The Christmas Holidays are over. The New Millennium celebration has come and gone. Are all the festivities and special occasions over? Hardly. The jewelry season is just getting into full swing.

There is Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, not to mention weddings, proms and graduations. And there are always those special events in everybody’s life that require some special jewelry. You don’t want to disappoint them.

Emphasize these special occasions with merchandising, signage and display. Bring in special product and re-merchandise existing product to make visual displays that inspire your customers for these special events. Let your customers know you are their resource for these special occasions and they will come to rely on you.

Valentine’s Day (February 14) is traditionally a jewelry holiday. Be sure to have lots of garnet and pearl jewelry, as well as hearts. Bring in gift items that range in price: from higher end gifts for that special someone, to inexpensive items for friends, teachers and relatives.

Easter (April 23) means bright Spring dresses, and that means new jewelry. Be sure to have a collection of colorful spring jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets and matching earrings. Colorful pastel pearls and Aurora-Borealis washed crystals in light sapphire, light azore, tanzanite, crystal champagne and chrysolite are a bright way to usher in Spring. Or bring in semiprecious stones of peridot, aquamarine, amethyst and citrine.

Mother’s Day (May 14) is another traditional jewelry holiday. Have an assortment of gifts for husbands to give to their wives and for children (of any age) to give to their mothers and grandmothers. Personal or whimsical jewelry is fun to have and can show the mother just how much she is loved and appreciated. Also have a few extra special pieces for husbands to give to their wives to show their appreciation.

Don’t forget graduation gifts. These should be memorable and lasting pieces that are personal and will be cherished. Semiprecious stones and engraveable items are traditional, but also have some less expensive items for the graduate to give to their peers.

But let’s not overlook the big jewelry events of Spring and Summer - proms and weddings. These are the biggies. And too often, they are overlooked by retailers and customers are left looking to the department stores or wedding stores for these events and they are not finding what they want. Follow through with this category with product, merchandising and display, and you are sure of a large and loyal (and profitable) following.

For proms, have a collection of colorful, yet inexpensive jewelry. Remember, these customers are younger so pricing needs to be a little lower. Color plays a key role in their selections, as coordination is the name of the game in prom dressing. Necklaces, earrings and bracelets all need to correspond. And do not forget the hair accessories! Not a girl at the prom will be without something in her hair.

Bridal jewelry refers not only to the obvious bride, but also her attendants, the mothers’ of the bride and groom, any special participants, and don’t forget the guests. They will need something special to wear as well. Most everybody gets a new outfit for the wedding.

For the bride, think classic pearls and crystals. But do not fall into the trap of offering just plain pearl strands and studs. While some brides will want this, others are looking for something special to accent their gown. Offer a collection that has both classics and jewelry that is fresh and inviting.

Bridesmaids will need a little color. Consider offering special orders for the bridal party, in custom made necklace sets. Be sure to allow ample lead time for these orders. Jewelry for the attendants that can also be worn later is a welcome gift, and knocks two things off the busy bride’s to-do list.

Special occasions happen everyday, and you want to make sure your customers are thinking of your store when they are looking for that special jewelry for the event. Just having the product is not enough. You must merchandise it and add signage to maximize these purchases. By putting the two elements together, you can fill your customers needs, and your cash register at the same time.