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As the fine jewellery market continues to stumble through the recession, a lucrative hole in the sector has been discovered. Bold statement pieces from the likes of high fashion houses Marni and Lanvin, made with little more than a few pieces of coloured resin and a grosgrain ribbon, are growing in popularity with consumers. Many other tiffany jewelry designer brands – from Donna Karan to Versace – are keen to exploit this new-found territory.
“There is huge growth potential in this [fashion] category,” says Bridget Cosgrave, buying and fashion director at London boutique Matches, who is aiming her fashion house jewellery ranges at both regular clothes-buying customers and a new fashion jewellery collector who will pay thousands for the newest costume pieces. These include Lanvin’s “Pom Pom” necklace, made with ragged coral grosgrain ribbon and artificial pearls and coming in at a not insignificant 545. According to Cosgrave, sales of jewellery at Matches have grown 50 per cent in the past two years, and jewellery now accounts for 20 per cent of the company’s total sales. Investment potential and sales could, she says, rise to the same level as bags and shoes in coming months.
Fashion jewellery is one of online retailer Net-a-Porter’s fastest-growing categories; new ranges from Donna Karan, Versace and Isabel Marant are launching this month and will sit alongside pieces from Marni, Oscar de la Renta and Stella McCartney. Browns boutique now differentiates its fine and fashion jewellery offering on its retail website, with Alexander Wang, and two of London’s rising design stars, Holly Fulton and Mary Katrantzou, recently launching statement jewellery collections.
Franois Curiel, Christies’ international head of jewellery, says: “Whereas 15 or 20 years ago the fashion houses were doing fashion, now they’re doing jewellery too”.
“The jewellery business is worth something like $10bn a year – before you factor in diamonds – so I guess, tiffany bangles yes, they’d like a little bit of that. But also, a fan of Dior feels more comfortable buying a Dior necklace than going through the door of a jewellery house where she doesn’t know anyone and doesn’t feel comfortable.”
Traditional jewellers are surprised at the level of growth of what Charlotte Collard, a Zurich-based model-turned-gemologist, calls the “casual jewellery” or “chic accessories” market. “Diamonds and precious stones have lost a lot of value since the start of the crisis,” she admits. But “to me [chic accessories] are not part of the jewellery world because they usually have no precious materials or stones, and are worn like sunglasses, bags and shoes – they’re made from the same materials. As such they’re never going to appreciate in value, and there is little exclusivity to them.”
This doesn’t seem to deter consumers. As being on trend becomes more important than wearing precious jewels – particularly in an era where conspicuous consumption is frowned upon – advances in quick and cheap jewellery production have allowed fashion houses to supply exciting new collections each season. And some do use semi-precious stones. According to Matthew Girling, Bonhams’ chief executive, this leap has been facilitated by production switching from tiny workshops in Europe, where individuals would set stones by hand, to workshops around the world where machines can help to “make jewellery with gems and gold or metals in much larger quantities. Which means you don’t have to wait so long for them, and so you can change to keep up with fashion.”
As a result, the most successful jewellers are those with a foot in both camps. Jeweller Pippa Small opened a store in Los Angeles in the thick of the recession last November and reports demand from actresses and creatives for her fashionable approach to gemstones. Rather than witnessing smaller spends, she is selling “a lot more statement tiffany rings pieces”. “There’s a psychological attitude of getting something beautiful and bold that will make you smile and make you happy,” she says.
And, according to auction houses, these fashion-led pieces may in time prove investment buys as much as traditional fine jewellery pieces are. “There are several things that make something a worthwhile investment,” says Girling, “and with something new it’s often hard to gauge. But if historians look back and there were some good designs that stood out and were deemed to be collectable, some will be worth considerably more in 40 or 50 years. If something is significant or new, people will latch on to it.”