These Are the Most Popular Charms in America by Region
Rembrandt Charms, which is experiencing a rebirth after surviving Pandora and the Great Recession, shared sales analytics with National Jeweler, showing which charms are trending by region.
Pictured here are the three most popular Rembrandt charms nationwide. They’re available in sterling silver, gold plate, 10-karat gold and 14-karat yellow or white gold. The “I Love You To the Moon and Back” charm is the most popular and starts at $34.50 retail for the sterling silver version.
Toronto, Ontario--From palm trees to cowboy boots, Rembrandt Charms has consumer charm preferences mastered.
Knowing what appeals across the various regions of North America is one of the ways the family-owned manufacturing company is helping fine jewelry retailers connect with their customers.
Rembrandt Charms co-owner and Vice President Eric Lux said that by analyzing data from retailers’ brick-and-mortar and online stores, and from the Rembrandt Charms website, the company is able to determine what consumers are buying and searching for, revealing regional trends.
“We have it pretty much down to a science as to what charms sell by region,” Lux explained, though Rembrandt offers one-to-one stock balancing so retailers can exchange any charms that have been sitting in a display case too long.
Rembrandt, which was founded by President Christopher Lux in the 1970s, is headquartered in both Toronto, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York, and produces all of its charms and bracelets exclusively in the United States and Canada. “Not a single item is made offshore,” Eric Lux said.
Currently, the company works with about 9,000 retailers across North America.
Since its inception, Rembrandt has expanded operations about every 10 years. But business hasn’t always been so great.
The mid-2000s, which saw the rise of Pandora and the fallout of the financial crisis, forced Rembrandt to lay off hundreds of employees.
Lux, who opted not to name the particular company that impacted his business so greatly during that period, explained: “When that bead company came out it really hurt us. They would go into stores and make owners decide (which charm brand to carry). At the time, during the recession, a lot of jewelers had no choice because they needed that traffic from the hundreds of millions of dollars of marketing budget that the company used to bring customers in, but what good is that now after selling direct and selling off of their website and stabbing the retailers in the back that way?”
Rembrandt markets directly to consumers in publications like The Knot, Martha Stewart and Southern Living, and provides its retailers with print and digital marketing materials, including social media content, but Lux emphasized that they will never sell directly to consumers.
“We’ve never sold to the public and that is one of the main pillars of our company,” he said. “We feel strongly about supporting the retail jeweler, especially since, in our industry, most of
“We feel strongly about supporting the retail jeweler, especially since, in our industry, most of the retailers are family businesses as we are.” -- Eric Lux, Rembrandt Charms
The company manufactures thousands of charms, all available in sterling silver, gold plate, 10-karat yellow gold, 14-karat yellow gold and 14-karat white gold, and keeps them stocked at their facilities so they’re able to ship them out in a day.
“Not only do we have all styles cornered, we have the price points cornered so no matter who walks into that store, we’re going to have a charm that will connect with them,” Lux said.
The charms come with a lifetime warranty and 40 percent of Rembrandt’s inventory can be engraved, a service which Rembrandt provides at a charge with same-day service, which comes in handy for retailers at busy times like the holiday season.
“Charms are probably the easiest sale in the jewelry store,” he said.
He stressed that in the age of Amazon, the personal relationship that the repeat business of charms fosters between customer and retailer is even more important than it used to be.
“Charms are a good way to learn more about that customer, establish a relationship at a price point that’s comfortable for them and know that they’re going to come back in to add on to that bracelet and purchase other charms, and hopefully have the confidence to go back to that jeweler for the high-end purchases like the diamond ring or the valuable watches.”
Lux recounted such an example with one of his retailer clients, David Mann Jewelers in Geneseo, New York.
Last Christmas, a customer came into David Mann’s looking to purchase a $25 sterling silver charm, which another jeweler hadn’t been anxious to help him with in the midst of the busy week leading up to Christmas.
“David Mann said, ‘No problem. I can get that for you,’ and he called us and we got him the charm right away,” Lux said. “That customer came back in the spring and purchased a $25,000 engagement ring. He said the reason he came to them was because they helped him out with that charm on Dec. 23.”
"Charms are a good way to learn more about that customer, establish a relationship at a price point that’s comfortable for them and know that they’re going to come back in to add on to that bracelet and purchase other charms."--Eric Lux, Rembrandt Charms
Lux said that Rembrandt is dedicated to mastering the charm and charm bracelet niche.
“Charms tell the story of one’s life. They really create generations of loyal lasting relationships for the jeweler. It’s going to hit home to them sentimentally, but it’s also going to protect their purchase and their confidence with the retailer and our brand knowing that if something were to ever happen, if they run over it with their car, they can send it back to us and we’ll replace it.”
Below, Rembrandt shares its most popular charms in America by region.
Most Popular Charms: Nationwide 1. I Love You to the Moon and Back (starting at $34.50 retail for sterling silver) 2. Love You More (starting at $34.50 retail for sterling silver) 3. Small Paw Print (starting at $23.50 retail for sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia) 1. Love to Shop Bag (starting at $30 retail for sterling silver) 2. Snowflake (starting at $26.50 retail for sterling silver) 3. Anchor at Rope (starting at $19.50 for retail sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: South Coast (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland) 1. Sand Dollar (starting at $24.50 for sterling silver) 2. Sea Turtle (starting at $30 for sterling silver) 3. Pail & Shovel (starting at $37.50 for sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigian, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska) 1. Tractor (starting at $29.50 retail for sterling silver) 2. Flat Baseball (starting at $22.50 retail for sterling silver) 3. Compass with Needle Charm (starting at $38.50 retail for sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: South Central (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama) 1. Cowboy Boot (starting at $24.50 retail for sterling silver) 2. Mardi Gras Mask (starting at $27.50 retail for sterling silver) 3. Small Fleur De Lis (starting at $16.00 retail for sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: Western Mountain states (Utah, Colorado, Wyoming) 1. Telluride Small Gondola (starting at $30 retail for sterling silver) 2. Bear Paw Print (starting at $31 retail for sterling silver) 3. Adirondack Chair (starting at $29.50 retail for sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada) 1. Cactus (starting at $22 retail for sterling silver) 2. Kokopelli (starting at $26 retail for sterling silver) 3. Dream Catcher (starting at $31.50 retail for sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska) 1. Seattle Space Needle (starting at $27.50 retail for sterling silver) 2. Umbrella (starting at $26 retail for sterling silver) 3. Hiking Boot (starting at $29.50 retail for sterling silver)
Most Popular Charms: West Coast (California, Hawaii) 1. San Francisco Cable Car (starting at $40 retail for sterling silver) 2. Palm Tree (starting at $29.50 retail for sterling silver) 3. Comedy & Tragedy Masks (starting at $27.50 retail for sterling silver)
Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.
