Driven by design: retailers and sightholders are discovering margins are made, not mined.(JEWELRY of CHOICE)

Modern Jeweler, April, 2006 by Solotaroff, Ivan

A diamond ring in Marleton, New Jersey, catches my eye. Its price does as well, for in a glance it sums up the edicts of Supplier of Choice in 2006: Add value. Brand. Market. Sell on romance and luxury, not price. And let it be jewelry.

The ring is Escada, and it sits in the first showcase to the right as you enter the Bernie Robbins door at the Promenade at Sagemore, a Rodeo Driveesque mall in this affluent part of central Jersey. A 1.02 round brilliant is centered between the signature half-oval shanks forming the Escada heart, with white 18k gold shanks inlaid with 3.35 carats of micro-pave. The main event is a well-cut, very white stone with a touch of fluorescence, and the melee forms two luscious diamond walls. At the end of the day, however, from a...