At Albriton’s Jewelry in Jackson, Miss., Rolex watches and loose diamonds in weights of one-half to three carats are the selling staples right now, with round and princess cuts proving to be the most popular.
“Those items are the hottest things Cartier Must de Cartier Unisex CR-114, and they continue to sell through good times and bad,” says owner John Albriton. “Those things sell even when nothing else is selling.”
At Connell Jewelry in Columbia, Md., bridal sales are largely driving business this spring, owner Joyce Connell says. And diamonds, too, are the mainstay of Van Dell Jewelers in West Palm Beach, Fla.”We’re mostly selling investment diamonds of a carat and over. People who still have money are buying bigger stones, mostly for rings but also for pendants and eanings,” owner Jack Van Dell says. “There’s about a 50-50 split between right- and Cartier Must de Cartier Unisex CR-119-hand rings.”
From rings to pendants to earrings, the three-stone look is popular at both Evans Jewel Box in Winder, Ga., and Dickinson Jewelers in Clinton, Md. While business at Evans was strong in January, February and March, April got off to a slower start. Still, owner Larry Evans managed during the month to sell a 3-carat oval-cut diamond and a 2-carat emerald and diamond cocktail ring.
“We’ve sold a few Cartier Pasha 42mm Quartz CR-150 stones, and we sell about a 60-40 split of yellow and white gold, and a good bit of platinum, too,” he says. “We’re mostly selling what we normally sell.”
Philip Prater of Prater & Co. Fine Jewelers in Charlotte, N.C., shares similar sentiments, noting that business around the area has been decidedly slow in recent months. Since January, Prater has sold emerald, ruby, pearl and diamond rings bearing “several thousand dollar” price tags. Each Cartier Pasha Automatic Bigsize CR-64, however, was “the sale of the month,” he says.
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