Diamond Jewelry Sales

Diamond Jewelry Sales

After reviewing  2013 retail sales analysts claim that diamond jewelry sales exceeded 2012 numbers.  This despite some turbulent months of 2013, the end result was a surprisingly strong finish. Numbers suggest that consumers had been waiting for the last moments of the year to capitalize on sales and end of the year specials.  Economists and retailers alike hope these strong numbers forecast the 2014 year.

Diamond Jewelry Sales in 2013

Many retailers were upbeat about the closeout of the 2013 season with regards to diamonds and jewelry sales. Richard Neustaedter, owner of Neustaedter's Fine Jewelry located in St. Louis, Missouri explains "2013 was certainly better than 2012. Where up by 16% over 2012 fiscal year.  I think that the economy is still tough, and people are worried about Obamacare.  But I also think that people are moving on from that." Although, business has not returned to pre-recession levels many consumers who had concerns about another recession began buying again; naturally a good sign, and hopefully this trend continues. Another jeweler Michael S. Karaman, president of James Free Jewelers in Ohio explains that finding the right type of merchandise has been critical to the success of his company.  "2013 has been up over 2012 by double digits, I think the economy is getting better. But also, we buy sharper we know what we need, we listen to our market and we know what our customers want. And if something is doing well, we say 'Thank you very much' and we part company." The underlying message being that retailers cannot afford to stock merchandise that does not do well.

An Unpredictable Year for Diamond Jewelry Sales 

As expected not all the months of 2013 were profitable for diamond and jewelry sales; sure retailers expressed frustration that some months were significantly slower than others.  Michael Han, owner, and president of The Wedding Ring Shop located in Honolulu, Hawaii explained that "overall, 2013 is going to turn out to be a good year, but not a great year. In January 2013, it started off very scary, but from February to September, it was strong. We were in double digits. That in October and November, I'm not sure if it was politics or the sequester, but it was fairly soft. By December, it seemed we be even with 2012, which was our best year. Overall, we're seeing a high Overall, we're seeing a high single-digit increase over 2012. But it was an unpredictable year."  Another jeweler, Jim Jessop, owner of Jessop's in San Diego, California shares his experience "we a strong here, but our summer months got quieter than we expected. That we started back up for holiday season, and I think holiday 2013 will be on par with what I've seen the past few years.  We started out so strong in 2013, and I had the feeling that the economy had some strength, that it stopped in June and got quiet for two, July and August. My concern is that I can't come up with a good reason why that happened."

Beyond the Holiday Season

Many retailers rely on the holiday season to bring in a surge of sales and expect 2014 to be even more profitable than in previous years. "I pace and wait for the final four days before Christmas. I think guys arent sure what to do, and I bail them out every year, so they wait and don't worry about. We're through the worst years, and we just have to allow optimism to develop."  For James Free Jewelers in Ohio, their president Michael S. Karaman, explains "I don't know what 2014 will be like, but we're hoping great. But I don't know. But I'm not worried we are saying here, we don't care about making money. We just like to sell jewelry." http://www.polygon.net/jwl/public/trade-resources/jewelry-insights/us-retail-wholesale-jewelry-industry-update-2013-en.jsp http://www.diamonds.net/News/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=45983&ArticleTitle=U.S.+Jewelry%2C+Watch+Sales++8%25+in+2013 Online Sales Unstoppable