Silver leads Valentines jewellery sales

2.9 k views | Posted February 22, 2011 | By Sonia Nair

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but jewellers reported that silver was a bestseller over the Valentine’s period, although some maintained that the event is not a big money spinner for them.

Trade in the lead up to Valentine’s Day and on the 14th itself was mixed, according to retailers interviewed by Jeweller.

A number of jewellers said they found consumers preferred to spend their money on flowers, chocolates or dinners instead of jewellery.

Bernie Santen of Bentleigh Jewellers in Victoria told Jeweller, “We have tried mail-outs, brochures, different price ranges and varying shop decorations but nothing seems to encourage Valentine’s Day jewellery spending.”

Derek Forkgen from the New South Wales-based Ballina Jewel Centre found shoppers similarly unresponsive to Valentine’s Day marketing.

“We are in a strip location but we only had two sales that could be attributed to St Valentine. This is despite a mad window with lots of hearts, Valentine’s oriented cartoons and graphics as well as discounted specials,” Forkgen said.

Those that did achieve Valentine’s sales said silver and diamond jewellery performed reasonably well, while a few even reported selling gold jewellery, despite the inflated market prices.

Owner of GG Pedemonte Manufacturing Jewellers in South Australia, Shane Pedemonte said smallish dress rings with diamonds were popular around Valentine’s Day. He also highlighted Citizen watches and the branded Zinzi silver range as strong sellers.

“Diamond jewellery continues to perform well but gold sales have slowed somewhat. Silver continues to be a strong seller,” Pedemonte said.

He said most people started buying jewellery for Valentine’s Day three weeks prior but the last two days reported the strongest sales.

On the other hand, Rick Vela of Laidley Jewellers in Queensland said his gold jewellery outperformed silver, and that there was a drop in bead sales.

He had a similar experience to Pedemonte, reporting that Valentine’s Day was busy but there was not a high amount of sales prior to that day.

Mary Loscavo of high-end jewellery retailer Kozminsky in Melbourne told Jeweller Valentine’s Day sales increased over last year, but only because she sold three antique bangles on the day itself.

“There was not a lot of traffic in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day,” Kozminsky said.

Owner of Cameron’s Fine Jewellers in Victoria, Judy Cameron said Valentine’s Day was exceptionally good for her, despite facing flood threats in January.

“We sold more engagement rings than ever. Everything performed well including gold and diamond hearts as well as Thomas Sabo jewellery,” Cameron said.

Daniela Verona of Franco Jewellers in Victoria observed a rising trend for branded jewellery.

“Valentine’s Day is not a busy time for us but our Gucci range sold okay. Labels are very popular because they carry the latest fashion trends hence why Gucci did well for us,” Verona explained.

Greg Macintyre of Fremantle-based Creations Jewellery & Design in Western Australia, said his store did not sell any gold or diamond jewellery because of Valentine’s Day.

He attributed slow trade to the strong Aussie dollar, fewer tourists and a reduction in Valentine’s Day impulse sales.

“Pandora was the bestseller for us and we sold silver as well,” Macintyre told Jeweller.

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Selling to Valentines
Mixed Christmas for Australian jewellers
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