Jeweller - December 2022
• The Past: Reviewing the thoughts of industry leaders • The Present: Find out what's on the minds of jewellers today • The Future: Should you abandon an industry staple?
• The Past: Reviewing the thoughts of industry leaders
• The Present: Find out what's on the minds of jewellers today
• The Future: Should you abandon an industry staple?
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VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY DECEMBER <strong>2022</strong><br />
What do<br />
jewellers<br />
The Past<br />
REVIEWING THE THOUGHTS<br />
OF INDUSTRY LEADERS<br />
The Present<br />
FIND OUT WHAT’S ON THE<br />
MINDS OF JEWELLERS TODAY<br />
The Future<br />
SHOULD YOU ABANDON<br />
AN INDUSTRY STAPLE?
AUSTRALIA'S PREMIER DIAMOND SUPPLIER<br />
SINCE 1986<br />
You need it?<br />
We have it.<br />
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– READY FOR PRE-CHRISTMAS DELIVERY –<br />
LARGE SELECTION OF NATURAL DIAMOND JEWELLERY<br />
INTRODUCING LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS<br />
OVERNIGHT DELIVERY<br />
Stones and jewellery in stock to arrive at your doorstep overnight<br />
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Parcels and melee available with hearts and arrows<br />
P +61 3 9650 2243<br />
E SALES@ADTC.COM.AU<br />
L13/227 COLLINS STREET<br />
MELBOURNE VIC 3000<br />
ADTC.COM.AU
Helping you shine<br />
yesterday, today<br />
& tomorrow.<br />
YOUR LEADING SUPPLIER OF PINK ARGYLE, WHITE DIAMONDS & DIAMOND JEWELLERY<br />
worldshiner.com
SAMS GROUP<br />
AUSTRALIA<br />
Sapphire Dreams now stocks certified, inscribed, sustainably sourced Australian<br />
Sapphires. Australian sapphires are unparalleled, ranging from deep blues, teal and<br />
green, to vibrant orange and yellow and the sought-after Parti. We offer single stones,<br />
matching pairs, and an array of sapphire melee in a myriad of shapes, sizes & colours.<br />
SINGLE STONES<br />
MATCHED PAIRS<br />
CALIBRATED MELEE LINES
Apply for wholesale access via QR code or call our friendly team 02 9290 2199
Info@LJWestDiamonds.com | www.LJWestDiamonds.com | www.ScottWestDiamonds.com
To schedule an appointment, please contact us:<br />
L. J. WEST DIAMONDS INC. | 589 5th Ave, Suite 1102 | New York, NY 10017, U.S.A. | T +1 212 997 0940<br />
L. J. WEST AU PTY LTD | Level 9, 225 St Georges Terrace | Perth, WA 6000, Australia | T +61 40 997 6981
A little sparkle is<br />
Always Essential.<br />
LAB DIAMONDS AS LO<br />
Over 5000 diamon<br />
Short and long term memo<br />
TENNIS BRACELETS PROGRAM<br />
STUD EARRINGS PROGRAM<br />
IGI Lab Cert#<br />
Shape<br />
Weight<br />
Col/Clar<br />
Cut<br />
Polish<br />
Sy<br />
2.0 CT TW<br />
$999<br />
7.0 CT TW<br />
$3599<br />
3.0 CT TW<br />
$1499<br />
8.0 CT TW<br />
$3999<br />
ALSO AVAILABLE IN 9, 18, 27 & 54 BUNDLES<br />
All Bracelets 14K White Gold, 14K Yellow Gold or<br />
14K Rose Gold Classic 4 Prong Wire Basket<br />
532262069<br />
538298440<br />
546203529<br />
536203375<br />
537226089<br />
544241551<br />
544251410<br />
547247800<br />
1 CT TW 508153075<br />
488122981<br />
$399 537239025<br />
537241163<br />
534262651<br />
3 CT 508153090 TW<br />
533218868<br />
$1999<br />
534246755<br />
496199301<br />
533218746<br />
536289998<br />
536294116<br />
4.0 CT TW 5.0 CT TW<br />
1.5 CT TWBR<br />
2 2.6 CT TW<br />
BR 2.43<br />
$1899 $2799<br />
$599 BR $999 2.39<br />
BR 2.34<br />
BR 2.29<br />
10.0 CT TW<br />
BR 4 CT TW2.2<br />
$5499<br />
BR<br />
$29992.23<br />
BR 2.1<br />
BR 2.03 D-SI2<br />
ALSO AVAILABLE IN 9, 18, BR 27 & 54 BUNDLES<br />
2 F-VS1<br />
BR 2 F-SI1<br />
All Studs 14K Yellow Gold or BR 14K White 2.01 Gold F-SI2<br />
Screwback 534262493 or Martini BR Pushback 1.61<br />
536290826 BR 1.51<br />
534239437<br />
512232285<br />
542238092<br />
514288883<br />
544251864<br />
PR<br />
PR<br />
PS<br />
EM<br />
EM<br />
2.27<br />
2<br />
3.02<br />
5.35<br />
5.15<br />
Build-a-Bundle<br />
544280364 EM 5.13<br />
523207685 CU 2.26<br />
524250727 CU 2.19<br />
532263074 RAD 5.03<br />
529259545 RAD 2.07<br />
528227217<br />
HS<br />
HS<br />
2<br />
2.05<br />
Pick your carats, pick your pieces.<br />
508151963 AS 3.54<br />
537216532<br />
539218526<br />
544252123<br />
OV<br />
OV<br />
OV<br />
4.02<br />
4.02<br />
3.73<br />
Pick any carat and combination of 544241572 pieces from OVstud<br />
3.01<br />
earrings, tennis bracelets, solitaire rings and pendants.<br />
22 W 48th St, New York<br />
Build your own bundle for Essential savings.<br />
Call: (212)-764-7841 | Email: sa<br />
Website: www.sanghavisolitaire.<br />
BR<br />
BR<br />
BR<br />
BR<br />
BR<br />
BR<br />
BR<br />
BR<br />
5.01<br />
5.02<br />
3.51<br />
3.47<br />
3.3<br />
3.21<br />
3.11<br />
3.07<br />
F-VS2<br />
G-VS1<br />
F-VS2<br />
E-SI1<br />
F-VS1<br />
G-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
G-VS1<br />
G-SI2<br />
E-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
E-SI1<br />
G-VS1<br />
F-SI1<br />
F-SI2<br />
E-VS1<br />
F-VVS2<br />
G-VVS2<br />
G-VS1<br />
G-VS2<br />
G-VS2<br />
E-VVS2<br />
E-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
G-VS2<br />
F-VS1<br />
G-VS2<br />
H-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
G-VS2<br />
G-VS1<br />
G-VS1<br />
EX<br />
ID<br />
EX<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ak<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
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» SI1 – SI2 Clarity<br />
» IGI Certify <strong>Jeweller</strong>y for $50 more<br />
SCAN QR CODE FOR<br />
THE FULL PROGRAM<br />
22 W 48TH ST, NEW YORK, NY 10036, USA<br />
CALL: +1 (212)-764-7841 | SALES@ELGDIAMONDS.COM<br />
WWW.SANGHAVISOLITAIRE.COM/HOME/DAILYSPECIAL
mmetry<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
Discount%<br />
SCAN THE<br />
QR CODE<br />
TO SEE OUR<br />
INVENTORY<br />
LAB DIAMONDS AS LOW AS -98.20% OFF!<br />
Depth%<br />
-95.50 62.7<br />
-95.25 IGI Lab 60.8 Cert#<br />
-96.10 60.2<br />
-94.50 61<br />
-96.50 551209449 62.4<br />
-96.70 550256073 61.5<br />
-96.60 551209384 61.2<br />
-96.60 551209388 62.5<br />
-95.75 62.9<br />
550256828<br />
-96.40 62.1<br />
-96.75 551288935 62.4<br />
-96.20 516261139 61.4<br />
-96.75 551290475 61.5<br />
-96.20 544252118 61.3<br />
-96.20 62.1<br />
549<strong>2022</strong>60<br />
-96.50 61.4<br />
-95.25 542297487 62.5<br />
-96.60 550268924 63.1<br />
-96.20 546220361 59.7<br />
-96.00 544252141 63.1<br />
-96.60 62.4<br />
544252138<br />
-96.40 61.8<br />
-96.00 544253610 71.8<br />
-95.75 546231356 73.2<br />
-95.25 536276973 61.9<br />
-97.75 544273459 65.5<br />
-98.00 62.2<br />
533214760<br />
-97.90 64.5<br />
-96.00 533214950 68.5<br />
-96.50 555291078 62.9<br />
-97.25 551293657 61.7<br />
-96.75 551291770 68.4<br />
-95.75 60.9<br />
551207434<br />
-95.75 62.8<br />
-96.50 555265160 63.7<br />
-95.00 542295386 62.2<br />
-95.25 538202732 63.6<br />
-95.25 533214836 64.1<br />
-95.50 63.4<br />
555265136<br />
536206219<br />
523289930<br />
499105024<br />
476165288<br />
537250233<br />
555265162<br />
553217345<br />
551216376<br />
551287226<br />
, NY 10036, USA<br />
les@elgdiamonds.com<br />
com/Home/DailySpecial<br />
SCAN THE<br />
SCAN THE QR<br />
QR CODE<br />
TO CODE SEE OUR TO SEE<br />
INVENTORY<br />
OUR INVENTORY<br />
W AS 97.75% OFF!<br />
Lab Diamonds as low as 98.20% off!<br />
ds on hand<br />
programs available<br />
Over OVER 5000 5,000 diamonds DIAMONDS ON HAND. on hand<br />
SHORT AND LONG-TERM MEMO PROGRAMS AVAILABLE.<br />
Short Table% Total$ and long term memo programs available<br />
56.5 $11385.22<br />
59.5Shape<br />
$12041.72Weight<br />
61 $4038.26<br />
58.5 $4771.25<br />
57 BR$3869.25<br />
5.52<br />
59 BR$3071.97<br />
5.01<br />
59 BR$3542.29<br />
4.73<br />
57.5 BR$3027.02<br />
4.19<br />
55 $1359.15<br />
BR 3.7<br />
57.5 $2055.78<br />
57.5 BR$1708.85<br />
3.51<br />
57.5 BR$1556.10<br />
3.48<br />
58.5 BR$1451.29<br />
3.34<br />
59 BR$1362.68<br />
3.27<br />
56.5 $1118.57<br />
BR 3.18<br />
59.5 $1727.25<br />
58 BR$1456.02<br />
3.08<br />
56.5 BR$1496.00<br />
2.69<br />
61.5 BR$1238.80<br />
2.44<br />
55.5 BR$1061.28<br />
2.48<br />
57.5 $947.00<br />
BR 2.39<br />
58 $815.40<br />
70 BR$1407.40<br />
2.28<br />
75 BR$1232.50<br />
2.18<br />
60.5 BR$2940.72<br />
2.04<br />
61.3 BR$7102.12<br />
2.09<br />
65.5 $5768.00<br />
PR 2.04<br />
64.5 $6018.98<br />
64.5 PR$1627.20<br />
2<br />
62 PS$1303.05<br />
3<br />
65.5 PS$7746.20<br />
2.05<br />
60 EM$975.49<br />
5.2<br />
55.5 $1445.00<br />
EM 5.01<br />
55.5 $1263.31<br />
64 CU$2478.00<br />
5.03<br />
62 CU$7135.50<br />
2.08<br />
64.5 RAD$5251.12<br />
5.01<br />
60 RAD $3986.44 2.09<br />
59.5 $3047.62<br />
MQ 4.18<br />
MQ 3.01<br />
HS 3.01<br />
HS 2.02<br />
AS 2.5<br />
AS 2.01<br />
OV 5.01<br />
OV 3<br />
OV 2.33<br />
OV 2.04<br />
Col/Clar<br />
F-VS2<br />
G-VS2<br />
F-VS2<br />
E-VS2<br />
H-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
G-VVS2<br />
F-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
F-VS2<br />
G-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
F-SI1<br />
F-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
G-VS1<br />
G-VS1<br />
G-VS2<br />
G-VS1<br />
F-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
D-VS1<br />
F-VS2<br />
G-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
G-VS1<br />
F-VS2<br />
G-VS2<br />
H-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
G-VS1<br />
E-VS1<br />
E-VS2<br />
D-VS1<br />
H-VS1<br />
H-VS1<br />
Cut<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
ID<br />
EX<br />
ID<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
ID<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
0<br />
Polish<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
Symmetry<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
EX<br />
Discount%<br />
-95.75<br />
-96.30<br />
-96.10<br />
-97.10<br />
-97.30<br />
-97.10<br />
-97.40<br />
-97.40<br />
-97.40<br />
-97.50<br />
-97.50<br />
-97.60<br />
-97.70<br />
-97.70<br />
-97.70<br />
-97.70<br />
-97.75<br />
-97.80<br />
-97.70<br />
-97.10<br />
-97.10<br />
-96.60<br />
-96.40<br />
-98.20<br />
-98.00<br />
-97.40<br />
-97.30<br />
-97.70<br />
-97.40<br />
-95.75<br />
-95.25<br />
-96.10<br />
-96.40<br />
-96.25<br />
-96.60<br />
-96.50<br />
-96.70<br />
-96.70<br />
-96.60<br />
Depth%<br />
61<br />
60.4<br />
61.1<br />
60.9<br />
59.2<br />
62.8<br />
60.3<br />
63.1<br />
60<br />
61.6<br />
62.1<br />
62<br />
62<br />
61.9<br />
62.4<br />
62.1<br />
62.2<br />
62.8<br />
60.5<br />
73.1<br />
72.5<br />
63.5<br />
61.4<br />
64<br />
65.2<br />
64.8<br />
64.8<br />
63.7<br />
66.6<br />
63.3<br />
63.9<br />
58.7<br />
57.7<br />
64<br />
64.5<br />
63.7<br />
61.3<br />
61.9<br />
60.7<br />
Table%<br />
61.5<br />
60.5<br />
60<br />
60.5<br />
59.5<br />
57<br />
59<br />
55.5<br />
62.5<br />
56.5<br />
58.5<br />
57<br />
59.5<br />
58<br />
57.5<br />
56<br />
57.5<br />
56.5<br />
60<br />
67.5<br />
70<br />
63<br />
58<br />
64.5<br />
66.5<br />
65.5<br />
63.5<br />
65.5<br />
68<br />
56.5<br />
64<br />
58.5<br />
55<br />
66<br />
69.5<br />
57<br />
62.5<br />
60.5<br />
60<br />
Total$<br />
$11495.40<br />
$7785.54<br />
$6733.16<br />
$4981.91<br />
$2347.65<br />
$3308.18<br />
$2850.12<br />
$2822.30<br />
$2763.15<br />
$2901.75<br />
$2194.50<br />
$1226.64<br />
$1290.76<br />
$901.23<br />
$1181.86<br />
$1206.12<br />
$1128.15<br />
$964.92<br />
$913.33<br />
$916.98<br />
$841.00<br />
$2295.00<br />
$1254.60<br />
$5241.60<br />
$6062.10<br />
$5885.10<br />
$870.48<br />
$6452.88<br />
$842.27<br />
$5595.98<br />
$2930.99<br />
$2347.80<br />
$1308.96<br />
$1453.12<br />
$1230.12<br />
$8416.80<br />
$3019.50<br />
$999.57<br />
$901.68<br />
22 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036, USA<br />
Call: (212)-764-7841 | Email: sales@elgdiamonds.com<br />
Website: www.sanghavisolitaire.com/Home/DailySpecial
CONTENTS<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2022</strong><br />
13 EDITOR’S DESK<br />
Knowing when to listen,<br />
and when to hear<br />
ANGELA HAN | <strong>Jeweller</strong><br />
27 DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Customers desire quality<br />
jewellery - so give it to them!<br />
JUSTIN LINNEY | Linney’s <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
36 BUYING GROUP HEAD<br />
Differentiation the key for<br />
jewellers heading into 2023<br />
CLAIRE PACKETT | Leading Edge Group<br />
15 CHAIN STORE<br />
Sales performance remains<br />
as unpredictable as ever<br />
TONY BENSIMON | Shiels<br />
28 BUYING GROUP HEAD<br />
May your profits be high,<br />
and your overheads low<br />
G POCKLINGTON | Nationwide <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
37 BUYING GROUP: LEADING EDGE<br />
Breaking sales records with a<br />
focus on reliability<br />
DAVID PEEL | Phil Peel <strong>Jeweller</strong><br />
17 CHAIN STORE<br />
Benefiting from lessons<br />
learned during lockdown<br />
MUDIT VORA | The <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Group<br />
29 BUYING GROUP: NATIONWIDE<br />
Education key to strong<br />
relationships with customers<br />
GREG MACINTYRE | Creations <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
38 BUYING GROUP: SHOWCASE<br />
Expensive jewellery continues to<br />
sell as customers chase quality<br />
KIRSTY WALKER | Showcase Te Awamutu<br />
19 CHAIN STORE<br />
While change is inevitable,<br />
growth is optional<br />
STUART BISHOP | Wallace Bishop<br />
30 BUYING GROUP: NATIONWIDE<br />
Competition is good for<br />
business - embrace it!<br />
ALLISON ENGLISH | Byrnes <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
39 BUYING GROUP: SHOWCASE<br />
Lab-created diamonds offering<br />
more ‘bang for your buck’<br />
C PEVY-TREWARTHA | My <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Shop<br />
21 CHAIN STORE<br />
Overcoming today’s<br />
recruitment challenges<br />
CINDY POPE | Mazzucchelli’s<br />
31 BUYING GROUP: NATIONWIDE<br />
Battling online rivals, keeping<br />
the ‘old school’ ways alive<br />
MICK GELDART | MJ Geldart <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
40 BUYING GROUP: SHOWCASE<br />
Passion for pink diamonds<br />
still very much on the rise<br />
CATHY MANWARING | CW <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
23 DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Through the looking glass<br />
at tomorrow’s diamonds<br />
GARRY HOLLOWAY | Holloway Diamonds<br />
32 BUYING GROUP HEAD<br />
Elevating independent retail<br />
with clarity and confidence<br />
JOSH ZARB | IJC<br />
41 INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Honesty – the key to building<br />
long-term relationships<br />
WILLIAM STONE | Stones<br />
24 DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Abiding the proven principles<br />
of the jewellery trade<br />
PETER BIRD | Abrecht Bird <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
33 BUYING GROUP: IJC<br />
Look after your staff, they<br />
will look after your business<br />
KAYLENE FITZPATRICK | Kadia <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
42 INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Customers increasingly desire<br />
a piece to cherish forever<br />
SEB BROWN | Seb Brown <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
25 DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Diamond industry handling<br />
synthetic challenge with class<br />
CHRIS HOLDWORTH | Holdsworth Bros<br />
34 BUYING GROUP: IJC<br />
Overcoming staffing challenges<br />
after two strong years<br />
TARISA HANCOCK | Pettits Hewellers<br />
43 INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Making the most of Australia’s<br />
beautiful gemstones<br />
BEN MANNING | Utopian Creations<br />
26 DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Always place your business<br />
in a position to succeed<br />
ASHER ROSE | Charles Rose <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
35 BUYING GROUP: IJC<br />
Modern business ownership is<br />
life without an off switch<br />
JOHN THEARLE | Turramurra <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
44 INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Aiming for continued growth<br />
despite a cloudy economy<br />
OLIVIA CUMMINGS | Cleopatra’s Bling<br />
46/ WIND BACK THE CLOCK AND REVISIT THE OPINIONS OF YESTERDAY.<br />
WHAT DID JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
51/<br />
CONSUMER’S<br />
PRICE TAGS: YAY OR NAY?<br />
SAMUEL ORD ASKS DOES A PRICE TAG HARM THE<br />
PERCEPTION OF YOUR BUSINESS?<br />
VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY<br />
Published by Befindan Media Pty Ltd | ABN 66 638 077 648<br />
Locked Bag 26, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 AUSTRALIA<br />
Phone: +61 3 9696 7200 | Subscriptions & Enquiries: info@jewellermagazine.com<br />
Publisher Angela Han angela.han@jewellermagazine.com • Journalist Samuel Ord samuel.ord@jewellermagazine.com<br />
Production Coordinator Lauren McKinnon art@befindanmedia.com • Advertising Toli Podolak toli.podolak@jewellermagazine.com • Accounts Paul Blewitt finance@befindanmedia.com<br />
Copyright All material appearing in <strong>Jeweller</strong> is subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without prior written consent of the publisher.
WHEN IT’S FILLED WITH LOVE AND MEANING,<br />
IT’S MORE THAN A GIFT
EDITOR’S<br />
DESK<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2022</strong><br />
Here’s what you think:<br />
now, 10, 15 and 20 years ago<br />
What do jewellers think? It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? We decided to hand the magazine<br />
over to some of our readers and ANGELA HAN reports on their fascinating insights.<br />
As a publisher, each month I write an<br />
editorial telling you what I think. In the<br />
media, it’s what we call an ‘opinion piece’.<br />
Editorials are meant to reflect the<br />
author’s view about a subject, whereas<br />
news stories are about reporting the facts,<br />
or at least the facts as they are known at<br />
the time - a journal of record if you will.<br />
An editorial is therefore an opinion, no<br />
different to the way our very popular<br />
Soapbox column features the opinions of<br />
industry members each month.<br />
By nature, opinion pieces are designed to<br />
stimulate thought and debate. They do not<br />
have to be balanced, as they reflect a specific<br />
view – it’s the presenting of a single facet of a<br />
multifaceted issue.<br />
For more than 30 years, <strong>Jeweller</strong>’s editorial<br />
page has provided our thoughts and ideas,<br />
and while readers can agree or disagree, the<br />
most important thing to an opinion writer is<br />
that they are read.<br />
So this month we handed the edition over to<br />
retailers, to tell us: What do jewellers think?<br />
We have included a wide range of opinions<br />
from large to small independents, large<br />
chains and everyone in between!<br />
By far the most important topic raised was<br />
that of staffing. Regardless of the scale of a<br />
business, human resources have become<br />
scarce these days, and many share the<br />
difficulties of finding quality staff.<br />
In addition to this topic, you’ll see that<br />
the responses have been nothing short of<br />
fascinating; despite each of our contributors<br />
coming from the same jewellery retail<br />
background, each has something entirely<br />
unique to say.<br />
To quickly ascertain whether or not you<br />
agree with your colleagues’ views, here are<br />
10 statements from the following pages to<br />
whet your appetite:<br />
1. Our view is that synthetic diamonds<br />
are imitations of natural diamonds.<br />
Yes, physically, optically, chemically<br />
they are the same mineral but they<br />
fail one of the three basic ‘what is a<br />
gemstone?’ tests. Rarity.<br />
2. The increase in interest in lab-created<br />
diamond pieces has not impacted our<br />
natural diamond sales at all, with us<br />
continuing to have strong interest and<br />
sales in the category.<br />
3. Lab grown diamonds increased sales,<br />
our salespeople have changed the<br />
minds of customers when they learned<br />
that giving a fake gift to a partner may<br />
not be wise! Why indicate that you’re a<br />
cheapskate?<br />
4. Fortunately, sales of lab-created<br />
diamonds have been ‘extra’ sales<br />
and have not reduced sales of<br />
natural diamonds.<br />
5. I would have laughed if you had told<br />
me 10 years ago that we would be<br />
selling fashion jewellery, but here we<br />
are selling loads of branded costume<br />
jewellery. It is fun, fashionable, and<br />
affordable.<br />
6. I thought that the Apple iWatch was<br />
going to impact the watch industry in<br />
a major way. The opposite has been<br />
true with the watch category improving<br />
over this period. That has been a<br />
surprise.<br />
7. We estimate that over 400 stores or<br />
12 per cent of all retail jewellers<br />
closed. As a result, the increase in<br />
jewellery sales has been split between<br />
fewer jewellery stores.<br />
8. Chain stores form a big part of the<br />
jewellery industry but they will be a<br />
lesser threat to our business over the<br />
next five years as customers will be<br />
increasingly aware of manufacturing<br />
and quality considerations around all<br />
the products they are buying.<br />
9. My personal feeling is that chain stores<br />
have cheapened the industry. Yes,<br />
there is a market for them, but please,<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“T he truth<br />
is not always<br />
beautiful, nor<br />
beautiful words<br />
the truth.”<br />
– LAO TZU –<br />
I don’t believe my business belongs in<br />
the same ‘category’ as a chain store.<br />
10. Chain stores are a significant threat to<br />
us, as they are able to offer customers<br />
more bang for their buck. We can’t<br />
compete in that regard. However, in<br />
this, there is a difference in quality –<br />
not to talk down other products!<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>’s motto is to under-promise and<br />
over-deliver, so here are three more:<br />
11. We’re very surprised that we are still<br />
breaking sales records this year, on<br />
top of our increased sales from 2021.<br />
12. The internet is killing our business –<br />
we can’t compete with what consumers<br />
believe is available online.<br />
13. I was surprised when everyone<br />
was talking doom and gloom<br />
about jewellery as a trade, I think<br />
it impressed me just how strong<br />
business has been. I thought it<br />
might’ve dropped off a little bit but<br />
we are finding things are going well.<br />
A vibrant and fearless industry<br />
Do any of the above statements resonate<br />
with you? Perhaps you find yourself on the<br />
opposing side?<br />
The important point here is that there are<br />
no right or wrong ‘opinions’, but rather that<br />
each experience and perspective paints a<br />
larger picture of what jewellers think.<br />
We have also stepped back in history<br />
through our comprehensive archives to<br />
see what you were thinking 10, 15 and 20<br />
years ago! Can you imagine the concerns<br />
of jewellers 20 years ago, compared to that<br />
of those today?<br />
The mark of a vibrant and fearless industry<br />
is when members of the trade can freely<br />
express one’s opinions and debate issues,<br />
even if controversial. This special edition is<br />
much like a long look into the mirror – it’s a<br />
reflection of the hearts and minds that make<br />
up our Australian jewellery industry. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 13
BESPOKE<br />
by BECKS<br />
Introducing Bespoke by BECKS.<br />
Bespoke by BECKS gives our customers the opportunity to<br />
design and create a forever piece for their client. We’re proud<br />
to have the opportunity to work alongside our customers to<br />
create that special piece that celebrates a connection and<br />
story. Whether building on an existing BECKS design or bringing<br />
a unique vision to life, our dedicated customer service and<br />
production team are there to support you through the process.
