Last fall, Jared, the Signet-owned jewelry chain, unveiled Jared Atelier, a limited-edition, high-jewelry collection designed to entice clients accustomed to shopping for high-value jewels at brand salons such as Cartier and Tiffany & Co.

The collection was such a hit that now, the retailer has come out with its second Jared Atelier collection, this time featuring 14 pieces designed by Shy Dayan of Los Angeles–based Shy Creation. Featuring one-of-a-kind styles that retail from $30,000 to $175,000, the collection—available in select Jared locations, online, and through the retailer’s appointment-only jewelry concierge program—is especially heavy on yellow diamonds and emeralds.

Below, Ann Grimmett, vice president of merchandising at Jared, talks to JCK about some of the hero styles, how it differs from the retailer’s first high jewelry collection, and the current climate for high-value jewels. (The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.)

Jared Atelier’s first high jewelry collection didn’t feature a designer. Why did you opt to partner with Shy Dayan for the second?

We had a great first launch of Atelier. Everyone was very excited to see these kind of pieces. Sometimes there are people who say, “Oh, I didn’t know Jared had that kind of collection. I didn’t know they offered these kinds of styles.” And, in fact, we create some of these pieces through custom design on a regular basis. But to introduce a collection at this high level was something new for us. And we had success there. We saw these pieces sell. We saw people coming back wanting to buy the whole set.

And we thought, what better way to take it to the next level than to partner with a designer that we love and trust and our customers love so much? And to be able to up-level it, bring a real design aesthetic to all the pieces.

The care and craftsmanship that Shy Dayan takes in his designs, the detail he puts into how the stones are set, ensuring that every single stone in the piece is perfectly matched to all of the ones around it. It’s with that care that we felt like he would approach these designs, and he absolutely has. He has a strong history of designing these elaborate luxury pieces. And that’s really where he started. It wasn’t in delicate, stackable styles. It was in these kind of more couture pieces. So we thought it would be a perfect match.

What are the major points of difference between this collection and your first?

The main points of difference, besides the fact that we’re partnering with Shy, is some of the stones that we’re using. Yellow diamonds, those are certainly more rare when you think about kind of the common landscape of jewelry. We’re also using Colombian emeralds, which are absolutely stunning.

Shy actually built some of these pieces around the stones. He found parcels of stones that he could not pass up. Even before we had finalized what we were going to be going forward with, he procured the stones because he just knew there was something special about them, how well they were matched, and how beautiful they were. And some of these emeralds have already increased in value in kind of in a significant way since he bought the parcel.

So between the yellow diamonds and those Colombian emeralds, that is a noticeable difference from the first collection and how he designed around these perfectly matched stones.

And we did take the price points, kind of up-leveled this a little bit more from our first collection. This one really starts around $30,000 and goes up to $175,000. We had some lower price points in the first collection. Between the total carat weights, the quality of the diamonds, and the introduction of the emeralds and the yellow diamonds, we have really taken that level up pretty significantly.

Can you tell us about some of the standout pieces in the range?

We built these 14 pieces around statement neck pieces. So within the 14, we’ll end up having about five small vignettes. And that was based on five statement neck pieces. The pear-shape diamond and emerald necklace, it’s just stunning—the weight of the stones themselves, but also the way that they’re matched perfectly.

Also, the yellow diamond necklace. It’s an 18 karat yellow gold and yellow diamond necklace with the drop pear-shape emerald. And then there is a set that is the emerald-shape diamond lariat necklace. And then that goes back to the triple-row emerald-shape diamond bracelet.

That bracelet is almost 43 carats of diamonds. And the necklace is just under 35 carats. So between the two of them together, if you wanted to feel so inclined to buy them, you’ve got 80 carats of diamonds between those two pieces. You can’t go wrong if your budget allows.

How do you decide which stores get the pieces?

The beautiful thing is we have, at Jared, an excellent team out in the field who knows their guests very well. So we work with them to ensure that the pieces are going to go to the stores where the guests will most appreciate them. As I mentioned, there’ll be about five small vignettes when all is said and done. Our goal is to put one of those into each of five doors. So we’ll start with three in some of our very best markets: Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston.

There’s no reason to have that product sitting in a warehouse. It’s too pretty to sit on a shelf. So we want to make sure that it’s out in a store where customers can see it every day. And then anyone in any location can make an appointment, and we will send that product to them so that they can view it in person.

It’s kind of a concierge appointment concept where our stores, if they have someone who’s been in the market for either a self-purchase or maybe a gift that has a splash to it, then we would make sure to send them that merchandise. And of course, if someone wanted to make the purchase online, they could. Or if they’re in a store and they feel confident that they want it, then they could go ahead and purchase through that online channel. But the idea is just to get the pieces in front of people because if nothing else, people like to look at pretty jewelry, and it inspires them to think about what they might really like to purchase.

Are the pieces repeatable?

We’re certainly open to making another piece. It’s not like we’ve stamped it and said one of one, and we’ve guaranteed to a guest that they’ll be the only one that ever has it. But right now, it is one-of-a-kind. If we had someone else interested in a piece, we absolutely could make them a version of it. It would not be the exact same because the stones wouldn’t be the exact same. But we really can create anything the customer’s looking for.

How would you describe the climate right now for this kind of jewelry?

I obviously do not have a crystal ball on any of this. I think that despite so many external economic pressures, it seems to me that there is a continued high demand for high jewelry. As you look at the marketplace amongst many brands, they continue to add high jewelry lines. You see this across the board. They continue to push higher in the highest of their tiers.

For us, within our four walls, we’re seeing a lot of interest for high jewelry. Of course, at the same time, we see people that are also pressured on their budgets, but they want those pieces as that kind of fantasy gift, and some people for self-purchase. They’re looking for things that are special, that have meaning to them, that have a story behind them. And there are plenty of customers that are not afraid to spend and spend high.

What we think is key is giving value at all price points, including at the high end. We don’t need to be the same as Cartier or Tiffany. We want to give them even more value for what they might spend at one of those locations and give them a bigger, better piece for their money. And we think if we can continue to do that, then we’re going to continue to have success at the high end.

Top: Two hero styles from the Jared Atelier collection designed by Shy Dayan

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