the trunk of a car before opening their store in 1991.

Because they’ve built their reputation on paying more than scrap prices for pieces that can be resold, they attract 20 to 35 sellers every day.

“You never know what’s going to walk through the door,” Perry says. “A Tiffany & Co. solid gold 25-year medal for the NYPD with the original ribbon that hung on the officer’s neck came in last week.

“Buying something takes just as much skill as it does to sell something,” he says. “You have to have empathy for the customer to know what they’re going through and why they feel the need to sell this piece. And you have to be fair with them. When you are sympathetic, you will tend to overpay. Being empathetic yet reminding yourself you are in the business to make a profit is very important.”

WHAT DO
YOUR
CUSTOMERS
WANT?

Antique and vintage trends are as cyclical in popularity as other categories of jewelry, Bernstein says. “You didn’t see hoops for years, and now you’ve seen hoops for 10 years,” Bernstein says. “It’s like that in vintage, too. If you can get that formula down, you’ll be successful.”

Sometimes celebrities will spark mini-trends. Brown recently took several calls for antique diamond brooches, for example, several of which he had had in stock for a while. A quick Google search revealed that Rihanna wore three of them during her Super Bowl halftime show. “Somebody brings something back in the spotlight, and people realize how beautiful it is,” Brown says.

Bernstein says mid-20th century is trending now, especially in yellow gold, as well as the retro period, including wider bracelets. “The Georgian era, popular for so long, has taken a back seat to mid-century modern and the 1970s, such as Elsa Peretti and Bulgari. It’s more wearable.”

Krivitsky says ‘70s jewelry is hot right now among people who perhaps remember admiring the look on their parents. He also notes that Victorian rings, moveable 3D charms, and gypsy and insignia rings are sought after by younger shoppers who are converting charms to wear as pendants.
At Perry’s Emporium, slide bracelets are strong, as well as gold chains, estate watches and any kind of color: Emerald, ruby and sapphire pieces are going fast.

THE
ENGAGEMENT
RING

Priori says estate engagement rings appeal to her clients because they are unique and they are perceived as sustainable because they’re not newly mined.

Ring shoppers may believe they know which era or style appeals to them, but when they try it on, they may well change their minds, Bernstein says. “Train your salespeople not to push,” Bernstein says. “If you see it’s not really right for them, you can then find what is.”

Consider wearability, as well, Bernstein says. Anything earlier than Victorian are too fragile for the daily wear of engagement rings. Art deco in platinum is the most durable. Edwardian styles in platinum or platinum over gold without pearls are great. Sturdier Victorian styles such as five-stone or cluster rings make a wonderful choice, as well.

At Bernard Nacht, Edwardian, Victorian and art deco are always in demand among ring shoppers, but because many want yellow gold currently, Victorian and Nouveau are at the forefront, Nacht says. Also in demand are uniquely shaped stones, anything with an open culet, old mine and old European cuts.

“But I think with estate jewelry, everything will constantly be relevant and people will always be interested in it,” Nacht says. “These pieces are timeless.”

SELLING
ONLINE

When Garland began working with her dad, second-generation owner Mike Walton, in the business, he supported her ideas for expanding their omnichannel options, one reason Garland believes they are successful today. Online presence and sales have made such a dramatic difference that Walton’s has had to double their staff to keep up with the additional business.

Brown sells jewelry across five online outlets, including the store website, eBay, Etsy, Ruby Lane and Chrono24. “By offering this access to our business from multiple avenues, we’re able to take risks on more unusual pieces that may fit other locations’ tastes better,” says Brown. “We can sell pieces across the world and not just wait and hope someone from this area buys it.” Brown includes four- to eight-sentence descriptions of each piece on the website. His goal is to be honest as well as descriptive. Detailed photographs don’t lie and Brown won’t either; he will always mention a crack or a patina. “I’m happy to repair it or polish it, but if you like it the way it is, I’ll leave it alone.”

DISPLAY
IDEAS

Craig Husar had a visit from display expert Larry Johnson, who noted that estate jewelry was displayed at his Wisconsin store like everything else. “Larry said, ‘You’re missing an opportunity to tell the story about how this is unique.’” Husar asked a staff member who collects vintage books, perfume bottles and other trinkets if he could borrow pieces from her collection. When he used the props to display estate jewelry, it suddenly came to life. “Customers know immediately that it’s unique,” Husar says, “and sales have escalated because of that. It grabs people’s attention.”

Croghan’s Jewelers in Charleston, SC, has a section of the store dedicated to antique and estate jewelry, which is hugely popular with millennials and visitors to the city, says owner Mariana Ramsay Hayes. “People walk in here and see this antique and estate jewelry and get caught up in the aura of where they are, of wanting to buy a Charleston antique, and then they walk into the other side and see beautiful diamond and designer collections.” Often their customers find creative ways to mix the two, creating stacks of rings drawn from both areas.

The post How Retail Jewelers Crack the Estate Code appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

It might be something visible or tangible like a cascading chandelier, a branded bottle of Champagne or an architectural detail. But it could be more abstract: your esprit de corps, your organizational skills, your offbeat sense of humor, your friendly ghost.

The takeaway is that every store owner needs to find their own area of differentiation, as Troy and Joy Thollot of Thollot Diamonds & Fine Jewelry in Thornton, CO, did when they found inspiration in Colorado microbreweries and bars for their store renovation in 2019. “Everybody has to have their own secret sauce,” Troy says.

“We have a definite Colorado chill vibe, which is super-warm and super-comfortable,” says Joy. It disarms visitors immediately. “It happens right at the front door, and you can see it happening. They relax, they sigh.”

No matter the vibe, the details or the furnishings, store owners concur that it’s the people behind the facade that make the most difference.

One of Jim Cash’s stores in Fayetteville, AR, has a patio for grilling and socializing, and both of his Diamond Center locations have what he describes as almost a bar theme. But, dig a little deeper, Cash says, and you’ll find it’s the personality of the team that fuels the fun. “We are all so different and we really do our best to cater to everyone,” he says. “We all do whatever is needed to take care of the customer.”

Barb Binkley of Cooper & Binkley Jewelers in Brighton, MI, says people trump things when it comes to personality in her store and that reviews prove her point.

“We are very interactive on social media, we do a lot of fun events, and we have an amazing team,” she says. “We are 5 stars on Google with almost 1,500 reviews.”

Says Traci Hill of Got Rocks Jewelry in Harrisonburg, VA, “My shop is 100 percent me! Being by appointment only, I’m able to focus on my client in the moment. Low pressure sales, cracking a few jokes and being real has worked for me, plus I carry a few pieces of cannabis jewelry, so that always brings about great conversation.”

Here are 50 examples, in alphabetical order, of what can go into a jewelry retailer’s secret sauce.

01 BAG Your packaging can carry your message home with your clients if you let it. “The Love Comes First tagline featured on our tote bag both conveys our core values to our customers and reminds our team of the guiding principles we rely on when dealing with our artists, customers and each other,” says Betsy Barron, owner of Love & Luxe in San Francisco. Remind everyone why you’re there.

02 BEACH VIBE Jewelry designer Gorjana Reidel and her husband, Jason Griffin Reidel, own dozens of Gorjana-branded jewelry stores that reflect a minimalistic beach-cottage vibe that speaks to the brand’s origins. Mango wood finishes, blue Shibori accents and greenery recall the brand’s Laguna Beach, CA, origins and complement the laid-back selling style.

03 BILLBOARD John Thomas Mead of John Thomas Jewelry in Albuquerque constantly tries to reimagine the messaging conveyed on 40-foot billboards. Among the most popular have been “50% of Marriages End in Marriage,” “Let’s Stick It To Divorce Lawyers,” “A Toast to the Oldyweds” and “‘From the Mall’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

04 BRIDAL ZONE At Zadok Jewelers’ newest store in Houston, the second floor “Upstairs at Zadok” was designed with hardwood floors and “hip” furniture to be a destination in itself for the young bridal crowd. A Champagne lounge is conveniently adjacent to the bridal shop to make celebrations simple. The second floor is also the site of big events, piercing parties and trunk shows.

05 BUSINESS CARD Consider the tactile nature of your business cards, as well as how they look. “We use a vertical business card that is thick, chocolate paper. Don’t you have to when you have a store in Hershey?!?” asks Trevor Williams, owner of Leitzel’s Jewelry in Myerstown, PA.

06 BOX Bernie Robbins, with stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, designed their memorable packaging, adorned with vibrant butterflies, to surprise and delight.

07 Cabinet Handles One of many special touches in Fiat Lux’s Fillmore Street location in San Francisco is the jaguar handles on the jewelry cabinets. The Mission location has cobra door handles that owner Marie McCarthy found at a flea market. That little creature-feature detail unifies the two locations, which have different styles.

08 Ceiling What’s going on up there? At employee-owned Kesslers Jewelers in Grand Rapids, MI, large circular “floating clouds” drop from the open ceiling, creating drama and visual interest. The cloud pattern is mimicked in laser-cut metal sheets separating consultation booths, as well as inset within the wrap counter.

09 COLLECTION Dave Horn of Donaldson’s in Topeka, KS, is a music fan who displays his personal guitar collection on a red accent wall of the store. “We have everything from Grandpa’s 1917 Gibson he used to play in a band to a recent purchase, a 2022 Strandberg Boden,” Horn says. “To complete the mood in the store, we play soft classic rock.” The store is in Topeka’s arts and entertainment district, so a guitar wall is right at home.

Donaldson’s owner Dave Horn’s personal guitar collection is right at home in Topeka’s arts district.

