An interesting trend is developing among jewelers:

The necklace, and similar ones worn at this season's couture shows, represents a trend that jewelers are hoping will bail them out in the current listless market: "fashion jewelry" made from semiprecious stones like amethyst and moonstone and seldom-used minerals like chalcedony, chrysoprase and amazonite...The stones themselves may be inexpensive — a necklace-long string of turquoise beads sells for $15 at a jewelry trade show — but the designs are not cheap. At merchants like Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys, elaborate bangles and beads sell for $1,500 and up.

For the designers and retailers, fashion jewelry has other obvious advantages. "The profit margins are much bigger," said Clive Kandel, whose jewelry is on display at his boutique in Bergdorf Goodman.

The difference between the $15 necklace and the $1,500 necklace--as it is with so many luxuy items--is scarcity. The fact that a particular designer crafted the latter necklace means there are fewer of those around, so they can sell for up to 100x the price of jewelry whose components are essentially worth the same amount.

The old adage mother's told their daughters, "It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man," applies to retailiers too. Why sell the $15 necklace everyone else is selling if you can sell one that no one else carries? This doesn't mean that every retailer out there needs to find their own haute couture designer, but take the time to find something that is unique to your market, whether it's swimsuits imported from Venezuela or amber necklaces designed by a local artists. The higher profit margins will reward your effort.