The Fine Jewelry Boom Continues at Couture Las Vegas
Like all industries, recession concerns are top of mind in the fine jewelry market, but at this year’s Couture Vegas show both buyers and designers were steadfast about the category’s potential to weather an economic downturn.
The 2023 show saw around 350 exhibitors and it is understood attendance numbers were significantly higher than last year’s show at the Wynn Las Vegas, underscoring the resilience of the category.
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“After all was said and done, there were some great surprises that got us excited and left us with more than we can possibly sell, which is a great position to be in,” explained Ylang23 founder Joanne Teichman. “Honestly, we haven’t left feeling this positive about the newness since pre-COVID[-19] times.”
Teichman, like many of the buyers walking the show floor, picked up several designers and post show was still finalizing her new additions. Her new brands included Jade Ruzzo, Lauren Rubinski and Octavia Elizabeth.
“I’m obsessed with Jade’s Tennessee diamond fringe designs and Jade’s cabochon work has a beautiful aesthetic. Lauren’s line of mostly oversized gold chains also caught our eye, as the look will anchor so many finer layering chains without weighing down the wearer’s neck. Octavia’s hand-finished jewelry is also being added for a laid-back luxury look. We think it’s going to be a great season.”
Once again the show kicked off with the Wednesday preview event, providing industry veterans a chance to reconnect and mix mingle with new talent, and get a head start on buying.
“Over the past three years, I have been fortunate to forge meaningful friendships within this community,” said Milamore chief executive officer and founder George Inaki Root, who is in his last year in the Design Atelier, an area at the event to discover new talent. “The Couture team themselves are incredibly supportive for young brands and I truly appreciate all of the advise and support they have given me these past three years.”
“I have noticed that my collection has generated significant interest among clients from the Middle East and the U.K. [buyers], while the response from the American market has been comparatively less pronounced. I am optimistic that this trend will lead to fruitful outcomes for Milamore,” he reported, adding that he had a fast-paced week at the show.
As a young brand, Root understands that the economy can be unpredictable but, “instead of being consumed by worries about potential recessions, I choose to maintain a positive mindset and focus on targeting clients who continue to thrive during these times. I am fortunate that my brand has yet to reach its peak, allowing the business organic growth and stability.”
Legacy diamond brand Kwiat’s CEO Greg Kwiat also sees a clientele that is buoyant despite the economic insecurity.
“Both of our brands, Kwiat and Fred Leighton, operate at the high end of the luxury jewelry market. Our experience is that this portion of the market is resilient and much more recession resistant,” he said. “There has been significant wealth saved and created over the period since the pandemic, and this led to extraordinary strength in the market in the years 2021 and 2022.”
The executive said the current year has been “normal” relative to historical trends, “yet overall still quite strong. If the U.S. economy was to enter a gentle to moderate recession, we expect that high luxury will continue to perform reasonably well against that backdrop.”
The brand leaned into storytelling and transparency with the end consumer, introducing the Mine to Shine program, which “marries the exceptional quality of our diamonds with the transparency of the diamond’s journey from its origin to a finished ring.”
Kwiat said clients are looking for a more personal and experiential approach to buying a diamond and “by educating them and involving them more fully in the process, they become more deeply engaged and invested in the ultimate outcome.”
Diamonds are perennially a big trend at the show, with the strongest growth seen in ideas for diamonds for day, styles women can wear day-to-day, adding a special touch to their jewelry rotation.
“This year felt like all of the good mood in our industry was restored and we anticipate a vibrant holiday season. Certainly our best since before COVID conditions,” said Gismondi 1754 CEO and creative director Massimo Gismondi. “There is no doubt that interest in high-quality jewelry and creativity is increasing.”
The CEO said buyers “were eager to write orders for the most interesting pieces and were excited by the newness and our advancing technology with Vita for suspended stones, something that we have not seen before in the industry and took over six months to engineer.”
For the first time they showed Vendorafa on its own, “with only a few new pieces. The full new collections I am designing with my team will be ready for Vicenzaoro in the fall, but the appetite for the brand is interesting,” he said, adding that “bold gold cuffs, sculptural earrings, architectural shaped rings are still moving the buyers.”
While yellow gold reigned supreme at the 2023 show, there also was an increase in white gold and platinum pieces. “We’ve had a major uptick in requests for white pieces this past year, so for the first time ever we brought some of our best-selling styles like the Crown Hoops and Crown Cuff to show at Couture in 18-karat white gold with both florentine and polished finishes,” Kim Carosella, co-owner of Sorellina, said.
The brand collaborated with the Platinum Guild on a piece for the Las Vegas show, with the creatives reporting that the bright white quality of platinum “highlights diamonds and colored stones, allowing them to shine in their purest natural color. We used this opportunity to push our limits and design a piece unlike anything we’ve made before,” Nicole Carosella, co-owner and designer of Sorellina, said.
Their hard work paid off, as the brand took home first place at the Design Awards in the platinum category.
Another blooming trend was an influx of colored stones, enamel and titanium.
“Standouts in color were Sylva & Cie, Emily P. Wheeler, Suzanne Kalan, Nadine Aysoy, Sorellina and Jacquie Aiche,” explained Elyse Walker’s senior vice president of jewelry Alex Lippin.
