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Ladies and gentlemen of all ages wear it. It can be bright and glittery, smooth and subtle, priceless and plastic. Jewelry. It may very well have been the first gift personalized. Most of us wear at least one type of jewelry every day, even if it is as simple as a wristwatch, and some of us wear a lot of it every day. The ways in which it is worn ranges from elegant—think Audrey Hepburn—o excessive—think Mr. T.—but no matter how it is worn, jewelry is an expression of personality through accessory style. Jewelry is also a symbolic gift. When given for the right reasons, it carries more emotion and sincere meaning than any other, with the sole exception of personalized gifts.

Jewelry and personalization are a perfect match.

SHOULD YOU SELL JEWELRY?

Many of you may already offer jewelry and make excellent profits from the high margins it offers (at many different price points), and good for you. If you do not yet offer it, while jewelry and personalization may be an ideal and romantic match, that does not necessarily mean that they make sense for your business. Jewelry is not an exception to the mandatory question asked of any new product for your store: Can I sell it to my customers?

More than likely, the answer to this question is yes. If they come into your store, they are usually open to the idea of custom gifts, and personalized jewelry should be an easy sell to them.

“People often want a memento of a certain special occasion, and jewelry is a very effective memento,” says Bob Lepper of John E. Lepper Co. in Attleboro, Massachusetts, who have been in business for 50 years.

According to Alicia Storbeck of HeartStrings in Auburn, Alabama, everyone is a potential jewelry customer. “Rather than a demographic like age or gender, it’s an attitude. Jewelry is for men and women. The person who buys monogrammed jewelry understands the intrinsic value of personalization, and wants to set themselves apart in that way. Whether bought as a gift for someone or as a self purchase, personalized jewelry makes a statement. It is unique, to the individual. It is truly theirs in a way that something picked up off of the shelf at Wal-Mart can never be.”

She adds that, “Jewelry is a fantastic category, and accessories are booming right now. Personalized accessories are always in style, but they have never been more popular than in the past few years. With the right product line and an eye-catching display, it is a very easy sell.”

THE JEWELRY

Once you have decided to offer jewelry, another question awaits: What jewelry should I carry? Considering that just about any piece of jewelry can be engraved or personalized in some other way, this is not an easy question to answer. Fortunately, there are quite a few gifts made specifically for personalization. We talked to a handful of suppliers to see what they had to offer.

“We offer men’s and women’s lines. The men’s line is plated brass tie bars and tacks, money clips, cufflinks and other items of that nature. The John E. Lepper Co.’s women’s line is pewter lockets, pendants, cuff bracelets and more,” says Lepper.

While most of their products are for rotary engraving, Lepper adds that, “We also sell blank tags and plated brass which people laser engrave with photos and logos.”

Storbeck says that HeartStrings Enterprises offers an extensive selection of sterling silver engravable jewelry. “As engraved jewelry is the core of our business, we are constantly developing new styles that fit with today’s trends in fashion accessories, as well as expanding our classic line.”

Bernard Halpern of Golden Graphics in Hallandale, Florida, says that, “We offer 14k gold and sterling silver jewelry. We also sell rhodium-plated and stainless steel jewelry to allow for multiple price points.”

Halpern adds that, “Golden Graphics has dog tags, hearts, ovals, rectangles and round shapes in four different sizes. They range in style: some have inlaid onyx and crystal, and others have rope designs and filigree.”

Ralph Evans of Zymages in Avondale, Arizona, says that, “We offer Italian charms for full-color personalization, made from stainless steel.”

Evans notes that one of the benefits of adding charms to your gift line is that there are many customers out there who already have bracelets. Rather than selling them on the idea of an entirely new gift, you will be selling them full-color charms to fill in the blanks on the bracelets they already have.

Brent Kurosawa of Charmed Expressions in Rocklin, California, who also offers modular charms of the Italian variety, agrees, adding that, “These charms and bracelets are truly keepsake pieces that can become heirlooms shared for generations.”

Kurosawa adds that their photo memory and laser engraved charms are made of 100% stainless steel and 18k gold layering. “We offer a number of different custom photo memory charm styles including: 9mm, 13mm, Superlink, Birthstone Dangly Hearts, Birthstone Dangly Circles, Birthstone Dangly Rectangles and an Engraved Locket. We also offer different styles of laser engraved charms including: 9mm (Matted, 18K Trim and 18K Center), Superlink (Matted, 18K Trim and 18K Center) and 13mm Matted.” He adds that they sell a number of specialty line items as well.

BEST SELLERS

Obviously, there is a good selection of jewelry specific to the personalization market. Of course, some of them will sell better than others. Which are the most popular?

Evans says the most popular item from Zymages is their 9 mm charm, which is the industry standard. He adds that they also carry a 13mm charm, which is the most popular size for men. “Also available is a double-link, which we call a Mega Charm, and that has 18mm charms which link two bracelets together, making it double stranded. Then there is the Super Link which is 9mm but is twice as long as a standard, which is very popular for larger images.”

Kurosawa says the best-selling items from Charmed Expressions are their Custom Photo Memory charms and Custom Laser Engraved charms.

Regarding the items from Golden Graphics that garner the most attention, Halpern says, “Jewelry stores primarily stick to 14k gold, and the different styles of hearts are very popular, one of which is a heart with a rope around it with a protective crystal. For the non-precious metal jewelry, the dog tags are easily the best sellers.”

For the John E. Lepper Co., “Our best-selling men’s items are our money clips, and I’ve got about 50 or 60 different patterns of the same one-inch money clip. For women, we sell quite a few heart lockets and cuff bracelets,” says Lepper.

Within HeartStrings’ line, Storbeck says, “There is a core classic line that is untouchable in sales, unless of course, you are talking about the trendy new ribbon jewelry, which is exceeding all sales expectations. Then there are the Mother’s bracelets that make the perfect gift for the mother and/or grandmother that have everything. There are also engraved pens for men of all ages.”

For her classic line, Storbeck says the best-selling items are a collection of clean, classic styles that are easily wearable and appropriate for a range of ages. They also make great gifts for graduation, bridesmaids, etc., which are big purchasing occasions for personalized jewelry.

Storbeck adds that HeartStrings’ best-selling trendy items over the past year have been their Grosgrain ribbon jewelry, which her customers tell her are adorable. “The ribbon bracelets feature an engraved sterling silver slide that allows the customer to interchange the ribbons to match her outfits. Matching necklaces are available in each ribbon style, and we have a great selection of pendants to go with them. We have never seen ribbons as popular as these.”

PERSONALIZED BY?

Once you have decided on the jewelry you feel best fits your marketplace, there is another decision to be made, but luckily, this is one of convenience. Do you personalize the jewelry or have the supplier do it for you?

With some companies, such as the John E. Lepper Co., the decision is easy. They don’t offer the service of engraving for fear it would interfere with the business of their customers.

Other companies, such as HeartStrings, offer both blank and engraved jewelry.

Storbeck says that at HeartStrings, “We sell the service of engraving, and it’s really a big benefit for retailers. Rather than make the investment in a machine, training, operators and inventory, retailers can simply put our display in their store and let us do all of that. Our display takes up a lot less room than an engraving machine, so it’s practical.”

If you have thought about adding engraving to your store, but are having second thoughts, Storbeck makes the case for adding personalization without the machine. According to her, it is a question of spending a few hundred dollars versus thousands, as well as dealing with operating expenses. The owner of many, many rotary engraving machines, this is something she knows about firsthand. However, HeartStrings does sell their gifts to stores who do their own engraving.

Evans notes that Zymages both personalizes their charms and sells them blank. “We typically send out orders within two or three days of receiving them. We also have wholesalers, such as Johnson Plastics, who sell our charms.”

For those who personalize their own charms, Evans says that, “Because these charms are so much smaller than what decorators usually sublimate, we have developed an entire program for them. Our program begins with a starter kit, which has in it a CD with templates for alignment and a jig which is set up to match the alignment template.”

Not only does Golden Graphics personalize and sell blanks, “We actually sell equipment as well. We sell the MPX 60 and sublimation systems, and we will mirror polish items for the MPX and satin enamel items for sublimation,” says Halpern. He adds that Golden Graphics’ jewelry can also be laser engraved.

MINIMUMS AND TURNAROUND TIME

When first introducing a new product to your store, there is always the risk that it may not be popular with your customers. For this reason, and also because you simply may not have room for much inventory, low minimums are very nice.

Kurosawa says that Charmed Expressions personalizes with a 72-hour or less turnaround, and they have no set minimums.

Lepper says that, “We don’t hold too fast on the minimums, and we supply samples. Once someone is doing business with us, we like to get at least 12 assorted pieces for an order.”

Evans says that Zymages sells their charms in sticks of ten, which is their minimum for blanks. The minimum for decorated charms is one, and he adds that the average charm bracelet has 18 charms.

Storbeck says that, “When HeartStrings is going to personalize for you, the minimum order is one of our starter programs for $295. That gets you set up and ready to go with samples, order forms, catalogs, etc. After that, there is never a minimum. You can order one piece or 10,000 pieces at a time. Buying blanks from us is not much different. We do ask for a $100 minimum first-time order, but re-orders are filled based on the needs of the customer.” She adds that orders are generally shipped within 24 hours of being received.

Halpern says that Golden Graphics has no minimums, although they do offer bulk discounts. “Our turnaround time is generally the same day. We have several thousand jewelry and gift stores around the country that order from us, and if they get their order in to us by two o’clock Eastern Time, it usually ships the same day. That is true for both blank and personalized jewelry.”

DISPLAY

Some companies also offer a way to display their jewelry.

For HeartStrings, Storbeck says that they created a display that works on your countertop. “The pendants and earrings are mounted on a black velvet board that is inserted into a silver frame. Bracelets and rings are in separate display fixtures that go alongside the board. It is a display that takes up about one square foot of counter space.”

Kurosawa says that Charmed Expressions offers a variety of display methods to suit any retailer’s needs, from large display cases to small display trays.

“The best way to display charm bracelets is on their arm,” says Evans. “Other than that, we offer display units, cases and folios.”

Halpern says that Golden Graphics offers a counter display, “They are acrylic stands that hold our color brochures, and we have gold-plated brass samples that they put into their showcases.”

SOLD?

No matter what items you decide to carry or how you choose to personalize them, jewelry is a great friend to personalization. It is easy to add to your store’s product lines, and it is easy to sell. If you are reluctant to add it, for fear your customers may not buy, simply ask the next person who comes into your shop wearing jewelry: Would you buy personalized jewelry?

You know what to do from there.