10 COMMERCIALS Thacker Jewelry’s “Bridal Showdown” commercial, produced by Bottom Line Marketing and filmed on the dusty streets of Roaring Springs, TX, captures the West Texas theme of Joe Thacker’s store in Lubbock, with brides in cowboy boots showing off the size of their rings and a voiceover that declares Thacker’s the finest and fairest jeweler “this side of the Mississippi.” Thacker says it perfectly reflects the vibe of his store and the history of his business.

11 CONCIERGE SERVICES “You can buy what we have here, or some semblance of it, anywhere, but at the end of the day it’s all about service,” says Rhett Ramsay Outten of Croghan’s Jewel Box in Charleston, SC. “It’s about how you make people feel. We make dinner reservations, find tours for them, call up Google Maps. We’re mailing packages of stuff for them they didn’t even buy here!”

12 CUBBY HOLES Debbie Fox, owner of Fox Fine Jewelry of Ventura, CA, is a CPA and it shows. Procedures and organization set her store apart. “Our nearly 100-page procedure manual covers everything from greeting clients and security to job flow and clienteling,” Fox says. “The store is very organized — even our POS stations have cubbies labeled for supplies!”

13 CURB APPEAL Karina Brez’s twisted vine with dried flowers brings a garden element to her exterior in Palm Beach, FL, that reflects the lushly planted neighborhood and anticipates the beautiful jewelry found within.

14 DOOR HANDLES The Kessler experience begins with a literal touchpoint: custom-created logo door handles, the design of which speak to the brand’s focus on wedding and engagement rings. Kesslers Diamonds in Grand Rapids, MI, stocks nearly 2,000 loose diamonds in their stores, carries an expansive collection of engagement and wedding ring settings and does custom work, too.

15 DRAWERS At John Thomas Jewelers of Albuquerque, NM, engagement rings and wedding bands are in client-facing, double-level drawers. Additional displays are shelves that double as drawers and can be reconfigured daily.

16 ENTRYWAY At Bailey’s Fine Jewelry’s newest store in Carey, NC, high-end finishes, such as the marble entryway, set the tone for a luxurious shopping experience. Marci Bailey was inspired to create the store by photos of a distinctive Dubai residence.

17 EXHIBIT While some stores have art exhibits, Houston Jewelry features British Crown jewel replicas, on permanent display since they were created in 2012 in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. It’s a fun element that educates visitors on the history of jewelry in society, says owner Rex Solomon. The display is guarded by a mannequin wearing the red coat of the queen’s guard uniform and tall bearskin hat. The display includes a replica of the Imperial State Crown, made for Queen Victoria in 1828, and a uniform of the Scots Guards.

English fine art photographer John Griffiths wears part of the exhibit while visiting the store in 2022.

18 EXPERIENCE For the “Pour Your Heart Into It” experience at Thollot Diamonds & Fine Jewelry in Thornton, CO, master jewelers guide each couple through the design, creation and centrifugal casting process of their rings, creating a unique proposal story. The couple is invited back to cast each other’s wedding bands. Each experience is caught on video and followed by a toast with a Colorado distilled spirit.

19 EXPERTISE Bailey’s Fine Jewelry in North Carolina has hired a resident diamond cutter, Benny Filossof, who works in the flagship store in Raleigh, where customers can see for themselves what is involved in the fine art of diamond cutting.

20 FLOOR At Fiat Lux in San Francisco, the tiled floor is painted with a black-and-white striped snake adorned with a blue gemstone. While some jewelry retailers might shy away from bright colors that could compete with their product for attention, Marie McCarthy has another perspective. She finds that a colorful design creates an atmosphere of joy and wonder.

21 GREEN SPACE At Occasions Fine Jewelry in Midland, TX, interior designer Leslie McGwire worked with owner Michael Fleck to install a living green wall, which has become a focal point of the recently reimagined showroom. The greenery acts as an oasis in the store that has an ambience and color palette best described as desert luxury.

22 GREETERS “Our two Havanese dogs greet everyone from the FedEx delivery people and mail carrier to our clients when they arrive,” says Laura Sipe of JC Sipe in Indianapolis. “I have been blown away by the response, including people stopping in with special treats. They offer a warm and welcoming experience. Oh, and don’t forget that we (people) supply the same experience.”

These two Havanese greeters delight all who enter JC Sipe in Indianapolis.

23 HEIRLOOMS Marc Majors has the original safe that belonged to his great-great grandfather in his Midland store. It was restored 12 years ago, and people gravitate toward it and make comments about it all the time. “It’s definitely very special to us,” he says.

24 INSTAGRAM “We pepper our Instagram and Facebook pages with funny memes alongside our jewelry,” says online retailer Jen Hollywood of J Hollywood Designs. “And we post pics of us as well from time to time, which helps our customers connect with us as an online-only business.”

25 JINGLE This idea has proved to be absolutely timeless: When anyone from Oklahoma City hears the name B.C. Clark Jewelers, they begin to hum a little tune. So popular is the retailer’s circa-1956 jingle, originally devised for its anniversary sale, that it’s turned into a regional Christmas carol, which actress Megan Mullally, an Oklahoma City native, once sang on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Now, it’s even got its own website, bcclarkjingle.com, where you can download it as a ringtone.

26 LIGHTING A diamond-inspired Tom Dixon light installation featured at Milan Design Week is the centerpiece of the showroom at Joseph Jewelry in Seattle, owned by Joseph and Danny Boukhalil. An app controls the color of the luminous kaleidoscope.

27 LOGO WALL When Jeff Guntzviller designed a new Miner’s North Jewelers store in Traverse City, MI, in 2021, he wanted people to walk in and get the sense that it’s a diamond store right away. The logo reflects both the artistic vibe of the store design and the location directly across the street from Lake Michigan.

28 LOUNGE Design firm LA DALLMAN designed a lounge-like addition to Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers in Milwaukee that offers clients an intimate shopping experience, a space where they can design jewelry and attend private client dinners and trunk shows.

This 40-foot jewelry-loving octopus graces Century Jewelers’ exterior wall.

29 MAGAZINE Sixteen years ago, Zadok Jewelers of Houston launched their own print magazine, Zadok Magazine, distributed annually to over 20,000 households in Houston as well as to clients nationwide. Readers can discover the latest styles, find new arrivals, and learn more about past in-store events.

30 MEETING SPACE The Crystal Palace inside M.S. Rau in New Orleans is encased in glass and has lighting that can be changed to suit the mood or the jewels, as well as cases topped with glass that open with the push of a button.

31 MURAL A 40-foot mural of a jewelry-loving octopus on Century Jewelers’ building in South Pasadena, FL, is intended to bring the art world to the community. The business is owned by Anna Hatzilias and her son, Pete Hatzilias. The mural, which went viral on social media, has been featured on local news stations.

32 ONE-STOP SHOPPING Stores that sell something more than jewelry give clients even more reason to stop by and linger. Karen Hollis, whose store is now called K Hollis Jewelers, Boutique & Wine Bar, has expanded recently to offer something for everyone as well as a reason to hang out longer than usual. Full-length mirrors encourage building wardrobes that can include jewelry, clothing and accessories.

33 OTHERWORLDLY HELPERS “We love to talk about the witch in the back who takes the spell off previously owned jewelry and makes the history vanish,” jokes Susan Eisen of Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry & Watches in El Paso, TX. At Atelier d’Emotion in New York City, owner Alice Sunbom tells clients that the resident ghost is friendly but will slam the occasional door if she is unhappy with the music selection.

34 PIECE OF HISTORY If your store has a long history or occupies an interesting building, you may have inherited a bit of personality. “My store is connected to a bed-and-breakfast in a circa-1850-year-old Victorian mansion,” says Susan Kauffman of Black Dog Jewelers. At 750 square feet, the Lewisburg, PA, store was originally one of the parlor rooms of the house that was used as a doctor’s office when the house was built. Rasmussen Diamonds celebrates 123 years in business this year as the oldest retail establishment in Racine, WI, and has kept the original circa-1900 carved wood cases, says Katrina Sustachek. “They have been moved twice, and we have refinished them and added custom-made pieces so they have that old-world feel with a modern complement.”

35 POWDER ROOM Richter & Phillips’ fabulous powder room, done in jewel tones, reflects the speakeasy vibe they brought to their former bank vault, located in the lower level of their downtown store in Cincinnati and now used as an enclave for private meetings.

The powder room at Richter & Phillips in Cincinnati recalls a speak-easy vibe.

36 PRIVATE LABEL Bernie Robbins Jewelers labels their own Prosecco; Erik Runyan Jewelers in Vancouver, WA, labels their own wine. “It gives me great pleasure to open and share a bottle with a customer or send them home with some to enjoy later,” says Runyan, who has hosted Wine Wednesdays at the store. At Powell’s Jewelry in Wichita, KS, on Champagne Saturday, mimosas and champagne are served in complimentary branded glasses.

37 QR CODES When QR codes began popping up on most restaurant menus in 2020, Paul Schneider, owner of Twist in Portland and Seattle, had an idea. His daughter had been traveling to visit jewelry designers whose work was sold at Twist to shoot and produce videos designed to capture them in their environments and add context to their work. The videos were featured on the Twist website, and initially the sales team would show the videos on iPads in the store as well. To make it more of an omnichannel experience, Schneider began adding QR codes to the designer case descriptions and letting shoppers know they could view the videos on their own phones if they simply scanned the code.

38 ROCK VIBE The Man in Black had a red phone. Lately, that piece of musical memorabilia can be found under glass at Presley & Co. Fine Jewelers in San Diego, CA. “We’re the only jewelry store that has Johnny Cash’s red telephone and a signed picture of the Ramones. We use it as part of the rocking vibe that our store is,” says owner Liz Saba, whose experiences were recounted in the book, We Were Going To Change The World: Interviews With Women From The 1970s And 1980s Southern California Punk Rock Scene.

