Valentine's Day jewelry sales firm up in 2013 to just over $4 billion.

Valentine's Day is still one of the biggest gift-giving holidays and an important promotional aid for the jewelry industry, according to American retail monitoring company, the National Retail Federation (NRF). The NRF estimated that sales of jewelry and watches this year rose 7 percent to around $4.4 billion out of total Valentine's Day spending of approximately $20 billion.

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Gift-buying on Valentine's Day is popular among members of the diamond and jewelry industries because, many say, it is not like the Christmas sales season which stretches out for two months with many consumers not wanting to decide until as late as possible in a bid to receive a substantial discount.

Mordechai Yerushalmi, the owner of jewelry store At The Jewelers of Las Vegas, said the Valentine's Day means a rush of customers, all looking for the perfect gift for someone special. "It's a good busy two or three days and it doesn't drag like a Christmas, for a fu1l month," said. Sales jump 50 percent at the store during the Valentine's Day rush.

In February 2012, U.S. jewelry stores …