A number of jewellers have reported an increase in sales of wedding and engagement jewellery during and after lockdown.
The first weeks after non-essential shops were allowed to reopen on 15 June, in particular, saw a boom in demand, UK jewellers told Professional Jeweller.
Helen Molloy, owner of Forum Jewellers in Dorset, said: “There was pent-up demand for a large number of watch batteries, jewellery and watch repairs, but also gifts for celebrations that had occurred during lockdown, with a larger number of eternity and engagement ring sales than normal.”
Jos Skeates, co-founder and -owner of EC One, a jeweller in Clerkenwell, central London, concurred. He said: “We have seen an increase in appointments to discuss engagement rings and wedding bands, which has been helped by a new booking system through our website.”
The pair agreed that the increased demand for engagement rings in particular had helped them weather the recent storm of lockdown and low footfall post-lockdown.
Though she did not mention wedding jewellery, Harriet Kelsall of Harriet Kelsall Jewellery described the flipside of the low traffic jewellers have seen: “It was fairly quiet,” she said of the weeks immediately post-lockdown, “but those in were there to buy.”
Another London jeweller recently reported an increased interest in wedding jewellery inspired by starlets of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Read more below:
