One theory that's being bandied about by retail jewelers these days is that the crash might actually have helped a bit. The theory is the consumer might subconsciously lean toward jewelry when he or she fears that recession lurks around the corner. After all, if the worst materializes, you can always pawn the diamond earrings or gold watch.
"My gut feeling is that when people are sort of uneasy about the economy, and they have to give something, they will give something with more intrinsic value. If you have $500 to spend, you will spend it on fine jewelry rather than a designer dress," suggests Joseph Bergmann, president of Jewelmasters Inc.
Jewelmasters, a publicly traded company based in Florida, runs jewelry departments in department stores - including John Wanamaker and Bonwit Teller. The company has not disclosed results for the Christmas period. But Bergmann says sales at his company and competitors "generally outpaced regular retailing."
The results from the handful of public jewelry retailers that do release monthly sales numbers suggest a similar result. For example, Tiffany & Co., the New York-based jewelry and gift retailer, reported that sales rose 21 percent during the holiday period of Nov. 1 through Dec. 25, compared with the same period in 1986.
Bailey Banks & Biddle, Philadelphia's version of Tiffany's, said its own sales were up 19 percent from the previous December.
Zale Corp., the large Dallas-based chain that owns Bailey Banks, declined to release its own results. Wade Gafford simply said, "Sales were good. We are not complaining."
Barry's Jewelers Inc., a publicly traded California chain, said December sales rose 54 percent, though most of the gain came from newly opened stores. Store-for-store gains averaged 7 percent.
