Jeweler Fashion Design

Fine Jewelry Fashion Show & News

It may be a truism, but what makes a jeweler a jeweler is the fact that the company sells jewelry. Unlike the apparel industry, the evolution of jewelers fashion is relatively slow, due to several primary reasons. First is the difference in inventory and merchandise turnover. Consumers buy jewelry much less regularly than they buy clothing. Indeed, for all but the most avid jewelry wearers and collectors, purchases are measured over the course of a lifetime rather than the course of a year, as buying is done for clothes. Further, the definition itself of fine jewelry severely limits the ultimate variety of styles. Fine jewelry is jewelry comprising precious components—gold, platinum and, increasingly, silver, and diamonds and a handful of other precious stones. Moreover, pieces are small, making it difficult to incorporate, for example, branding symbols and icons. What has resulted is that fine jewelry, on the mass market basis, has evolved to include a relatively small, select number of classical "wardrobing" items, such as diamond stud earrings, in addition to the culturally imperative diamond engagement ring. Nonetheless, it is the ability of a jewelry fashion designer to find a way to incorporate individuality within these narrow parameters that makes some jewelry far more appealing than other. Over the past decade and a half, an increasing number of designer firms have established name recognition among consumers, a significant step forward for what has traditionally been a product category populated by generic items. In addition, consumer taste can alter over the course of a year along the lines of product size and metal texture finish as well as color of the included metals and, of course, the gemstone choices. Financial trends can also drive product, such as volatility in metals prices that can dramatically affect the components value of select jewelry pieces. National Jeweler follows jeweler fashion shows and analyzes jewelry fashion news so jewelers can make intelligent and informed decisions when it comes to building their store inventories.