How to Choose Lighting for Jewelry Stores?

The reflections of light make the jewelry shine brighter, enhancing its beauty. That is why jewelry shops put their utmost effort into bringing the best lighting into their store. But are all lights ideal for jewelry shops?

Jewelry can be in gold, silver, pearl, diamond, platinum, and more. But all these materials do not appear best in every light setting. For instance, diamonds look dull in warm lights, but it works best for gold. And so, proper knowledge about lighting is essential before choosing any fixture for your jewelry store. Besides, the ceiling height, brightness of the light, color temperature, CRI rating, etc., are the other factors to consider here. 

So, without any further delay, let’s jump into the discussion to learn more about jewelry lighting and choose the best option for your store- 

Why Is Lighting Important For Jewelry Stores? 

Proper lighting is essential to create an impressive appearance for your jewelry store. It greatly impacts the brand image and sales of your product. Here are the reasons for which you should never skip a bit to light up your jewelry store in the best way possible- 

◼ Draws attention to your product: When someone enters a mall, he finds hundreds of shops, but why choose to enter your store? Proper lighting is a must. And that is why almost all jewelry shops have flashy lights with glass walls that can draw the attention of passersby. 

◼ Makes products look attractive: The reflection of lights on the jewelry makes them glow and shine bright, which grabs customers’ attention. This enhances the beauty of the ornaments and influences customers to purchase. 

◼ Influences customers to spend more time in the store: Lighting can create a beautiful ambiance that affects the mood of customers visiting your store. Comfortable lighting encourages them to spend more time in the shop and thus allows you to showcase your jewelry collection. It thus boosts your selling rates. 

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Factors To Consider While Choosing Jewelry Store Lighting

While you plan the light settings of your jewelry shop, you must consider some factors. These are as follows- 

Ceiling Height Of The Store

The height of the store is a crucial factor to consider before installing any light fixture. Usually, LED strips, recessed or pot lights are the most common light fixtures used in jewelry shops. But when the height of the shop is too much, these light fixtures may not be enough to provide adequate ambient lighting. Here the games go to hanging light fixtures. If the ceiling height exceeds 9 feet, include fixtures like- hanging lamps or pendant lights and side wall lights like wall sconces. Besides, bulky chandeliers will also look great in high-ceiling shops. It will enhance the entire outlook of your store and attract the customer to visit your store. 

Choose Color Temperature Depending On Jewelry Material

The color temperature of light fixtures can affect the appearance of the jewelry. All types of ornaments don’t look best in every tone of lighting. For example, if you have a gold jewelry store, warm-colored lights with lower color temperature suit you best. On the other hand, the higher color temperature of cool tone lights works excellently for diamond or platinum jewelry. The blueish rays of the light make the diamond shine brighter, making them appear more beautiful. But if you install warm lights here, the diamonds would appear dull. That is why consider the jewelry materials and then go for light colors. However, use neutral daylight tones if you have gold and diamond in your shop. This will work both for gold and diamond ornaments. Here I’ve added the recommended color temperature for gold and diamond jewelry shops-

Type Of Jewelry StoreTone Of Light ColorRecommended Color Temperature
Gold Jewelry LightingWarm Lighting3000-3500K
Diamond/Platinum Jewelry LightingCool Lighting 4000-4300K
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Brightness Of Light 

The lights of your jewelry store should be bright enough to illuminate the entire shop and the showcasing section. Here you must focus on two types of lighting – overhead and showcase. The overhead lighting will work as general or ambient lighting in the room. This will allow the customer to have an overview of the entire outlet. If you don’t want to spend much on separate showcase lighting, use brighter overhead lighting; 70 footcandles (fc) would work great.   

Showcase lighting is the most effective way to highlight the masterpieces of your jewelry shop. Go for 20 footcandles (fc) to illuminate the jewelry showcases. But ensure the light fixtures don’t create any shadow that can affect the look of the jewels. 

Lighting AreaSuggested Brightness
Overhead Light 70-foot candles (fc)
Showcase Light 30-foot candles (fc)

Number Of Required Fixture

The first thing that may hit your mind while lighting your jewelry shop is the number of required fixtures. Now, can you calculate the exact number of lightings? Yes, there is. But before learning that, you must have a clear concept about lumens (lm) or footcandles (fc). Lumens and footcandles are the units to measure the illumination of a light source. 

