Proper store lighting can attract more customers to any store, help sell more products, and strengthen a store’s image. Many designers argue that the most important element of a store’s design may be its lighting. Unfortunately, lighting is often the most neglected component of store design.
When choosing lighting for any store or display case, here are some ideas to keep in mind.
ceiling height: The height of a store ceiling is one of the most important factors that go into a plan to light a jewelry store in such a way that the merchandise looks spectacular. As the light source moves away from the merchandise, the power and intensity of the light decreases. Shutters with taller ceilings (over 9 feet) face some challenges with lighting. Stores with higher ceilings have to use more lights that are closer together to illuminate a window display or move the light source closer by dropping a track or using a pendant.
Color: The color of light is measured in Kelvin (temperature). The higher the temperature (Kelvin) reading, the cooler the color of the light, and the lower the temperature, the warmer the color. For example, a 3000K light would be a warmer color and a 4000K light would be a cooler light. As the temperature of the light gets too high (above 4200K), the color of the light starts to take on a blue quality. Lights that are in the 5500K to 6500K range will appear “blue” to the naked eye.
Bulb Life/Quality: The expected life of a bulb is based on its “rated life”. The best bulbs have a rated life of over 10,000 hours. The quality of a bulb can also be measured by its CRI (color rendering index). The higher the CRI of a bulb, the better the quality of light it projects. CRI numbers above 80 mean very high quality of light. CRI numbers above 90 signify exemplary light quality.
light power: The power of a light bulb is measured in lumens. The amount of light that is generated is measured in Lux or, more commonly, foot-candles (“fc”). The higher the number of lumens, the more foot-candles the bulb will generate.
different light sources: There are three main sources of light used in jewelry stores. They are (1) ceramic metal halides (2) halogens (3) fluorescent. LED technology is being used more and more, but it is still far behind the top three. The best lighting source for jewelry is still ceramic metal halide. This is due to its qualities. They are energy efficient, powerful (6000+ lumens), come in warm and cool colors (3000K to 4200K), have excellent CRI (80+ and in most cases 90+ CRI) and can provide foot-candles that can exceed 400. Halogens are hot, have lower CRIs, do not hold their color over the life of the bulb, and are one-fourth to one-third the power of a ceramic metal halide. Fluorescents are energy efficient but don’t put out enough power to be useful in a jewelry store when it comes to lighting merchandise.
LEDs are the “buzz” but they do have limitations and problems. LED technology is constantly changing. An LED fixture you buy today (as in the case of a personal computer) will be obsolete a year from now. Maintaining a consistent LED color over time can be problematic due to changes in LED technology. LEDs can make jewelry look great inside the display case, but they aren’t powerful enough to sit on top of the cabinet where the sale is actually taking place. Due to this limitation, a different light source is required on the display case, such as a ceramic metal halide or halogen. This is where the problems occur. What happens is that there are two different light sources, each of which makes a piece of jewelry look different. As an example… a customer sees a piece of jewelry inside a display case illuminated by an LED strip. They ask the seller to take it out so they can see it. It is removed and is now on the glass illuminated by a DIFFERENT light source which makes the piece look different. The customer begins to wonder if the lighting inside the box is there to “fool” them into thinking the jewelry looks cool. Since sales are finalized on the “glass,” having a light source that makes the jewelry look the same inside the box as it does on top of the box is crucial to closing a sale.
TIPS:
(1) Most designers who understand the proper way to light jewelry will tell you that you light “for diamonds” and the rest of your merchandise will survive just fine AND if you light for gold your diamonds will die. Diamonds require a bright white light that provides enough power to make them shine. Diamonds should be displayed under lights that are in the 4000 -4200K range. This provides a beautiful white color that falls short of the blue color qualities. Gold and warmer colored stones look best under warmer colored lights of 3000K to 3500K. However, if a store is going to use a single color of light throughout its windows, then the adage “lighting for diamonds” is the way to go.
(2) Make sure the lighting is powerful enough to produce a minimum of 200fc. It is universally accepted that having light less than 200 fc is less than the minimum amount of light to adequately illuminate jewelry, especially diamonds. Readings between 200 and 400 fc is the optimal amount of light output on a display case depending on the store owner’s personal preference as to how much light he thinks looks best.
(3) That the ambient or general lighting be warmer and less powerful than the lighting on the display cases. The human eye is attracted to the brightest light. If the general lighting in a store is the same color and wattage as the windows, then there will be nothing to attract customers to the windows and the store will have a cold and uninviting feeling. By having less powerful general (ambient) lighting (around 75fc) and a warmer color (between 2500 and 300K) the lighting on the merchandise will highlight and attract the customer towards the showcases.
(4) When lighting a storefront that has natural sunlight, use twice the amount of light that would typically be used over a storefront to combat the power of the sun.
When upgrading lighting, the trend is usually a change from halogen technology. Customers who use halogens and switch to ceramic metal halides will notice an immediate difference in light quality and power, reduced heat, and a noticeable change in their merchandise.
Aspects to take into account when choosing the type of lighting:
clue: This provides the greatest versatility as accessories can be easily moved and repositioned. If merchandise is being moved from checkout to checkout or display cases are being moved, track lighting gives the store owner the most options.
embedded: This provides the most elegant look. The limitations are that the store owner will be limited in their ability to add or decrease lighting, as well as limitations with the movement of merchandise and display cases within the store. Once a recessed light is installed, the cost of adding or removing lighting becomes a big expense, as electricians are required to remove/move the lighting, as well as the issues associated with repairing holes in the ceiling. where the recessed light was installed.
pendants: Pendants are a great way to bring a light source closer to display cases where the ceilings are high and store owners don’t want to spend the money necessary to add additional lights to compensate for the high ceilings.
Interior Display Case Lighting – Having lighting inside a display case can really add sparkle and shine to your jewelry. The best lighting for the inside of a box is LED. However, be careful when choosing the LED to ensure that the color of the light is not blue (5500K = color range). Having one color glowing on your merchandise inside the box and a different color glowing on your merchandise above the box has the real potential to lose a sale. Stores don’t want their customers to be drawn in by the appearance of the jewelry and diamonds on the inside only to have them look different on top of the glass where the sale is closed. Customers will think that stores are trying to trick them by using fancy lighting.