“From JCK Magazine: Retail Jewelry Innovators - Jewelers Circular Keystone Online” plus 1 more |
| From JCK Magazine: Retail Jewelry Innovators - Jewelers Circular Keystone Online Posted: 12 Apr 2010 08:01 AM PDT There's plenty of talk about the downturn and no shortage of survival stories, but these tips from innovative jewelers are smart business practice for any economic environment.Paul Holewa, Senior Editor -- JCK Online, 4/12/2010 10:54:34 AMMake It Convenient Ronda Daily, owner of Bremer Jewelry, with stores in Bloomington and Peoria, Ill., wants to make jewelry shopping convenient for "guests." (Daily doesn't use the "C" word-customer). In 2008 she opened her Peoria store on Sundays from noon to 4:00 p.m., but later discontinued the Sunday hours for six months. "That's what we call our stupid phase," says Daily. "We noticed a 5 percent drop-off in our business during those six months." The home page of the Bremer Web site promotes the Sunday hours, and a large banner outside the store also gets the word out. Other conveniences include providing progress reports for repair customers via their medium of choice, including e-mail, cell phone call, or text message. Keep Them Informed Thirteen months ago Mark Motes, chief operating officer of Smyth Jewelers, Timonium, Md., gave each sales staffer a BlackBerry. At one time customers were reluctant to give cell numbers to merchants. "But when we specify that our staff can contact them by e-mail or text to let customers know when a repair is done or a ring is finished, people more freely give out their cell phone numbers," says Motes. The BlackBerries also give management control over the content of e-mails exchanged between staff and customers. "This information is downloaded daily to a central computer system that allows us to track such e-mail correspondences so we know how sales staff are assisting customers," says Motes. Texting is also popular. "About 90 percent of my staff text with customers several times a day," says Motes. "We've found it's the most direct way to contact customers, who respond quickly no matter what they're doing, be it in a meeting or during dinner. Texting is a very discreet, informal, and fast way to communicate." Motes has received hundreds of compliments from customers regarding the speed and efficiency of BlackBerry communications-even when a staff member is off. Bridal Savings Bridal engagement customers who spend $5,000 or more at Montica Jewelry, Coral Gables, Fla., receive a savings package valued at $1,000. It includes a $200 gift certificate for a wedding band, the first year's insurance, annual in-house appraisal, annual ring sizing (up or down one ring size), annual refurbishment, in-house safety checks, engraving service, and unlimited cleanings. "Conservatively speaking, about seven out of 10 engagement customers come back for their wedding bands with us mainly because of the perceived value of this savings package," says owner John O'Rourke. The gift card provides incentive for couples to purchase bands sooner rather than later. "Many couples put the wedding bands purchases off by a year, but we're finding with the gift card people don't wait as long to buy their wedding jewelry," O'Rourke says. Redesign Kit For the last three years, Stuart Benjamin and his staff have handed out 200 to 300 redesign kits. "Since we started the program we've had about a 50 percent return rate," says the owner of Stuart Benjamin & Co. Jewelry Designs, San Diego. The kit contains a custom design information card, a $50 gift card, and a polishing cloth with the store's logo. When a customer returns the kit, it typically includes the item to be made into a new piece of jewelry, pictures from magazines or catalogs that best match the desired design, and any specific instructions. Customers may also see their custom jewelry rendered in 3-D before it's made. Clients also can choose a finished piece of jewelry based on the value of the precious metals and gemstones exchanged.
Jimmy Pesis and his wife, Helain, co-owners of Continental Diamond, St. Louis Park, Minn., have a testimonial Web page featuring local celebrities that has helped brand the store as the hometown jeweler. Sports legends such as former Minnesota Twins Tony Oliva and Paul Molitor endorse the store as does Brad Childress, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, and Flip Saunders, the former Timberwolves coach who was part of the University of Minnesota's famed basketball lineup in the 1980s. Local TV personality Tawnja Zahradka interviews the sports figures for the online testimonials. "It means a lot to customers to know that local celebrities know us and trust us and that they buy from the same jeweler," says Pesis. Local sports celebrities are also part of Pesis's new ad campaigns, further cementing the hometown branding component. Twins first baseman Justin Morneau has been the store's spokesman for the last two years, and KFAN's Paul Allen, "the voice of the Vikings," is part of a new ad campaign that gives blow-by-blow calls behind a sofa while a young man proposes to his fiancée with a ring from Continental Diamond. We would love your feedback! Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| How to tie an eco-friendly knot - StarPhoenix Posted: 12 Apr 2010 03:03 PM PDT In Paris, in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral on Christmas Day in 2008, Brian Eberdt proposed to Sarah Facini, his girlfriend of three years. He read her a love note -- their holiday tradition -- and presented her with a ring: a diamond solitaire with an 18-karat white gold band. Eberdt had chosen the ring carefully, keeping the environment, sustainability and human rights in mind. That "ethical engagement ring" choice represents a new environmental trend in wedding jewelry. The factors at play in this trend are as varied as the couples getting married. Some of the jewelry buyers want to reduce the environmental impact of gold mining -- reports vary, but it can take up to 20 tonnes of ore to produce enough gold for a single ring. Others are motivated by human rights issues, such as ensuring there is fair trade and that communities aren't negatively affected by the diamond trade. Eberdt, a 28-year-old law student, and Facini, 27, an events manager, are a pretty green couple. They have a worm bin for composting, ride bikes whenever they can, and take in their recycling to a monthly neighbourhood depot. As often as they can, they buy local, organic, ethical products. "If