One footcandle = One lumen per sq. ft 

Higher lumen ratings indicate more intensive brightness. Check this out to know more about lumen- Candela vs. Lux vs. Lumens.

To calculate the number of light fixtures, first, you need to find out the area of your jewelry store. Follow this formula for that-

Area = Length of the room x Breadth of the room 

To light your jewelry shop, 200 lumens per square foot is considered the ideal rating by most lighting experts. So, now multiply the room area by 200 to get the lumen requirement of your shop. After that, divide the value by the lumen ratings of a single bulb to get the total bulb requirements. 

Lumen requirement of your jewelry shop= (Area of the room x 200)

Total fixture needed= (Lumen requirement of shop ÷ Lumen ratings of a single bulb)

For example, if you have a 600 sq. ft area shop, the lumen requirement will be (600 x 200) = 120000 lm. And if a single bulb gives off 1100 lumens, the number of required fixtures will be (120000 ÷ 1100) = 109 or 110. However, you can reduce the lighting requirements by choosing bulbs with higher lumen ratings. 

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Types Of Light Fixtures Suitable For Jewelry Stores

There are numerous options to go for when lighting jewelry shops. Among them, let’s discuss the most common variants below- 

  • LED Strips

LED strips are an excellent choice to give a modern vibe to your jewelry store. These strips can be used on the ceiling for general lighting and are also suitable for accent lighting. You can install them at the bottom of the shelves or outline the four sides of each shelf to create a floating vibe. Doing this will make displaying jewelry feel like floating in the air. For this purpose, you can choose tunable white LED strips. They have color temperature adjusting options. So, whether you are focusing on gold jewels or diamond ones, they can offer you both cool and warm lighting. 

  • Fluorescent Light

Fluorescent lights are the traditional light variants still found in local jewelry shops. These lights’ soft yellowish tone maintains an appropriate color temperature of roughly 3500k, ideal for gold stores. Install them in the back of display cases to get the best outcome. It will enhance the visibility of your showcased jewelry and help you reach the targeted customers. 

  • Recessed Light 

Currently, recessed lights are the most used light fixtures in jewelry shops. The built-in indirect glaring of these fixtures makes them ideal for lighting jewelry. These types of shops require bright lighting, so multiple fixtures are used.   For more information, you can read Direct Lighting Vs. Indirect Lighting and What is Anti-Glare Light and How To Reduce Light Glare?

  • Spotlights

Spotlights are an excellent choice for jewelry showcase lighting. You can use them outside your jewelry store to highlight the brand name. This light fixture variant is used in renowned jewelry brands to showcase their masterpieces. 

  • Pendant Light

Pendant lighting is another excellent option for jewelry shops with high ceilings. You can install them above the desk, where you will showcase ornaments to the customer. This will not only act as task lighting but will also enhance the beauty of your shop. Pendant light fixtures are available in various shapes, sizes, and designs; choose the one that best suits your shop’s interior.

  • Chandelier

Want to bring a royal look to your jewelry shop? Go for chandeliers. The crystal hanging patterns of these fixtures compliment the jewelry shop best. The bulky chandelier’s shining reflection will take your shop’s ambiance to the next level. You can add such fixtures in the middle of your shop. Or, if you have a large outlet, try adding multiple chandeliers- it will also work great. Thus, installing chandeliers can be an excellent move to ornament your outlet and build a brand image.

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Proper Light Layering 

Proper light layering ensures adequate lighting in all sections of your jewelry shop. And for that, you must go for step-wise lighting starting from the ceiling to highlight the masterpieces of your shop.  

  • Ambient Lighting

Ambient lighting means the general lighting of your shop. It is the first step for lighting your jewelry outlet. Target and illuminate the ceiling to ensure even burning all around the shop. You can go for recessed lighting or cove lighting with LED strips. However, if you have an insulated ceiling, ensure the recessed fixtures are IC rated. Using a non-IC-rated fixture on an insulated ceiling can break fire. Check this for more- IC Vs. Non-IC Rated Recessed Light Fixtures.

