Doug Hucker, executive director of the American Gem Trade Association, tells a standing-room-only crowd that understanding fashion trends is critical to selling jewelry to women. Hucker’s presentation, titled “Add More Color to Your Life,” was one of the networking lunch seminars on Thursday.

Colored gemstone jewelry is the perfect addition to a woman’s outfit, he said, but sales associates often don’t look at it as an accessory.

“As soon as you say ‘colored gemstone jewelry,’ sales associates immediately think, ‘Uh oh, I’ve got to memorize all this gemological information.’ ” Not so, he insisted.

Of course sales associates need to be knowledgeable about the product, but the sales presentation isn’t about gemology, it’s about how the jewelry goes with a woman’s wardrobe. He pointed out that since men don’t usually read fashion magazines, they don’t see jewelry as an accessory—but female sales associates do know that a woman sees her jewelry as part of her outfit, just as shoes and a handbag are. He showed pages from popular women’s fashion magazines and encouraged men to begin reading them and also to call on their female staff’s expertise in the subject.

JCK