Sriram “Ram” Natarajan is now GIA’s senior vice president of laboratory operations and is based out of the lab’s headquarters in Carlsbad.
Business Pulse: What’s Your Average Price Point?
National Jeweler/Jewelers of America’s latest Business Pulse survey asked jewelers how much customers are spending and what they are buying.

New York--The average price per unit sold in jewelry stores is less than $1,000, National Jeweler/Jewelers of America’s latest Business Pulse survey shows.
Conducted in late August/early September, the Business Pulse asked jewelers about average price point in their store (excluding bridal) and the breakdown of sales by category, with about 117 jewelers answering the questions.
Answers to the first question ranged from $40 all the way up to $10,000, but the average retail price for a unit sold in respondents’ stores, excluding engagement rings and wedding bands, was $804. The median was $350.
(The average customer spend on engagement rings in retail stores was addressed in a different survey earlier this year.)
When asked what percentage of total sales each product category represents for their business, the No. 1 spot went to rings, with an average of 27 percent of sales.
This was followed by earrings at 22 percent, necklaces at 19 percent, bracelets at 11 percent and watches at 8 percent. The remaining 13 percent fell into the “Other” category.
A Mixed Month
The Business Pulse poll also asked jewelers about their July 2016 sales compared with July 2015. A total of 202 respondents answered this question.
Nearly one-third of survey-takers said sales were up from last year, with 21 percent reporting that they had increased less than 25 percent and 9 percent saying sales were up more than 25 percent.
Another 23 percent responded that business was about the same, while 32 percent said it was down less than 25 percent and the remaining 15 percent indicated it was down more than 25 percent compared with last year.
National Jeweler/Jewelers of America conducted its Business Pulse survey from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6, in conjunction with the Product Pulse survey, which asked jewelers about bridge jewelry sales.
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