39 SCENT Using branded scents in retail creates the kind of mood that causes shoppers to browse longer and return to jewelry counters more often, studies have shown. Alice Sundbom, owner of Atelier d’Emotion in New York City, takes many steps beyond simply making sure the place smells good by selling fragrances and hosting exploratory events around new fragrance launches, along with cognac tastings and art openings.

40 SHOP Malka Diamonds’ shop is encased in a cube inside the showroom space. Strategically placed windows allow for clients to get a glimpse of casting and bench work without unduly distracting the jewelers within.

At Malka Diamonds, the shop within the retail showroom has strategically placed windows.

41 SHOWCASES Raintree owners Shannon Mahoney and Michael Tope restored antique factory carts to use for the bases of their Brazilian wood and glass cases in their Burlington, VT, location. The cases flank the two side walls with the tops swinging open and up, suspended by custom hooks against the walls.

42 SIGNAGE Along with your expected signage indicating prices, departments and financing, there may be a little room to show off your sense of humor. Koehn & Koehn Jewelers’ “Surely Not Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting” is the most popular sign at the West Bend, WI, store, sure to elicit a chuckle and put clients at ease.

43 SIGN STYLE The sign heralding Walton’s Jewelry in Franklin, TN, is based on a logo designed in the 1980s that was recently subtly refreshed to make it more versatile for online platforms. The old English look lets passersby know at a glance their jewelry business specializes in antiques.

44 SOUND Before you settle on a traditionally staid or formal music mix, consider who is shopping in your store as well as who you’d like to see shopping in your store. At Koehn & Koehn Jewelers in West Bend, WI, the soundtrack ranges from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles to old country, Willie Nelson, and some new country, mixed with Beastie Boys and Foo Fighters. Owners Andy and Jenn Koehn asked customers for input to curate a Spotify musical list, and Andy sits on the board for a group called Home Grown Music, which supports local musicians and songwriters.

45 THANK-YOU NOTES John Cauley Jeweler in Mobile, AL, displays a collection of thank-you cards and notes in a distinctive mix of frames very prominently.

46 UMBRELLA Julz by Alan Rodriguez in Canton, OH, keeps branded umbrellas on hand near the door. “We have an umbrella stand near our entrance with large umbrellas with our Julz logo and encourage our customers to take one when it’s raining outside,” says owner Alan Rodriguez. “We’ve seen our umbrellas all over town!”

47 WALL DECOR “Steve,” the elk mount at Miller’s Jewelry, is definitely a conversation starter, says Jennifer Hornik Johnson, and not out of place in Bozeman, MT.

48 WALLPAPER At Fiat Lux in San Francisco, the colorful trees and animals on the walls appear to be a mural but are in fact expensive wallpaper painted with gold resin drips that start at the top of the wall panels and trickle downward. The idea was to install expensive wallpaper and then ruin it with gold drips in keeping with the business’ reputation for being “a little bit punk rock,” says owner Marie McCarthy.

49 WEBSITE Online marketing at Ellie Thompson + Co. in Chicago is designed to bring people into the store. The jewelry is photographed on live plant displays that are part of the shop’s interior, making it a seamless shopping experience.

50 WINDOW DISPLAYS At Caron’s Jewelry in Bristol, RI, designer Diane Berube-Catanzaro creates a new window for each season that is illuminated around the clock. “It’s our second-best salesperson,” says owner Joe Caron. “Our window is the only one lit up all the time on the Main Street of our town. We get lots of compliments!”

The post 50 Ways Jewelry Retailers Inject Personality Into Their Stores appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

From the early days of INSTORE, the magazine has been driven by one core belief: That the best business advice for jewelry retailers comes from jewelry retailers themselves. All we have to do is find the ones who are consistently successful and innovative and invite them to share what they’re doing.

How do we find them? Primarily through the Brain Squad.

If you’re not familiar with the Brain Squad, it’s a group of North American retail jewelry store owners and managers who agree to receive a short survey each month from INSTORE. These surveys take about five or 10 minutes to complete. They include some questions we ask in every survey, like how overall sales for the month were and what sold (from which we derive our “Hot Sellers” section). We also request anecdotes and suggestions for sections throughout the magazine, from “Best of the Best” to “True Tales.”

And, we ask questions specific to particular stories that we have planned.

Bottom line? If you want to be quoted in INSTORE, all you have to do is join the Brain Squad. You’ll also be able to read other Brain Squadders’ responses before anyone else. And the best news is, you’ll be helping us to deliver more accurate information on the state of jewelry retailing, which helps everyone. (Shameless plug: You can join the Brain Squad right now at instoremag.com/brainsquad!)

And yes … you’ll even get a cool new T-shirt for joining.

What’s So Great About The Brain Squad?

Being an active participant in INSTORE’s Brain Squad is an adventure, a learning experience, a community builder and a springboard to industry celebrity. It’s even good for a laugh now and then.

Most importantly, when it comes to independent jewelry retailers, a rising tide lifts all boats. As Joseph Delefano of Regency
Jewelers in Rotterdam, NY, says, “The more information we all have as independent jewelers, the better business life we may all have.”

More information means more sources. As valuable as consultants and experts are, there’s nothing like hearing what other retailers are doing to make themselves successful. “It’s not just the few select talking heads of the industry, but the men and women on the front line experiencing it every day,” says Chris Snowden of Snowden’s Jewelers in Wilmington, NC. Michael Kanoff of Michael’s Jewelers in Yardley, PA, agrees. “It’s real jewelers just like me giving honest insight. INSTORE is my favorite magazine for that reason.”

Jeremy Auslander of Roxbury Jewelry in Los Angeles concurs that a more educated industry is a better industry. He appreciates the chance to check his answers against group responses. “When I say sales are down and then I read the survey results, and the majority of retailers’ sales are down, I don’t feel so bad,” he relates. It’s also an opportunity to both celebrate and commiserate. “It helps me think about my business. I want to share with others my experiences; maybe it will help them in some way.”

The sharing that takes place encompasses all business practices, including merchandising — and it helps to know what’s selling elsewhere, says Bradley Marks of IW Marks in Houston. “You get an idea of how the industry is doing around the country, and what is trending to see if it possibly will work for you in your market.”

The Brain Squad is made up entirely of independent jewelers, which makes it especially valuable. “It gives me a feel for how other jewelers are doing, what is trending and what other jewelers are saying and thinking, especially small mom-and-pop stores,” says Gregory Fliegauf of Fliegauf Jewelers in Washington, NJ.

For Gretchen Schaffner of Eytan’s Designs in Sherman Oaks, CA, Brain Squad participation is a way to represent the quirky side of jewelry retail and provide alternate views. She describes her store as tiny, idiosyncratic and chaotic. “I suspect that a good chunk of your readership is the same way, not a cookie-cutter jewelry store. So, it’s important that our whiny, nut-bag views are heard and that our outlier responses skew your survey results.”

Andrea Riso of Talisman Collection in El Dorado Hills, CA, who aspires to be a “brainiac,” says the Brain Squad makes her feel “kind of smart.” And it’s good to be surrounded by other smart jewelers. “Fellow jewelers in the Brain Squad have the best, best, best ideas,” she says. “From cute marketing ideas to savvy hiring ideas to funny story sharing, the list is endless.”

Retailers say the Brain Squad also makes them stop and think, even if for a minute, about what’s going in their business.

“The Squad helps me keep a pulse on the industry, and at 73, finding a pulse is a good thing,” says Bill Elliott of Ross Elliott Jewelers in Terre Haute, IN.

BIRTH OF
THE SQUAD

The Brain Squad was, if you’ll forgive us for being too on the nose, the “brainchild” of former executive editor (and current group editorial director for SmartWork Media) David Squires. Of course, it wasn’t always called the Brain Squad.

“It was originally called the INSTORE Professional Retail Panel and consisted of AJSOs (American Jewelry Store Owners). People could only sign up by emailing us at ajso@instoremag.com,” recalls Squires. “Early on, we didn’t really use the group as much as we would later. We basically had the monthly sales survey, ‘Business Barometer,’ and I think that was it in terms of the monthly departments where we used survey material. We did use surveys for information outreach for lead articles.”

However, the fledgling magazine, while popular among readers, struggled to gain traction with advertisers. That’s when Squires and the publishing team made several fateful decisions.

“According to my editor’s note from February 2003, we introduced ‘Best of the Best’ in that issue, and we used a lot of survey responses to fill out the ‘More of the Best’ feature on best opening sales lines,” says Squires. “This was a key moment, when we had to cut pages from 80 to 52 pages, and INSTORE transformed from a more generic industry magazine into one more intensely focused on jewelry-store owners.

“This was also a key moment when we started to use mass responses for more and more practical information. We also introduced ‘Do You or Don’t You’ and ‘True Tales’ (mostly survey-sourced) in that issue.”

Two years later, INSTORE had become a force in the jewelry industry, more than tripling its folio size from those early 52-page days. That same year, in May 2005, Squires announced that the survey group would become known as “The Brain Squad.”

From that point, the Brain Squad grew to over 1,000 members, with surveys garnering 200 or so responses every month. It’s the largest retail survey group in the jewelry sector … or quite possibly any retail sector. And it grows in authority with each passing year.

BRAINY
BUSINESS

It’s one thing to take a short survey every month. But it means a lot more when participating in that survey can help you make more money.

Many Brain Squad members have changed the way they do business based on the examples and feedback of their fellow members. Bill Longnecker, for example, of Longnecker Jewelry in McCook, NE, began to charge a design fee after reading about how other Brain Squadders handle custom design fees.