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
CHAIN STORE<br />
Sales performance remains as<br />
unpredictable as ever<br />
Shiels<br />
with Toby Bensimon, Managing director<br />
Est. 1945 • Years in Trade 20 • Location Adelaide, SA<br />
shiels.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Trying to predict sales volumes as demand<br />
and market trends remained unpredictable.<br />
Knowing how much to order from our<br />
suppliers has been a very serious challenge.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
How quickly it became boring to talk about<br />
the pandemic was a surprise. Our customers<br />
and teams see it as firmly in the rearview<br />
mirror and that snapped in as soon as we<br />
opened up.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
Guerilla tactics have to be employed in these<br />
times. Our team uses every interaction with<br />
people to spruik the benefits of working in<br />
our business. It has been surprising how well<br />
this strategy has worked. We must now seek<br />
great people rather than placing a job ad and<br />
waiting for resumes to arrive.<br />
In <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>, are you paying<br />
more or less tenancy costs (rent/lease,<br />
outgoings etc) than you were in 2019?<br />
Things have returned back to normal now<br />
and that extends to landlord deals in terms<br />
of costs. Lease terms have shortened which<br />
will take a few years to wash through the<br />
system but I believe that too will return to<br />
normal before too long.<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
Our sales increase every year as does profit.<br />
With fixed costs looking like they might be<br />
higher than 8 per cent this year, if sales and<br />
profit aren’t matching that number then you<br />
have a couple of years before its curtains for<br />
any business out there.<br />
Costs must never exceed income as a hard<br />
rule.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
At 14.5 per cent of total Australian retail<br />
sales being conducted through digital<br />
channels, I think that the growth will slow<br />
down. We are seeing slowdowns now and as<br />
the percentage inches up it will eventually<br />
hit a ceiling.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends in<br />
consumer product preference ?<br />
With the rise of Instagram as the influence<br />
channel of choice for our customer we have<br />
noticed that ‘hot’ products don’t exist in the<br />
way that they once did.<br />
We used to be able to pick a winner, market<br />
it in catalogue and sell loads of them<br />
because our customer was comparing that<br />
product to the four other catlogues that<br />
they had read that week. Now our customer<br />
flicks through instagram and sees one<br />
million different rings before breakfast and<br />
is looking for a large range in store.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
Less browsing and a higher conversion.<br />
It is perhaps a reflection that they have<br />
researched the product that they want<br />
before coming in.<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour in the past 5 years?<br />
Customers are shopping faster. Less<br />
browsing and faster expectations regarding<br />
the checkout experience is now nonnegotiable.<br />
What trends are you anticipating in<br />
consumer behaviour and overall sales?<br />
A big slowdown is ahead. Interest rates and<br />
general sentiment are looking pretty dire.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“The road<br />
of excess<br />
leads<br />
to the<br />
palace<br />
of wisdom.”<br />
Winter is coming…<br />
What is the most significant change to<br />
the industry in the past 10 years?<br />
Finance options. They have all but<br />
eliminated the layby payment system and<br />
that in turn has shifted the Christmas period<br />
from what used to be a September warmup,<br />
towards a late November peaking period<br />
as they can pull the trigger on a larger<br />
purchase closer to the 25 <strong>December</strong> and pay<br />
it off over time. This has been a huge shift.<br />
Again, thinking back to 2012, are there<br />
any products that have surprised you?<br />
I thought that the Apple iWatch was going<br />
to impact the watch industry in a major way.<br />
The opposite has been true with the watch<br />
category improving over this period. That<br />
has been a surprise.<br />
Thinking about the Australian and/or<br />
New Zealand jewellery industry, if there<br />
was one thing you could hope for, or one<br />
change you’d like to see, what is it?<br />
I hope for a return to a boring news cycle.<br />
I wish that I had no idea who the Chief<br />
Health Officers of each state were. I could<br />
live a happy life forgetting those schmucks,<br />
honestly.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
5 - The market will slow and we will get<br />
close to a recession as interest rates rise.<br />
We are heading into an economic doldrum.<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
Inflation and rising costs. We will have to lift<br />
prices to match these and it will be a tough<br />
road ahead. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 15
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
CHAIN STORE<br />
Benefiting from lessons learned<br />
during lockdown tribulations<br />
The <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Group<br />
with Mudit Vora, Chief Executive Officer (Zamel’s & Mazzucchelli’s)<br />
Est. 1903 • Years in Trade 14 • Location Adelaide, SA<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Staffing has been the biggest challenge this<br />
year, whilst we’ve been able to retain most of<br />
our staffing in management roles, hiring new<br />
team members within the entire organisation<br />
continues to be the biggest challenge.<br />
Have you had to change the way you<br />
manage your staff?<br />
Whilst the business has been fortunate<br />
enough to ensure most of the management<br />
has been retained, the new staff has been<br />
challenging. We’ve had to re-look at our<br />
recruitment avenues – previously we had<br />
only one or two – today almost five or six<br />
avenues to hire the right people.<br />
We’ve introduced referral incentives for<br />
existing teams, increased salary bands<br />
where applicable and re-configured our<br />
performance bonuses to ensure retention.<br />
Now that lockdowns are behind us, have<br />
you made any changes to your strategy?<br />
COVID lockdowns ensured every business<br />
was able to be agile in their approach, us<br />
being no different.<br />
Managing the business through COVID<br />
ensured the business is completely flexible<br />
in the management of the day-to-day<br />
operations, ready to make changes in a short<br />
amount of time.<br />
For our Mazzucchelli’s stores, we have been<br />
able to ensure a wider range of diamonds<br />
using our vertically integrated supply chain<br />
and for Zamel’s we’ve been able to expand<br />
our offering covering all relevant price points<br />
to ensure there’s something for everyone.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends in<br />
consumer product preference?<br />
The trends have certainly changed recently<br />
with a lot more customers wanting<br />
something unique and personalised.<br />
Mazzucchelli’s customers have been<br />
spending on higher price point items which<br />
are ‘one-offs’, we’ve also seen an increased<br />
trend of fancy shaped diamond, as against<br />
round brilliant.<br />
For Zamel’s, the growth of lab-created<br />
diamonds has been unprecedented, and<br />
the colour gemstones market seems to<br />
be growing steadily each year.<br />
What is the most significant change to<br />
the industry in the past decade?<br />
Social media trends have had a huge impact<br />
on jewellery retail especially with product<br />
trends. Previously it used to take a few<br />
years for certain trends to become a global<br />
trend however with social media influencers<br />
trends are accepted much quicker than<br />
before.<br />
The downside to this however also means<br />
trendy products can go out of fashion very<br />
quickly as the probability of a new trend<br />
coming into the market is also quicker.<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>s these days need to be quick in<br />
ensuring they can move with the market.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits?<br />
Customers these days are much more<br />
aware of what exactly they are looking for,<br />
a lot of research goes into their purchase<br />
which makes it easier for retailers.<br />
Are you selling more colour gemstone<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes, colour gemstones, both natural and<br />
synthetic, have been on trend the past few<br />
years. Some customers are even<br />
considering coloured gemstones for<br />
their engagement rings.<br />
Are you selling more pearls and pearl<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes. South Sea, Tahitian for Mazzucchelli’s<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Working<br />
hard and<br />
working<br />
smart can<br />
be two<br />
different<br />
things.”<br />
and Fresh Water for Zamel’s have been a<br />
massive part of our business. We expect<br />
to see it increasing more in the coming<br />
months. Pearl strands have been a great<br />
trend for red-carpet events.<br />
Looking forward to 2023, what trends are<br />
you anticipating in consumer behaviour,<br />
merchandise and overall industry sales?<br />
2023 will be an extension of what we’ve<br />
seen in 2021 and <strong>2022</strong>, more one-off unique<br />
pieces, coloured gemstone engagement<br />
rings, tennis styles as well as lab-created<br />
diamonds.<br />
Has the performance of any particular<br />
product surprised you in recent years?<br />
In the past three years, our business has<br />
invested heavily in our diamond jewellery<br />
using our resources within the vertical<br />
supply chain. It has been interesting to<br />
see the rise of yellow gold bridal jewellery<br />
compared to what it used to be.<br />
Tennis styles have been growing year-onyear<br />
making it one of the biggest ranges<br />
for us within Mazzucchelli’s. Natural colour<br />
gemstones and South Sea Pearls are<br />
continuing to see a rapid growth within the<br />
business.<br />
Higher than average certified diamond size<br />
has been trending well, better than in the<br />
past. Zamel’s continues to have a steady<br />
growth with lab-created diamonds which<br />
was unknown just five years ago.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident<br />
are you for the next 12 months in<br />
terms of sales and profitability?<br />
6 – With potential travel plans to go back<br />
to pre-COVID levels in 2023, as well as<br />
concerns around interest rates, there<br />
could be an impact on customer<br />
spending on luxury items. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 17
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
CHAIN STORE<br />
While change is inevitable,<br />
growth is optional<br />
Wallace Bishop<br />
with Stuart Bishop, Chief Exective Officer<br />
Est. 1917 • Years in Trade 37 • Location Newstead, QLD<br />
wallacebishop.com.au<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
Like every business, we faced our own<br />
challenges with staff during, and post-<br />
COVID. Fortunately, 12 months ago, we<br />
overhauled our retail support team and put<br />
a focus on developing and empowering our<br />
store managers and associates within the<br />
business.<br />
Our position was for them to understand<br />
their value in the business and where their<br />
lines of support are. The managers have<br />
the authority, and the guidelines to procure,<br />
develop and manage their team in line with<br />
the new expectations of the business and are<br />
fully supported by an internal support team.<br />
Have you changed business strategies<br />
now that lockdowns are behind us?<br />
A business should constantly be reviewing its<br />
strategies based on what is occurring and if<br />
a change is needed, to do it quickly. We have<br />
executed multiple changes as a business,<br />
adjusting with the market post-lockdown of<br />
which we were fortunate enough to see a<br />
positive result.<br />
We worked with staff, specifically managers,<br />
to develop their leadership with the<br />
challenges of staffing and changed our entire<br />
development and support structure for our<br />
stores. We have reviewed and introduced new<br />
product ranges that balance both trends and<br />
demands from the market with quality that is<br />
complementary to our brand’s history.<br />
As a business we focus on continuous<br />
improvement and work towards making<br />
advances every day. At the moment we<br />
continue to be customer-centric, and our<br />
developments revolve around the client<br />
experience, ease of service, and education<br />
for our clients.<br />
Have you noticed any new changes in<br />
consumer product preference?<br />
What’s old is new again – the uptake in<br />
vintage or vintage styles has been in very<br />
high demand. Although it does come with<br />
its modern-day touches. We started noticing<br />
it with the uptake in pearls and plain gold<br />
pieces.<br />
From there the evolution of plain gold<br />
pieces, signet rings, and, croissant style<br />
huggie earrings. All things that remind us of<br />
mum’s old jewellery that used to be used for<br />
dress-ups. More to come and keep it going<br />
we say!<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits?<br />
Where people became very comfortable with<br />
online shopping during COVID, we have seen<br />
this preference steady as more and more<br />
people become comfortable with visiting<br />
stores again. Online has definitely become<br />
the norm with clients having their initial<br />
contact with the brand through an online<br />
or digital platform of some type. But now<br />
they have the opportunity to visit a store and<br />
experience the product and the brand - this<br />
experience needs to be the focus for us.<br />
This is where it becomes important for<br />
brands to enhance their brand experience.<br />
As we continue to develop our online<br />
experience, we are working towards offering<br />
a new physical experience in our stores.<br />
Another project for 2023!<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour due to COVID?<br />
The most promising change we have seen<br />
in consumer behaviour is the preference<br />
of quality. I believe the factors that<br />
impacted everyone saw a communal shift<br />
in preferences for product that is created<br />
upon the foundations of quality on top of<br />
sustainable and ethical factors.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“If a change<br />
is needed,<br />
do it<br />
quickly.”<br />
For a brand that has a history like ours, we<br />
have always been sure that quality remains<br />
as a pillar in everything we do, so it was a<br />
promising sign to see consumers recognise<br />
and act upon a preference for quality. This<br />
has come from a developed understanding<br />
from consumers (especially in Australia)<br />
about where their products come from and<br />
being given a choice. Those that are willing<br />
to spend more to have a product that is wellcrafted<br />
from a trusted brand, and it is well<br />
cared for, will see it last longer.<br />
Choice is the biggest factor here, and COVID<br />
emphasised that. Customers can now<br />
choose whether they might spend a little<br />
more for a solid gold piece over a hollow,<br />
or plated piece for example. This may not<br />
always be possible to achieve, however as<br />
long as there is a choice and it is considered,<br />
we can provide the best outcome.<br />
What is the most significant change<br />
to the industry in the past 10 years?<br />
Online retailing is still the biggest game<br />
changer as it has made businesses focus<br />
on multiple areas of client experience more<br />
than ever before.<br />
Not only relevant to our industry, but the<br />
increased competition from other industries<br />
has been a big part of what jewellers must<br />
consider and change to present their brands<br />
to clients with discretionary spending, that<br />
could potentially spend money on travel,<br />
clothes, and other luxury goods both locally<br />
and internationally.<br />
What will be the most significant<br />
challenge your business faces in 2023?<br />
I think the most significant challenge in any<br />
business will always be change itself. 2021<br />
and <strong>2022</strong> have been a constant evolution,<br />
where we were required to make changes<br />
and adapt to different situations.i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 19
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
CHAIN STORE<br />
Overcoming today’s<br />
recruitment challenges<br />
Mazzucchelli’s<br />
with Cindy Pope, Retail general manager (The <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Group)<br />
Est. 1903 • Years in Trade 20 • Location Adelaide, SA<br />
mazzucchellis.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
The biggest issue we have faced this year<br />
would be people. Recruitment has been<br />
challenging all year, we have observed a<br />
decline in the calibre of potential employees<br />
coming through on recruitment platforms<br />
such as Seek and Linkedin.<br />
When candidates do turn up for the<br />
interviews, they are quite demanding in<br />
their approach and appear to have the<br />
upper hand in the interview. Working from<br />
home has become a big perk to many office<br />
workers however as a customer facing<br />
industry, we do not have this luxury.<br />
Can you make a comment about online<br />
retailing? - Are you happy with the<br />
percentage of online sales, and do you<br />
see it increasing in the future?<br />
The <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Group brands were late<br />
adaptors to the e-commerce business,<br />
implementing the Mazzucchelli’s website<br />
at the peak of the pandemic.<br />
Since the launch however the e-commerce<br />
business for the brands has been<br />
unsurprisingly quite successful with<br />
double-digit growth year-on-year. We are<br />
continually looking at enhancing our online<br />
user-experience and aim to have our online<br />
store as one of the biggest within the next<br />
3-5 years.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
Our long serving managers are still<br />
dedicated to our business, however new staff<br />
are proving to be difficult to get on board<br />
with lists of demands and entitlements. We<br />
have had to change some processes with<br />
recruitment, including store decals with<br />
barcodes linking directly to recruitment.<br />
It has meant increased salary bandings,<br />
the introduction of on-boarding bonuses,<br />
and bonuses to our team who put forward<br />
candidates that are successful and pass<br />
probation.<br />
Have you changed business strategies<br />
now that lockdowns are behind us?<br />
We have expanded our diamond business<br />
through the pandemic, using our exclusive<br />
resources through our vertically integrated<br />
diamond supply chain and expanding the<br />
branded and non-branded diamond ranges<br />
by more then double.<br />
In <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>, are you paying<br />
more or less tenancy costs (rent/<br />
lease, outgoings etc) than you were in<br />
<strong>December</strong> 2019?<br />
During the pandemic our business was<br />
fortunate to get the support from shopping<br />
centres - whether it was through rental<br />
re-negotiations or temporary abatements.<br />
There are still some stores with longer<br />
lock-ins but overall, the business has<br />
been extremely pro-active in ensuring<br />
almost each and every store is financially<br />
productive.<br />
Thinking back to 2012, are there any<br />
products that have surprised you<br />
because you’re selling more of and/or<br />
and selling less of today?<br />
During the past three years, our business<br />
has invested heavily in our diamond<br />
jewellery using our resources within<br />
