Holiday engagements drive sales
Christmas, it was the most matrimonial time of the year. That's the assessment of Butler County jewelers who counted engagement rings as some of their biggest sellers during the holidays.
Shelly Mathew of Mathew Jewelers, with shops in Zelienople and the Streets of Cranberry in Cranberry Township, said engagement ring sales always rise in the time leading up to Christmas.
“I don't know if it was the quarantine or the COVID experience (that) made people think about life more than they would, and what they want out of life and love,” said Mathew.
“Christmas is the busiest time of the year for us,” she said.
That's been the experience of Stephen Goslaw, the owner of Robert Stephens Custom Jewelers, 141 N. Main St., Butler.“There's been quite a few people buying them,” he said of engagement rings. “It's just been pretty steady the whole, entire year and not just at Christmastime.”Mathew thought ring sales increase during the holidays because families gather together, making the engagement announcement easier to spread.“It's part of the Christmas magic,” said Mathew. “All the family is together for when they make the announcement.”Both jewelers said the prospective grooms aren't making the ring decisions on their own.If they are trying to keep the gift a surprise, according to Mathew, the buyer will bring in his girlfriend's mother, sister or best friend to help him pick out a ring his soon-to-be fiancee will like.“They might go into Pinterest to see what she might like,” said Mathew. “With a larger purchase, they might come in together to make sure it is the right thing.”Mathew said oval shapes and twin diamond bands were popular sellers this year.Mathew and Goslaw said men, themselves, are getting a little more selective about their wedding rings“Still, most men tend to stick to a traditional plain band, or maybe incorporate white gold and yellow gold,” she said.Yellow gold is seeing a resurgence in popularity, Goslaw said, while platinum and rose gold rings are declining in popularity.“It's still white and rose gold,” said Mathew. “But we've seen a lot of yellow gold coming back into demand.”Often prospective buyers aren't satisfied with the stock on hand in the jewelry cases.Mathew and Goslaw said there is a growing trend for customers to want to design their own rings.“A lot of times they have a ring from Grandma, or loose diamonds or rings that have mountings that won't fit a stone they want to buy,” said Goslaw.Buyers can design their own rings and bring their ideas to Goslaw.Using Robert Stephens' computer-assisted design station, the jeweler can transform a customer's sketched-out ring idea into a three-dimensional image.“Once we get their OK, we can have their ring ready in two to four weeks,” said Goslaw.“Depending on the casting of the mounting, we can set the stones here,” he added“People want to design their own rings,” said Mathew. “We can help them through the process.Mathew Jewelers has an in-house jeweler who can create a custom-designed piece of jewelry in about a month.“Often, they might have Grandma's diamond. They want to use that as a cornerstone and have us set it into a band for them,” she said.And perhaps, Mathew said, a long-married couple wants to “trade up” a wedding ring.“The first ring might have been bought when they were just out of high school and it was all they could afford,” she said. “Now they want to have a larger diamond.”
