Every week, we ask retailers how they handle client requests, questions, and conundrums. This week, we put the spotlight on the opposite side of the counter, asking retailers: “How do you keep your display cases looking fresh?”

“We wear white gloves to avoid transferring the oils from our skin onto the jewelry.  We clean the case with an industrial glass cleaner once in the morning and, if we have down time, in the afternoon.”—Daniel Gordon, president of Samuel Gordon Jewelers, Oklahoma City

“The cases are cleaned with Windex, and we rearrange the merchandise daily—once in the morning and always after we’ve had customers in. Have to clean away their fingerprints!”—Carl Carstens, president of Schnack’s Fine Jewelry, Alexandria, La.

“We change our museum cases two to three times a year. The cases are placed on top of our standard showcases, because they’re closer to our customers’ level. We also place non-jewelry items in the case—like model cars, toy airplanes, and rough gemological specimens—to grab the attention of passersby. It’s important to leave a lot of white space to not crowd the jewelry and keep the showcase looking fresh.”—Jack Seiler, co-owner of Security Jewelers, Duluth, Minn.

“We use shop towels and Windex—it’s magic! We’re right on top of it, because people don’t like to look at a bunch of smudges. We’re selling jewelry, so it’s all in the presentation.”—Elliott Leavitt, owner of Swalstead Jewelers, Orlando, Fla.

“With the change of season, we change the decor. In the summer, we’ll use flowers and rocks and butterflies. We decorate with fake snow and pine trees for the winter. We also keep the pads clean and the silver polished. The pads are white, so we wipe them with Windex at the same that we clean the glass case as well.”—Riki Eastmond, sales associate at Bennion Jewelers, Salt Lake City

“We move collections around about every two to three months. It’s funny, if you just change locations for some collections, people who come in often, say ‘Oh! I haven’t seen this before,’ even if it’s been sitting in the showcase for four months. Rearranging just a bit keeps a fresh look going. We also combine pieces rather than going for the consistent look. We’ll put a collection of rubies in the middle of a case, with diamond pieces along its either side. It gives the display a pop and keeps the case looking fresh for someone who visits several times a year.”—Milton Doolittle, owner of Benold’s Jewelers, Austin, Texas  

“We installed new LED lights that make a tremendous difference in how fresh the cases look. Just tell everybody to close their eyes and write the check for the LED lights—they’re amazing! We periodically clean the cases and jewelry, in addition to rotating things around while making sure that everything is neat and in place. It’s not one thing that makes the cases look fresh. It’s all that together!”—Robert Caesar, president of Caesar Jewelers, New Albany, Ind.

JCK