  • Task Lighting

Task lighting in a jewelry shop includes an ornament showcasing table, a section where the quality and quantity of gold are examined, a trial section, etc. In these zones, a bright lighting set-up is mandatory. You can go for spotlights, track lights, or even hanging lighting fixtures like- pendant lights for task lighting in your jewelry shop. 

  • Accent Light 

Accent lighting enhances the outlook of your jewelry shop. You can add them to highlight specific shop sections or showcase your showroom’s most valuable collection. Adding LED strips to the jewelry shelves can be an excellent move to bring accent lighting. Besides, you can install LED neon flex lighting behind the mannequins to get amazing backlighting. It looks best on black mannequins with gold or diamond jewelry. You can also use a wall washer or flood lights to enhance the textures of your shop. 

  • Decorative Lighting 

After ensuring adequate general, task, and accent lighting, it’s time to add decorative fixtures to enhance the outlook of your jewelry shop. Chandeliers and pendant lights are the best options for decorative light pieces in such shops. The dazzling designs of these fixtures complement the shining jewelry in the best way possible. And thus, it encourages the customers to visit the shop and boosts engagement and sales rates. 

CRI Ratings

CRI stands for Color Rendering Index. It determines the light’s efficiency in provisioning accurate color to any object. This rating measures from 0 to 100. Higher CRI means better color accuracy. For instance, if you purchase a diamond necklace with red stones from a shop where the installed lights were of lower CRI ratings. It may appear pinkish when you see this in daylight. That is why purchasing higher CRI-rated bulbs for your jewelry shop is essential. Any CRI rating above 90 or 95 will be ok. For more information, you can read TM-30-15: A New Method for Measuring Color Rendition.

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Energy Efficiency

As lighting is crucial for jewelry lighting, you must install multiple light fixtures in the store that are lit all day and night. And so higher electricity bills are a fact here. Besides, using poor light fixtures can waste electricity, increasing your bills. And that is why LED fixtures are the best option to go for. They have energy efficiency features and don’t get overheated easily. They consume 75% less energy than traditional lighting fixtures. So, installing LED lighting solutions will keep your electricity bills on the limit no matter how long you keep them on.  For more information, you can read Advantages and Disadvantages of LED Lighting.

Durability

Jewelry store lighting requires full-time lighting. And if your fixture frequently cuts off, it will increase your cost and hamper the store’s outlook. That is why you must go for durable lighting solutions. A traditional light fixture like incandescent light can only last for 1200 houses, whereas new LED lights can provide beatless illumination for 50,000 to 100,000 hours. So undoubtedly, going for an LED fixture is the best decision for lighting your jewelry shop. 

Warranty Of Light Fixture 

The warranty of a light fixture directly or indirectly states its quality. Good quality light fixtures have a better warranty policy which is why they are more reliable. If you want premium LED strips for general or accent lighting of your store, contact LEDYi. We provide the best quality LED strip and LED neon flexes with a warranty of 3 to 5 years.

Tips & Tricks To Light Jewelry Stores 

Lighting any jewelry shop may sound easy, but it can go wrong without proper strategy. For example- choosing the wrong light color can make the diamonds look dull, or the wrong location of any fixture can create a shadow. So, to avoid these issues go through the below tip and tricks to bring the most impressive and effective lighting to your shop- 

1. A Warm Light For Gold, Cool Light For Diamond

Light color significantly impacts the appearance of the jewelry. Choosing a warm tone light for gold makes it look more shining and royal. That is why we always try to keep the color temperature between 3000K – 3500K for lighting gold. But for lighting diamonds, cool-tone lights are the ultimate solution. Color temperature ranging from 4000K and above works excellently to bring out the beauty of diamonds. The bluish tones of cool lights make diamonds shine brighter and thus enhance their appearance. 

But, if your shop has a gold and diamond collection, which lighting will you choose- cool or warm? Confusing right? No worries, go for cool lights close to daylight – 5000K would be ok. These color temperatures will show the natural appearance of both gold and diamonds. If you choose warm lights, they will work great for gold but kill the glow of diamonds. 

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2. Showcase Lighting Should Be Brighter Than Overhead Lights

Keep the general lighting of your jewelry shop softer and less intense than the accent lighting. Brighter light attracts the human eye more, so you should always keep ornament showcasing lights more powerful. Nothing will draw customers’ attention if the overhead lights have the same intensity as the showcase lighting. Thus, the space will feel uninviting and frigid. To solve this issue, keep the overall (general) less intense and warmer in hue (between 2700K and 3500K) to stand out and draw customers’ attention to the display cases.

