Sales Strategy
Who What Wear Says These Eight Jewelry Trends Are Outdated. Here’s How To Adjust Your Merchandise | October 20, 2021 (0 comments)
New York, NY—It’s always interesting to see consumer fashion editors’ take on jewelry trends. After all, those are the magazines your customers are reading. While the major glossies (Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, etc.) often show only a smattering of jewelry store brands among a lot of big global brands like Cartier and Bulgari, the online fashion webzine Who What Wear tends to show much more accessible jewelry in its trend stories. Image: Brightly colored, whimsical and cheerful enamel and diamond jewelry was a big trend in the Natural Diamond Council 2020 holiday trend report.
A recent article titled “8 Outdated Jewelry Trends We’re Phasing Out” featured an interesting perspective on the ins and outs of jewelry design.
Author Anna LaPlaca—whom we’ve quoted before—acknowledges that jewelry design trends have a longer shelf life than seasonal clothing trends. As we say in the industry, “evolution, not revolution.” It should also be noted that WhoWhatWear covers both fine and nonprecious fashion jewelry, so some of the trends might indeed be somewhat short-lived in the nonprecious category.
For fine jewelry, however, it’s better to add in some of the new trends but think carefully and check your sales reports before ditching an older trend. Sometimes there’s an easy way to style them so they look more current. Here’s LaPlaca’s take and our thoughts on each.
She says: Chunky rings are in, delicate rings are phasing out.
We say: Add some chunky rings to your mix but don’t ditch the delicate rings just yet. Update them by showing them in a stack for a bigger look.
“Jolie” ring is sterling silver vermeil (plated with pink gold or white rhodium) and features an oval coated with diamond dust, from Rebecca Gioielli.
Gold and diamond cocktail ring from Rahaminov.
She says: DIY, camp-inspired jewelry is out, timeless classics are in.
We say: You can never go wrong with timeless classics.
Half-bezel diamond line bracelet in 18k white gold, 7.60 ctw. A. Link.
She says: Ear cuffs are out, unusual pearl earrings are in.
We say: Ear cuffs weren’t a big fine-jewelry category to begin with, but artistic and distinctive pearl earrings are well worth adding. Unusual baroque pearls can be more affordable than perfect rounds, too.
Baroque pearl earrings in 18k white gold with diamonds. Yoko London.
She says: Rainbow [of] stones are out, simpler pieces are in.
We say: People who love color love it, no matter what’s “in” or “out.” But you also can’t go wrong with simple diamond classics.
L Collection diamond necklace in 18k rose gold. Mémoire.
She says: Drop earrings are out, unconventional hoops are in.
We say: Hoops are always in and it’s absolutely worthwhile to add a few unusual ones to your showcase. But don’t write off drops anytime soon, especially versatile sizes like Yoko London's pearl drops, above.
Squared-off open hoops in sterling silver rose gold vermeil dusted with black. Pesavento.
She says: Phasing out gold jewelry, excited about silver jewelry
We say: Not so fast. The fashion pendulum always swings, so it’s worthwhile to add some more silver options (or platinum or white gold), but it’s still very much a yellow-gold fashion cycle. A bonus point, however, is that silver is more affordable for anything big and chunky.
Sterling silver necklace with 3 mm paperclip chain and 15mm mother-of-pearl heart and CZ accents. Charles Garnier Paris.
She says: Saturated shades are out, clear pieces are in.
We say: Happy, bright, whimsical enamel-and-diamond pieces (top image) are still on-trend. But there’s always room for moonstone, clear quartz, and other neutral stones.
Gold and moonstone ring, Ray Griffiths.
She says: Nameplate jewelry is out, birthstone jewelry is in.
We say: Birthstone jewelry is always a safe bet, but like drop earrings, don’t write off the nameplate just yet.