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It’s looking like more and more kisses do begin with Kay. A November 24 report in Women’s Wear Daily says the nation’s two top jewelry chains, Signet Jewelers (parent of Kay and Jared stores) and Zale Corp., posted widely divergent results for the quarter.

Signet moved back into the black with a $6 million net income vs. a net loss of $8.7 million a year ago. Zale’s [fiscal] first-quarter net loss, meanwhile, escalated to $97.9 million, up from $59.7 million.  Zale executive vice president and CFO Matthew Appel said in a conference call that the company remains focused on its multi-year turnaround strategy and pointed to a higher level of warranty revenue helping to lift gross margin by almost two percentage points of sales.

Ironically, however, Zales (the store, vs. Zale Corp.) scored slightly higher than either Jared or Kay in a recent Retailer Preference Index study conducted by L.E.K. Consultants. Among jewelers, the top five jewelers preferred by respondents were, in descending order, Tiffany (indexed at 63.4), Helzberg Diamonds (62.3), Zales (60.9), Jared (60.8), and Kay (60.0).

For the full WWD article, read here. (Subscription may be required).