Sale of €250,000 necklace lifts fortunes at Irish jeweller Fields

One sale of a €250,000 pink diamond necklace and earrings set by jewellers Fields last year provided a boost to its Irish revenues and profits.

The sale was the largest item sold in the company’s 14 Irish stores.

The group company Anthony Nicholas Group, owner of Fraser Hart in the UK and Fields jewellers in Ireland, reported pre-tax profits of £4.7m (€6.5m) on sales of £140.8m last year.

The firm operates stores at Grafton Street, Henry Street, Jervis Street, Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, Swords, Tallaght and Dundrum in Dublin. It also has stores in Newbridge, Drogheda, Kilkenny, Athlone, Limerick and Galway.

The retail business has operated since 1979 and is looking to open more stores.

The company said it has had increased demand for higher-value products, particularly for diamond rings, jewellery and watches, as consumer confidence here recovers.

“Fields performed very strongly in the period, on the back of the improved economic environment and increase in trending brands such as Michael Kors and Alex & Ani,” a spokesman said.

It said that its customers are also now “more eclectic and confident in their tastes”.

It claims to be leading the trend in developing new products in fine jewellery, using for example rose gold, coloured diamonds and rarer stones such as tanzanite and morganite, while bespoke jewellery orders were also on the rise.