I was going to get Sarah a ring, I wanted to know that it was meaningful, and that it aligned with our own values and lifestyle," Eberdt says. "And it adds to the character of the gift, you know? It's more suited to her. And it's going to be on her finger for the rest of her life." There are several ways to find an ethical engagement ring. You can buy a band made from recycled gold, silver or platinum and set with a Canadian diamond. You can also purchase antique or second-hand jewelry, further reducing the impact on the environment. If custom is what you want, you can have a ring made by a local jeweler, using a Canadian diamond, adding a "buy local" flair to an ethical ring. Eberdt had looked around at local stores, but couldn't find something that would fit Facini's style -- classic, minimal, refined -- so he started searching online. "When I initiated the search, I didn't even know what the spectrum was in terms of what environmentally friendly or socially responsible rings were out there. So I did all my research online, looking at websites and options," he says. He learned about the differences between Canadian and African diamond mines (Canadian mines are better run, generate less waste and pay people well), and about the Kimberly Process, an international certification for conflict-free diamonds. From an environmental perspective, buying second hand or antique is the greenest and most ethical choice, which Eberdt says he considered. But from a life-as-a-balance sustainability perspective, buying a new, ethical ring just felt like the right choice for the couple, they say. Eberdt found the perfect ring for Facini through Brilliant Earth's website. A well-known purveyor of ethical engagement rings, the San Francisco-based company sells recycled gold, silver and platinum rings, paired with Canadian diamonds from their showroom and online store. For their wedding bands, both white gold, the couple travelled to the San Francisco showroom to pick through the selection more closely. Brilliant Earth salvages gold, silver and platinum from old computers, existing jewelry and industrial materials. Until recently, the company only used diamonds from two Canadian mines, but have begun purchasing from a diamond mine in Namibia that fits its ethical standard. The company also donates five per cent of its profits to charities which benefit African communities affected by the jewelry trade. Casey Van Wensem, 22, and his fiancée, Amy Collins, 21, try to buy second hand before buying new in most cases. So they examined a variety of options before deciding on second-hand wedding rings. The university students had already purchased fair-trade engagement rings from a dealer on Saltspring Island, in an effort to find something unique that they could afford. "We buy a lot of things second-hand, naturally. It just seemed the most logical thing for us to do," Van Wensem says. The environmental aspect factored in as well, he says. "By buying something used, you're not using up any new resources. You're just taking something someone has already loved, and has a bit of history to it." Van Wensem and Collins did consider rings from Idar, at 946 Fort St., because of its commitment to ethical sourcing of diamonds, metals and its from-scratch construction. In the end, they decided to go with the antique rings instead. Collins' wedding band has three diamonds set in white gold from the 1940s, while Van Wensem's is a 14-karat hand-hammered gold band, almost the same as the one he considered buying new. Jocelyn Zumach, the workshop manager and a jeweler at Idar, thinks the ethical engagement ring craze is a bit of clever marketing. The business at Idar focuses on trust: trusting suppliers to provide what they consider to be the only ethical diamonds out there -- Canadian and Australian -- and the trust gained from working with Canadian metal refineries. There's also a big difference between a local jeweler, who, like Idar, makes all products from scratch, and others who order wax moulds from catalogues and assemble the rings for a premium, or the assembly-line practices used by some jewelry companies. "This marketing -- this yada-yada-yada -- is really pretentious," says Zumach. She found one website advertising vegan jewelry, which encouraged jewelers to use organic cotton polishing pads, and in the same paragraph, encouraged them to use eggs instead of chemical polishing products, which is absolutely not vegan. "There's so much marketing hoopla, and there are a lot of untruths out there." Idar Bergseth, the award-winning Victoria jeweler who started the shop in the 1970s, says good jewelry is an amulet, a heritage piece to be passed down from generation to generation, and that people should be wary of claims about recycled gold. Quality gold doesn't get recycled, and unless its re-refined -- which takes a huge amount of energy -- a karat stamp can't be given. It could be brittle, fragile or porous, he says. People bring in their jewelry purchased online, and often it can't be fixed, Zumach says. "Gold has always been recycled. Nobody would ever throw gold away. It's all sent to the refinery. A lot of what we use is gold that we're getting back from what's refined," says Zumach. "Not a lot of new gold gets added in there." Bergseth says a lot of gold is mined as a byproduct of other mining, such as copper. He also says people need to be wary about whether their Canadian diamond is really Canadian. "Nowadays you have to be determined to get Canadian diamonds. You have to know the supplier and trust them. You have to be able to say, 'Where did this diamond come from?' " Bergseth says. "I am very proud to sell what I believe is a true Canadian stone. When we opened up the Canadian mines, it was the first time I felt good about selling a diamond." The staff at Idar plan to launch a blog on their website, www.idar.com, in the next few months to try to dispel misinformation surrounding ethical jewelry. Read Steve Carey's blog at timescolonist.com/rethink WHAT IS AN ETHICAL ENGAGEMENT RING? An ethical engagement ring is one made with sustainability in mind. Many types of rings fall into that category, including: If you are buying a diamond, it should be certified through the Kimberley Process, an international certification process to ensure that diamond trade doesn't fund war or violence. If not, don't buy it. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from wedding jewelry - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment