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Jewelry, watch brands appear at Fashion Week

Two brands in the jewelry and watch industry made their way to respective Fashion Weeks this month--one right here in New York, and the other overseas.

Active lifestyle watch brand Sector returned to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, setting up at the Circa accessories salon at the Lincoln Center.

This is Sector’s second appearance at Fashion Week since re-entering the U.S. market last year.

Sector watches sit on display in the Circa salon at the Lincoln Center.

“Given Sector’s emphasis on fashion and Italian design, being at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is just a natural fit for the brand,” Phil Schwetz, president of Sector USA, said.

From left: Veronica Webb, fashion director of Sector USA; Chris Del Gatto, CEO of Circa; Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar; and Phil Schwetz, president of Sector USA.

Sector unveiled its latest 2012 watch models for women at the salon, including the new Lady Master collection, which was flown in from Italy for the week. The line features timepieces adorned with crystals and rose gold, as well as models that incorporate both black and white ceramic integration.

Sector’s 2012 Lady Master collection was introduced to the U.S. market at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

A sneak peek was also given for some of Sector’s new men’s styles, which are set to launch in Basel in March. The men’s collections feature oversized cases with fashion-forward twists, such as intricate stitching in bright accent colors.

Sector’s top styles were also on display, including the Shark Master, Centurion, Black Eagle, Pilot Master and Yacht Master collections.

Across the pond at London Fashion Week, jewelry designer Emily Armenta partnered with clothing designer Christian Blanken to create a collection of accessories for his Autumn/Winter 2012 collection.

Armenta dressed Blanken’s runway models in cuffs and belts in muted tonal leathers detailed with intricate yellow and white gold metalwork. Clean lines, minimal color and an androgynous look stood out for this collaboration.

“I was immediately stuck by the luxuriousness and high-level artisan skill reflected in every Armenta piece,” Blanken said. “I’m genuinely excited to be collaborating with Armenta this season and feel confident that our respective tastes will offer a perfect synergy with one another.”

Editor's Note: Resolved transitions

A specialist in custom-design jewelry, Gary Dawson sold his store of two decades and moved exclusively online. Read it here.

Gary's story is also National Jeweler's story. It's now been just more than a year since we, too, moved exclusively online. The news has been good for each of us.

I've always been a firm believer in focusing on results rather than process. So the real question becomes, in any endeavor: "What is our actual goal?"

If, as in Gary's case, the objective is to design and craft beautiful, one-of-a-kind jewelry creations, his transition would have to be considered a success.

If, for us here at National Jeweler, the plan is to provide Gary and his peer jewelers--regardless of chosen retail channel--information helpful in achieving that success, we are much stronger than ever in our current form.

What's more, our very coverage of Gary's story marks a welcoming back of a trusted old friend--the About Retail column. National Jeweler launched this editorial feature in 1998. Focusing on a noteworthy aspect of a retailer's operations, this section provided valuable case studies our readers consistently told us they could install directly into their own businesses.

As we mature as an online information service, integrating components like About Retail into our regular lineup maintains a tradition of intelligent development we've strived to pursue since National Jeweler's establishment in 1906.

The goal remains the same. It's only the opportunities to serve our readers that have multiplied.

Pandora launching e-commerce site in Q4

I wanted to circle back around to an item in Pandora’s rather lengthy 2011 Annual Report that caught my attention and certainly seems to be a piece of information that would interest retailers that carry the brand.

Pandora disclosed plans to launch an e-commerce site in an undisclosed test market in the fourth quarter, an item mentioned briefly in our story on the report.

While I wasn’t able to obtain many more specifics, Pandora spokesman Kasper Riis did tell National Jeweler that, “An action plan has been put in place to ensure that Pandora will deliver on its long-term strategy. One of the specific actions identified is to outsource an e-commerce site, which is being launched in a test market by Q4 this year. We have not yet disclosed in which market this is planned to take place.”

Now, I know this is not the first we’ve heard about this popular jewelry brand potentially selling online, but it certainly will be interesting to see how the site fares.

Riis said that Pandora did conduct an e-commerce pilot project in Germany and Poland for a limited amount of time, and the company will use what it learned from that experience when it launches its next e-commerce site later this year. Tuesday marked the first time publicly that the brand disclosed specifics on this fourth-quarter test market launch, he said.

I remember when I started here four years ago that the mention of brands even considering selling online rankled jewelers.

Now I think many retailers, though not exactly pleased, are no longer as shocked and angered by announcements such as this. They have come to expect it and have adjusted their business plans accordingly.

To jewelers that carry Pandora, and even those that don’t, what do you think of this latest announcement of a brand going direct to consumers online?

Editor's Note: Sterling decisions

Transitions of power are always a challenge. And the stakes are raised for entities with strong track records.

Sterling, parent of Kay and Jared, has proven itself across recent market cycles to be among the very best-run chain jewelers in the business. Under the deft leadership of Terry Burman, the company forged a reputation for maximizing its potential market advantages. Burman, a former naval officer, was especially successful at running a tight ship regarding operational efficiency.

It's now been just over a year since Michael Barnes, formerly president and COO of Fossil, took the helm following Burman's retirement. The natural question has been how he would choose to steer the company--culturally as well as strategically.

It has become readily apparent that Barnes has his own ideas of how Sterling might further shine. The company, for instance, has launched a determined agenda that includes intensified focus on the online channel, an admittedly underdeveloped program at Sterling. This was a smart move.

Yesterday's announcement of the promotion of Ed Hrabak to COO, pending the retirement of Bill Montalto, was yet another indication of good decision-making. Hrabak has a quarter-century in at the company, moving up the buying ranks to this new, top role. Over that time, he has become one of the company's most visible executives, participating in significant industry charitable and educational initiatives in addition to executing his role within the core Sterling executive ranks.

Along with President and CEO Mark Light, Hrabak will now continue to provide continuity that goes hand-in-glove with expanding Sterling in new directions. And as the nation's high-volume jewelers become increasingly important in areas such as consumer demand stimulation, that's a good thing for all of us. Along with the greater industry, National Jeweler congratulates him and wishes him the best in his new job.

Celebrity Jewelry Gawk™ – Cuffed in Diamonds

Whether they’re cuffed with diamonds or dressed up in gold, wrists are prime real estate for jewelry, especially at awards shows, where glamorous gowns usually leave arms bare. While some stars stick with thick, bold designs, others favor thinner, more delicate styles.

Here’s the best in celebrity cuffs, bracelets and bangles seen recently.

Chuck’s Stacy Keibler wore Brumani’s 18-karat white and yellow gold bracelet with diamonds, smoky quartz, morganite topaz and citrine (below, $9,449), from the Balalaika Collection, to the premiere of The Ides of March in Beverly Hills.

The Walking Dead actress Sarah Wayne Callies (below) wore Hellmuth’s Gold Croco pattern cuff with cubic zirconia ($3,448) to the Los Angeles premiere of The Walking Dead.

Carla Gugino (below) of Californication wore Brumani’s “Looping Shine” bracelet in white and pink gold with diamonds and champagne topaz ($13,805) to the Los Angeles premiere of American Horror Story.




Hawthorne’s Kimberly Elise wore Chad Allison’s diamond hinged cuff (below, $26,105) to a gala in Los Angeles this month.


Julianne Hough (below) of Footloose wore Misaki’s sterling silver rhodium cultured pearl bangles ($369 each) to the Nashville screening of “Footloose.”




Trishna’s Frieda Pinto (below) wore Amrapali’s 18-karat gold diamond bangle (below, top, $3,520) and thinner 18-karat gold diamond bangle (below, bottom, $2,660) to the 2011 Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Doha, Qatar.





Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez wore Isharya’s Vendome Lily bangle ($498) to a Best Buy/Samsung event supporting the Maribel Foundation in Los Angeles.


The Hills’ Lauren Conrad (below) wore Hellmuth’s 18-karat rose gold Croco bangles with diamonds ($6,250 each) to the Autumn Party benefitting The Children’s Institute in West Hollywood.




Sucker Punch’s Vanessa Hudgens wore Sutra’s cuff with a sapphire and diamond flower motif (price upon request) to a premiere in Sydney, Australia.


The Playboy Club’s Amber Heard (below) wore Le Vian’s 14-karat rose gold and diamond tennis bracelet (below, $31,500) to a Los Angeles Gala this month.

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

Put a pin on it

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz lately about Pinterest, starting at the recent JA New York Show when an industry colleague, and budding jewelry designer, was showing off her boards in the press room.

The topic of Pinterest arose again yesterday when I was interviewing Dan Gordon, of Samuel Gordon Jewelers in Oklahoma City, for a separate story.

For those of you don’t know Dan, he is one of the most forward-thinking jewelers in the industry when it comes to the use of technology and social media. The way he has used social media to broaden his reach has been the topic of countless articles, both in this publication and elsewhere. If there is something new that’s going to be relevant coming up in the social media space, Dan knows about it.

After speaking with Dan, I decided to try out Pinterest myself, to see what all the buzz was about regarding this new photo sharing site.

Pinterest, to me at least, is akin to an electronic, 2012 version of the cork bulletin board I had in my room when I was a teenager. I would cut out quotes, beauty tips, pictures of my celebrity crushes, etc. out of magazines such as YM and Sassy and pin them to the board.

The same concept applies in the case of Pinterest, but instead of being visible only to the handful of friends who entered my teenager lair of solitude, millions of people online can see it.

On Pinterest, you can search by keyword -- say, jewelry or rings -- and see the items other users have pinned because they want to do make, see, do or buy them. You can then re-pin them to your own boards. And, just like Twitter, you can “follow” your friends, customers or simply people whom you think post interesting content.

Pinterest also lets you pin things from outside websites, such as this beautiful, custom star ruby ring or these turquoise and brown diamond earrings I pinned from Greenwich Jewelers here in New York to my “Jewelry I like” board. While I simply cut and pasted the direct links into Pinterest, there is a little piece of code retailers can use to install a “Pin it” button on their website, allowing browsers to denote a piece of jewelry as a favorite that then gets shared on Pinterest.

This past holiday season, Gordon said he held a Pinterest-themed contest, offering a $500 gift certificate to one randomly selected person who pinned at least one item from SamuelGordons.com to their Pinterest page. The more items you pinned, the more times you were entered to win.

Gordon said website traffic spiked as a result of the contest.

“It’s a huge discovery tool and it becomes addictive,” he said. “From a marketing standpoint it has a potential of being a huge traffic generator.”