Editors Note: A week of good news

 Not that we're out of the woods just yet, but the past week, especially, has brought many signs of a strengthening market. Read Ken Gassman's article here outlining 2011's $68.3 billion in total U.S. jewelry sales, the largest gross ever for our business.

And while those figures are based on U.S. Commerce Department statistics and should be taken with a grain of salt, our own annual post-holiday survey found that independent jewelers similarly reported strong growth, both for the holidays and, to an even larger extent, for the year as a whole.

The independents told us they were better able to hold the line on discounting than in the past few years, posted better margins and realized roughly flat average price points. Overall, this group is considerably optimistic about our prospects for 2012.

Annual results also began to be released by publicly traded jewelers. LVMH reported a 23 percent increase in watch and jewelry comp sales in 2011, crediting the category as one of its top performers for the year. It's no stretch to see this as a sign of the persevering marketability of intelligently branded product and, more broadly, as increasing robustness of the luxury sector, given the company's stable of brands.

Also toward the market's high side, Christie's came in with a brawny 40 percent increase in watch and jewelry sales for the year. While the total included revenues from the record-smashing Liz Taylor collection auction, the figure is enormous nonetheless and clearly demonstrates vigorous demand for authentic value and a persistent resilience in top-shelf goods.

Exemplifying one of our market's core shifts, Amazon.com posted a 35 percent increase in total Q4 sales, to the tune of $17 billion. There's no doubt that, after about a decade now, American consumers have grown intimately comfortable with online shopping and that the model has begun to mature. And Amazon continues to seek to plant its flag firmly in our trade's terra firma.

As reported in our survey, however, independents are also doing their best to evolve and find their own havens. Almost all are using e-mail marketing in one form or another. And a vast majority has grasped the potent opportunity presented by social media, Facebook in particular.

Wishing you the best in business - Whitney

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