Evening star., 1932-02-06
Special Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK, February 6.-Jewelry
broke away from the category of the
luxurieS many years ago. In all civilized
nations it has become a necessity, be-
ing just as necessary to the toilet of
the well-dresSed woman as are her hat
and her shoes. 1t is chosen, too, with
the same faStidiouS regard for line and
color. says a special survey prepared by
the research department of R. G. Dun
& Co.
For there is nothing that can add
more lavishly to Woman'S charm or
enhance more strongly her personality.
1t is one Of the chief contributory
touches to that undef1nable aIlurement
upon which mans aggreSSiveneSS and
courage have fed for untold ages To
provide the jewels for her undying Ce-
light and perpetual .oveliness has been
the motive behind more wars of con-
quest than history is willing to record.
Unfortunately, like many of the
necessities in the decade prior TO 1929
the buying public has been forced to
eliminate from its budget most If the
allowance ordinarily allotted to iewelry
That it could not suppress entirely the
desire for it is evident in the shift to
substitutes in the form of novelty effects
with a lessened intrinsic value.
Sales Decline General.
In spite Of the increase, however, in
the sales of items in the wer-priced
brackets during 1881, neither volume
nor dollar total came anywhere near the
record of 1880. Taking the country as
a whole, sales of staples. such rs clocks,
watches, silverware and novelties, de-
clined from Is to 35 per cent from the
total of the year previous. while sales
Of precious stones, including diamonds,
dropped from IS to SO 0er cent.
The decline in me dollar value of
merchandise sold was even larger, be-
cause of the price recession in most
items offered. The larger quantities of
| distress merchandise which were thrown
On the market during the holiday period.
to be moved at any price. did much to
keep the dollar sales volume from max
ing a better showing.
The Christmas trade, on which so
many retailers had Quilt high hopes was
disappointment IN most centerS. In
the New England States and IN some
parts of the Middle West sales nearly
were on a par with those of 1890,
but even in these territories the concen-
tration of demand on the cheaper
| grades of goods naturally brought ooWn
the dollar volume
IeCClO
their heaviest business IN December,
sales during that month constituting
31.2 per cent of the entire annual
volume. June is the second heaviest
month. with 79 per cent of the sales;
and November takes the third place,
With IA per cent of the total wears
volume. The remainder of the business
is distributed over the year as follows:
January 5.1l per cent; February As
per cent; March, So per cent: April
Sc per cent; May 60 per cent: July.
So per cent; August 63 per cent: Sep
tember, IL per cent, and October, So
per cent.
Varied Lines Handled.
AS the department stores each wear
are advancing in their encroachmentS
on the field of the retailers of jewelry
exclusively, the latter have been forced
to add more and more lines to their
stocks, in order to maintain volume.
AS consequence, the retail jeWeler
now handles not only precious metals
and gems but nearly everything of an
artistic and ornamental nature. includ-
ing art pottery, fine china, glass,
bronzeS, marble statuary and paintings
Frequently separate departments are
maintained for fine leather goods. trav-
cling accessories and toilet sets, feather
fans and art objects of bronze and
copper. Chests of mahogany and rare
woods frequently are carried in con-
junction with the silverWare goods,
| while umbrellas, canes, fountain pens
and razors are featured in the sections
handling merchandise for men While
stationery departments long have been
maintained in retail jewelry establish
ments, they now have been enlarged
to include all the requisites Of the writ
ing table.
The number of side lines handled
seems to depend largely on the Glen
tele served and on the nature of the
competition offered by the local depart
ment stores. For the purpose of a
general summary, it may be stated that
the stock of the average retail jeweler
falls into the following classifcationS: