Jewelry sales shine at Amazon.com

Amazon.com Inc. has announced that second quarter 2006 jewelry and watches sales increased more than 100% year-over-year. Each quarter, an increasing number of Amazon.com’s customers are shopping the Amazon.com Jewelry & Watches Store, especially for Mother’s Day, summer engagements and other such gift-giving occasions.

Second-quarter custom-built engagement ring sales on the pure-play giant, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites, increased 254% year-over-year. Through Amazon’s “Create Your Own Ring” feature, customers can choose from more than 200 setting styles and many shapes and cuts. The e-retailer’s selection of loose diamonds has increased 30% since January 2006 from 2.1 million to 2.6 million unique loose stone/setting configurations.

Customers can read detailed product specifications about each of a piece of jewelry’s components, including gemstones, settings and metal stamps. The company’s online Learning Center provides buying guides for pearls, diamonds, precious metals and watches.