the vertical supply chain.<br />
It has been interesting to note the rise of<br />
yellow gold bridal jewellery. Tennis styles<br />
have been growing year-on-year making<br />
it one of the biggest ranges for us within<br />
Mazzucchelli’s.<br />
Natural colour stones and South Sea pearls<br />
are continuing to see rapid growth within the<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“I never<br />
dreamed of<br />
success,<br />
I worked<br />
for it.”<br />
business. Higher than the average certified<br />
diamond size has trended well in the past.<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
Sales have increased and we have noticed<br />
customers are still seeking that ‘luxury<br />
spend’ and while the boarders are open,<br />
travel is not what it used to be.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends in<br />
consumer product preference (styles,<br />
materials etc) over the past 12 months?<br />
Yes in Mazzucchelli’s larger priced items,<br />
one-off statement pieces such as tennis<br />
necklaces and bracelets.<br />
Are you selling more colour gemstone<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Definitely - there’s been a massive spike in<br />
natural gemstone sales. We have doubled<br />
our ranges in those areas.<br />
Are you selling more pearls and pearl<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes, we have strengthened our partnership<br />
with Autore and launched a collection last<br />
year called Perla by Autore which added 30<br />
new pieces to our existing range.<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour in the past 5 years,<br />
particularly due to COVID?<br />
Yes, we have noticed an increase in customer<br />
spends, today’s customers are also shopping<br />
more for themselves and spoiling themselves.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
10 - I think we have an exceptional team<br />
with fantastic unique exclusive brands,<br />
fabulous product offerings, strong<br />
partnerships with our Swiss suppliers<br />
and of course as I mentioned, our unique<br />
vertical supply chain.i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 21
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Est. 1990
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Through the looking glass<br />
at tomorrow’s diamonds<br />
Holloway Diamonds<br />
with Garry Holloway, Owner<br />
Est. 1976 • Years in Trade 48 • Location Melbourne, Victoria<br />
hollowaydiamonds.com.au<br />
Have you noted a substantive interest<br />
in lab-created diamonds from your<br />
customers over the past 12-24 months?<br />
Yes, only a very small rise in interest but<br />
we do have “Only Natural” on our logo and<br />
we don’t do lab-created diamond SEO or<br />
advertising. So we have had a small number<br />
of requests, more in our Brighton store than<br />
Canterbury store which is a destination store.<br />
Have lab-created diamonds impacted<br />
sales of natural diamond jewellery?<br />
They’ve increased sales! Our salespeople<br />
have changed the minds of people when they<br />
learned that giving a fake gift to a partner<br />
may not be wise! Why indicate that you’re a<br />
cheapskate?<br />
Has the average selling price of a diamond<br />
ring changed since lab-created diamonds<br />
gained prominence?<br />
Of course it has increased but that’s more<br />
to do with the rise in the price of natural<br />
diamonds during the COVID pandemic and<br />
across the past year. And the US dollar has<br />
been all over the place but mostly higher for<br />
Australia. They are the prime reasons why<br />
diamond prices have increased.<br />
Do you think there is a belief by<br />
consumers that lab-created diamonds<br />
are “better for the planet”?<br />
Many consumers are hoodwinked because<br />
the margins on lab-created diamonds have<br />
been so astronomically ridiculously high<br />
that lots of fake news and money has been<br />
spent on that branding to say lab-created<br />
diamonds are more eco-friendly.<br />
But of course it’s unproven and until the<br />
greenwashing is called for what it is, we<br />
won’t really know. A tonne of carbon dioxide<br />
offset costs more than $US100 in Europe, but<br />
a few cents in India where the vast majority<br />
of larger CVD (chemical vapor desposition)<br />
lab-created diamonds are grown. The Indian<br />
government is even giving lower electricity<br />
taxes to expand that business and more<br />
than three quarters of their electricity comes<br />
from burning fossil fuels!<br />
But I am happy that it’s forced the natural<br />
diamond market to change the way it mines,<br />
and the way it treats its diamonds, the<br />
workers and the surrounding environments.<br />
The lab-created diamond greenwashing has<br />
been good for the whole industry, a bit like<br />
the blood diamonds frenzy that inspired an<br />
improvement in our industry’s ethics.<br />
The one thing that needs to change on<br />
sourcing diamonds is labs to come clean<br />
on hazy milky cloudy diamonds. Instead of<br />
concealing those stones by lowering the<br />
clarity grade with confusing terminology,<br />
like clouds not shown, or grading based on<br />
internal graining, labs should call a spade<br />
a spade. Add a grading like all the large<br />
honest Indian natural diamond cutting<br />
manufacturers do. Excellent, Very Good,<br />
Slightly Milky, Milky and so on. Labs know<br />
it when they see it, and they know they are<br />
deceiving consumers. This applies to both<br />
natural and even more so to lab-created<br />
diamonds as most CVD diamonds have<br />
grainy growth planes.<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Of course it was staffing and staff<br />
replacement – we never fired or laid<br />
anyone off during COVID. When we came<br />
out of lockdowns in Melbourne a lot of<br />
businesses that took Job Keeper restarted<br />
and tried to employ salespeople and<br />
jewellers. A lot of people on Job Keeper -<br />
here and around the world - learned to<br />
live on less money. Those that wanted to<br />
work were being offered crazy money.<br />
Over the past year some salespeople left<br />
and from what I hear, they’re struggling<br />
to get even close to what we paid them.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“You have to<br />
demonstrate<br />
that you are<br />
worthy of<br />
trust, you<br />
can’t simply<br />
ask for it.”<br />
We have had fantastic new experienced<br />
people start with us, people with ‘batteries<br />
included’.<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
Our business and our profitability is nearly<br />
doubled and that is continuing even as<br />
clients trip around the world again. We<br />
got really good at working with clients<br />
at a distance.<br />
Our salespeople were forced to reach out<br />
and use our client databases and contact<br />
customers. There had been cold calling<br />
reluctance before but they know that when<br />
they do, most of the time, customers are<br />
really happy to talk to you. We’ve already<br />
established relationships with clients, and<br />
they got stronger through COVID.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
Well, it’s obvious, take the two biggest, Blue<br />
Nile and James Allen. I know both intimately<br />
and they are opening brick and mortar<br />
stores. Their costs and margins are going<br />
up and getting closer and closer to<br />
overheads of brick and mortar retail.<br />
Marketing cost have gone through the roof<br />
as Google and Facebook and Instagram<br />
are getting greedier and greedier.<br />
I joined the business of a diamond forum<br />
and aggregator in 1999 because I was<br />
sure I would need to sell online to survive,<br />
but never got even close to needing to<br />
sell online. The cost difference between<br />
running a bricks and mortar store vs<br />
online-only is shrinking.<br />
In the US during COVID the online diamond<br />
business got to 25 per cent of the market -<br />
I predict that when it reaches 50:50 the cost<br />
bases for successful businesses will be<br />
equivalent and by then myself, and likely you<br />
reading this, will be pushing up daisies. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 23
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Abiding the proven principles<br />
of the jewellery trade<br />
Abrecht Bird <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Peter Bird, Owner<br />
Est. 1875 • Years in Trade 41 • Location Melbourne, VIC<br />
abrecht.com.au<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
When the doors of our business were<br />
closed to our customers, we still had a<br />
substantial backlog of outstanding<br />
orders for handmade jewellery.<br />
Luckily a couple of our jewellers had work<br />
benches at home, so they could continue<br />
to produce.<br />
Have you changed your business now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
One of our team, Eleanor, an outstanding<br />
jeweller, suggested that we should engage<br />
with our client list online, by artistically<br />
presenting our product that was otherwise<br />
residing within our safes. The result was<br />
overwhelming!<br />
Although our business had transformed<br />
over recent years towards hand making<br />
individual pieces, our ‘old’ stock was<br />
suddenly in demand.<br />
This created an amazing cash buffer<br />
and gave us hope that we would survive.<br />
Government assistance bolstered this.<br />
When our doors reopened the pent-up<br />
demand translated into a boom! I had<br />
never seen such buoyant conditions.<br />
We had a huge stockpile of stock, and this<br />
initiative of Eleanor’s turned it into cash!<br />
What are some of the important changes<br />
within your business in recent years?<br />
Our background, for more than 100 years<br />
(four generations) was as manufacturers<br />
and wholesalers, supplying the best retailers<br />
around Australia.<br />
But because of a robbery committed by a<br />
South American criminal gang who preyed<br />
upon diamond reps, I stopped travelling<br />
and switched our focus to making custom/<br />
handmade jewellery for our private clients.<br />
I soon came to enjoy the chance to assist<br />
our growing list of private clients – taking<br />
great pride in their happy reactions to the<br />
pieces of jewellery which they commission<br />
us to produce – by far my favourite aspect<br />
of the job.<br />
What will be the most significant<br />
challenge your business faces in 2023?<br />
Since those heady days I mentioned earlier,<br />
fortunes have changed. The burst of<br />
spending turned into a trickle as economic,<br />
and world political news soured. The catchup<br />
business of postponed engagements<br />
and weddings slowed down.<br />
Naturally, our figures declined as the<br />
economic circumstances evolved.<br />
The current economic environment of<br />
higher inflation and interest rates has<br />
seen a huge decline in demand for<br />
engagement rings.<br />
However, after three months in the<br />
doldrums, things are now back on track<br />
and hopefully, it stays that way for some<br />
time to come.<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
In the early days of release from<br />
lockdown, people were frightened of social<br />
engagement, so they were reluctant to visit<br />
Melbourne city again.<br />
Thankfully I can report that has changed -<br />
we are now seeing more appointments.<br />
True, many enquiries have migrated from<br />
high value diamond engagement and<br />
wedding rings to transforming older family<br />
jewellery into new pieces, but this is our<br />
forte.<br />
If there was one thing you could hope to<br />
see within the industry, what would it be?<br />
My only hope is that within our business,<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Quality<br />
without<br />
compromise.”<br />
we continue to to stick with the principles<br />
of trade we know have served us well for<br />
decades.<br />
We must continuously adapt and we are<br />
indeed fortunate to have a very talented<br />
team in our workshop who can create<br />
works of art that delight our small but<br />
discriminating client base.<br />
We are now struggling to keep up!<br />
Abrecht Bird <strong>Jeweller</strong>s has a long and<br />
strong history of which we are extremely<br />
proud.<br />
Businesses cannot survive long in this<br />
industry unless they are based on solid<br />
foundations of quality and integrity.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
Although our workshop staff are long time<br />
and very experienced employees, we have<br />
had to adopt a more flexible approach.<br />
Gone are the days of my grandfather and<br />
father, when the workshop was full of men<br />
working 40 hours a week under the eye of<br />
a supervising foreman!<br />
Now each of our jewellers works on various<br />
days of the week.<br />
Greg works three days off site and two days<br />
in the workshop, while Eleanor has recently<br />
returned part time from maternity leave, so<br />
she is here two days a week.<br />
Yuki recently accepted a position as a<br />
teacher at TAFE so she is now only with<br />
us two days a week, and Tony likewise<br />
works three days a week.<br />
This is the new business landscape, not<br />
just in our industry but many others.<br />
It has its challenges, however, we must<br />
be flexible. i<br />
24 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Diamond industry handling<br />
synthetic challenge with class<br />
Holdsworth Bros<br />
with Chris Holdsworth, Co-owner<br />
Est. 1884 • Years in Trade 32 • Location Melbourne, VIC<br />
holdsworthbros.com<br />
Have you noted a substantive interest<br />
in lab-created diamonds from your<br />
customers over the past 12-24 months?<br />
The topic of lab created diamonds has<br />
been a fascinating one to watch unfold<br />
across our industry. While synthetic gems<br />
have been with us for more than 100 years<br />
– and imitations for thousands of years –<br />
diamond synthetics are unique.<br />
Firstly, diamonds are by far the most<br />
popular gemstone in jewellery on the planet<br />
so that alone gets them special attention.<br />
And secondly, subtlety but equally as<br />
important, synthetic diamonds are not<br />
definitely distinguishable from their<br />
natural counterpart using standard<br />
field gemmological tools.<br />
This makes their status in jewellery<br />
different to coloured synthetics which<br />
can be distinguished with far more<br />
certainty using gemmological training<br />
and a good toolkit.<br />
So if jewellers can’t tell, surely that<br />
means consumers should consider<br />
them? The answer to this, judging by<br />
the marketplace, is a resounding ‘Yes!’.<br />
We have received an ever increasing<br />
number of requests and opinion on<br />
synthetic diamonds and spent quite<br />
some time training our staff on how<br />
to handle these clients.<br />
Our view is that synthetic diamonds<br />
are imitations of natural diamonds.<br />
Yes, physically, optically, chemically<br />
they are the same mineral but they<br />
fail one of the three basic ‘what is a<br />
gemstone?’ tests. Rarity.<br />
Has that interest translated to more - or<br />
less - sales of natural diamond jewellery?<br />
Natural diamonds are valuable because<br />
they are rare. This rarity feeds directly into<br />
the allure and appeal driving the emotion<br />
of owning a natural diamond. Synthetic<br />
diamonds however are not rare, and their<br />
prices have plummeted and continue to<br />
do so. 80 per cent off Rap was common<br />
a couple of years ago. 90 per cent now is<br />
normal as production prices fall. It seems<br />
almost bizarre that you would even grade<br />
synthetic diamonds the same way as<br />
natural, I guess this is done to try and rub<br />
off on that value natural diamonds have.<br />
In contrast natural diamond prices have<br />
appreciated substantially after their COVID<br />
pause, particularly 1-carat plus sizes in<br />
higher colours and clarity. My personal<br />
view is that this is a result of cash pumped<br />
into economies over the past five years<br />
rather than an aversion to the flood of<br />
synthetic diamonds in the market. Unlike<br />
the synthetic market you can’t just increase<br />
supply, so demand accelerating not<br />
matched by supply causes prices to rise.<br />
As much as synthetic diamonds are not<br />
a fit for my company, they do have a place<br />
in jewellery, they are still beautiful and<br />
they are durable. There are retailers who<br />
make an entire business of selling imitation<br />
diamonds, like moissanite and cubic<br />
zirconia.<br />
Synthetic diamonds will soon enough<br />
compete on price for these retailers to<br />
consider. Already they allow those with<br />
a modest budget to find something with<br />
some serious ‘Wow!’, and many jewellers<br />
embrace this.<br />
Do you think there is a belief by<br />
consumers that lab-created diamonds<br />
are “better for the planet”?<br />
Another factor to consider is this<br />
slow, but accelerating, move towards<br />
ethical, sustainable and environmental<br />
considerations. What the synthetic<br />
diamond industry’s push is that its<br />
diamonds are ‘better for the planet’ than<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Look<br />
after your<br />
customers<br />
every step<br />
of the way.”<br />
natural diamonds. At first blush you think<br />
about the scar a natural diamond mine<br />
causes to the landscape, the roads and<br />
machinery required to process the ore<br />
and you could agree. But like anything it<br />
is far more complex. Production of<br />
synthetic diamond requires its own heavy<br />
machinery and is very energy intensive.<br />
Better questions to ask are - what are the<br />
policies about returning mined land back<br />
its original state? What are the employment<br />
outcomes and conditions of work for the<br />
people involved in each industry? How is<br />
the energy required generated?<br />
What are the regimes being supported<br />
through the production process? Thinking<br />
about those and doing a little research,<br />
particularly with COVID still around, might<br />
make you reassess.<br />
Looking forward to 2023, what trends are<br />
you anticipating across the industry?<br />
I actually think the industry is doing a great<br />
job of managing lab-created diamonds<br />
as this new product. Competition is good<br />
enough for pricing to be determined by the<br />
market with no dominant players causing<br />
distortions.<br />
Information is freely available and the<br />
consumer is able to make an informed<br />
choice, should they make an effort.<br />
Disclosure is largely excellent, with the<br />
occasional exception and little nit picking<br />
here and there over terminology.<br />
New tools are being developed to allow<br />
gemmologists and jewellers to more<br />
reasonably and cheaply test diamonds.<br />
For now there is balance, but better<br />
synthetics will be developed and testing<br />
will need to catch up and as always, trust<br />
and integrity will remain paramount for<br />
the entire industry to flourish. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 25
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Always place your business<br />
in a position to succeed<br />
Charles Rose <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Asher Rose, Chief Operations Officer<br />
Est. 1923 • Years in Trade 4 • Location Melbourne, VIC<br />
charlesrose.com.au<br />
Have you noted a substantive interest<br />
and request for lab-created diamonds<br />
from over the past 12-24 months?<br />
We have witnessed an increase in requests<br />
for lab-created diamonds, however the<br />
overwhelming majority of interest remains<br />
in natural stones.<br />
This trend is reflected both in what we term<br />
our “general jewellery” category, as well as<br />
our range of engagement rings.<br />
While there is interest in lab-created<br />
diamonds, we equally deal with customers<br />
who actively avoid them and are focused<br />
purely on natural diamonds.<br />
The increase in interest in lab-created<br />
diamond pieces has not impacted our<br />
natural diamond sales at all, with us<br />
