What girl doesn’t love jewelry; something shiny, something sparkly, something that makes her eyes light up? That’s why we Spy on Fortunoff Fine Jewelry. Recently Spy on Trends interviewed Fortunoff owner Esther Fortunoff about trends in jewelry.
Jewelry remains a hot commodity in any economy. From the classic to the ultra hip and trendy jewelry is the go to gift for those special occasions. Whether it’s a gift for someone special or for yourself, every girl should have at least one beautiful piece of jewelry according to Fortunoff.
Q: In today’s market is there a particular price point Americans are willing to pay for a nice piece of jewelry?
A: I would say that if a woman wants to buy something for herself just for fun, just because it’s nice to be able to have a new earring to accessorize with, the price point would probably be $200 to $600 or $700. Not higher than that. A lot of times people are looking for gifts and they don’t want to spend more than $100. It’s a gift for their child, friend, or birthday party or something. So we always try to have gifts under $100.
It’s really pretty hard to have a piece of fine jewelry that’s genuine stones, sterling silver, or 
something that I would consider to have a little big of lasting value to be under $50. Under $50 will limit you just to sterling silver, maybe some pearls; but would be a lot of what we call in the trade,
costume jewelry.
Q: What is the most common occasion for a jewelry purchase?
A: I want to say a wedding anniversary after Christmas. I mean Christmas and Hanukkah is probably the most reliable jewelry purchase, but birthdays and anniversaries would be next.
Q: And are men the primary purchaser or women?
A: I think online in ecommerce, men have become—for the Fortunoff business—a bigger part of our mix. I would say that women often chose their own gift and secretly somehow managed to convey what they wanted. So I would say men are the purchaser, but the question is where did he get that idea?
Q: What are the top five pieces of jewelry within the $50 to $1000 range that every woman should have?
A: A cultured pearl earring, they really just light up your face in a way whether it’s a white pearl or even a gray pearl. It has that iridescence. I think every single woman should own one, whether she has pierced ears or not. You can find the pearl earring from probably $75 up to $7,500 with a 
south sea pearl. So to me a cultured pearl earring would be the number one thing I would think most people would want. And probably a gold chain or a chain that you could put charms on
or wear alone would be for sure something that everyone should own. I like also, the idea of having a pearl necklace of some sort. You can get something that really looks nice under $150, even $100 if you have to. You can dress it up and you can dress it down. I also do think that a nice silver bracelet would be one of the top five for sure.
Every woman should have at least a ring, whether she is married or not, with probably a diamond band or a diamond cocktail ring or fashion ring. And diamond stud earrings too.
Q: It is said diamonds are your best friends, what precious stone is your best 
seller?
A: I would say the precious stone that’s our best seller right now is probably amethyst.
Q: Interesting. Do you understand why?
A: Well it’s not too expense. I mean amethyst is among the group of stones that are often referred to as semi-precious, which would be like amethyst, topaz, garnet, to trim peridot;
that family. It seems that the sort of faint purplish to the deep purple has been fairly trending in the past few years with the look of the darkened metal, the blackened tones, and the sort of slightly edgier jewelry look. I think amethyst just looks nice with either yellow gold or white gold, or silver. For a long time I would have answered topaz. And probably years before that I would
have said sapphire. But amethyst.
Q: You mentioned darker metals and an edgier look. Do you think these edgier looks are lasting pieces?
A: Well I do think they can be lasting pieces if they’re not too crazy looking. Funny, because I 
think with fine jewelry, it will grow in and out of style over time. If it’s appropriate now, you may not want to wear it in five years but you really might want to wear it in 10 or 15 years. I just was looking at some of the silver jewelry that I’ve owned for 20 years and I’m wearing it again.
Check out extraordinary jewelry for any occasion at www.fortunoff.com
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