Season Recap

As we quickly approach the Mother’s Day holiday and begin to celebrate our mothers, I find myself reflecting on the recently passed “season” here on beautiful Marco Island. Our busy little shop is in the process of shifting into a more laid-back routine. We will soon close on Saturdays for the summer and look forward to being closed all of September. I have been studying my showcases carefully to understand what items were most in demand so I can get ready to gear up for next year. It’s always a challenge predicting trends and anticipating what people are going to buy in the future. I try to offer an eclectic mix of classic designs and more modern, interesting pieces. It may sound like fun looking at jewelry all the time and making large inventory purchases, but it can get confusing and overwhelming, too. Not to mention the fact that my father and I have differing tastes and often argue over what’s attractive and what is not. Jewelry trends are like South Florida hurricanes - they come and they go. For example, a few months ago, the singer/actress Selena Gomez was presented a huge eight or nine-carat marquis-cut diamond engagement ring; the media was all over it. This has immediately caused a demand for marquis-cut diamonds. I have already had several inquiries and resulting sales.

We have to be careful not to buy in too heavily with trends; they tend to end as quickly as they appear. A typical buying session for new stock between my father and me goes something like this:

Lindsay: “Hey, Dad. Look at this, how pretty is this?”

Dad: “Seriously, even a seeing eye dog would bark at their master not to buy that ugly piece. Nobody will buy that.”

Lindsay: “No no, this is cool. It’s a very hot design that is popular right now. Let’s try it.”

Dad: “Then buy it yourself! You’re not buying it with my money.”

Lindsay: “You’re old; you don’t know what is cool anymore.”

Rinse and repeat 500 times.

It could be when the planets, moons, and stars align in a certain way, and we actually agree to purchase the same pieces of jewelry. He is finally beginning to understand that after thirty-one years on the island, many of his clientele and their taste in jewelry have moved on to more heavenly pastures. In other words, he has his thirty-something-year loyal customers, and I have been building my own here and now customer base. So, I will purchase the pieces I like with my own money, hence my Jeweler’s Daughter line of my special handpicked jewelry that I keep separate in the store. Overall, it works out pretty well; all our customers enjoy our uniquely individual points of view.

It's true some of our older clients perceive Dad’s current traveling sojourns a bit excessive. He’s 71 years old and has been in the biz over 50 years. I tell them to cut him some slack and let him continue his comings and goings. I’m grateful sooner or later, when he does return for a spell. On a good note, he rarely fails finding unusual jewelry from overseas manufacturers that you cannot find here in the states.

Our discovery of Hawaiian sea life jewelry designers over twenty years ago, such as Denny Wong and Alamea, are still our most popular selling gold and sterling pieces to islander’s and visitors alike. They include tropical flowers, palm trees, and all kinds of aquatic life. Our selection of diamond nautical compass pendants is an outstanding example. Dad has brought back to Marco the latest styles from Paris, Milan, and Florence, not to mention high-end sterling silver from Germany, Spain, and even Scandinavia. He’s looking forward this summer to his visit to Greece and surrounding countries. Many foreign pieces were extremely popular for years, and some fizzled out like a shooting star in just one season. You never know what will work until you try. That’s why we are always searching for new and exciting sources, keeping things new and exciting. Besides, who wants boring jewelry?

I’m very excited about the very reasonable price of lab diamonds. This has given me an affordable material to work with to design the jewelry of your dreams. Stop in to see our fantastic selection of finished lab diamond jewelry. I also have a nice selection of loose labs perfect for building the piece of jewelry perfect for you. As always, thank you, Marco Island, for including us in your gift giving. We take that responsibility very seriously and look forward to continuing to offer our services to you for many more years.