Kevin Kelly of Kevin Kelly Jewelers in Peoria, IL, says that if he hadn’t known fellow Brain Squadders were having so much success with appointment-only businesses, he may not have had the courage to make the move in his own business.

Christine Matlock of E.G. Landis Jewelers in Boyertown, PA, learned to display items with add-on price points near the point of sale. “I am working with my employees right now on this: Do not be quick to run up a sale. We are weak on add-on sales.”

Casey Gallant of Stephen Gallant Jewelers in Orleans, MA, finds inspiration in the ways in which store owners are generous to their communities. “When Debbie Fox (of Fox Fine Jewelry in Ventura, CA) gave away jewelry to people who had lost jobs, or when Bailey’s (of North Carolina) hid little boxes all over town for people to find. Those moments helped us shape what part we wanted to play in our own community.”

Ellie Thompson of Ellie Thompson + Co. in Chicago, says she loved the comments about how Steve Quick Jewelers of Chicago cut their hours in order to enjoy the holidays more and still accomplished their sales goals. “It gave me confidence to stay the course with my shorter retail shop hours,” Thompson says.

Brain Squad members may not always like the questions raised by the surveys. But that’s what makes them good questions, says Amber Gustafson of Amber’s Designs in Katy, TX. “Just the title, Brain Squad, asks for and receives the deepest thoughts of the readers and participants. It encourages us to think about our business sometimes in ways we don’t like but helps us with ideas that will solve issues we may be having.”

CELEBRITY
STATUS

Brain Squad participation can be a way to become well known, or even famous, in certain circles. After all, combing Brain Squad responses is one method INSTORE editors use to find sources for major stories. And Brain Squad members are quoted in the magazine often, sometimes accompanied by their photos or even by a sketch or caricature created by a talented INSTORE artist.

“I think the first time I got quoted will stick in my mind forever!” says Janne Etz of Contemporary Concepts in Cocoa, FL. “A national glossy magazine found something I said important enough or interesting enough to put it out there for everyone else to see!”

Beth Cevasco of Scott’s Custom Jewelers in Dublin, OH, shows her printed quotes to her staff to make sure they know she’s “famous.”

Kim Hatchell of Galloway & Moses in Sumter, SC, has had former coworkers and bosses reach out to say they saw her name in an issue of INSTORE.

Family members are also impressed.

“My father cuts out each quote I have had,” says Jeremy Auslander. “He absolutely loves it. I have received emails from people I work with who tell me they saw me in INSTORE!”

“My mom and sis get a kick out of seeing me,” says Rick Nichols of Nassau Jewelry in Fernandina Beach, FL. “One of my suppliers loves when I mention him. I just tell him that every time I mention your name, I should get a kickback.”

As a result of her Brain Squad participation, Sue Parker of Nyman Jewelers in Excanaba, MI, had several family members profiled in INSTORE. “The article on my mother and daughter is still my favorite,” she says. “It is framed in my office. Also, you just did one on my father who is 89 and still working.”

Sometimes a published quote or photo comes as a bit of a page-turning surprise.

“I was reading the May issue of INSTORE the other day, trying to catch up on my enjoyable reading,” says Andrea Riso. “I turned to an article for some advice on when to break up with a customer. And there was a picture of myself! That was a 360-degree moment for me.”

Some mentions are particularly memorable. The time, for example, an intruder broke into Chris Snowden’s store from the pet store next door, stole several pearls and then made a nest under a showcase. INSTORE editors, knowing a good story when we hear one, published an account of the guinea pig invasion. “At the next Atlanta Jewelry Show, a bunch of people stopped me to talk about it,” Snowden recalls.

“My picture and quote were recently on the ‘Manager’s To-Do List’ for the month,” says Frank Salinardi of Linardi’s Jewelers in
Plantation, FL. “I have family members that have two jewelry stores in Atlanta, and they commented about me being in the magazine.

Then the following month, one of their quotes was in the magazine, and I commented about it to them! It gave me a good chance to check in with family.”

As Rick Weadock of Jewelry-by-You in South Jordan, UT, puts it, “It’s tough being a celebrity, but somebody has to do it.”

IN IT FOR
THE LAUGHS

In addition to being star-studded, the Brain Squad has an entertaining side, whether members are sharing true tales of oddball customers or errant family members.

“I have often laughed over customer stories and shared them with my team,” says Kim Hatchell of Galloway & Moseley in Sumter, SC.

“It helps to know that people are pretty much the same everywhere, and we aren’t the only ones who deal with oddness sometimes!”

“I really enjoyed the responses about sharing stories about working with family,” says Becky Bettencourt of Blue River Diamonds in Peabody, MA. “It’s definitely a challenge to work with family and loved ones, and the dynamic is complex, so it’s great to see everyone providing humor to the situation.”

Christine Baribault-Ortiz of Baribault Jewelers in Glastonbury, CT, says Brain Squad humor is good for business since it sparks creativity. “You gotta laugh a little each day. It’s good for stress and better for creativity and solution focused mentality.”

SIDEBAR

All Credit to the Squad

BY DAVID SQUIRES

Looking back on INSTORE’s journey since 2002 (when I was the magazine’s founding editor), there were a few important things that became our biggest success factors. But the largest of these, without a shred of a doubt in my mind, was INSTORE’s Brain Squad.

David Squires

Originally launched as “the INSTORE Professional Retail Panel” — a mind-numbingly dull name if I do say so myself — it took a few years before the Brain Squad achieved its current form and eventual name.

But it was a powerful tool from the start.

The Brain Squad took what was INSTORE’s biggest competitive disadvantage — the fact we were trying to create an American jewelry publication with our original edit team that was based in Bangkok, Thailand — and, in a magical bit of publishing jiu-jitsu, turned it into a positive.

That’s because, by using online survey technology that didn’t even exist a year or two prior, the Brain Squad allowed us to collect critical data and insights from a subject pool other publications hadn’t reached. In comparison with our rival magazines, whose reporters tended to use the phone to talk with the same familiar people in the same well-known stores, our online surveys allowed INSTORE to share the wisdom of jewelers across the country (with especially strong and meaningful representation from the heartland of America).

In each issue, and in increasing amounts as the magazine matured and the Brain Squad expanded, our content grew to reflect more of your lives as jewelry store owners — your tips and tricks, your passions and inspirations, as well as your stories, both the hilarious and the heartbreaking.

You provided all that to us. You gave it to us month after month, year after year — for nothing more than a free T-shirt. In the end, you were the “secret sauce” that made INSTORE work.

Over the last decade, I’ve moved on from INSTORE to manage our growing group of publications (we’re now at nine publications!). And the very first thing we do in any new market where we’re starting off is to create a Brain Squad.

But INSTORE’s Brain Squad remains the original, and the absolute best.

I couldn’t be more thankful for all of your support, and all of your incredibly valuable insights and opinions, over the years. And by “you”, I mean every single one of you who have participated in our surveys.

I hope that our magazine has paid you back by being useful more often than not.

---

SIDEBAR

Member Q+As

 

Bill Warren
Owner, The Gold Mine, Hudson, NC

Q: How do you think Brain Squad benefits jewelers?

Bill Warren

BW: The biggest takeaways I get are industry trends, what’s hot, what is not. It’s nice to see what your fellow jeweler is doing across the nation. Here in the Southeast, things happening on the East Coast take about a year to a year and a half to get here. Paperclip jewelry has only gotten here in the last few months. I lead a group called Ultimate Jewelers Mastermind Group, with 73 jewelers from around the country. We meet once or twice a month, and one of the helpful things I can use is the information from the Brain Squad.

Q: Is there anything in particular that has stood out for you in reading Brain Squad results?
BW: Over the years, it’s been nice to watch the broad range of topics that comes up. Dealing with employees, watching how different people handle goldsmiths and that whole dynamic.

Q: Why is it important to stay informed?
BW: This year, with inflation, with everything happening, it’s on every jeweler’s mind right now. I’m advising to trim expenses, invest in marketing, to not use the ostrich approach and not bury your head in the sand. It’s a great year to gobble up market share just like it was when COVID hit.

Debbie Fox
Owner, Fox Fine Jewelry, Ventura, CA

Debbie Fox

If you enjoy reading jewelers’ comments in INSTORE, being a part of the Brain Squad is like being on steroids. While only a slice of comments make it to print, Brain Squad members get access to everyone’s comments. Some of our industry’s greatest experts are not available for hire; they are running successful stores. And many of them are Brain Squad members, giving gems of advice for free. And you can bookmark the page and revisit it at any time! Having your name and store in print has value. It’s exciting when Fox Fine Jewelry gets mentioned in INSTORE. We mark it prominently in our breakroom so our staff can feel proud, too. Plus, it puts you on vendors’ radar and elevates your store.

Marcus Majors
Owner, Sam L. Majors, Midland, TX

Marcus Majors

Jewelry retail is just a different animal than other industries, and it’s hard to talk to friends and family about my experiences because they just don’t understand. I would recommend other jewelers join the Brain Squad and sound off because it’s not only a good release, but it also helps other jewelers see another point of view or shows them they’re not the only ones going through certain experiences. And I really like the Real Deal section because it’s always relatable, and you can see other responses and get a different perspective on situations. It’s nice to see comments from other people on things like charging people to size their finger knowing they are buying something online and just using the local jeweler for the info. Because things like this eat me up and I started charging for it, but felt kind of bad about it until I saw other people were doing it too; so now, I feel justified.

Jill Keith
Owner, Enchanted Jewelry, Danielson, CT

Jill Keith

I feel a sense of camaraderie in our group. I love the thought-provoking and lighthearted questions, as well as the opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments and challenges, and then checking the results to see how others are faring. There is always a question that surprises me, which creates anticipation. I especially like to give vendors and sales reps a shoutout. When I run a monthly report in preparation for my responses, I often will tell high performers to watch INSTORE Magazine for our shoutout to them.