He listed other important trends for the bicoastal store: “We loved the vintage inspired designs from Jenna Blake, Jade Ruzzo and Beck. There was definitely an emphasis on modern geometric shapes and movement by Rainbow K, Melissa Kaye, Jade Trau, Ondyn, ARK Fine Jewelry and Cadar. Lastly, the whimsical designs inspired by nature from Dezso by Sara Beltran, Harwell Godfrey and Logan Hollowell were not to be missed.”
Color being an essential part of Emily P. Wheeler’s brand DNA, the designer said, “It’s encouraging to see the excitement around colored stones continue to grow. Our signature ombré gemstone combinations have proven successful, and buyers have been particularly receptive to our one-of-a-kind designs that have a unique perspective and application of the palette,” adding that buyers she met with had their eyes particularly on the big colorful rings as a statement piece. This “falls right in with our ever-growing repertoire of our signature Chubby Rings. We also introduced our one-of-a-kind Balance Rings, which take the same idea of bold hardstone and gemstone pairings to another level in a more cocktail ring-style format.”
The addition on men’s specific collections saw significant growth at the show, with both established and emerging brands alike both looking to capture a piece of the market, which is understood to have untapped potential.
“We always felt that we would launch a men’s collection,” reported Walter’s Faith co-founder Stephanie Abramow. “But the timing and execution needed to be just right. While we are a long way from where we would like to be, we are more established today than we were two to three years ago, and this seemed like the right time for us to go forward with men’s.”
Abramow said the debut was “was well received by new and existing accounts at Couture and we look forward to getting the product into these doors and onto our customers,” with plans to continue to grow the collection.
Retailer Broken English’s Laura Freedman called men’s jewelry an underserved market, and while they haven’t addressed it specifically, she sees a trend of many of her male clients “wearing several of the established lines that we carry like Anita Ko, Shay, Marina B and Foundrae. Much of what we carry is unisex, and it’s refreshing to have our male clients embrace their love of jewelry. It was great to see more of our designers lean into this at the show this year. Vram just launched a collection with men in mind. Elior is doing a line that is intentionally non-gender-specific. Kloto is doing a line for men and lines like Arunashi are creating space for one-of-kinds that are great for guys. It’s about time we gave men the go ahead to have fun with jewelry.”
At the other end of the spectrum with 20-plus years in business, Sydney Evan designer Rosanne Karmes also sees a male customer primed for her spiritual beads and gemstones.
“I first started designing men’s jewelry for Sydney Evan 15 years ago, but I officially launched the collection last year, as I saw the demand in the market was stronger than ever,” Karmes said. “Jewelry is no longer a category reserved just for women, and over the past several years we have seen an uptick in men wearing in both formal and everyday settings.”
She credits several leading men in Hollywood who have “helped propel the increased popularity of jewelry within the male demographic,” naming Justin Bieber, Jaden Smith, Harry Styles, and A$AP Rocky as setting the trend, which she sees trickling down to retail. “Men appreciate the sentiment of jewelry just as much as women, along with the craftsmanship, design, and style components,” Karmes said.
Another way brands are spreading their wings is expanding their price point, like Melissa Kaye, who added pieces to her offering over $100,000 for the first time. “The demand for high quality diamond jewelry continues to grow, and the idea of what can be worn every day is changing,” Kaye said. “Women are not only looking for simple layering pieces, but also statement jewelry to elevate looks as casual as a t-shirt and jeans. Knowing that the consumer interest for more significant silhouettes is there, paired with our own focus on classic diamond-forward jewelry, we were naturally motivated to expand our offering with higher price point pieces.”
The show saw other legacy brands return to the fold, like Buccelatti ,which after 10 years came back to Couture, showcasing their collections at their boutique in the Wynn esplanade, which opened in January 2022. “It was great to be back,” co-creative director, Lucrezia Buccellati said. “The show draws the finest retailers and press in the industry. We had an active and successful three days, with positive feedback regarding the remarkable hand craftsmanship of our collections.”
She continued, “it’s important to stay abreast of the ever-changing business developments and opportunities in the North American market. Couture gives us the platform to share and learn from top tier retailers, strengthen existing relationships, and build new partnerships, which are key to our success.”
Buccellati reported “meaningful growth in the Vegas market” for the brand with its Opera Tulle Collection, “specifically pendants, bracelets, and earrings have been very popular with clients who recently discovered the brand.”
This year’s Design Awards saw a strong showing of French brands taking home awards but also notable was that there were many first time exhibitors named as finalists and winners. “Our jewelry is a bit different or disruptive, it requires some more intricate discussion and time to understand our technology, design philosophy and treatments,” said Enrico Peruffo, CEO of Peruffo, which took home a first place in Best in Debut. “There was passion, interest and time with the right buyers and stores to do this.”
“Usually the fairs are quite big and disperse, independent or even cold. At Couture, buyers and vendors are very friendly and intimate, sharing moments together during the whole week with a very friendly sort of camaraderie and collaboration mode between vendors. This is quite unusual in our competitive industry,” Peruffo said, adding that the brand opened multiple new accounts including Neiman Marcus, all “surpassing our expectations.”
“Here you find here the best American retailers, who are always very oriented in finding new trends and new talents to discover,” he said.
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