continuing to have strong interest and<br />
sales in the category.<br />
My feeling is that the lab-created vs natural<br />
diamond argument is somewhat moot, with<br />
a focus on the customer being paramount.<br />
The fundamentals have not changed, with<br />
the need to have absolutely exceptional<br />
product quality and customer experiences<br />
remaining the priority, which is how our<br />
company looks to differentiate itself.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
We have found it challenging to find suitable<br />
staff recently.<br />
There have been reported issues across<br />
multiple industries, which could be a factor,<br />
however we are also extremely particular<br />
with the people that we look to include in<br />
our team.<br />
There is a range of factors that we look<br />
for depending on the role and required<br />
experience level.<br />
We are incredibly lucky to have the team<br />
we have, with all parts needing to operate<br />
effectively and efficiently for us to succeed<br />
together.<br />
This extends beyond just our consultants,<br />
to our jewellers, support and administration<br />
teams.<br />
Our team is very dedicated, with over half<br />
our people having been with us for doubledigit<br />
years, a portion of those are 30+.<br />
Being the fourth generation representative<br />
in my family business, it is amazing to think<br />
that there are people that I get to work with<br />
who I cannot even remember meeting.<br />
They have been a part of my life for as long<br />
as I can remember!<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
There are an infinite number of factors to<br />
consider when building our forecasts for<br />
the next 12 months.<br />
Both micro and macro factors are<br />
important, so it is difficult to come to a<br />
precise, quantifiable “out of ten” number.<br />
Locally, and internationally, there feels to be<br />
a lot of uncertainty and concern which has<br />
potential to become a critical consideration.<br />
International unrest also has implications<br />
for things like the availability of the (very<br />
particular) goods we go looking for, as<br />
well as their prices, and therefore our own<br />
competitiveness in a very busy market.<br />
Having said that, we are confident and<br />
excited for the next 12 months and what<br />
we think it will bring.<br />
We are very much a forward looking<br />
business and are continually working to<br />
put ourselves and our teams in positions<br />
to succeed.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Quality,<br />
beauty and<br />
timelessness<br />
in every<br />
design.”<br />
This is always irrespective of the broader<br />
factors at play.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as<br />
being a larger or lesser threat to your<br />
business over the next five years?<br />
The idea of threats or competition is<br />
something that extends much further<br />
than only something like “chain stores”<br />
or, as a luxury jewellery house, even<br />
our more direct competitors.<br />
The reality of the situation is that we no<br />
longer only compete with other jewellers,<br />
we compete with “life”.<br />
Previously, when a couple got engaged, it<br />
was perhaps more “assumed” that there<br />
would be a diamond engagement ring<br />
involved.<br />
This simply is not as much the case<br />
anymore.<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>y is now a discretionary, rather<br />
than an essential purchase with people<br />
asking themselves important questions<br />
when it comes to their spending.<br />
Would they rather put their money towards<br />
their actual wedding? How about towards<br />
a house deposit? Or honeymoon? Or preexisting<br />
life expenses?<br />
People are also selecting “less-traditional<br />
engagement rings”.<br />
It is critically important to be dynamic and<br />
quick to adjust - always, but particularly in<br />
the current environment.<br />
Value is something that we really stand<br />
behind - we are not the cheapest jeweller<br />
in the market by any means, and we never<br />
will be.<br />
What we provide is a service and product<br />
that we believe to be superior and, yet even<br />
for the price, provides exceptional value to<br />
our customers. i<br />
26 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
DIAMOND SPECIALIST<br />
Customers desire quality<br />
jewellery - so give it to them!<br />
Linney’s <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
with Justin Linney, Creative director<br />
Est. 1972 • Years in Trade 15 • Location Perth, WA<br />
linneys.com.au<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
There was much more appreciation for<br />
locally produced goods and shorter wait<br />
times on custom orders.<br />
With the gold price increasing over the<br />
last few years, it has put a spotlight on<br />
the value of gold.<br />
Over the past 12 months, we’ve noticed<br />
a strong increase in website browsing,<br />
which is ultimately leading to purchase.<br />
We’re finding more and more customers<br />
will select a favourite piece online<br />
before heading into one of our physical<br />
showrooms.<br />
Rather than visiting one of our showrooms<br />
for advice, there has definitely been<br />
an increase in customers doing initial<br />
research from the comfort of their own<br />
homes before visiting us in person.<br />
Despite this, people investing in fine<br />
jewellery often still want to be educated<br />
on the products by our highly trained<br />
salespeople, gaining personalised advice<br />
for their enquiry.<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour in the past 5 years,<br />
particularly due to COVID?<br />
Since COVID there is certainly more<br />
preparedness from clients to shop and<br />
transact online.<br />
We’re definitely seeing more sales<br />
enquiries handled over the phone,<br />
email - even text messages.<br />
Another notable change in the past five<br />
years is a movement towards high quality<br />
items that last instead of fast fashion that<br />
becomes landfill - this flows into luxury<br />
fashion items including jewellery.<br />
In 2020/2021 we noted an increase<br />
in diamond sales, as more and more<br />
consumers view this as a long-term<br />
investment.<br />
Local manufacturing, shopping and<br />
wait times were also at the forefront of<br />
consumer buying considerations.<br />
Looking forward to 2023, what trends are<br />
you anticipating in consumer behaviour?<br />
Consumers are more time poor, therefore<br />
they expect a much faster response rate<br />
to enquiries. We’re also seeing a decrease<br />
in store visitation timelines - people want<br />
to get in and out.<br />
We’re expecting sales to stay strong,<br />
however people are planning overseas<br />
travel which means the opportunity to<br />
purchase luxury items overseas increases<br />
and spending locally decreases across the<br />
board.<br />
Are there any changes brought on by the<br />
pandemic that are here ‘for good’?<br />
One change that will stick around is<br />
the desire to support local businesses.<br />
Customers are more conscious of<br />
shopping local and being aware of<br />
where products are made.<br />
With the huge supply chain issues<br />
caused by COVID, it really highlighted the<br />
difference between locally made products<br />
and overseas products.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
9 - We’re very confident in the market and<br />
our product.<br />
We are beyond excited to launch our latest<br />
50th Anniversary collections and look<br />
forward to showcasing these designs to<br />
our customers over the next 12 months.<br />
As noted, we are aware that more people<br />
will travel and spend more overseas;<br />
however, they will continue to invest in<br />
timeless jewellery pieces, especially<br />
pearls and pink diamonds.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Choose your<br />
battles<br />
wisely.”<br />
I believe the younger market is and will<br />
continue to look at gold differently and<br />
appreciate it more as a precious metal<br />
that can withstand downturns in the<br />
economy.<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
The most significant challenge we will<br />
face will be staffing.<br />
Ensuring we have enough highly trained<br />
staff for our three showrooms, allowing us<br />
to provide the best service and knowledge<br />
around selling from the collection but<br />
also custom making jewellery.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as<br />
being a larger or lesser threat to your<br />
business over the next five years?<br />
Chain stores form a big part of the<br />
jewellery industry but they will be a lesser<br />
threat to our business over the next five<br />
years as customers will be increasingly<br />
aware of manufacturing and quality<br />
considerations around all the products<br />
they are buying.<br />
We strongly believe that this will highlight<br />
the difference between fine jewellery and<br />
mass produced jewellery.<br />
Have you noted interest for lab-created<br />
diamonds from your customers over the<br />
past 12-24 months?<br />
No, as a business we have not had any<br />
requests for lab grown diamonds over<br />
the past 12-24 months.<br />
Linneys don’t intend on using lab-created<br />
diamonds as they don’t align with our<br />
product offering or values as a company.i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 27
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP HEAD<br />
May your profits be high,<br />
and your overheads low<br />
Nationwide <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Glen Pocklington, General manager<br />
Est. 1991 • Years in Trade 1 • Location Gordon, NSW<br />
jgbs.com<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
The entire industry was surprised by the<br />
significant surge in jewellery sales post<br />
lockdowns, and equally surprised that<br />
these increases have not abated.<br />
The main factors appear to have been<br />
consumers spending a lot of the money<br />
that they saved during lockdowns, the<br />
significant amount of money normally<br />
spent on overseas trips now being spent<br />
locally and further growth in demand for<br />
custom made jewellery.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
With our new Shopify websites many<br />
members are achieving substantial online<br />
sales, and importantly most of these sales<br />
are new customers. Members are also<br />
reporting that many customers are browsing<br />
their online stores first before coming in to<br />
view and purchase those items.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer product preference<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
Both gold jewellery and diamond jewellery<br />
have seen the largest increases in sales,<br />
with both categories up about 100 per cent<br />
on 2019.<br />
Have you noted a substantive interest in<br />
laboratory-created diamonds over the<br />
past 12-24 months?<br />
Consumer demand for lab-created<br />
diamonds started to increase late last year<br />
and is continuing to grow. The same trend<br />
has occurred in the UK and US jewellery<br />
industry.<br />
Has that interest translated to more - or<br />
less - sales of natural diamond jewellery?<br />
Fortunately, sales of lab-created diamonds<br />
have been ‘extra’ sales and have not reduced<br />
sales of natural diamonds.<br />
Has the average selling price of a<br />
diamond ring changed since the labcreated<br />
diamonds have gained more<br />
prominence with consumers?<br />
Generally diamond prices have increased,<br />
partly because of the regulations prohibiting<br />
the purchase of diamonds from Alrosa<br />
cutting supply by 30 per cent and partly due<br />
to the strengthening US dollar.<br />
Thinking back to say, 2012, what is the<br />
most significant change to the industry in<br />
the past 10 years?<br />
Australian jewellery sales were flat, with<br />
some small declines from 2014 to 2020.<br />
The post pandemic sales surge is one of the<br />
most significant changes to the industry.<br />
Clearly we would all like to see these<br />
higher levels of demand for jewellery<br />
continue. The test will be in 2023 – will<br />
high inflation and increases in living costs<br />
dampen sales growth?<br />
We also saw an increased market share – a<br />
large number of jewellery stores in Australia<br />
closed their doors over the seven years,<br />
from 2013 to 2020.<br />
We estimate that over 400 stores, or 12 per<br />
cent of all retail jewellers closed. As a result<br />
the increase in jewellery sales has been split<br />
between fewer jewellery stores.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
Probably 7 to 8 out of 10.<br />
Despite the economic pressures on<br />
consumers, we believe that most<br />
independent jewellers will continue to enjoy<br />
buoyant trading because they have attracted<br />
quite a few new customers over the last two<br />
years due to their repair and manufacture<br />
services, and the growth in demand for<br />
custom design jewellery will continue.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Work on<br />
your business,<br />
not in your<br />
business.”<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your members will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
We continue to assist our members by<br />
trying to understand what is occurring in<br />
the economy and how it may impact on the<br />
jewellery industry. This helps us to provide<br />
our members with the necessary strategies<br />
and tools to succeed through all cycles of<br />
the economy.<br />
The Global <strong>Jeweller</strong>s Network - our<br />
alliance with The Company of Master<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>s (UK) and Independent Jewelers<br />
Organisation (USA) provides us with very<br />
valuable market intelligence.<br />
Many industry trends emerge in these<br />
larger markets before we see them in<br />
Australia and New Zealand.<br />
The collective knowledge of our three<br />
buying groups, representing more than<br />
1,500 independent jewellery stores is a<br />
valuable asset, which will deliver benefits<br />
to our membership in the years ahead.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as<br />
being a larger or lesser threat to your<br />
business over the next five years?<br />
Chain stores are not a threat to a large<br />
proportion of independent jewellers,<br />
because they don’t overlap significantly<br />
in the market in terms of products and<br />
services.<br />
In the past 18 months we have provided<br />
members with resources and skills in<br />
areas such as inventory optimisation and<br />
access to data on the best selling suppliers<br />
and products in the market. These are key<br />
aspects of ‘retail science’ that the chain<br />
stores employ, and now our members<br />
are enjoying the same benefit in their<br />
businesses. i<br />
28 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: NATIONWIDE<br />
Education key to strong<br />
relationships with customers<br />
Creations <strong>Jeweller</strong>y and Designers<br />
with Greg Macintyre, Owner<br />
Est. 1999 • Years in Trade 23 • Location Fremantle, WA<br />
creationsjewellery.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
The most significant challenge in <strong>2022</strong> was<br />
the pandemic restrictions, primarily the<br />
unknown regarding the borders opening<br />
in Western Australia.<br />
We had gone from a fairly consistent<br />
amount of work through our workshop<br />
and reasonable retail sales to experiencing<br />
weeks of highs and lows with no consistency.<br />
We were either very busy or periods of being<br />
quiet, especially in retail sales.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
We have been fortunate that we have<br />
long-term employees that have been<br />
with us for a number of years.<br />
We also managed to hire another jeweller<br />
after searching for a couple of years so<br />
able to keep more work in-house instead<br />
of outsourcing.<br />
One of the keys to keeping the staff has<br />
been to try and be flexible regarding rosters<br />
and work around their schedules whilst<br />
maintaining our requirements.<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
Our strategies at present are the same but<br />
we are looking to review our media presence<br />
and operations in the new year.<br />
Whether that includes having an online store<br />
and new retail software and what the reward<br />
is in relation to the investment.<br />
Are you paying more or less tenancy costs<br />
(rent/lease, outgoings etc) than you were<br />
in <strong>December</strong> 2019?<br />
We are paying slightly higher rent than in<br />
2019 pre-COVID but have been able to fix our<br />
rent for three years at the same rate.<br />
Out-goings are more in line with rising<br />
utility costs.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends<br />
or changes in consumer product<br />
preference?<br />
Silver jewellery is still trending well with<br />
simple contemporary pieces and fine gold<br />
jewellery being the biggest sellers.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
As the price of gold has continued to climb<br />
we are finding it difficult to source products<br />
within certain price points and designer<br />
brand gold plated silver is selling more.<br />
There has also been a lot more people<br />
becoming aware of laboratory grown<br />
diamonds and we are selling more<br />
compared to the mined diamonds because<br />
of the quality for price differential.<br />
Are you selling more 18-carat gold<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
In terms of engagement and wedding rings<br />
we are selling more but general jewellery is<br />
almost nothing.<br />
There has been a decline in 18-carat gold<br />
over past 10 to 15 years because of range<br />
of stock available through suppliers and the<br />
price of the jewellery.<br />
Are you selling more colour gemstone<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
We are selling a similar amount of<br />
coloured stone jewellery to what we<br />
were five years ago.<br />
Are you selling more pearls and pearl<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Pearl sales have dropped off over the past<br />
five years.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“get inspired<br />
and bring<br />
your ideas<br />
to life.”<br />
What is the most significant change to<br />
the industryin the past 10 years?<br />
The biggest change for us has been<br />
fewer traveling salesmen from suppliers<br />
coming to show their product in-store<br />
were you could touch and feel it. A number<br />
of suppliers are now B2C and you don’t<br />
always get a good idea of the product from<br />
catalogues or online stores.<br />
Are there any products that have<br />
surprised you in sales performance?<br />
Ten years ago we were in the grip of the<br />
biggest jewellery trend for decades with<br />
Pandora and the same customers visiting<br />
the store sometimes on a weekly or even<br />
daily basis.<br />
But now that we no longer sell Pandora<br />
and the hype has gone from the market<br />
we are back to seeing regular customers<br />
two or maybe three times a year unless<br />
it is jewellery repairs. Less discounting<br />
and more focus by the industry as a whole<br />
to educate the market that we are selling<br />
precious items that good quality and<br />
good workmanship comes at a price not<br />
to be bartered with like an item from a<br />
flea market.<br />
How confident are you for the next<br />
12 months in terms of sales or profit?<br />
I can see sales declining and profitability<br />
reducing through wage pressure and<br />
utility costs.<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
The most significant challenge will be<br />
consumer spending confidence given<br />
the state of the world economy and its<br />
uncertainty, along with interest rate rises<br />
and lack of overseas tourism. Also the<br />
possible re-emergence of major COVID<br />
outbreaks again. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 29
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: NATIONWIDE<br />