One of my favorite experiences is seeing the list of top vendors across the country and initiating or maintaining great relationships with them. Then seeing responses from participating stores that I’ve met at trade shows. It makes me feel like we’re all working together across the country to meet and exceed expectations of shoppers at independent fine jewelry stores.

I appreciate all of those who add comments, as I love to see the data summaries and read all comments after I submit mine. It’s truly an invaluable experience when everyone participates as often and as much as they can.

A Few Good Ideas

We asked the Brain Squad to name some valuable ideas they’ve gleaned over their years of participation. Their responses ran the gamut of business advice.

• Good ways of dealing with aged inventory. Good ways of keeping our store safe and secure. — Frank Salinardi, Linardi’s Jewelers, Plantation, FL
• Heads up on potential trends, ways to deal with different personnel issues, and different avenues for hiring. — Kim Hatchell, Galloway & Moseley, Sumter, SC
• Flow of your store, memo programs and what brands work well. — Kelly Vass, State Street Jewelers, Geneva, IL
• Social media ideas, special event ideas. — Karen Hollis, K Hollis Jewelers, Batavia, IL
• How to deal with employees, how to work with your staff to enable them to build their confidence and to be successful in selling what is right for the customer. — Pamela Hecht, Pamations, Calumet, MI
• We document every item for repair that comes to us. We use The EDGE to make sure we have complete details and pictures. — Michael Rumanoff, Rumanoffs Fine Jewelry and Design, Hamden, CT
• Lots of techy ideas that have paid dividends, how to manage stock, how to deal with staff and on and on. — David Blitt, Troy Shoppe Jewelers, Calgary, AB
• The need to be progressive and forward-thinking in marketing and advertising and the new media that are out there. — Rick Weadock, Jewelry-By-You, South Jordan, UT

Shout Outs

We asked Brain Squad members if there was another member whose response had particularly helped them in the past. While many could not remember the names, they spoke warmly of the ideas that were shared. Below are some who stood out by name.

• I love Connie Thurmond. — Cindy Haddad-Drew, Cindi’s Diamond & Jewelry Gallery, Foxboro, MA
• Shari and Marc Altman from B&E Jewelers. They are friends and mentors. Even though we are in the same area, we always bounce things off of each other. — Michael Kanoff, Michael’s Jewelers, Yardley, PA
• I have enjoyed Idar’s marketing over the years. I started following them nearly a decade ago due to the Brain Squad, and it has been beneficial in countless ways. — Moran Bartel, Susann’s Custom Jewelers, Corpus Christi, TX
• Debbie Fox in California always stands out to me with her great ideas and good heart. — Natasha Henderson, Saxon’s Fine Jewelers, Bend, OR
• Melissa Quick, handling the Chicago riots with love. The inspiration of David Nygaard, losing it all only to come back smarter, wiser and stronger. The woman [Stephenie Bjorkman of Sami’s Fine Jewelry in Fountain Hills, AZ] who suggested red, green and orange stickers during COVID to help customers share their comfort level with distancing. — Denise Oros, Linnea Jewelers, La Grange, IL
• I pay special attention to members who are near me because they have a good feel for what’s happening in my area. Any time a jeweler from Connecticut, such as Don Unwin at Sterling Jewelers or Jill Keith at Enchanted Jewelers, comment, I listen. — Christine Graichen, Malloves Jewelers, Middletown, CT

The post Why the Brain Squad Loves Being Part of the Brain Squad appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

Success = talent + luck

Great success = a little more talent + a lot of luck

The work of Kahneman backs up much other research that concludes that we humans drastically undervalue the influence of luck in many situations and overvalue it in others.

It has to do with something psychologists refer to as the “locus of control,” or how much you think you control the events happening around you. Most people have an internal locus when it comes to good things — they take credit for their success — but an external locus when things go wrong.

After all, it’s not hard to recall the countless times when you put in the effort to succeed: slogging through 14-hour days during the holiday season, preparing reams of documents for loan interviews, the drama of managing an unruly staff. By contrast, it’s genuinely difficult to perceive the ways you may have been fortunate: to open or expand a business at a time of historically low interest rates, to benefit from a global shift towards customization, to ride the back of 12 years of unbroken economic growth.

There are reasons most business owners and managers don’t want to talk about the role of luck in their success. It’s not just that it takes some of the shine off their accomplishments, but also because in the purest sense, luck is random and thus boring. If it’s out of your control, why bother?

To be sure, there is a certain type of luck — dumb luck, winning-the-lottery luck — that is not worth giving much thought to. But the other kinds — the fortunes and misfortunes you prepare for, the luck that can be tapped through an understanding of probability or that comes from hard work — that can give your business a huge boost.

Indeed, Nassim Nicholas Taleb argued in his best-selling book, The Black Swan, that luck is the key force at the heart of our economic system, as the biggest rewards tend to come from the deepest unpredictability. The reason free markets work, he asserts, is because they allow people to be lucky thanks to aggressive trial and error, not by giving rewards or “incentives” for skill. When it comes to business, luck is almost like an evolutionary power rewarding random adaptiveness.

It is this disconnect between skill and luck that is sometimes the hardest to understand. Counterintuitively, the more competitive and skilled the players in a marketplace or other segment in life, the more luck you need.

Billy Beane, the central character in Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball, about the improbable winning run of the Oakland A’s in the early 2000s, makes this surprising point as his undervalued team is about to embark on its first playoff run: His statistical analysis doesn’t work in the playoffs — their success will now come down to luck, he says. When the two best teams in the division or country face off, the difference in skill is often marginal. Luck matters more than ever.

It’s this that partly explains why so few teams repeat as champs, why last year’s top fund managers underperform in the following year and why businesses rise and fall. Consider the 50 companies featured in three of the most popular business bestsellers of the past 40 years: In Search Of Excellence, Good To Great and the unfortunately named Built To Last. Of the 50, 16 failed within five years after the books in which they were featured were published, and 23 became mediocre as they underperformed the S&P 500 Index. It wasn’t because their managers or workers stopped trying or innovating. It was because things even out. Statisticians call it regression to mean. Normal people might just say their luck ran out.

That said, there is still much in life you do control, and luck, while it can’t be tamed, can be influenced.

Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing, and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this by building and maintaining a strong network, adopting a chilled attitude to the vicissitudes of life, and being open to new experiences.

In the following pages, we provide some ideas on how to improve your odds in the face of such uncertainty. Good luck!

Keep an Open Mind
… and Relax a Little

Part of the challenge is that good-luck events often reveal themselves in ambiguous, trivial ways, which can make them hard to detect. As the saying goes, “Actual great opportunities do not have, ‘Great Opportunities’ in the subject line.” As a result, luck tends to favor the curious. “This is one of the most counterintuitive ideas,” says Richard Wiseman, a psychology professor at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK and author of THE LUCK FACTOR. “We are traditionally taught to be really focused, to be really driven, to try really hard at tasks. But in the real world, you’ve got opportunities all around you. And if you’re driven in one direction, you’re not going to spot the others. Unlucky people go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain type of job advertisements and as a result miss other types of jobs. Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for.”

Hit the Books

Entrepreneurially lucky people who regularly question the norm and who seek both continuous improvements in their business and in themselves end up being luckier because they want to learn, says Anthony Tjan, author of HEART, SMARTS, GUTS, AND LUCK. “They read new things, try new experiences and are open-minded to a variety of relationships because they are curious. All of these things increase the probability for circumstantial luck … You will simply see more — and therefore increase your chances of finding luck — if you adopt the mindset that ‘there is always more to see and more to learn.’”

Don’t Be Too
Quick to Judge

To be lucky, you want to change your relationship with ideas, says Stanford engineering school professor Tina Seelig. “Most people look at new ideas that come their way and they judge them, ‘That’s a great idea’ or ‘That’s a terrible idea’. But it’s actually much more nuanced. Ideas are neither good nor bad. And in fact, the seeds of terrible ideas are often something truly remarkable,” she says in her widely viewed TED talk on luck. “You look around at the companies, the ventures that are really innovative, the ones that we now take for granted that have changed our life, well, you know what? They all started out as crazy ideas, ideas that when pitched to other people, most people said, ‘That’s crazy, it will never work.’”

Squeeze Those Lemons

According to Wiseman, lucky people are certain that the future will be bright. Over time, that expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because it helps them persist in the face of failure and positively shapes their interactions with other people. When things go awry, they “turn bad luck into good” by seeing how they can squeeze some benefit from the misfortune. Asked how they’d react to being shot in the arm, according to Wiseman, they typically reply, “Well, I’d be relieved I wasn’t shot in the head. Maybe I can sell my story to the media.” Psychologists refer to this ability to imagine what might have happened, rather than what actually did happen, as “counter-factual.” In doing this, such people feel better about themselves and their lives. This, in turn, helps keep their expectations about the future high, and increases the likelihood of them continuing to live a “lucky life.”

View Life as a Flow
of Luck Events

“It helps to view life as a river in which lucky events — good and bad — will flow your way. It’s neither good nor bad. It just is,” writes Morten T. Hansen, co-author of GREAT BY CHOICE in a blog on the Harvard Business Review website. “When you start having this ‘luck flow’ mindset, you can start managing those events to your advantage.” This view recalls the Stoic approach to life that has been popularized in recent years: It’s not the events that happen in life, it’s our reaction to them that matters.

