Bling bling, tills a-ringing

Jewellery is proving the surprising star performer on the high street this Christmas, with a "bling bling" bonanza bucking the trend of downbeat sales.

Most jewellers are reporting sales well ahead of last year, in stark contrast to the gloom facing other retailers.

Demand for men's jewellery, in particular, has reached record levels after role models including David Beckham and singer Justin Timberlake made it more fashionable.

The jewel-bedecked style of the England soccer captain and his wife Victoria at Buckingham Palace, when they were held to have "out-blinged" the Queen as Beckham picked up his OBE, is thought to have inspired thousands of shoppers.

There is also a trend towards more fun and glamorous present-buying this Christmas after three years overshadowed by war, terrorism and recession.

A survey from JP Morgan bank last week showed that chains such as H Samuel are seeing increased business, while other types of retailers, including electrical stores, are suffering big falls in sales.

The strength of demand and the rising price of gold means there is little of the discounting seen in other gift categories such as CDs and books. Clair Silverman, marketing manager for Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, said: "There is a real trend towards big diamonds for blokes this year.

"That is good news for them, perhaps not so much for girlfriends' and wives' purses.

"You can get something like a pair of cufflinks for a couple of hundred pounds, but the sky is the limit. There is a lot of money about and people like to show it off."

The huge demand for affordable bling has persuaded mass-market retailers such as Asda and Argos to launch jewellery collections. Asda's range starts from as little as £12 for a stud earring.

At the other end of the price range, society jeweller Theo Fennell said he was seeing "double-digit" growth in sales of men's jewellery. Mr Fennell, a favourite of the Beckhams, Elton John and the Duchess of York, said: "Men are wearing more exotic clothes and are generally far less bashful and more liberated about wearing jewellery, which is seen as less of a statement of femininity.

"So many men are wearing things around their neck and we haven't seen

that since the medallion man in the Seventies, although it is now a more refined, more elegant version.

"People's ideas about how they look have changed immeasurably from 20 years ago. Then most provincial towns had a Dunn & Co and nothing else. Now Armani and Gucci are everywhere."

This year's biggest sellers at Theo Fennell are heavy shaft pendants in white and yellow gold priced at around £650, and stud earrings starting at £75 for gold and £250 for diamond.