So to begin this interesting story, a client contacted us to enquire about a custom made engagement ring for his girl friend he planned to propose. He has been researching in many major stores across the country all holding high end names in the industry and found most of the quotes he got to make this special engagement ring he had in mind was out of range for his pockets. Bearing in mind he did have a reasonably high taste in type of diamond quality he wanted and hence proving to be expensive at retail stores. Out of frustration he confided in his friend to help him find a jeweler who could help him with his predicament as he needed to make that proposal soon before the auspicious times passes and that’s where all the magic began. His friend had made jewelry from us before and he advised him to contact us.
Long story short when he did contacted us, he described what he wanted E/VVS2 Triple EX No Strong Fluorescence with GIA Cert diamond size between 0.70-0.75ct to be set in a 4 prong Solitaire in 18KT white total budget cannot exceed US$6,000 including handcrafting charges and he needed it within a week.
I took up the challenge and promised him he would not have to exceed his budget and found him a diamond from our database 0.71ct E/VVS2 Triple Ex No Fluorescence GIA Cert with laser inscription and hand crafted the ring in 18KT as per instructions for total US$5,035 all in 4 days.
The treasured part of this happy ending for us is the faith this young gentleman put in us to get this most valuable jewelry which could change his life for ever if his girl friend did accept his proposal (which by the way she did)
Not only did this young man saved 1000s of $$$ but also saw a new appreciation for custom made jewelers which might not have such an extravaganza brand name.
So we get it, the big time retail stores still monopolizes large percentage of consumer purchases due to their diverse branding and advertisement, long established relationship with consumers so on so forth the list goes on..… So what does that leave the niche market for the small percentage of custom boutique jewelers who strive for the same pie from the consumers… I must say it’s a hard convincing ball game, plus more promotional costs, participating in seasonable exhibitions etc. and possibly still remain unheard of. The sad irony of it all is small boutique owners have more to offer when they do make that connection in terms of sincerity, more client interaction and personalized services and treat each client with great importance & respect whether an item was purchased or not..
So one would wonder why consumers still alleviate towards the big giants for lesser service. It all comes down to how the human mind is programmed to engaging in visual impact of branding…