Keep a Luck Diary
… or Spreadsheet

To build these positive skills, Wiseman recommends keeping a “luck diary”: At the end of each day, spend a couple of moments writing down the lucky things that happened. “After doing that for a month, it’s difficult not to be thinking about the good things that are happening.” If you want to take it to the next level, do something professional poker players do: Create a spreadsheet. Each time something happens, jot it down in a “Situation Trigger” column. In the next column, write a description of your thoughts, emotional reactions, and how you subsequently behaved. Next column, give your best assessment of what was the underlying flaw, and finally, write a “logic statement” that you can use to inject some rationality the next time you’re faced with a turn in luck.

Feel Lucky
Through Subtraction

Don’t want to keep a diary? The Journal of Personality And Social Psychology suggests this exercise in simple subtraction, which is a bit like the pivotal scene in IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: You think about the positives in your life — your family, your business, your community, your health — and then you start thinking about all the small events that had to take place for you to get to this point. What if your father hadn’t taken that summer job and met your mother, what if your great-grandfather hadn’t opted to try his luck in America, what if penicillin hadn’t been invented … and so it goes. It deepens your appreciation for what is happening your life at this moment and allows you to count your blessings.

Think of Yourself as
the “Almost-Victor”

When bad luck strikes, Konnikova recommends thinking of yourself as an “almost-victor” who thought correctly and did everything possible in terms of the things you could control but was foiled by Fate’s cruel hand. “You will have other opportunities, and if you keep thinking correctly, eventually it will even out. These are the seeds of resilience, of being able to overcome the bad beats that you can’t avoid and mentally position yourself to be prepared for the next time,” she writes in the BIG BLUFF. “People share things with you: if you’ve lost your job, your social network thinks of you when new jobs come up; if you’re recently divorced or separated or bereaved, and someone single who may be a good match pops up, you’re top of mind. This attitude is what I think of as a luck amplifier.”

Be Prepared
to Act

One of the most often-cited quotes about luck comes from Louis Pasteur: “Chance favors the prepared mind.” The actual statement was a little different: “Where observation is concerned, chance favors ONLY the prepared mind.” It’s not enough just to spot a good-luck event; you need to be prepared to alter your plans to act on it. When faced with a luck opportunity, Morton recommends doing what a lot of the best corporate leaders do: apply the “zoom out, then zoom in” principle. When confronted with a luck event, small or large, take a moment to zoom out (“What are we really trying to accomplish here?”), then zoom in (get the details right). Similarly, prudent leaders prepare for that unexpected event that comes out of nowhere (Had you honestly heard of Wuhan before 2019?). Prepare for bad luck events by incorporating safety margins (take an earlier flight to that trade show; add two extra days to your next deadline), acquire options (line up that backup supplier), and invest in a strong network of people who will help when things go bad.

Take Risks

“You gotta be in it to win it” is a better example of great advertising than applied math, but it is accurate: Even winning the lottery — the ultimate example of dumb luck — requires you to go out and buy a ticket, or at least open your phone. Taking action releases energy, and luck typically requires a catalyst and taking at least a small risk. As the salesperson’s creed goes, every time you don’t ask, the answer is no.

Good luck also has a multiplier effect. Opportunities lead to opportunities. “Of course I was lucky,” says Seelig, “But that luck resulted from a series of small risks I took. And anyone can do this, no matter where you are in your life, no matter where you are in the world, you can do this by taking little risks that get you out of your comfort zone. You start building a sail to capture luck.”

And let’s not forget that NOT doing something is also a choice. “There’s a false sense of security in passivity. You think that you can’t get into too much trouble — but really, every passive decision leads to a slow but steady loss … Hanging back only seems like an easy solution. In truth, it can be the seed of far bigger problems,” writes Konnikova.

Provoke Luck

The core strategy of anyone looking to enhance their luck is to expose yourself to as much randomness and “good uncertainty” as you can. Break your daily routines, take a different route to work, go to a party with a goal of only talking to people wearing red, attend conferences no one else in your field is attending, read books and blogs no one else is reading. “Although it may seem strange, under certain circumstances, this type of behavior will actually increase the amount of chance opportunities in people’s lives,” says Wiseman. It’s like living in an orchard, he says. Keep going back to the same trees and soon you’ll harvest no apples. “It is easy for people to exhaust the opportunities in their life. Keep on talking to the same people in the same way. Keep taking the same route to and from work. Keep going to the same places on vacation. But new or even random experiences introduce the potential for new opportunities.”

Close the Loop

Showing gratitude has a close relationship with luck, says Seelig, an understanding she has instituted into daily practice. “At the end of every single day, I look at my calendar and I review all the people I met with, and I send thank-you notes to every single person. It only takes a few minutes, but at the end of every day, I feel incredibly grateful and appreciative, and I promise you it has increased my luck. You need to understand that everyone who helps you on your journey is playing a huge role in getting you to your goals. And if you don’t show appreciation, not only are you not closing the loop, but you’re missing an opportunity. When someone does something for you, they’re taking that time that they could be spending on themselves or someone else, and you need to acknowledge what they’re doing.”

Create Your Own
Chaos Monkey

A decade ago, software engineers at Netflix created Chaos Monkey, a system that randomly disables Netflix servers. The idea was to push the company’s engineers to think more broadly and build more resilient systems. Like Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works program that freed some designers to pursue ideas that were sometimes at odds with what the main company was working on, Chaos Monkey showed a recognition that while the conventional gradual evolutionary approach to design will eventually yield results, throwing a wrench in the works can help you find a way that leap frogs you into the future. Add some randomness to your systems to see what happens.

Build a
Lucky Network

Studies show that the people who can help you the most in business often aren’t those closest to you: They are the secondary contacts, the friend of a friend, the associate of a key client, or some other person who you know only tangentially. The reason is two-fold — a secondary contact has nothing much invested in recommending you to someone else (the old saw about not letting business and friends mix) and because this person is not from your inner circle, they expose you to a wider network based on interests or connections you don’t have. Your hairdresser’s son, for example, may just be the person to build your website. Tjan says the best way to practice what he calls “serendipitous networking” is to be open and authentically interested in people. “A Lucky Network is not something that can premeditated. It is not a targeted list of must-have relationships, but rather it is a set of relationships built out of curiosity and friendship that somehow ends up encompassing people who turn out to be pivotal. In our research, 86 percent of the luck-dominant credit a key part of their success to an ‘openness to new things and people,’” he writes in an HBR blog.

Believe in Luck

Luck and hope have a complicated relationship. As a business strategy, you never want to rely on good fortune. Lady Luck is capricious at the best of times. Having said that, it’s actually good for your salespeople, especially the younger ones. to believe in luck — not dumb luck, but the kind that comes from getting out there and provoking it. “The greater a salesperson’s belief that success is a combination of luck and effort and that good luck will come along sooner or later, the greater his or her sales activities, such as making phone calls, meeting prospects, qualifying prospects, and gathering intelligence about prospects and competitors. And ultimately the higher their performance,” writes marketing professor Joel LeBon in a Harvard Business Review Online article. LeBon says the salespeople he has studied attributed 60 percent of their sales to luck. They need to believe.

Listen to Your
Lucky Hunches

Gut is another tricky one. Intuition can help, but your emotions aren’t always your friend when it comes to making decisions. Wiseman argues lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. They also take steps to actively boost their intuitive abilities — for example, by meditating and clearing their mind of other thoughts. “You don’t want to broadly say that whenever you get an intuitive feeling, it’s right and you should go with it. But you could be missing out on a massive font of knowledge that you’ve built up over the years. We are amazingly good at detecting patterns. That’s what our brains are set up to do,” he says.

See the World
Probabilistically

For gamblers, life is about probability. Yes, luck may rule their world, but they thrive when they can narrow the odds. Such an approach means not expecting you’re due anything. Probability has no memory. Because a coin-toss comes up heads three times in a row has no bearing on the fourth toss. But it’s something most people struggle with. In the battle between Walmart and the plucky independent, the big box invariably wins. When people get into trouble taking life or career bets, it’s often because they didn’t understand the risks. Don’t try crossing the road blindfolded.

Be on the
Lookout for Luck

It starts with observation. “You’re not lucky because more good things are actually happening; you’re lucky because you’re alert to them when they do,” psychology writer Maria Konnikova writes in THE BIGGEST BLUFF: HOW I LEARNED TO PAY ATTENTION, MASTER MYSELF, AND WIN. “If we want to be successful, we need to train our powers of observation, to cultivate that attitude of mind of being constantly on the lookout for the unexpected and make a habit of examining every clue that chance presents.” Most people are simply not open to what’s around them — something that is becoming harder to do in our age of constant distraction and never-ending connectivity.

ONLINE EXTRA

Learn From Luck

In nearly all luck events, there are elements you did control, ways you reacted that could have been handled differently, things you can learn to do better next time. If you keep making the same mistakes, that’s not bad luck — it’s a failure to learn. Conversely, when things are going well, it’s a good idea to test whether your success is entirely the result of wise decision-making or due in some part to good fortune. “One of the things about good luck if you’re not careful is that it can go to your head,” says Konnikova. “Because when you’re winning, it’s just too easy not to stop and analyze your process. Why bother if things are going well? When it comes to learning, Triumph is the real foe; it’s Disaster that’s your teacher. It’s Disaster that brings objectivity. It’s Disaster that’s the antidote to the greatest of delusions, overconfidence,” she writes, paraphrasing Kipling. The most dangerous situations are where people believe they have attained a certain control over luck, she says, citing studies of investors. “The more people overestimate their own skill relative to luck, the less they learned from what the environment was trying to tell them, and the worse their decisions became: The participants grew increasingly less likely to switch to winning stocks, instead doubling down on losers or gravitating entirely toward bonds.”

