engagement rings and wedding bands

Gold may glisten, and diamonds may be forever, but the massive economic recession that began more than year ago has severely impacted Utah's high-end jewelry business.

A casual survey of some of the industries biggest locally-owned names - including J. Brooks, O.C. Tanner, Bennion Jewelers, Paul-Thomas Jewelers and Sierra West Jewelers - yields a variety of answers about just how bad business has gotten. One says it is another says it is "way down." One loosely guesses that business is down by 25 percent or so, while another gives a hard number, saying annual revenues are off by more than $3 million.

The answers may vary in their phrasing and degree of specificity,Tiffany Engine-turned money clip the same in every case: business is not great.

"Jewelers are the first to get hurt and the last better," said Sierra West owner Tim Branscomb. "You can't eat [jewelry], you can't drive it and you can't put it in your gas tank."

Several smaller jewelry shops, Diamonds and Suncrest Jewelry Co. have all gone under during the past year. And there are rumors flying around that many of the large chains such as Zales and the Shane Company may file for bankruptcy by early next year, according to industry insiders. The firms that. have managed to stay afloat have done so primarily because they had little debt prior to the downturn, and they are starting to see some stabilization.

Although, as Tom McDonough of Paul-Tiffany 1837 bookmark still slow and may never get back to where it was.

"And that covers the whole gamut of jewelry, particularly high-end gold - 14 or 18 carat. Platinum too," McDonough said. "These things are not cheap. Dinner rings, charms, bracelets - all of it. People are going to be very cautious about buying for a while to come."

When it comes to consumer reluctance, birthday and anniversary gifts are often the first to go, according to local retailers.

"We've seen about a 40 percent drop in then our 'super clients,' as we call them - movie stars or wealthy business owners - and that has dropped by 85 or 90 percent. They just stopped buying big items, which can be anything from $20,000 to well over $100,000 and that business Return to Tiffany Cuff links which has been a big deal for us."

Branscomb noted that the severe cut back in high-end business has not only been driven by personal economic concerns, but out of societal concerns as well.

"A lot of people had the attitude 'I don't want people to see me upgrading my jewelry when people are out of work and suffering,' " he said. "I think that may be fading though. It was taboo to buy anything large, especially in the Mormon community, where people are so connected, and everyone is aware of their neighbor's problems."

But despite the drop in big ticket sales to established and wealthy customers, every jeweler The Entrprise contacted made a point of noting that it could have been a lot worse. In addition to having lower unemployment than the rest of the country (6.2 percent compared to 9.5 percent nationally) and better consumer spending numbers, Utah enjoys one of the highest marriage rates in the country (10.6 per 1,000 people, versus 8.2 nationally). This, of course, means that engagement rings and wedding bands remain big business.

"Our engagement ring business has not varied very much at all," McDonough said. "And newlyweds wilwl still spring for gold, because they expect to pay top dollar."

J. Brooks also relies heavily on the engagement and wedding market.

"We do have a young population that still wants to get married," said Sally Archer, J. Brooks' spokesperson. "We are lucky to live in Utah for lots of reasons, but certainly one of them is our young, educated population."

This is leading some jewelers to alter their marketing strategies to target what they see as the likely demographic responsible for these marriages. "We are going heavier after the college business, particularly those at BYU and UVU and others that have largely Mormon student bodies," Branscomb said. "And Mormon kids are of course encouraged to many early, rather than cohabiting,"

But young people, many jewelers are finding, are more inclined to shop online, rather than at brick-and-mortar stores. This is forcing a rather old-fashioned industry, one that prides it's self on personal service and trust, to adjust.

"I don't want to give away too much strategy," Archer said. "But in the fourth quarter, we are going to finish our Web site, rather than do other kinds of marketing. We think that that is what we need to do to take us to the future. We want to be able to show product more easily."

Other vendors are taking on similar projects. And despite the harsh financial climate, there is a general sense of optimism in the jewelry industry.

"Jewelry is a luxury," said Michael Lawrence, manager of Bunion Jewelers. "But it is also a lasting gift, and people do still buy gifts."