3. Use A More Powerful Fixture If Your Shop Faces Sunlight In The Daytime

To grab customers’ attention, the interior lighting of the shop must be brighter than the outside environment. If your jewelry shop faces direct sunlight in the day time, it will foreshadow your shop. For this, use powerful light fixtures that can combat the outside lighting. In this case, you can go for dimmable lighting. Increase their intensity in the daytime and dim them at night – this will help you eliminate eye strain and direct glaring.

4. Add Decorative Lighting To Create A Sophisticated Look

Installing random illuminating fixtures can make the shop dull and boring. Add decorative light fixtures like chandeliers, pendant lights, or other hanging fixtures to bring uniqueness. This will work great to encourage customers to visit your store. However, ensure the hanging lights don’t create shadows that may hamper jewelry showcasing. 

5. Ensure The Light Head Remains Invisible

Visible light heads cause direct glaring that irritates your customers. Remember, only brightening your showroom is not your mission; you must also keep comforts in mind. However, LED strips are the best option for indirect lighting. Try installing them as five lighting on the ceiling, under the shelf & showcase lighting. This will create an excellent hiding effect. Besides, recessed lights are also a good option to go for indirect lighting. 

6. Go For Mirror Lighting

Mirrors are crucial to any jewelry shop. They are used for trialing jewelry and play a vital role in beautifying the store’s ambiance. The bright light fixtures and shines of the jewelry in the mirror create a magical atmosphere in the store when reflected in the mirror. There are thousands of creative ways to light the mirror of your jewelry shop. For instance, wrap LED strips in the back of the mirror to create a floating effect. You can also try the spotlight or tract lights above the mirror. To make your mirrors more fancy, try hanging designer lights in front of the mirrors. This will work excellently to create a statement and boost your brand image. 

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Top 5 Lighting Ideas For Jewelry Shop 

To uplift the ambiance for your shop, here I bought you the best five ideas that you can implement in your jewelry store- 

Focusing on Exterior Lighting 

Attractive exterior lighting is a must to grab the customer’s attention toward your shop. Glass walls will help you showcase the interior ambiance and collections to the passerby. Place the masterpieces of your shop facing outdoors and light them up in the best way possible. You can use LED strips and spotlights for track lights for this purpose. However, creative DIY lighting or simple pendant lights will also work here. Lastly, popping the name of your shop will be a smart marketing strategy. You can use LED neon flex for this purpose or hang lanterns or spotlights – this will encourage people to visit your store.

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Cove Lighting For Ceiling 

Indirect lighting is essential for a jewelry shop to avoid direct glare. And for this cove, lighting works best. You can install LED strips and recessed/pot lights to the ceiling, bringing an excellent cove lighting effect. This will bring a cozy and elegant ambiance to your jewelry shop. 

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Showcases Lighting

Illuminating the showcase is one of the most prominent factors to consider for jewelry shop lighting. Here the fixtures used should have a greater brightness level than the surrounding lights to pop up your jewelry pieces. You can light the showcases with spotlights, recessed, or hanging fixtures. 

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Play with Light Shades 

Remember, the primary purpose of lighting jewelry shops is to highlight your collections. And to do that, you can dim the general lighting and only focus on the display. Use low-power soft light for ambient lighting, and add bright accent lighting on the showcases. This will highlight your ornaments in the best way possible.  

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Adding Decorative Light Fixture

The appearance of any jewelry shop plays a vital role in attracting its customer and increasing its brand value. That is why you should add decorative lighting to enhance your outlets’ overall look. Bulky chandeliers or pendant lights are a great choice here. You can add them to different sections of the shop depending on the size of your outlet.

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Why Use LED Strip Lights At Jewelry Stores?

Adding LED strips to your jewelry stores creates a soft, sleek ambiance lifting the shop’s outlook. Besides, it has many other benefits that make it suitable for such usage. These are as follows- 

  • Low heat radiation: Overheating is a severe issue that impacts the performance and durability of light fixtures. But with LED strips, you don’t need to worry about this issue. Thanks to its LED technology and advanced heat sink system, these fixtures don’t get overheated. To know more about LED heat sinks- check this- LED Heat Sink: What Is It and Why It’s Important? 