Focus on the Process,
Reward the Effort

To some bosses, the only thing that matters when it comes to the contributions of their workers is the outcome, not how they got there. Economists refer to it as the “tournament” approach, based on the idea that the only thing that matters for a player in, say, the U.S. Open is that he or she is holding up the trophy at the end. Degree of effort, style, boldness, initiative … none of that is of consequence. But in business, outcomes aren’t always in your control. And as such, it’s better to set targets and a system that rewards effort, innovation and prudent risk-taking. Focus more on the process and not solely on the results. To do otherwise is to create an overly conservative environment where people don’t dare make a mistake. “Consider the psychic costs of coming up short in a philosophical system that disclaims the role of luck, timing or competition, and admits no obstacles that cannot be conquered by the sheer application of will,” the educator and essayist Steve Salerno writes in his book SHAM.

Run Experiments

What the venture capitalists of Silicon Valley figured out early was the rewards of luck are huge, that money is often made from things you weren’t even looking for, and you don’t have to bet the house. Top VC firms will typically invest in 20 start-ups with the expectation only one or two will prosper. But you don’t need to have a billion dollars behind you to take such an approach — any modest and reversible experiment counts, says Tim Harford, the author of FREAKONOMICS. Writing in the FINANCIAL TIMES, he says: “An experimental thinker views the uncertainties of the world as something to be resolved through tentative trial and error.” Try something modest, he says. “Many of the decisions we make are reversible. Only our stubbornness makes them permanent.”

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In fact, we put together a comprehensive guide about colored stones to inspire sales, educate on price and availability, and familiarize you with up-and-coming gems as well as those you can find in abundance in the U.S. Also included? Treatments about which you need to know, a hot new gemstone find from Tanzania, and loads of color insights from designers and INSTORE’s Brain Squad.

Can you guess which gems reign supreme among peers? Are retailers wearing what they’re selling—are they wearing a colored stone jewel that will elicit stares and questions and make viewers realize the types of dreamy merchandise available to them? Some of our findings might surprise you.

So, take a seat, get comfy, and prepare for an epic update on all things color.

Necklace in platinum with rubies and diamonds, Omi Privé, omiprive.com

Sure, pretty gems alone are a natural temptation for collectors, but sometimes shoppers need an extra hook to take a jewel home. Here’s how the experts—gem dealers and color-loving retailers—go about thrilling clients and closing more colored stone sales.

Share the Backstory

Blue sapphire from Montana, Parlé Gems, parlegems.com

1 “We use the lure of our hunt—how we go about finding stones, our trips to Sri Lanka, and our friends in the industry who mine at the source,” says Laurie Watt, Mayer & Watt. “We go to some of the sources, so we talk about that.” Ditto for Bruce Bridges of Bridges Tsavorite, who relates his family history with the green East African gem—his dad Campbell discovered the gem in 1961 and was later murdered by claim jumpers—to shoppers. “My father’s life story and legacy have become true lore,” he says.

Educate Staff

2 Sales associates must understand gem origin, rarity, treatments and color range to convey authority and interest to shoppers. Eric Braunwart of Columbia Gem House suggests merchants “know more than what their shoppers found on Pinterest.” Disconnects exist, too, among diamond-loving Americans. “Sometimes there’s no perceived value like there is for diamonds,” says David West Nytch, owner of West and Company Diamonds in Auburn, NY. “They understand the price of a $15,000 diamond ring, but don’t understand it for a $20,000 ruby ring.”

Laurie Watt of Mayer & Watt at the 2021 AGTA Denver’s Sparkle & Shine show

Use Gem Lore

Ring in 18K rose gold with a Tahitian pearl and amethyst, Suzanne Kalan, suzannekalan. com

3 The list of obscure facts and purported qualities and meanings of gemstones is seemingly never-ending. Valerie Peirano’s fave tall tale? “Samurai soldiers used to insert rubies into their skin to make them invincible in battle,” remarks the owner and manager of Peirano Jewelers in Martinez, CA. And in the category of wacky stories is amethyst’s provocative claims of curing hangovers. “I know from personal experience it doesn’t cure drunkenness,” jokes Tracy Gibson, manager of Studio D in Woodstock, IL.

Set Up Roundtables

4 These have been an important tool for both gem dealers who sell loose and retailers with in-house bench departments. Plan seating carefully so best customers get gems first, and keep groups small—about 15 guests per gathering. Robin Johannes of Johannes Hunter in Colorado Springs has never topped her best roundtable that happened 17 years ago, though she still tries. “We did $900,000 in revenue,” says Johannes about the 2005 event.

One of Studio D’s robust roundtable events held in its Woodstock, IL, store.

Get Personal

5  Share more with clients about inventory choices. “I like to present why I chose a gem for the store,” explains Becky Thatcher of Becky Thatcher Designs in Glen Arbor, Traverse City, and Leland, MI. Some stones she likes for their inclusions, while others she admires for their beautiful cuts. Don Janson of Walters & Hogsett in Boulder, CO, even tells clients about his purchase of a sapphire engagement ring for his spouse. “We don’t just believe in color, but we love it and support it,” he says.

Buy what you like.

1 “If you like it, somebody else will, too. It’s easier to sell something you love.” — Laurie Watt, Mayer & Watt

Have gorgeous gems.

2 “Have the best gems out there, and they will sell themselves.” — Bruce Bridges, Bridges Tsavorite

Necklace with Tahitian pearls and aquamarine, Assael, assael.com

Demonstrate savvy and passion.

3 “If you know what you are talking about—where a gem is from, how it got to the store, and its quality—and show passion, gemstones are easy to sell.” — Kimberly Collins, Kim Collins Gems and AGTA board president

Stock color.

4 “Show loose stones along with mounted colored stone jewelry.” — Ira Kramer, Diamond Exchange of North Florida, Tallahassee, FL

Put pieces on clients.

5 “Get the customer to try it on!” — Cathy Calhoun, Calhoun Jewelers, Royersford, PA

Wear pearls.

6 “This is my best tip … I wear them every day!” — Sherrie Schilling-Devaney, Sherrie’s Jewelry Box, Tigard, OR

Earrings in 18K yellow gold with mixed gemstones, Fern Freeman, fernfreemanjewelry.com

Talk about the miners.

7 “Younger consumers want to know—it makes the stones more personal and exotic.” — Eric Braunwart, Columbia Gem House

Use inspiring language.

8 “Talk about the gems with such awe and enthusiasm that it is transferrable.” — Robin Johannes, Johannes Hunter, Colorado Springs, CO

Wear color.

9 “It helps clients understand inclusions and treatments, such as why a sapphire might not be heated—so its silky inclusions remain.” — Becky Thatcher, Becky Thatcher Designs, Glen Arbor, Traverse City, and Leland, MI

Green sapphire from Australia, Mayer & Watt, mayerandwatt. com

Own a niche.

10 “We have the fieriest opals in our area, and we sell more opals than any other gemstone because we have become known for them.” — Tim Wright, Simply Unique Jewelry Designs, Yorktown, VA

Talk about healing properties.

11 “Our customers also collect crystals, so they are interested in knowing the benefits of wearing labradorite or why giving a gift of tourmaline is a nice idea.” — Laura Kitsos, Gem Jewelry Boutique, Oak Park, IL

Sell by month.

12 “Know your birthstones. Uniqueness is a selling point.” — Autumn Knight, Arizona Watch & Jewelry Service, Tucson, AZ

Bypass ring in 18K yellow gold with emeralds, Rahaminov, rahaminov.com

Get smart.

13 “Become a gemologist first.” — Barry Fixler, Barry’s Estate Jewelry, Bardonia, NY

Have variety.

14 “Get a few options from different suppliers. Use the stones that are more expensive or not as nice to help sell the nicest one.” — Jeremy Auslander, Roxbury Jewelry, Los Angeles, CA

Use the rainbow.

15 “Group color schemes together.” — Krystal Shiklanian, Radiant Fine Jewelry, Plymouth, MI

“Tourmalines are delicious because they come in such a wide array of colors: pink, watermelon, green, and bicolor.” — Pamela Froman, Pamela Froman Fine Jewelry

When mining circumstances or market prices change, opportunity arises for gems that, for whatever reasons, may have been previously overlooked. Maybe its name is a turnoff (hello, zircon!) or the price of a “Big Three” stone like ruby has gotten cost-prohibitive, thereby opening the door for a lesser-known variety to shine, but these are the gems that dealers say are worth considering now.

Purple spinel, Gem 2000, gem2000.com                                                        Demantoid garnets, Evan Caplan, evancaplan.com

Tanzanite

The popularity of the beautiful bluish-purple gem found in northern Tanzania in the late 1960s ebbs and flows. According to Stuart Robertson, research director at The GemGuide, now is a good time to reacquaint yourself with it. “Tanzanite is available and affordable now compared to its peak years in the 1990s,” he says.

“Everyone has heard of it but maybe not thought of it in a while.” Tanzanite is routinely heated to summon its striking hues and is on the soft side of the Mohs scale at 6–7.

Spinel

This gem has been riding a wave of popularity for upwards of 10 years with no end in sight. The industry loves spinel for its prized range of colors (red, purple, hot pink, blue, and more) and its high refractive (passage of light) and relatively high dispersion (fire) indexes. Zircon is also durable (an 8 on Mohs), widely found in many countries, and the prices of reds are affordable compared to rubies. Plus, historical uses of the gem, which was mistakenly called ruby in pieces like England’s Black Prince’s Ruby, speak to just how regal an option it is. Spinel is rarely treated, but fracture filling of it is an on-the-horizon issue in the gem community.

