There are literally thousands of niches in the jewelry marketplace that can provide a comfortable source of income if you choose to specialize in serving a particular need.

You will have a lot more business if you become known as the jeweler who specializes in a particular type of jewelry (for example, plus-size jewelry, men's jewelry, Victorian styles, wedding jewelry, etc.) than if you try to make all jewelry for all people.

By creating jewelry for a specific market, you can usually command higher prices because you're perceived as an expert in that niche. And a higher percentage of your customers will become buyers, since they come to you already looking for the specific jewelry you sell, compared to general jewelry browsers.

Catering to a targeted market will also earn you more word-of-mouth referral business from your customers - "The bridal jeweler who made my daughter's tiara has some beautiful wedding jewelry sets too! Let me give you her phone number."

You'll also be able to pick up a good volume of new customers from non-competing businesses that serve the same market you do.

For example, if you specialize in larger sizes of women's jewelry, you could cooperate with a plus-size women's clothing boutique to promote each other's products. This can be as easy as including a business card or introductory coupon from the clothing boutique along with your packaging, while they do the same for you.

Your website is also likely to net more sales if you serve a targeted market. One reason is that you'll have less competition for your products' niche-specific keywords than you would if you tried to serve a wider jewelry market that has more suppliers. And the shoppers who arrive at your niche jewelry website are more likely to buy than general jewelry browsers because they arrived there by searching for exactly what you offer.

Here are a few more examples of jewelry niches that have a definite market:

- religious jewelry incorporating symbols or elements of a particular faith

- school spirit jewelry with school colors and/or school mascot charms

- horse jewelry

- butterfly jewelry

- metaphysical or crystal jewelry

- awareness jewelry (breast cancer awareness, AIDS awareness, etc.)

- mothers'/grandmothers' bracelets with children's names on them

- allergy-free jewelry

- birthstone jewelry

- body jewelry

- wedding jewelry and bridal tiaras

- Renaissance fair jewelry.

So go ahead - pick a jewelry niche to specialize in, and enjoy the rewards of becoming known as the guru of that niche!