Competition is good for<br />
business - embrace it!<br />
Byrnes <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Allison English, Owner<br />
Est. 1970 • Years in Trade 22 • Location Mudgee, NSW<br />
byrnesjewellers.com.au<br />
Thinking back to say, 2012, what is the<br />
most significant change to the industry<br />
in the past 10 years?<br />
I’m sure many would agree that the<br />
industry has changed significantly in the<br />
past decade and to name three big shifts -<br />
online sales, discounting and ‘branding’.<br />
I must say that I’m not a fan of any of the<br />
three!<br />
My business places a fair and honest<br />
markup on our goods. Why should the<br />
customers that visit my store feel the<br />
need to barter?<br />
I don’t mark my stock up just so that it<br />
can be discounted later. Customers need<br />
to value the products and services that<br />
we are selling and I feel that chain stores<br />
have ruined this with constant ‘sales’ and<br />
promotions.<br />
I pay the rent, the wages and the on-going<br />
costs and expenditures of a bricks and<br />
mortar store.<br />
I also deal with the public, arrange<br />
displays, and pay for and hopefully sell<br />
the products. It’s my business!<br />
Wholesalers should be grateful that I<br />
decided to purchase their goods.<br />
I don’t want to be the guinea pig for a<br />
company trying to get into the market<br />
who will eventually open their own store,<br />
or simply shift to selling online.<br />
I think the time has come for suppliers to<br />
decide if they want to be wholesalers or<br />
retailers and to stop attempting to straddle<br />
the fence and operate as both.<br />
Ae there any products that have surprised<br />
you in sales performance?<br />
Our diamond engagement rings were a<br />
bit hit and miss, however we have grown<br />
this category with the help of Nationwide<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>s and Reine Jewels in custom<br />
design and training.<br />
Lab-created diamonds are a big thing at<br />
the moment, particularly with the<br />
younger generation.<br />
The youngest consumers in my<br />
experience are hoping to get<br />
bigger show for their ‘dough’.<br />
What is one change you’d like to see<br />
within the jewellery industry?<br />
I would like to see more independant<br />
jewellery stores and for them to band<br />
together in whatever way possible to<br />
support one another.<br />
My personal feeling is that chain stores<br />
have cheapened the industry.<br />
Yes there is a market for them, but please,<br />
I don’t believe my business belongs in the<br />
same ‘category’ as a chain store.<br />
My staff don’t tell customers that “two<br />
nine-carat items, make 18-carats” or<br />
that “we don’t stock A, B or C diamonds?”<br />
There are simply too many differences<br />
between the way a chain store operates<br />
compared with a small independent<br />
business for them to be appropriately<br />
judged side-by-side.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
At the lowest point I would say an 8 in<br />
confidence, at the highest point I would<br />
say a 10.<br />
Going off sales figures from my business<br />
over the past five years, performance is<br />
improving every year and I can’t foresee<br />
a specific reason why that shouldn’t<br />
continue. Staffing would be my only<br />
concern.<br />
Where have they all gone!<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Time is the<br />
ultimate<br />
critic.”<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
Staffing. Labour shortages and the<br />
impact staffing issues are having on small<br />
business has been well documented in<br />
the media in Australia this year.<br />
It’s a problem that started during the<br />
pandemic and in my experience, hasn’t<br />
exactly improved since.<br />
It’s been a frustration this year and I<br />
could easily see it continuing to be a<br />
problem in the future unless something<br />
drastic changes.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as<br />
being a larger or lesser threat to your<br />
business over the next five years?<br />
Up until about seven years ago we had<br />
three independent jewellery stores in our<br />
town of 10,000.<br />
Despite what you would think would be an<br />
easy recipe for rivalry, all three got along<br />
and helped one another out.<br />
We now have Prouds and ourselves – the<br />
other two independent stores are closed!<br />
Competition is good for business and<br />
our focus has been slowly educating the<br />
public that you get what you pay for when<br />
it comes to jewellery.<br />
In my experience I don’t think the younger<br />
generation are willing enough to start<br />
a business, put in the hard yards for<br />
a couple of years and then to reap the<br />
rewards.<br />
Delayed gratification and patience is<br />
an important part of the experience of<br />
running a business.<br />
Unfortunately, I suspect most of the<br />
younger generation wants the rewards<br />
from the get go. i<br />
30 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: NATIONWIDE<br />
Battling against online rivals,<br />
keeping the ‘old school’ ways alive<br />
MJ Geldart Designer <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Mick Geldart, Owner<br />
Est. 2007 • Years in Trade 43 • Location Port Augusta, SA<br />
mjgeldart.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
The internet is killing our business –<br />
we can’t compete with what consumers<br />
believe is available online.<br />
‘Believe’ is the key word because when it<br />
comes to shopping for jewellery online, it’s<br />
difficult to have any idea what you’re really<br />
getting – a problem you don’t have when<br />
you shop at stores in person, of course.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year<br />
as Australia and New Zealand began to<br />
‘re-open’ after COVID?<br />
People are just addicted to shopping online,<br />
not just when it comes to jewellery but all<br />
sorts of retail.<br />
When it’s all freely shipped to their homes,<br />
they often don’t have the spare coin at the<br />
end of the day to spend in-person at<br />
a bricks-and-mortar store like ours.<br />
The internet is offering products to<br />
customers at all hours of the day, essentially<br />
no matter where they are. That’s the kind of<br />
access that a store can’t compete with.<br />
The impact of the internet on consumer<br />
attitudes and expectations is something<br />
we’ve noticed more and more the last three<br />
or four years.<br />
The COVID pandemic probably accelerated<br />
things somewhat but I believe it was always<br />
headed in that direction.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
We’re based in a small town with a<br />
community of approximately 12,000 people<br />
so there’s no significant changes to report<br />
in terms of trends on our end.<br />
We are perhaps seeing a little bit more<br />
interest in lab-created diamonds, people<br />
are slowly becoming more aware of them as<br />
a product and occasionally raise them with<br />
us, but I certainly wouldn’t describe as a<br />
notable phenomenon.<br />
What is the most significant change to<br />
the industry in the past 10 years?<br />
We’ve been here 15 years and the biggest<br />
change has been the impact the internet<br />
has had on the way people shop.<br />
People get onto websites like Blue Nile<br />
and the like and witness these ‘great<br />
deals’ and we can’t compete or price<br />
match with those offers.<br />
We can’t compete with that business<br />
model, it’s just not a level playing field<br />
when you’re being asked to quote against<br />
a massive international companies.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
We’ve scaled back because we’re only a<br />
small business so we don’t need the extra<br />
staff because things have quietened down.<br />
What will be the most significant<br />
challenge your business will face in<br />
2023?<br />
The biggest challenge we will face in the<br />
next year will be 18 months remaining on<br />
our lease, and ultimately whether or not<br />
we keep the business going after March<br />
of 2024.<br />
I’ll be nearly 62-years-old and the stress<br />
you put up with when you’re living this<br />
sort of trade 24/7 – that leaves you with<br />
the biggest question consistently being<br />
whether or not it’s worth it.<br />
I’ve been working in jewellery since<br />
1979 – I’m 60. I started when I was 17,<br />
at a jewellers in Adelaide named Wendts<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“have faith<br />
in your<br />
abilities and<br />
trust your<br />
experience.”<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>s, in Rundle Mall.<br />
I started in a workshop with more than<br />
100 years of history and I was taught<br />
using the original mouth-blown bench<br />
torch, which any jeweller reading this<br />
who knows a bit about the history of the<br />
industry will know well.<br />
I saw an ad looking for apprentices from<br />
Wendts and I decided to go along and give<br />
it go – I passed the test and found myself<br />
working at a bench.<br />
I still do things the old way, using an old gas<br />
burner, I don’t use a compressor, because<br />
that’s the way I was taught and that’s what<br />
feels right to me.<br />
In many ways, I’m lucky that I’m a<br />
manufacturer that works at a bench.<br />
I know my skills and can rely on them,<br />
my customers understand the quality of<br />
our work and we have clients that even<br />
come back to visit just for our services.<br />
Thinking about the Australian and/or<br />
New Zealand jewellery industry, if there<br />
was one thing you could hope for, or one<br />
change you’d like to see, what is it?<br />
Anyone reading this who has lived the life<br />
of a manufacturing jeweller who runs his<br />
own store understands the challenge of<br />
both running the store and completing your<br />
work load on the bench.<br />
Usually, you’re hoping that you’ll get six<br />
good hours at the bench but that’s rare<br />
because you need to speak with clients,<br />
you need to speak with customers, and<br />
you need to be present in other ways.<br />
People need help with designs and<br />
customers want to talk through their<br />
ideas – it’s what I’m passionate about<br />
but it’s exhausting too.<br />
It’s an endless stop-and-start challenge. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 31
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP HEAD<br />
Elevating independent retail<br />
with clarity and confidence<br />
Independent <strong>Jeweller</strong>s Collective<br />
with Josh Zarb, Chief Exective Officer<br />
Est. 2020 • Years in Trade 22 • Location Turramurra, NSW<br />
jewellerscollective.com<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Although our buying group launched in<br />
2020, around the same time as COVID<br />
hit, we are deeply fortunate to still be in<br />
a rapid growth phase. I will comment on<br />
this question as an overview of what I have<br />
seen amongst our retailers. I spend a lot<br />
of my time working inside and alongside<br />
retailer jewellery stores. I can see that in<br />
<strong>2022</strong>, for the first time in two-plus years,<br />
there are no more free passes.<br />
I think <strong>2022</strong> is really telling the story of<br />
who used COVID to better their business<br />
model. The stores that buckled down during<br />
lockdowns (and COVID in general) to focus<br />
on their digital communication strategies,<br />
engagement levels in their databases and<br />
implemented some form of e-commerce<br />
platform or education into their business<br />
have emerged stronger. The stores that did<br />
not use this opportunity to tweak things are<br />
now left to play catch up. Learning how to<br />
step up your communication touch points<br />
across various media was one of the biggest<br />
challenges for <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
We are a young business and have<br />
good touch points with our clients. As we<br />
move forward and evolve, we are trying to<br />
implement as many time saving measures<br />
as we can in the way we interact with our<br />
clients to keep our processes efficient for<br />
everyone.<br />
Our biggest challenge for our business<br />
model currently is the push and pull effect<br />
of marketing. Typically, we produce content,<br />
then stores chose to participate or not, and<br />
this process naturally has many stops and<br />
starts.<br />
From 2023 onwards we will be moving<br />
to more a subscription-based service<br />
model. In this way, we will produce content<br />
continuously for a 24-month period with<br />
stores receiving new content every quarter<br />
(both print and digital). Our business model<br />
was designed around this, and provides all<br />
stores with transparent rebates to use on<br />
services such as marketing.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
I have commented on this many times over<br />
the years and, overall, I feel that our industry<br />
really struggles with online retailing.<br />
Of course, there are the exceptions, but we<br />
appear to struggle with striking the right<br />
balance in supplier provided e-commerce<br />
ready content, for example professional<br />
imagery, clear or consistent consumerfacing<br />
data and descriptions in which to<br />
assist retailers in this space.<br />
We seem to be moving towards a model<br />
where the suppliers that do this well, trade<br />
direct and therefore take the retail margins.<br />
I wish we had an industry in which suppliers<br />
could identify smaller ranges within their<br />
full collections and have e-commerce<br />
friendly content ready to provide on to retail.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
COVID taught everyone how to shop from<br />
home. Although now we are past lockdowns<br />
and have returned to a more normal<br />
shopping pattern, the fact is everyone<br />
conducts research before purchase either<br />
online or in store.<br />
Consumers now expect a comprehensive<br />
digital representation of your retail offering<br />
online. This may be via beautiful image<br />
rich educational websites, social media for<br />
manufacturing-based jewellery retailers or<br />
neat and tidy (ranged by category) product<br />
selections for those with e-commerce<br />
stores. The websites that are patchy with<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Make<br />
tomorrow<br />
brilliant.”<br />
mismatched pages will struggle, and fall<br />
behind in a crowded market. Working from<br />
home or working part-time from home will<br />
not change now and your digital footprint is<br />
just as important as your retail shopfront.<br />
Have you noted a substantive interest in<br />
laboratory-created diamonds over the<br />
past 12-24 months?<br />
I can see substantial increases in the<br />
interest for lab-created diamonds through<br />
our retail network. I see this via enquiries<br />
through the stores and at a purchase level.<br />
Looking at our group data, purchases for<br />
lab-created diamonds are up approximately<br />
38 per cent over the past 12 months, and we<br />
can expect the sell through increases to be<br />
similar.<br />
What I can also see is the number of<br />
suppliers in this space has exploded.<br />
The size of the pie may be getting bigger,<br />
but the number of suppliers selling labcreated<br />
diamonds is crazy. Unfortunately<br />
I can only see prices for lab-created<br />
diamonds continuing to decline for a little<br />
while yet. It is an important balancing act.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
9. For our business, as a buying group, we<br />
are expecting continued growth over the<br />
next 12 months. We have lots of interest in<br />
joining the group at present.<br />
We will continue to be selective and partner<br />
with proactive retailers that want to share<br />
and support each other. Even though our<br />
business is still young, our team has a<br />
lifetime of jewellery experience and we<br />
remain confident for growth in sales and<br />
profitability next year.<br />
As for same store retail sales, I expect that<br />
to be more challenging and the first few<br />
months next year may be difficult. i<br />
32 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: IJC<br />
Look after your staff and<br />
they will look after your business<br />
Kadia <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
with Kaylene Fitzpatrick, Owner<br />
Est. 2000 • Years in Trade 35 • Location Toronto, NSW<br />
kadiajewellery.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
We get fewer and fewer laybys now as<br />
they can take now and pay later.<br />
At the beginning of every year is the<br />
question, “how’s this year going to be?”<br />
<strong>2022</strong> externally bought us the re-opening<br />
of international travel, a new Prime Minister,<br />
and rising interest rates.<br />
Internally we had an increase in gold,<br />
diamonds, and wages. But I know we have<br />
grown into a successful business, and our<br />
main priority is customer service.<br />
This is our staple and is what keeps<br />
customers coming through our doors.<br />
Our staff is trained to make every customer<br />
feel like they are the most important person<br />
who has walked in the door, and we, in turn,<br />
treat our staff as our extended family.<br />
I know it’s an old saying, but “look after your<br />
staff, and they will look after your business”<br />
is true.<br />
Staying positive and genuine about what we<br />
have built this business to be is what I strive<br />
for every year.<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>y is such an emotional purchase,<br />
and every customer has a story. We listen,<br />
we laugh, and we cry with them.<br />
Have you made any changes to your<br />
business strategies now that lockdowns<br />
are behind us?<br />
We have dedicated more time to our website<br />
and social media.<br />
One of our staff, Olivia, is our shining star.<br />
Starting with us as a junior on a Saturday<br />
morning four years ago, she has taken to the<br />
jewellery trade by storm.<br />
She spends several hours updating and<br />
uploading our social media accounts weekly.<br />
This works with consistent sales coming<br />
from these channels.<br />
Our business is lucky to have consistently<br />
grown over the last five years, attributed<br />
to hard work and passion for the jewellery<br />
industry.<br />
We are positioned in a small town but<br />
have clients coming to us from all over the<br />
Newcastle, Hunter, and Sydney areas.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
One positive that came out of COVID and<br />
the lockdown was time to concentrate on<br />
our website.<br />
We added a Shopify platform, and a “try me<br />
on” app so customers could have a virtual<br />
experience with our jewellery.<br />
Online sales were consistent during the<br />
lockdown but have slowed down during<br />
<strong>2022</strong>.<br />
The website, though, is doing its job with<br />
customers screen shopping products and<br />
coming into stores to buy. I love that, as we<br />
also get to have that personal interaction<br />
with them.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends<br />
or changes in consumer product<br />
preference?<br />
Our motto is “always unique, always style,<br />
always quality.” Our customers come to<br />
us for something different! This hasn’t<br />
changed for over 22 years.<br />
What is the most significant change to<br />
the industry the past 10 years?<br />
The different social media platforms that<br />
consumers can now buy from.<br />
It keeps us on our toes as there is no<br />
downtime. You can get emails, texts, and<br />
online sales 24 hours a day.<br />
Also, all the payment options are available!<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Always<br />
unique,<br />
always style,<br />
always<br />
quality.”<br />
Every store is different, but we find that<br />
catalogues are not necessary for our area.<br />
They go online and then come in-store.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits?<br />
Lab-created diamonds! I was one of those<br />
sitting on the fence about lab-created<br />
diamonds, being stubborn and faithful<br />
to natural diamonds.<br />
But customers have changed my mind<br />
with a growing demand for custom-made<br />
lab-created diamond engagement rings.<br />
They want big but with a budget.<br />
Are there any products that surprise you<br />
in terms of sales performance?<br />
I would have laughed if you had told me 10<br />
years ago that we would be selling fashion<br />
jewellery, but here we are selling loads of<br />
branded costume jewellery.<br />
It is fun, fashionable, and affordable.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
8. As I mentioned previously, we are<br />
fortunate enough to have experienced<br />
growth over the past five years.<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
Getting older! Who knows. Let’s get through<br />
this year and then we can take on 2023.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as being<br />
a larger or lesser threat to your business?<br />
I try not to give any thought or energy<br />
towards chain stores. We are two different<br />
businesses. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 33
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: IJC<br />
Overcoming staffing challenges<br />
after two strong years of sales<br />
Pettits <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Tarisa Hancock, Owner<br />
Est. 1890 • Years in Trade 12 • Location Warragul, VIC<br />
pettits.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Having the right staff. Additionally, another<br />
major challenge - if not the biggest of<br />
all - is dealing with customers, especially<br />
handling attitudes when we aren’t able to<br />
accommodate requests quickly enough.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
Once again the answer to this one is<br />
having staffing. Not only do you need to<br />
have enough staff - you also need to find<br />
the right staff.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
This has been a major issue for our<br />
business.<br />
It’s also a challenge to arrange training<br />
and to ensure that staff are an appropriate<br />
‘fit’ with the rest of the team.<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
How to move forward from COVID has<br />
been just about the big question of all.<br />
Behind the scenes planning in advance<br />
has been the biggest change.<br />
In <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>, are you paying more<br />
or less tenancy costs than you were in<br />
<strong>December</strong> 2019?<br />
We are paying increased costs but nothing<br />
exceeding the normal CPI increase.<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
We have had two amazing years even when<br />
dealing with COVID.<br />
I feel that we have come off our<br />
‘honeymoon phase’ now are and getting<br />
back to reality. We used this time to<br />
introduce new products in our store,<br />
mostly a hit with our customers but<br />
some unfortunately not as good.<br />
Can you make any comment on online<br />
retailing?<br />
Our online is very small and something<br />
I will be concentrating on in the new year<br />
to improve in the business.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends<br />
or changes in consumer product<br />
preference?<br />
Lab-created diamonds are the new trend<br />
for our business and it’s a product that’s<br />
been performing well.<br />
We have also noticed a change in the<br />
coloured gemstone dress rings, with a<br />
move going towards smaller designs that<br />
can also be worn on your pointer finger!<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits?<br />
Customers tend to study a lot more<br />
before coming into our store, especially<br />
when it comes to engagement rings.<br />
We have found that we do more quoting<br />
for customers and the general ‘come in<br />
and purchase from the shelf’ crowd is<br />
decreasing.<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour in the past 5 years,<br />
particularly due to COVID?<br />
The only major change I’ve observered<br />
would be patience – or perhaps it’s<br />
better to say a lack of patience.<br />
The expectation is that businesses<br />
have absolutely everything available<br />
at our finger tips at all times.<br />
As I previously mentioned, customers also<br />
tend to be knowledgeable because they’re<br />
studying lot more before coming in.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“It’s all<br />
the little<br />
things that<br />
make a big<br />
difference.”<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident<br />
are you for the next 12 months in terms<br />
of sales and profitability?<br />
5. To be honest it’s difficult to forecast<br />
the future – I am nervous going into<br />
2023 with how the economy is travelling,<br />
however, only time will tell.<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business<br />
will face in 2023?<br />
Ensuring that the business stays alive!<br />
We are in a country location with two<br />
other jewellers sharing the same strip<br />
as us.<br />
As I mentioned earlier, staffing has been<br />
a significant challenge we’ve had to<br />
overcome and I don’t see any specific<br />
reason to believe that will change<br />
moving forward.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as<br />
being a larger or lesser threat to your<br />
business over the next five years?<br />
Chain stores are a significant threat to us,<br />
as they are able to offer customers more<br />
bang for their buck.<br />
We can’t compete in that regard.<br />
However, in this there is a different in<br />
quality – not to talk down other products!<br />
Chain stores are more mass produced<br />
products whereas we care more<br />
customer-orientated.<br />
This does mean higher prices so it should<br />
be said that we aren’t really comparing<br />
apples to apple here.<br />
Sometimes, customers struggle to<br />
understand the difference between an<br />
independent small business and a chain<br />
store – especially when budget is tight<br />
for them. i<br />
34 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: IJC<br />
Modern business ownership is<br />
life without an off switch<br />
Turramurra <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with John Thearle, Owner<br />
Est. 1995 • Years in Trade 36 • Location Turramurra, NSW<br />
turramurrajewellers.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
The most significant challenge has been<br />
staffing and planning.<br />
No one could tell you what was going to<br />
happen in terms of the pandemic and<br />
restrictions so all the planning you tried<br />
to do really involved guess work.<br />
It was all a bit of a gamble and finding any<br />
concrete information was a huge challenge.<br />
I’m basically self-employed with a few parttime<br />
staff and finding someone to replace<br />
them with regular hours, who knows what<br />
they’re doing, can be a real challenge.<br />
Once you lose one person it can make a<br />
huge difference on a small team.<br />
We’ve had plenty of headaches with supply,<br />
even something as simple as finding stones<br />
can be frustrating.<br />
I think I’ve got a good network of contacts<br />
I can speak with and I’m often surprised<br />
at how little there seems to be out there,<br />
especially when you’re after something<br />
specific.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
I was surprised when everyone was talking<br />
doom and gloom about jewellery as a trade,<br />
I think it’s impressed me just how strong<br />
business has been.<br />
I thought it might’ve dropped off a little bit<br />
but we are finding things are going well.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
I’m not big in the social media space –<br />
we’ve got business accounts but it’s not<br />
a huge focus.<br />
I think people learned in lockdown that you<br />
can do things online and that’s convinced a<br />
lot of people that it’s the way to go.<br />
I’m sure a lot of other businesses have the<br />
experience too of customers coming in with<br />
glossy photos of diamonds and jewellery<br />
they’ve found online and they’re hoping their<br />
local jeweller will price match them.<br />
Sometimes they’re just hoping we will offer<br />
something comparative, which quite frankly,<br />
we just can’t do, it’s unrealistic.<br />
Besides, I think a lot of the content<br />
customers are exposed to online doesn’t<br />
match what they’ll receive anyway.<br />
It’s easy to be led astray by what you see<br />
online for sure, even when you’re trying to<br />
exercise a bit of caution.<br />
The other aspect with online sales is the<br />
quick turnaround – people want instant<br />
responses and instant results. We’re all<br />
very busy day to day!<br />
Makes me think back to when you’d write<br />
a letter and wait for someone to get back<br />
to you.<br />
These days if they contact you online and<br />
you don’t reply essentially instantly, they<br />
form a negative view of your business.<br />
Often, when you do find something, you<br />
need to make a decision quickly too –<br />
people want a quick turnaround these days<br />
as I’m sure many people reading this will<br />
know well.<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
I think the biggest challenge is just going<br />
to be increasing my online presence and<br />
finding a way to plan effectively for the<br />
future.<br />
Running a business now is certainly more<br />
of a 24 hours, 7 days a week kind of thing,<br />
more than ever before I certainly think.<br />
There’s no off switch anymore unless you<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Stand your<br />
ground.”<br />
go out of your way to be strict about it,<br />
which can cost you unfortunately.<br />
Everyone needs down time and peace of<br />
mind – you can’t afford to become burned<br />
out, particularly when you’re the owner.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
People are moving away from white gold<br />
I think, yellow gold is the more popular<br />
request, and colour gemstones in general<br />
are very strong in my experience, compared<br />
with diamonds certainly.<br />
Have you noted a substantive interest for<br />
laboratory-created diamonds from your<br />
customers over the past 12-24 months?<br />
Lab-created diamonds have certainly added<br />
another element to jewellery landscape and<br />
how that impacts long-term diamond sales<br />
will be interesting to see.<br />
I’ve taken a small interest in the category<br />
but who knows how it’s all going to play<br />
out – there’s so much information out there,<br />
it’s hard to form any sort of certain feeling.<br />
What is the most significant change to<br />
the industry in the past 10 years?<br />
People are certainly more knowledgable<br />
when it comes to gemstones and diamonds<br />
in general – these days they’re more likely<br />
to come to me telling me what they’re after,<br />
whereas in the past most customers would<br />
rather go to a jeweller for guidance.<br />
I think it’s coming from a rising level of<br />
awareness about what’s out there.<br />
There’s so much on the internet these days<br />
– it’s easy for people with an interest to find<br />
something that really appeals to them.<br />
The growth of CAD/CAM and automated<br />
design has certainly changed the<br />
manufacturing of jewellery completely. i<br />
35 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 35
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP HEAD<br />
Differentiation the key for<br />
jewellers heading into 2023<br />
Leading Edge Group <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Claire Packett, Head of <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
Est. 1980 • Years in Trade 20 • Location Chatswood, NSW<br />
legj.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
With the reopening of borders and the<br />
return of overseas travel, many retail<br />
businesses have faced ups and downs.<br />
Within the jewellery industry, the<br />
uncertainty towards diamond prices<br />
and availability, the weakening of the<br />
Australian dollar against the US dollar,<br />
the increasing product prices across the<br />
board and the ability to recruit staff are all<br />
enormous challenges the industry faces.<br />
Freighting difficulties leading to longer<br />
and more unreliable delivery times have<br />
also affected the supply chain.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits<br />
over the past 12 months?<br />
The push for e-commerce has led to a<br />
new way of shopping.<br />
Consumers have become more researchorientated<br />
and expect high-quality<br />
products and collections.<br />
Are your members selling more pearls<br />
and pearl jewellery than they were five<br />
years ago?<br />
Pearl jewellery is definitely growing.<br />
With its increasing popularity with<br />
celebrities in the USA, we expect a rise<br />
in sales, especially with the younger<br />
generation and over the holiday period.<br />
Have you noted a substantive interest<br />
and request for laboratory-created<br />
diamonds over the past 12-24 months?<br />
Lab-created diamonds have been gaining<br />
traction in the diamond industry.<br />
Customers purchase them due to different<br />
factors such as budget, environmental and<br />
sustainability concerns.<br />
Sometimes customers simply want better<br />
value than what’s offered from mined<br />
stones.<br />
For better stock turn and profitability,<br />
we always recommend that stores stock<br />
their shelves with lab-created and<br />
natural diamonds so that consumers can<br />
make an educated decision about what<br />
they want.<br />
We have recently seen stores selling<br />
two-in-five diamond engagement rings<br />
made with lab-created diamonds, which<br />
suggests that if your team loves the<br />
product, they will sell them with the<br />
same passion as mined diamonds.<br />
Has that interest in lab-created<br />
diamonds translated to more - or less -<br />
sales of lab-created jewellery?<br />
Lab-created diamond accessories have<br />
increased in popularity, including tennis<br />
bracelets, earrings, and pendants.<br />
Compared to mined diamonds, the size,<br />
look and price of a tennis bracelet in labcreated<br />
diamonds can be very appealing.<br />
Are your members selling more (or less)<br />
bespoke or handmade jewellery now<br />
compared to five years ago?<br />
Since the pandemic, most stores have<br />
seen an increase in their bench work,<br />
with many customers opting for custom<br />
designs and remodelled jewellery.<br />
As a result, many jewellers are<br />
continuing to experience growth in this<br />
area, providing beautiful one-of-a-kind<br />
products to their customers.<br />
Do you think your members will increase<br />
the bespoke or handmade jewellery<br />
category in the next 12-24 months?<br />
This area of jewellery has increased<br />
dramatically over the past few years, and<br />
the market is not showing any signs of<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“You have to<br />
get up every<br />
morning with<br />
determination<br />
if you’re<br />
going to go to<br />
bed with<br />
satisfaction.”<br />
slowing down.<br />
Working with a jeweller to design one-off<br />
items has now become an attractive<br />
option that is often promoted by many<br />
stores to create a sense of luxury,<br />
creativity and individuality with customers.<br />
From custom engagement rings to<br />
remodelled jewellery using special<br />
and unique stones and gold.<br />
This is a market driven by sentiment and<br />
emotions.<br />
As such, stores can easily stand out and<br />
differentiate themselves and the growth<br />
within this jewellery category is uncapped.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
Online shopping has helped them find<br />
what they’re looking for when it comes<br />
down to that final decision of purchase.<br />
Ultimately, however, consumers still<br />
prefer face-to-face sales interaction,<br />
where trust can be built.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
Within Australia, staffing has been a<br />
problem for most retail stores due to<br />
limited workplace flexibility.<br />
Whilst more workplaces have been<br />
pushing for better work-from-home<br />
flexibility, the retail industry is unable<br />
to adapt to that requirement.<br />
Instead, it has turned to other benefits,<br />
such as providing a great working<br />
environment and rewarding outstanding<br />
performance.<br />
As a result, incentivising sales<br />
have become more common, with<br />
rewards directly linked to successful<br />
performance. i<br />
36 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: LEADING EDGE<br />
Breaking sales records with<br />
a focus on reliability<br />
Phil Peel <strong>Jeweller</strong><br />
with David Peel, Owner<br />
Est. 1962 • Years in Trade 41 • Location Rockhampton, QLD<br />
philpeeljewellers.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge your<br />
business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
One of the most significant challenges we<br />
faced was the supply turn-around and delays<br />
in stock availability. It was sometimes taking<br />
six to eight weeks if not more, instead of<br />
the usual three to four weeks. It seems to<br />
be improving a little bit lately from some<br />
suppliers, but I think the demand is still<br />
outstripping supply at the moment.<br />
I thought the biggest challenge we would<br />
face would be a drop in sales as people<br />
returned to life post- COVID and started<br />
travelling again, but that hasn’t been the<br />
case thankfully. Perhaps this will become<br />
more of an issue in 2023 combined with<br />
the sharp interest rate rises which may<br />
stifle spending.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
The jewellery industry absolutely took off<br />
for many businesses around Australia<br />
now that COVID has hopefully eased. For<br />
us, the demand for repairs and remakes<br />
has gone through the roof and our on-site<br />
repair jeweller is struggling to keep up.<br />
Our ready-made jewellery has also seen<br />
growth, particularly in gold and coloured<br />
stone jewellery.<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
We are very surprised that we are still<br />
breaking sales records this year, on top of<br />
our increased sales from 2021. We are<br />
regional, so we had a bit of a hiccup in the<br />
early days of COVID, but we weren’t as<br />
affected by lockdowns like some of the other<br />
states, so for the past 18 months or so,<br />
profitability has still been fantastic.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer product preference?<br />
We have found that people are wanting to<br />
support local businesses – the figures tell<br />
us there is still huge growth in online sales<br />
nationally, but for us we have very strong<br />
support for shopping locally and supporting<br />
small businesses.<br />
We have been in Rockhampton for 60<br />
years and are one of the few independent<br />
jewellers left, so we have that history behind<br />
us. Customers comment on our unique<br />
jewellery ranges – we have catalogue<br />
products as well, but thanks to our ability to<br />
select from a huge range of suppliers we are<br />
able to source exceptional pieces as well.<br />
We have a fantastic relationship with our<br />
suppliers, and some we have been dealing<br />
with for 30-40 years. As we have that<br />
strong local branding, we don’t feel we are<br />
competing with the national chains, but<br />
are offering an alternative choice and our<br />
branding is one of quality, reliability and<br />
trustworthiness.<br />
Thinking back to say, 2012, what is the<br />
most significant change to the industry?<br />
One change is the influence of social media,<br />
Pinterest and Instagram. More and more<br />
people bring in pictures of what they are<br />
looking for. I remember when oval diamond<br />
halos and then pear halos were the latest<br />
thing – all the rage! However it can be a<br />
transient and by the time you get stock in<br />
the fad has moved to something new.<br />
Thank goodness the demand for teal<br />
sapphires has slowed!<br />