Bi-color tanzanite, Parlé Gems, parlegems.com.                                  Orange zircon, ANZA Gems, anzagems.com

Zircon

This fiery gem with an unfortunate name—many confuse it with cubic zirconia—has a high refractive index and dispersion rates and is found in a wide range of colors. While the earthy cognac hues are natural, blues are routinely heat-treated but stable, so the color won’t fade. “I still think blue zircon is underpriced,” says Ann Barker of Barker & Co. “You can still get a nice stone for a decent price.” The gem is on the soft side of the Mohs scale, ranging from 6–7.5, and is found in many international locations.

Garnets

All share the same crystal structure, though different chemistries account for their wide range of colors: red, orange, purple, purplish-pink, green and yellow. Garnets are found worldwide, have a high refractive and relatively high dispersion index, and are super affordable compared to other gems. Experts say they are hugely undervalued and rarely treated. “Garnets don’t get as much attention as they should,” remarks Shane McClure, director, West Coast identification services, GIA. One caveat: The tsavorite and demantoid species are commonly found in small sizes.

“We love to work with tourmalines and find them in a kaleidoscope of colors and a variety of shapes and sizes. The design possibilities are endless. Since they are relatively strong stones, they are perfect for everyday wear.” — Lauren Kessler, Lauren K Fine Jewelry NY

Prices for most gems are up across the board, a scenario rooted in the height of the pandemic. When Covid-19 struck, mines closed, dealers weren’t traveling overseas to buy, and many miners were forced to find employment elsewhere. Some haven’t returned, even as mining operations slowly open. This is causing a shortage of top-quality goods in the market, and what’s available costs a lot more.

Political and economic turmoil are also wreaking havoc in select gem-producing countries. Sri Lanka is a major producer of sapphires, and the island nation recently went bankrupt and saw a storming of the prime minister’s property by residents outraged at high inflation. Widespread power outages and a diesel fuel shortage hinder cutting and heating efforts.

A miner on site at Prosperity Earth’s demantoid mine site in Madagascar

Madagascar is another major sapphire source, but it has stopped the export of rough and doesn’t maintain a sizable cutting center like Sri Lanka. The result is halted exports of the top-grade gems that American dealers covet.

Meanwhile, Myanmar’s (formerly known as Burma) rocky political history means U.S. dealers still largely aren’t importing rubies, jade, or pearls from the Asian nation.

Overall, expect to pay more for gems. Specifically, dealers say prices of gray spinel are up a minimum of 10 percent, sapphires and tourmaline are both up at least 20 percent, and zircon is up as much as 40 percent. “At JCK Las Vegas, we bought a fair amount but couldn’t find everything I wanted at a price I could pay and still make a little money,” reveals Ann Barker of Barker & Co.

Gray spinel from Kim Collins Gems, kimberlycollinsgems.com

The most-talked about gem of 2022 is a new find of cobalt blue spinel, found near Mahenge, Tanzania—the source of some highly prized hot pink spinel.

Mahenge Gems is credited for bringing the cobalt blue spinel to JCK Las Vegas this year. Established in 2020 in Singapore, Mahenge Gems, helmed by Wez Barber and Rimsan Nifal, specializes in gems from the general region of East Africa, which include spinel, garnet, and no-heat tanzanite and sapphire, as well as the new blue spinel.

That material debuted to the international market in fall 2021. Fortuitously, Mahenge’s Tanzanian office is right near the mines, a scenario from which it benefitted in terms of purchasing rough, though it declines to say how much. Barber says supply is already dwindling.

“Today there’s only a fraction coming into our office compared to January 2022,” he says.

Tanzanian cobalt blue spinel cut by Mahenge Gems, mahenge.com

To date, GRS GemResearch Swisslab, the ICA GemLab, and SSEF have all tested the gems and confirmed samples were cobalt blue spinel and that they weren’t treated.

The majority of Mahenge Gem’s blue spinel is available in 1-carat sizes, though stones as large as 10 carats have been found. Prices start at $5,000 per carat for 1–1.5 ct. stones up to $20,000 per carat for the top hues. Larger stones can go up to $40,000 to $50,000 a carat.

Not surprisingly, those who saw the gems at the show compared them to blue spinel from the Lục Yên district in Vietnam, an important producer. “People were excited by the possibility of large sizes, how clean the material is compared to Lục Yên, and the electric color,” adds Barber.

U .S. gem lovers don’t need to leave the States to find pretty stones! A number are mined and widely available right here at home. Here’s a list of the most common and some options for sourcing.

Amethyst from Arizona Four Peaks Mining Co., fourpeaksminingco.com

Amethyst

This purple quartz has been found in limited amounts—just 2,000 pounds a year—and in the rare Siberian Red color in Arizona. Source it from Arizona Four Peaks Mining Co., (480) 434-6074, fourpeaksminingco.com.

Garnets

These are common throughout the U.S. but are only available in abundance from Idaho and Arizona. Source them from Columbia Gem House, (800) 888-2444, columbiagemhouse.com.

Peridot

This lime-green gem variety of the mineral olivine is found in several locations in Arizona but is most widely available near the city of Globe on a reservation with a mine run by the Apache tribe. Source it from Barker & Co., (480) 483-0780, barkerandcompany.com.

Peridot from Arizona, Barker & Co., barkerandcompany.com

Rhodochrosite

Although this pink mineral found at the now-closed Sweet Home Mine in Colorado is soft in nature, faceted samples can be set into jewelry with care. Source it from Maui Gems, (808) 573-4845, mauigems.com.

Sapphires

This sturdy variety of corundum is second only to diamond in sales in the gem world, and small samples are widely available in Montana. Source them from Potentate Mining, (905) 469-0072, potentatemining.com.

Sunstone

This copper-bearing labradorite feldspar is found in Oregon. Source it from Desert Sun Mining & Gem Co., (541) 765-2441, desertsungems.com.

Kyte-cut sunstone from Oregon, Columbia Gem House, columbiagemhouse.com

Turquoise

Three different varieties—Bisbee, Kingman, and Sleeping Beauty—are well-known Arizona gems, though only one source (Kingman) is still actively mined. Source them from Rincon Trading, (520) 219-3058, rincontrading.com.

“Boulder opals are like Mother Nature’s little paintings—full of unexpected flashes of color and abstract patterns—and each is like a mini-masterpiece. My collection is primarily one-of-a-kind pieces, and I love that opals are, by nature, one of a kind.” — Suzy Landa, Suzy Landa Jewelry

Editor’s Note: More U.S. gems are available in smaller quantities, including agate and amethyst from Montana; amazonite from Virginia; agate from Oregon; iolite and ruby from Wyoming; moonstone from Wisconsin; opal from Oregon; and quartz from Arkansas. Source these at Columbia Gem House, (800) 888-2444, columbiagemhouse.com.

Jewelry store owners take note: This quartet of techniques represents the top ways that gems are enhanced for clarity, color, and inclusions to improve look and value. Untreated stones routinely command greater sums and often come with lab certificates stating their virgin statuses. Be sure to ask your suppliers to clearly write all treatments on purchase invoices.

Oiling & Fracture Filling (Clarity Enhancement)

1 Any stone with a surface-reaching break could be enhanced with oil or resin. Emerald is widely oiled, but even common gems like garnets can be as well. “Most understand and accept that emeralds are clarity enhanced but may not realize that many other gemstones, including tourmaline, are routinely treated this way,” explains Shane McClure, director, West Coast identification services, GIA. Disclosure matters. “If you’re paying $25,000 a carat, you probably want an unenhanced stone,” says Michael Abraham Bruder, lab manager, Gubelin Group in New York City.

Lead-Glass Filling (Composite Gems)

2 This typically happens in corundum, particularly rubies. This was a massive issue in the market more than 10 years ago and was so rampant that even the consumer press picked it up. Lead-glass-filled/composite gems are much more widely disclosed now and are recognizable under a loupe as gas bubbles. Compared to the more commercial/traditional type of heating, these stones should be priced considerably lower. “For AGL, composite rubies continue to be a big issue,” says Chris Smith, president and chief gemologist at American Gemological Laboratories (AGL).

Mahenge pink spinel with heat treatment, Mayer & Watt, mayerandwatt.com

Heating

3 Many gems, including rubies, sapphires, aquamarine, and tanzanite are widely recognized as being heated to improve color and eliminate inclusions. Reputable dealers often disclose this, but sometimes gems, particularly those heated at relatively lower temperatures, are sold as natural (with no treatment). Both Stuart Robertson, research director at The GemGuide, and Smith of AGL share virtually the same observation: “It’s more common than many realize.” Another growing trend: Gems that were not traditionally treated, such as spinel, are now being heated.

Irradiation

4 Blue topaz is widely known to be irradiated to improve its color, but rarer gems are also subject to this treatment. So long as the treatment is disclosed, it’s fine, but when it’s not, buyers of irradiated stones might be paying more for a gem than it’s worth. “Irradiation can open up the color of rubies and intensify the saturation of padparadschas,” says Kim Collins of Kim Collins Gems and board president of AGTA. Another danger: The irradiated colors can fade.

“I love fire opal! It’s like an abstract painting—it could look like a cloud or an elephant and has all those brilliant kaleidoscopic fiery colors that create a different look every time the light hits the stone.” — Yehouda Saketkhou, Yael Designs

What sells best after diamonds and sapphires? INSTORE asked the Brain Squad, and the results aren’t too surprising.

1. Ruby
2. Emerald
3. Blue topaz
4. Opal
5. Tourmaline
6. Amethyst
7. Garnet

Beyond the beauty of color, margin is another reason for retailers to love gemstones! They’re not so easy to price shop. We asked the Brain Squad which gemstone offers the best margins, and here’s how they voted.

Sapphire 31%
Pearl 20%
Diamond 14%
Ruby 9%
Emerald 4%
Other* 22%

*These include tourmaline, opal, lab-grown diamonds, and others.

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