Polish jewelry market is valued by experts at around 1.2 billion US dollars per year. Jewellery in Poland began to be perceived not only as a sign of wealth, but also as a fashionable accessory that is worn to match specific outfits.
Manufacturers tried to make their products more interesting to end consumers by using a variety of materials, such as wood and plastic, and shapes, such as squares and rings. Poles spend their money to buy jewelry which they regard not only as beautiful and valuable items or capital investment, but also as an investment in the contemporary art.
Jewelry market in Poland
Jewelry is sold both in specialty stores – private and corporate showrooms – and in gift shops, souvenir stores and on marketplaces. Distributors and wholesalers are also active in the market. Silver jewelry is the bestseller in Poland. It is estimated that in 2012, silver jewelry constituted 50% of the market, with the gold jewelry in the second place at almost 35%, the rest is fashion jewelry. Poland is the third producer of silver in the world. It is also a major exporter of amber and a sole exporter of striped flint. In Poland we can see the bipolarization of the market—that is, strength at the entry-level and in the luxury sectors. The high cost of gold caused that many consumers are experimenting with less expensive materials. Style-wise, fashion-oriented pieces with large, bright-colored stones are in demand. Jewellery is expected to perform well over the forecast period. The Polish jewelry market has come to mirror the twists and turns of the Polish economy. Talking to most market experts, they believe that the sense of optimism is being driven by the strength in consumer demand for high end, luxury products combined with expansion of the watches sector. Jewellery is one of the most popular gift items which consumer research shows people value the most. The sector is marked out by fiercely individual family businesses with generations of experience that are genuine landmarks of local lives, as well as a hefty slew of newly minted designheavy stores, mostly operating in off-centre urban spaces and punching far above their square footage in terms of sales.
The Largest Players
Apart, YES and W. Kruk are the three largest companies operating on the Polish jewelry market. The Apart jewelry company has more than 195 showrooms in Poland. It employs more than 2,000 people and is an indisputable leader of jewelry sales in Poland. In 2012, Apart led jewellery sales in Poland with a 14% retail value share. The company has been present in Poland for quite some time and enjoys the trust of Polish customers. One of the reasons for its success is its wide distribution chain and its range of products available at various price levels. The company also runs an internet store and advertises on TV and other media, such as magazines. Besides the usual showrooms, the Apart Company also sells jewelry at Apart Exclusive – its most luxurious showrooms. There, customers can find jewelry containing diamonds and other precious stones as well as masterpieces of renowned Swiss watch brands. The W. Kruk jewelry company and the YE S jewelry stores are equally trusted by the customers. The W. Kruk jewelry company has more than 70 showrooms and YE S offers its customers jewelry in over 100 showrooms. The YE S Jewelry provides funds for the YE S Gallery, which presents the masterpieces of Polish artists, designers and master goldsmiths. Moreover, it creates and supports – as the organizer and sponsor – art events promoting contemporary Polish art. Jewelry sold by the largest jewelry companies in Poland is very popular among Poles, not only because of its undeniable aesthetic value, but also because of the opportunity to buy jewelry bearing logos of the largest companies in the jewelry world in their showrooms. It is estimated that the three largest jewelry companies enjoy more than 70% market share of jewelry sales in the country. When shopping at the brand jewelry stores, Poles usually decide to buy diamond rings and wedding rings and they typically spend no more than PLN 3,000. Companies that – besides selling jewelry – are also involved in its manufacture and stand out among the competition because of their interesting designs are particularly noteworthy.
Design and Mast erpieces of the Go ldsmith’s Art
In Poland, customers are increasingly likely to buy jewelry at art galleries where they can find jewelry made by the best Polish jewelry designers in one place. Consumers have become more discerning and want the jewelry they purchase to be not only made of the most expensive metals in the world but also to represent miniature masterpieces of the goldsmith’s art. The increasingly financially comfortable Poles are eager to look for luxury items whose market value will multiply over time. A growing consumer interest in the jewelry offered in artisan jewelry galleries seems to be the proof. At artisan jewelry galleries, customers may find products made by both the Academy of Fine Arts professors, well-known and respected goldsmith artists and young artists who are making their debut on the Polish art market. The most respected artists whose artistic jewelry is available in such galleries are Marcin Tymiński, Jacek Byczewski, Cezary Łutowicz, Mariusz Gliwiński, Paweł Kaczyński, Arkadiusz Wolski, Piotr Małysz and Andrzej Bielak. The works of these artists are known not only on the Polish art market but are also award-winning masterpieces of international goldsmith competitions. Almost every major city boasts galleries of artisan jewelry made by in-house artists. Among those, Bożena Marka’s Gallery in Warsaw, Techne Gallery in Poznań, RA Gallery in Cracow, Nowińska Gallery in Warsaw, Gold & Silver Gallery in Sandomierz and Bielak Gallery in Cracow are particularly worth mentioning. Customers frequenting such galleries are interested in handmade silver jewelry, often containing amber and striped flint used in manufacturing. Customers are also willing to choose jewelry pieces made of gold and precious stones despite the fact that for an average Pole the price for gold rings made by a goldsmith artist is relatively high. In Poland, one may notice a need for individualized jewelry, as so far evidenced by a great success of the Pandora jewelry in our market, which offered customers the opportunity to combine the jewelry pieces themselves, and the native Lilou brand jewelry. Both the economic crisis and the customers seeking genuine valuables led Poles to decide to also buy “antique” jewelry. Poland is experiencing the emergence of a secondary jewelry market due to the customer focus on jewelry. Customers increasingly choose purchasing jewelry at art auctions. The prices of the jewelry sold there reach over PLN 100,000. Investors are looking for art deco jewelry which may prove ideal capital investment. The constantly rising prices of precious metals and stones make the Poles want to invest their money in the precious old jewelry. Jewelry showrooms customers treat jewelry as an investment. A report published by KPMG shows that Poles are equally willing to invest their money in jewelry and in real estate. They also frequently spend money on works of art, which also speaks in favor of jewelry.
Jewelry Showroom Customers
Customers of jewelry showrooms and art galleries in Poland can be divided into two groups. On the one hand, they are young, well-paid women who tend to be residents of large cities. They look for jewelry that will allow them to manifest their style and emphasize their personality. Then there are affluent people over forty, who treat jewelry as an investment and also as an opportunity to emphasize their financial status. This group also includes a slowly increasing number of men who are interested in buying men’s jewelry. Most often, they choose the valuables bearing logos of well-known jewelry brands. The second group includes first of all the customers who are interested in buying wedding jewelry – the engagement and wedding rings. They do not spend a lot of money to buy jewelry – they do not spend more than PLN 1,000 on their purchases – but according to research, they constitute a stable group of customers of Polish jewelry showrooms.
Amber and striped flint
Polish jewelry is inherently associated with amber. Artists dealing with amber continuously offer beautiful specimens of jewelry to their customers. The design is becoming increasingly more attractive and works by Polish designers emphasize the individual appeal of amber. Designers discover the “Polish national treasure” themselves and thus for the customer as well. There is a growing group of customers with sophisticated tastes, consciously seeking and appreciating the individual forms of amber. However, we must remember that Poland is not only amber, but also striped flint. Jewelry made from striped flint wins a larger group of enthusiasts each year. Flint jewelry has been shown throughout Europe, India and Asia and everywhere it awakened interest in the stone. Amber has been known for thousands of years and can be found in all the Baltic countries, but flint is different; there is only one place on earth where it is found: in Sandomierz. Sandomierz was proclaimed “The World Capital of Striped Flint” and a lot of tourists go there following that stone. The city created shops, galleries as well as processing and promotional places of this mineral “rarer than diamond”.
