In a nationwide study, over 98 percent of jewelers surveyed were unsatisfied with their store's lighting. The majority of the stores were lit with a combination of cool white fluorescent lamps and halogen tracklights.
The chief complaint centers around the renderng of diamonds and gemstones on display.
Diamonds lacked sparkle and their clarity compromised by the excess yellow saturating the store. As the value of a diamond is greatly judged by the stone's clarity, commen practice is to walk a customer and the diamond to the window so the stone could be seen in natural daylight.
Although it seems a simple solution, natural window daylight is far from perfect.
The properties of daylight change at given moment. Factors such as time of day, weather, latitude and direction which the window faces cause great variations which can render a stone quite differently when examined under two or more occassions. Windows are useless at night and in stores within a mall. Natural window daylight, by definition, cannot be a used as a standard reference.
Rubies are red, saphires are blue.
Or are they? Halogen lighting alone will enhance reds at the price of blues. Jeweler's are faced with the task of rendering all stones brilliantly and honestly.
The Skylighter lamp, used in conjuction with halogen or HID accent lighting, provides balance.
By removing the cool white fluorescent lamp, the dulling wash of yellow is removed in favor of a brilliant white light favoring the blue side of the spectrum. The new environment contrasts with the redder halogen light, creating super accents on chosen displays. The sum of the bluer and redder light renders both blue and red stones without compromise.
No more walks to the window.
Diamonds need only be removed from the halogen-lit case and held under the ambient light of The Skylighter to be seen under an honest, non-shifting reference light.
Size matters.
The store will appear larger, cleaner and have more depth when lit with higher Kelvin fluorescents..
Time is money.
The eye-friendly atmosphere is inviting for shoppers to spend more time in the store.
Customer feedback.
"Last year, we installed [Skylighter lamps] as a replacement for Westron's color corrected Super Bright tubes. The difference was so dramatic we couldn't believe it. There was no comparison.
We have halogen track lighting above our display cases, and the combination with these new fluorescent lamps really works!"
-Anthony
Anthony's Jewelers, NJ
NE Regional Director, Independent Jewelers Organization
Specific Retail Applications
Dental, Medical and Hospital Use
Fluorescent Lamp Colors Compared
Where To Buy
Home