Fallon Bock was 15 or 16 years old when she attended JCK Las Vegas with her father, Lawrence Bock, owner and president of the Dallas-based retailer Bachendorf’s. Then and there, as she walked the show alongside him, she made the decision to join the family business.
“We were walking down the long row and people and vendors were leaving appointments to come talk to my dad and the team,” Bock tells JCK. “And I was like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know you were this cool. I didn’t know you were this important.’”
The experience not only gave Bock a new perspective on her father, it also helped her realize the power of her inheritance. “This is a legacy,” she says, referring to the reputation Bachendorf’s has established in the jewelry trade. “It speaks to our business and how much we’ve put into the industry. It was a moment where I was like, ‘Okay, we need to keep it going.’”
Now, as vice president and buyer of branded fashion and timepieces at Bachendorf’s, which owns three stores in addition to a Rolex boutique in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, Bock is preparing for her sixth visit to JCK Las Vegas, not counting that first year. But she’s far from jaded. “Vegas is my favorite week,” Bock says. “I’m still in that phase where I really love it.”
Below, Bock shares the trends and styles that are resonating with clients, the fancy-shape diamond her fiancé chose for her engagement ring, and the Vegas hot spots she’s planning to hit when she’s in town for the shows.
How do you balance your time at the shows between seeing established vendors and discovering new talent?
I’ll take discovery first because that’s my favorite. I love the emerging designers. I feel like jewelry has really embraced technology and the movement of jewelry and the different kind of castings that you can do. Plus, it’s really cool to see and people. I always keep an eye out, because I’m such a gemstone lover, for the gemstone of the year. Like, what is everybody buying this year? Spinel has been so hot—I’m interested to see what’s coming.
The way I approach the show is I manage the relationships with the brands. Any cleanup needed, goals, targets, we’ve kind of already discussed. And then it’s just a really good time to give people hugs and say hi and how are you doing? The product looks great. Let’s pick these for the stores and move on.
What tops your shopping list in Vegas?
We sell a lot of larger diamonds, so we do the bigger gemstones, we do the large diamonds, and that’s always super fun. But as far as the core goes for me, I’m always looking at tennis bracelets—but the cool ones, like the multi-shape, the stuff that we don’t necessarily do in-house. Tennis bracelets, operas are constantly turning.
Part of what I also look for is the little trendy stuff that maybe we don’t want to have long term because it’s a trend, but the stuff that I know will move quickly. If I’m seeing it over and over at different people’s booths, whether it’s a new pendant style or a new shape or a new cocktail ring, if I’m seeing a lot of brands doing similar things, we’ll look at that and see why everybody’s doing it.
Have you noticed any trends bubbling up that seem like they’ll be important for the holiday?
One is kind of an overarching vintage feel. I think everything is leaning vintage. It’s so cyclical, and I think we’re seeing that come in. I think pearls are still having a moment. And then brooches—that’s kind of a thing right now, too. Something that I’m interested in keeping an eye out for is new ways of setting earrings. We’re seeing a lot of people who are gravitating towards pieces that no one else has. Like all the emerging designers we saw at the Gem Awards—they’re doing crazy stuff.
Dallas and Fort Worth, they’re typically more traditional. But it’s fun when clients branch out of the norm and they want that cool, crazy thing, and then people are asking about it. “Where’d you get that? That’s so cool. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
I’m definitely keeping my eye out for things like that. The market is ready for something different. I also like keeping an eye for just good people. We’re in a place where we want to work with good people who are really nice and they do cool things and they’re open.
We’re also doing a lot of sentimental redesign, working with clients and reimagining a piece that belonged to their great grandmother. And now they’re able to wear it. We’re seeing that clients are wanting to wear their stuff. They’re not just keeping it in the security deposit box or keeping it in the safe anymore. With COVID, it was like, put it away. And now people are bringing them back out.
In terms of gemstones, is there anything that’s been especially popular? You mentioned spinel?
Spinel comes in all colors. I’ve worked with gray spinel—it has this really cool shine to it. The hook for a lot of people to dive into the gemstone world is birthstones. That’s how a lot of people start, and then they do a deep dive and they realize the depth of gemstones. I mean, you can find a new gemstone every day. I personally love indicolite.
We’ve heard a little buzz over the last year about ruby. Have you seen that?
Ruby and sapphire are really big in this market. We have been setting in yellow.
Bachendorf’s is a partner of De Beers on the Origin program. Is that experience resonating with customers?
We just did the training, but we’ve already sold a handful of stones, which is great. I think clients are really latching onto the story. I don’t want it to sound made up because it’s not, but the history and where natural diamonds come from—it’s so important. And we’re now delivering that full experience. How the technology, with the QR code, is interwoven with it is amazing. It’s exactly what the natural diamond world needed.
In terms of natural diamonds, are customers gravitating to anything new?
Curiously, and I’m not a fan because I’m a traditionalist, but people are doing yellow and they’re setting huge marquises east-west. We’re seeing rings with thin bezels and diamonds set east-west. Just different stuff, stuff that’s not traditionally what we would consider an engagement ring.
I don’t know if you can see my ring? [Bock holds her left hand to the camera and shows off a sizable heart-shape colorless diamond in an asymmetric setting] I’m obsessed. I knew I wanted a heart shape, and my fiancé designed the ring, and it’s asymmetrical, which I think is really cool.
Any fashion trends worth noting?
Bracelets have been huge. I don’t know why, but it’s wild. All kinds of bracelets, like, huge diamond tennis bracelets to random color.
How have your clients responded to the gold price? And in terms of what you’re looking for in Vegas, are you still looking for 18k? Are you looking for smaller, thinner, lighter? Or are you leaning in and going bold?
We’ve talked about both. Luckily, we have not really seen a huge impact from the price of gold. I always relate it to the price of furniture and construction. It’s unfortunate, but it goes up. It’s like the stock market, it’s going to ebb and flow.
I’m trying to be mindful and not let that dictate some of my buys. But some of the bigger pieces that are super heavy, I’m definitely thinking twice about those. We do 18k pretty much across the board. But we are in talks with for a new project, a 14k line, and then obviously we have Gabriel & Co., which is 14k as well.
Last question: What’s on your agenda for dinners and entertainment?
In the Venetian, I always stop by Sushi Samba. There’s always somebody from the show there. I feel like that’s a good “if you know, you know” bar to go to. And then we are going to Awakening, a show at the Wynn. And then with Gabriel & Co., we’re going to their party at La Cave. My fiancé and I will be there for that, and we’re really looking forward to it.
Top: Fallon B. Poppy drop earrings in 18k white gold with 2.51 cts. t.w. garnets and 2.43 cts. t.w. red spinels, $5,200; Bachendorf’s
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