How to Display Jewelry: The Art of Visual Merchandising
Visual merchandising uses lighting, color, and layout techniques to display jewelry in a way that will encourage customers to buy. There are proven tools to help with this, such as stands, glass cases, and shelving that show every piece of jewelry off to its best advantage.
The right jewelry displays can transform your sales.
Why Jewelry Displays Matter
Jewelry displays are a way to highlight the features and benefits of your products. The right kind of lighting, for example, creates a feeling of warm luxury, which communicates a message to the customer. Jewelry displays are all about creating a great first impression and will actively shape how customers perceive these pieces. The ways in which you display jewelry influence buying decisions, including impulse purchases. High-quality displays can enhance the perceived value of statement pieces, encouraging customers to buy.
Consider jewelry displays as another kind of salesperson. The choices you make in highlighting pieces go a long way towards influencing a sale.
Besides showing them off to best advantage, jewelry display cases also keep merchandise clean, secure, and organized.
Core Principles of Jewelry Display
Keep jewelry display cases sparkling and dust-free. Highlight statement pieces using things like stands and risers for prominent placement. Ensure that the arrangement is balanced, both in placement and the proportions of the jewelry on things like busts to display necklaces.
Use lighting techniques, like ambient lighting or spotlights, to add drama, and maintain consistent color palettes throughout the display. Add relevant props to create a “story” and enhance perceived value. Small details like hiding the price tags and ensuring there’s not too much empty space in the jewelry display should be kept in mind.
Balance, Symmetry, and Focal Points
Consider the size and weight of each piece, and consider using larger pieces as the focal points within the display. Allow a little “white space” between the items so that the overall effect isn’t too cluttered.
The Role of Lighting and Color
Lighting plays an important role in visual merchandising. Use spotlights for drama or warmer lighting for a luxurious ambiance. Use colors to complement the pieces and pull the overall display together.
Choosing Materials That Match Your Brand
Consider the materials within your jewelry display as a way to tell a story. For example, using rich velvets or silk to show off your jewelry items communicates the elevated nature of your brand. Pieces shown at craft shows may benefit from a backdrop of down-to-earth materials like cotton or burlap.
Types of Jewelry Displays for Retail Success
Saga Display offers all kinds of professional display pieces to showcase necklaces, earrings, rings, and more. Each is created to present your jewelry in the best, most flattering way. A necklace display stand is perfect for showing off dramatic statement necklaces. Our earring display stand ensures that your gorgeous earrings don’t get overlooked by customers.
Using our pieces within your jewelry displays adds a professional touch, even if you’re showing your pieces at more low-key venues like craft shows.
Busts, Stands, Risers, and Trays Explained
Busts resemble the upper part of the torso and are used to display necklaces as they would naturally drape. They may be made from resin, velvet, or leatherette.
Stands come in different sizes and styles, like “trees,” flat stands, or T-bars, and can group several pieces together. Something like a bracelet display stand can display multiples, all at once. A ring display allows the piece(s) to be shown to their best advantage.
Risers elevate pieces within the jewelry display and add depth while maximizing space. Trays not only organize individual pieces, such as rings or earrings, but they also add visual appeal to the presentation.
Portable vs. Permanent Displays
Portable jewelry displays are designed to be lightweight and easy to set up. They’re used at events like craft shows or trade shows. Permanent jewelry displays will be found in fixed locations, such as a gallery or retail store. The pieces are heavier and made from high-quality materials to convey luxury and elegance.
Window Displays vs. In-Store Layouts
Window jewelry displays are meant to increase foot traffic and draw customers into the store. They are essential in creating a first impression. In-store layouts are designed to guide customers through your store, guiding them towards desired purchases.
Organizing Jewelry Displays for Maximum Visual Impact
Maximize first impressions, placing key pieces in prominent places that are set at eye level.
Use props, like necklace stands, to elevate items and emphasize their importance. Have at least one “hero” display to show off signature pieces.
Everything about your display should be pristine: spotless glass, clean lines, and an uncluttered space. Use white space to create gaps between items; this conveys a sense of luxury, as do quality materials like velvet.
Effective Techniques for Displaying Necklaces
Start by creating a theme, such as a “wedding collection”, “casual summer”, or “holiday dazzle.” Group similar pieces together, such as necklaces of the same length. Use a necklace display stand to show them off to best effect: a bust for a statement piece or “trees” that hold multiple strands. Add props to create a story and lighting to capture the sparkle of signature pieces.
Unique and Engaging Earring Display Ideas
Showcase earrings with spinning racks that allow customers to browse. An earring display stand allows each pair to hang as they would be when worn. Group them by gemstone, metal, or design (casual versus dressy). Create a theme, such as “Boho Chic,” and add related props and materials that add to it. Use a picture frame as a backdrop for earrings, or tiered risers to showcase multiple pairs.
Captivating Ring Display Techniques That Attract Buyers
Depending on the ring, include relevant materials (such as natural wood, rocks, shells, and the like for casual rings) within the display set up. Utilize light, whether natural or dramatic like a spotlight, to capture the sparkle. Group rings by gemstone, metal, or style (e.g., cocktail rings). Create focal points using your statement pieces or those within a brand.
Display Strategies for Bracelets and Bangles
Showcase them as close to how they would appear on a wrist to engage customer imagination. A bracelet display stand is designed to do just that. Group them by color, size, or type (“summer casual”, “sophisticated bangles”, and the like). Add props to help the bracelets tell a story, and lighting to highlight something like a gemstone or unique design.
Adding Seasonal and Thematic Elements to Your Displays
From a sprinkling of autumn leaves to holiday ornaments, natural rocks, or anything else you can think of, including little “extras” in your jewelry displays can make a difference. You want to engage your customers, tell them a story, and demonstrate the beauty and value of your merchandise. Strategically placing thematic elements can really bring a display together.
How to Maintain and Refresh Your Jewelry Displays
Cleanliness is perhaps the most important aspect of keeping your jewelry displays fresh, free from dust and fingerprints. Use a microfiber cloth to wipe down metal surfaces each day, and dust the rest. Regularly clean trays and glass cases with a mix of water and gentle detergent or glass cleaner. Control the temperature and humidity inside the glass cases (55-70 degrees F/40-50% humidity).
Regularly rotate your stock, prominently featuring new items, and adding seasonal elements.
Common Jewelry Display Mistakes
Avoid overcrowding in the display; use white space between items for “breathing room.”. Create a visual hierarchy to draw the eye to more important items, and group similar pieces together, creating visual cues to guide customers through your merchandise. Bad or insufficient lighting is another mistake, as is failing to rotate items on a regular basis.
Conclusion
Creating an exciting and effective jewelry display starts with putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. What do you want them to see first? How do you want them to feel about your pieces? What’s the story around a ring or necklace that you want to tell them? Using the many available display tools – stands, risers, trays, and the like – is extremely effective in organizing your jewelry displays to contribute to those goals. They help you make the most of your available space and create visual hierarchies to draw attention.
Build on those tools with themes around your pieces or collections. Add in effective lighting, intriguing props, and a spotless display environment, and you’re better positioned for greater sales. Shop Saga Display’s full line of jewelry display resources!