Simone Stern Carbone, a BOF correspondent specializing in the jewelry market, and Joan Kennedy, who focuses on luxury novelty jewelry, dive into the thriving world of jewelry amidst a luxury sales slowdown. They explore how consumers view luxury jewelry as a safe investment while smaller brands create deep, personal connections with buyers. Kennedy highlights the emotional motivations behind jewelry purchases and shares how independent designers are successfully marketing their unique pieces by being relatable and innovative.
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insights INSIGHT
Jewelry Seen as Safer Investment
Jewelry is perceived as a safer investment than handbags due to tangible materials like gold and diamonds.
Prices of jewelry haven't increased as much as handbags, influencing consumer willingness to spend.
insights INSIGHT
Emotion Drives Jewelry Trends
Jewelry purchases are deeply emotional and the trend towards playful pieces reflects intensified consumer desire for personal connection.
Novelty jewelry thrives as shoppers seek items that spark emotion and personal relevance.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Playful Luxury: The Burger Ring
Designer Nadine Gozen's stackable hamburger ring uses fine materials to blend playfulness with luxury.
Other designers offer expensive fruit-themed collections combining high-value gems with whimsical concepts.
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As major luxury brands struggle to maintain momentum amid an industry-wide slowdown, one category is bucking the trend: jewellery. While demand for handbags and apparel softens, fine jewellery sales continue to rise, driven by consumer desire for lasting value, emotional resonance and self-expression.
Simone Stern Carbone and Joan Kennedy join The Debrief to discuss how independent jewellers are thriving with creativity and personality, the rising popularity of novelty pieces, and why jewellery is uniquely positioned to attract buyers in today's luxury market.
Key Insights:
Despite slowing luxury sales, jewellery sales have continued to boom. As Stern Carbone notes, consumers perceive luxury jewellery as an inherently safer investment. She says, “Instinctively, a lot of people associate jewellery – especially if it's got gold, gemstones or diamonds – with something you would dish out more money for more readily than for a handbag potentially made out of nylon.”
While big jewellery brands are growing, smaller competitors are booming as they foster deep customer relationships and maintain flexible, manageable supply chains. Stern-Carbone highlights, “Jewellery is so personal. When you have a very distinct aesthetic, you really connect with your customers long term, potentially for life. This is a really personal relationship that smaller brands can capitalise on.”
Kennedy emphasises that modern jewellery marketing resonates by being accessible and relatable. “One designer I spoke to puts her charm necklaces next to candy necklaces, so that feels fun,” she says. “A lot of these designers are doing things that are very lo-fi. It’s like a picture of a wrist on Instagram. And then they reply to DMs, like, ‘Hey, show me that bracelet with something else.’ So the way that they present it is also really relevant to shoppers, versus the very high-gloss and traditional style of high jewellery.”
Novelty jewellery began gaining popularity post-Covid. “People were buying camp jewellery, but they were paying $50 for a funky, colourful ring. And then more recently, people are like, okay, let’s bring in the value piece of this,” says Kennedy. Novelty jewellery has surged as consumers seek personal expression in response to uniform dressing and quiet luxury trends. Kennedy continues, “You're leaning into things that are uniform dressing, so how do we spice that up? Let's go for more novelty in jewellery.”
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