  • Good color rendering: Premium quality LED strips like our LEDYi’s range come with higher Color Rendering Index or CRI (above 90 or 95). So, adding these strips to your jewelry shop will give accurate coloring to your ornaments. 

  • Seamless lighting: The manufacturing process of LED strips goes through a perfect and planned binning process. This makes each chip identical and flawless, ultimately providing your store with seamless lighting. Learn more about the binning process- What Is LED Binning? However, more dense LED strips will enhance the seamless lighting effect. 

  • Easy to install: LED strips are the most convenient category of light fixtures in terms of installation. You don’t need to be a professional electrician to mount them. These strips come with an adhesive backing, making the installation much easier. However, you can cut and rejoin them as per your requirements. Check this to learn the LED strip installation process- Installing LED Flex Strips: Mounting Techniques.

  • Energy efficient: LED strips consume 75% less energy than other traditional light fixtures like incandescent lights. This makes them highly energy efficient and thus saves your store’s electricity bills. 

  • Adjustable options: LED strips come in various ranges that you can use in different sections of your jewelry shop. For instance, RGB lights for exterior lighting or LED neon flex for popping the shop name or logo. Using tunable white LED strips in jewelry shops is a brilliant idea. These strips offer your color temperature adjustable options. You can turn them in warm tones for lighting gold and cool tone for the diamond! However, if you have a gold jewelry shop that requires warm lighting only, go for dim-to-warm LED strips

  • Durable & low maintenance: LED strips don’t require frequent repair hassles. They are durable and can glow for more than seven years. However, purchasing a branded LED strip with better warranty policies can ensure better durability. Check our LED Strip series– we give you a 3 – 5 years warranty. 
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FAQs

Different types of light fixtures are used in jewelry shops. These include- halogen, metal halide, fluorescent, and LED lights. Previously, metal halide and halogen lights were more prevalent in jewelry stores for their yellow light glow. But now, LED lights are most popular thanks to their durable and energy-efficient technology. These lights come in different styles and patterns that can be used in different sections of your shop.

The light color depends on the type of jewelry you have in your store. For instance, a warm, light color is your ultimate choice if it’s a gold jewelry shop. But if you own a diamond or platinum jewelry shop, then cool lighting works best.

For a gold jewelry shop, light fixtures with a color temperature of 3000K to 3500K are ideal, And for a diamond jewelry shop, cool tone lights ranging from 4000K – 4300K or above will look great. However, if your shop has gold and diamonds, go for 5000K light fixtures; this will work great for both.

You can use LED strips, spotlights, or tract lights to highlight the jewelry showcases. When lighting showcases, make sure to choose brighter fixtures than the general lighting of the store. 

Warm color lighting is best for gold jewelry. Fluorescent lights are the traditional variants of lights used for years in the gold jewelry store for their soft yellow lighting. However, in modern showrooms, you will find warm-tone recessed lights, LED strips, spotlights, chandeliers, etc.

Diamonds sparkle best in cool lights; they need bright white lights to shine. So, always use a higher color temperature to illuminate your diamond shop. 4000K -4500K or above will work best for these shops.

CRI stands for Color Rendering Index. It determines the rate of color accuracy. For jewelry shops, any light fixture above CRI 90 is ideal. This will bring out the proper color of the jewels and stones. However, going above CRI 95 will be best.

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The Bottom line 

When lighting your jewelry store, you will find numerous lighting options. These include- halogen, metal halide, fluorescent, LED lights, and more. But among all these variants, LED light technology is the best option for jewelry shops. They are durable and energy efficient. So, it doesn’t matter how long you keep them on; the electricity bills won’t cross the limit. These lights come in different forms like- spotlights, track lights, LED strips, LED neon flex, and more. 

However, LED strips are an excellent choice to install in your shop. You can mount them on the ceiling, around the mirrors, or use them to highlight your showcases. Besides, installing neon signage outside your jewelry shop will be a creative move to grab your customer’s attention. So, to order premium quality LED strips and LED neon flex, contact LEDYi ASAP!

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