Clients come in and show a beautifully<br />
photographed picture and the shank is 1<br />
mm wide! We try not to make those sort of<br />
rings – we try to keep the look of the style,<br />
but aim to make something more robust<br />
that is both pretty and practical and will last.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
Online sales aren’t a major part of our<br />
business though customers come in with<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Nothing is<br />
too big or<br />
too small<br />
to focus on.”<br />
pictures from our website and want to see<br />
it in person. Sometimes we sell to people<br />
from the far west who can’t come in, or even<br />
to Perth and Canberra but actual online<br />
sales are not significant for us. Recently,<br />
our buying group Leading Edge has put new<br />
processes in place to help us improve our<br />
web sales - so it’s definitely a focus for the<br />
year to come.<br />
What will be the most significant challenge<br />
your business faces in 2023?<br />
Overcoming customer expectations that<br />
are influenced by overseas online websites<br />
where diamonds are really cheap has been<br />
and will continue to be a challenge.<br />
I try and move their expectations by showing<br />
diamonds we have in stock, and explaining<br />
the differences in quality – sometimes three<br />
diamonds can have the same specifications,<br />
but to the eye they can look totally different. I<br />
enjoy the challenge of overcoming the price<br />
expectations.<br />
We are only just seeing a growth in inquiries<br />
for lab-created diamonds. It has taken a<br />
while to reach regional Queensland and I<br />
think that will see a huge growth in 2023. As<br />
I mentioned before, the interest rates may<br />
stifle consumer spending in retail, so we will<br />
have to be mindful of that with our future<br />
purchasing.<br />
Have you recently had to change the way<br />
you manage your staff?<br />
Our staff are very loyal and some have been<br />
with us long-term. We are pretty low key<br />
with our management style, and as long as<br />
there is cake or chocolate then everyone is<br />
happy! The young ones move to the city for<br />
study and others have left for other work<br />
or personal opportunities, but we have<br />
been very lucky with staff. We had one staff<br />
member who only recently retired and was<br />
with us for 40 years! Thankfully, it is not a<br />
challenge we regularly face. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 37
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: SHOWCASE<br />
Expensive jewellery continues to<br />
sell as customers chase quality<br />
Showcase <strong>Jeweller</strong>s Te Awamutu<br />
with Kirsty Walker, Owner<br />
Est. 1884 • Years in Trade 18 • Location Te Awamutu, NZ<br />
jewelleryhub.co.nz<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour in the past 5 years?<br />
Probably staffing. We’ve been short staffed<br />
since January – a full time and casual<br />
staff member. We advertised in our local<br />
paper, social media, in-store and via seek<br />
continuously during the year.<br />
We’ve been lucky that we’ve had a<br />
supportive team and have been able to<br />
cope during periods of low staffing due to<br />
planned holidays and illness etc. In general<br />
applicants were straight out of school, very<br />
little qualifications, no idea how to write<br />
a CV or how to interview and really, they<br />
just wanted a job, but didn’t show any real<br />
enthusiasm.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
Within the jewellery industry I feel we’ve been<br />
quite sheltered from COVID issues, we’re not<br />
having the stock issues that other industries<br />
are having issues with especially large items<br />
that have to be sea freighted into the country.<br />
Our main challenges are finding<br />
replacement staff. We’ve required a full<br />
timer and a casual for nearly 12 months<br />
and have only just recently filled those<br />
positions. Most applicants had no idea<br />
how to put a CV together and/or had poor<br />
employment history.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
No, but we’ve been lucky to have a good<br />
team that have worked extra hard to keep<br />
us going, our long term part-timers have<br />
worked a lot of extra hours and Kirsty has<br />
filled in gaps where necessary too.<br />
We’re looking forward to the two new people<br />
joining our team!<br />
For most of the year it feels like we’ve just<br />
been in a holding pattern. Our advertising<br />
has gone ahead as normal, but we didn’t<br />
hold any store events until recently, as until<br />
mid-September we were required to wear<br />
masks when in the store with customers.<br />
I still occasionally catch myself checking<br />
for my mask before heading out to the shop<br />
floor. Interestingly sales have increased<br />
over the previous year, so it does make you<br />
wonder if events are necessary. I suspect it’s<br />
part of the COVID phenomenon. We had our<br />
first event this year in late September – a<br />
‘girls’ night in’ online event and the following<br />
day, ‘girls day out’ event. It was very<br />
successful, but we didn’t achieve the usual<br />
attending numbers.<br />
Can you comment on online sales?<br />
Online sales are steadily increasing.<br />
We were lucky to gain government<br />
funding during the 2020 lockdown for<br />
online marketing training, google, social<br />
media advertising etc. We’ve continued<br />
working with the training team and have<br />
seen a marked improvement in sales.<br />
Currently we’re changing the back end<br />
of our website to Shopify and are looking<br />
forward to the opportunities this will bring<br />
to our marketing.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends in<br />
consumer product preference?<br />
Definitely a move to higher end product, gold<br />
bracelets and chain have made a come back<br />
and customers are more likely to consider<br />
platinum as opposed to white gold for their<br />
wedding rings.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits?<br />
We are seeing more spending on the higher<br />
ticket items – gold, diamonds and so on.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Today’s<br />
gonna be<br />
a good day.”<br />
More people are shopping online or<br />
researching and then coming in, looking at<br />
the item and buying it. Or ringing to check<br />
that we have the item before coming in and<br />
buying.<br />
Looking forward to 2023, what trends are<br />
you anticipating in consumer behaviour?<br />
We’ll continue to see a focus on higher<br />
end product enquiries and sales – people<br />
want quality.<br />
Thinking back to say, 2012, what is the<br />
most significant change to the industry?<br />
Back then it was probably Pandora and<br />
other branded product, it was a big part of<br />
our business and although we still stock<br />
Pandora and other brands, we’ve worked<br />
hard to make sure we’re not reliant on<br />
them being in our store. We’ve consistently<br />
focused our marketing towards gold,<br />
diamond and gemstone items and this<br />
shows in our sales.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you in terms of sales and profitability?<br />
Very confident. We’re based in a farming<br />
community and as long as the farmers are<br />
happy, then our business does well. We’ve<br />
been through a recession before.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as<br />
being a larger or lesser threat to your<br />
business over the next five years?<br />
No real change to our position - we’ve never<br />
worried about the chain stores and have<br />
pretty much always done well. We plan and<br />
aim for what we want to achieve. We’re also<br />
manufacturing jewellers, custom makes<br />
and repairs are a big part of our business.<br />
The only issue we have with chain stores is<br />
the quality of jewellery we receive for repair<br />
work, some of it is too light to work with. i<br />
38 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: SHOWCASE<br />
Lab-created diamonds offering<br />
more ‘bang for your buck’<br />
My <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Shop<br />
with Catherine Pevy-Trewartha, Owner<br />
Est. 2010 • Years in Trade 45 • Location Nobby Beach, QLD<br />
myjewelleryshop.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge your<br />
business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
The most significant challenge was finding<br />
new team members. We advertised on<br />
Seek, social media and shared via industry<br />
channels. We are still looking for more sales<br />
staff to join us.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
We hoped that the delays experienced<br />
during COVID would ease, however they have<br />
continued and in some cases worsened, both<br />
from suppliers and shipping.<br />
This in turn has created longer lead times<br />
for diamond engagement and wedding rings,<br />
custom designs.<br />
The postponements in weddings from 2020-<br />
21 and earlier <strong>2022</strong> has also meant we have<br />
had to hold rings for longer while couples<br />
struggled to set and finance new dates.<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
We are allowing longer for all work to<br />
be completed, we are taking a greater<br />
percentage of a sale as a deposit in case of<br />
delays to aid cash flow and we are making<br />
sure our fast selling stock is replenished as<br />
soon as it sells.<br />
We work with our team to offer a family<br />
friendly roster while still servicing our clients.<br />
In <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>, are you paying more or<br />
less tenancy costs (rent/lease, outgoings<br />
etc) than you were in <strong>December</strong> 2019?<br />
We have recently renewed our lease, and<br />
although we have a small increase, we have<br />
long term security and nurtured an excellent<br />
relationship with our landlord.<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
Our sales have increased as we moved away<br />
from silver and fashion into a destination<br />
store specialising in diamond engagement<br />
and wedding rings, custom designs, and<br />
repairs.<br />
The layout of our store ensures our clients<br />
have privacy to sit in the design lounge,<br />
they can take their time, and really enjoy<br />
the experience rather than shopping in a<br />
shopping centre store and buying off the<br />
shelf.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported in<br />
the media; have you had to change the way<br />
you manage your staff?<br />
I think that finding a good balance of staff of<br />
all ages with various skills, availability and<br />
future goals with the company is crucial to<br />
creating a successful business, and this is<br />
often one of the biggest challenges.<br />
We offer a very relaxed, family-friendly<br />
environment, but we also have very clear<br />
goals and targets, so it is essential that<br />
everyone works as a team to ensure the<br />
business continues to thrive.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer product preference?<br />
We have noticed a strong move back<br />
to yellow gold in all jewellery including<br />
engagement and wedding rings. Women<br />
are aspiring to have a larger statement<br />
solitaire diamond engagement ring and we<br />
have also seen a transition from a top halo<br />
surrounding the main stone to a hidden halo<br />
to compliment the solitaire diamond.<br />
Women are now choosing to have two<br />
wedding rings rather than waiting (and<br />
hoping) for their eternity ring.<br />
Men are tending to be open to spending<br />
a little mor on their wedding rings with<br />
18-carat yellow gold seeing a resurgence<br />
and newer metals such as tantalum<br />
rather than titanium a great option as<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“don’t be<br />
afraid to<br />
disrupt. step<br />
up, be brave,<br />
and you will<br />
thrive.”<br />
it can be sized, and platinum 600 for its<br />
strength and affordability.<br />
As one of the first stores to embrace labcreated<br />
diamonds back in 2016, we have<br />
continued to grow our lab-created diamond<br />
business with consumers seeking us out<br />
and specifically asking for a lab-created<br />
diamonds when designing engagement<br />
and wedding rings. Our average size of<br />
lab-created diamond engagement rings<br />
now exceed the traditional 1-carat size with<br />
1.5-3-carats now very normal. Clients often<br />
prefer the idea of a lab-created diamond<br />
over a mined diamond, and they appreciate<br />
that they can have a larger, whiter, brighter<br />
stone for a similar price to that of a mined<br />
diamond.<br />
Fancy shape lab-created diamonds have<br />
also been very popular with oval shaped<br />
engagement rings surpassing round brilliant<br />
cuts, with pear shape and radiant cuts<br />
following closely behind. Marquise shaped<br />
diamonds are also seeing a comeback. As<br />
the prices of lab-created diamonds has<br />
dropped, we have also transitioned away<br />
from cubic zirconia jewellery.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
Since 2010, My <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Shop was once of<br />
the first independent stores to sell branded<br />
and fine jewellery online.<br />
The future of online shopping is exciting,<br />
and we look forward to embracing new<br />
technology to ensure customers enjoy our<br />
online experience and also migrate locals<br />
into instore clients having researched My<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>y Shop online or on social media.<br />
We are always looking to increase the<br />
percentage of online sales, and as<br />
online shopping is far more trusted and<br />
expected now, customers are more open<br />
to purchasing fine jewellery online with a<br />
higher average value.i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 39
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
BUYING GROUP MEMBER: SHOWCASE<br />
Passion for pink diamonds still<br />
very much on the rise<br />
CW <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />
with Cathy Manwaring, Manager<br />
Est. 2001 • Years in Trade 21 • Location Cootamundra, NSW<br />
cwjewellers.com.au<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer habits over the<br />
past 12 months?<br />
Australian pink diamonds are definitely<br />
a jewellery trend that has some substance.<br />
Up until 2020 we had not had any<br />
customer interest in Australian Argyle<br />
pink diamonds.<br />
We never stocked pinks as our customers<br />
just were not buying them.<br />
In 2020 the Argyle Mine closed forever<br />
and that is when interest started.<br />
People were hearing more about the<br />
closure and what that meant for the<br />
pink diamond supply in Australia.<br />
When 2021 rolled around pink diamonds<br />
really came into there own.<br />
People were housebound, no travelling at<br />
all and they had more time on their hands<br />
to read articles, listen to the radio and<br />
research.<br />
Once John Laws started pushing Argyle<br />
pink diamonds on his radio program<br />
and we invested time into selective<br />
demand social media advertising, our<br />
pink diamond sales took off.<br />
People were coming instore, contacting<br />
us via our social media and ringing the<br />
store to find out more information about<br />
these ‘now rare’ diamonds.<br />
Pink diamonds had customers interested<br />
in jewellery again.<br />
They were asking questions, taking in<br />
information and wanting to come instore<br />
and see these diamonds in real life.<br />
Since they could not travel far from<br />
home in 2021, customers invested this<br />
money into loose pink diamonds and<br />
pink diamond jewellery.<br />
They wanted something special for<br />
themselves, to own a piece of Australian<br />
history, but to also have a sentimental<br />
piece with a back story that they can<br />
pass down through their family.<br />
Are you selling more pearl and pearl<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
We have noticed over many years of<br />
selling jewellery that customers either<br />
love pearls or hate pearls, there is no<br />
inbetween.<br />
Over the past few years pearls have<br />
become a staple item in most people’s<br />
jewellery boxes.<br />
They are such a classic item and can be<br />
matched with any outfit for any occassion.<br />
Customers love the natural forms of<br />
pearls and enjoy the fact that they<br />
are not perfect in most cases.<br />
Simple, freshwater pearl stud earrings<br />
would be our best seller, as customers<br />
want to wear their pearls on a daily<br />
basis and not stress about loosing that<br />
expensive pair.<br />
The younger generations are purchasing<br />
the big statement button studs, where<br />
the older generations still enjoy wearing<br />
7-8mm simple, round pearl stud.<br />
We have sold quite a few pairs in the<br />
lead up to Christmas, with our youngest<br />
customer being only three years old.<br />
Her grandmother wanted to start her<br />
pearl collection early, so decided on<br />
pearl earirngs as a gift.<br />
We believe the increase in pearl sales<br />
is due to the fact people going back to<br />
simple and classic jewellery compared<br />
to big and blingy of a few years ago.<br />
There also seems to be a lean towards<br />
pearls for bridal accessories.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Don’t just<br />
work hard,<br />
also work<br />
happily.”<br />
We have noticed more brides<br />
accessorising with pearl jewellery<br />
than they were five years ago.<br />
With lace being quite popular in wedding<br />
dresses at the moment, I think pearls<br />
blend better with this look over the more<br />
blingy jewellery of years gone by.<br />
Over the past few years pearl sales<br />
have definitely increased, especially<br />
around Christmas. They make a<br />
beautiful gift for any age group.<br />
What do you think might be the most<br />
significant challenge your business will<br />
face in 2023?<br />
The biggest challenge that I believe retail<br />
in general will face in 2023 is a reduction<br />
customer spending.<br />
There will be little to no surplus in<br />
people’s budgets for impulse shopping.<br />
As a consequence of interest rate hikes,<br />
food price increases and the doubling of<br />
gas and electricity bills, people simply<br />
do not have extra money to spend on<br />
luxuries.<br />
Customers will still need to purchase<br />
gifts and occasionally spoil themselves,<br />
but we believe the amount per sale will<br />
drop on average by half. This cannot be<br />
helped, people have to do what is right<br />
for them. We as retailers need to be<br />
understanding of this - it’s an important<br />
part of the relationship between a<br />
business and its customers.<br />
It’s important to make sure we<br />
accommodate our style of customers<br />
and make sure we can help them as<br />
well as we can with the budget that they<br />
can afford.<br />
If we look after them now, our hope is<br />
that they return and shop with us when<br />
their budget increases. i<br />
40 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Honesty – the key to building<br />
long-term relationships<br />
Stones Diamond Ring Specialists<br />
with William Stone, Assistant Manager<br />
Est. 1970 • Years in Trade 3 • Location Brisbane, QLD<br />
stonesdiamonds.com<br />
What’s the most significant challenge<br />
your business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
knowledge needs to be combined with<br />
energetic and friendly customer service.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits?<br />
Throughout <strong>2022</strong>, our most significant<br />
challenge has been meeting our<br />
increasing demand for custom made<br />
jewellery.<br />
We have seen an increased uptake in<br />
those requesting custom made jewellery,<br />
especially diamond engagement rings.<br />
Dad (Paul Stone) has always focused on<br />
ensuring our windows stay full of beautiful<br />
stock, particularly diamond engagement<br />
rings that meet all budgets and style<br />
preferences.<br />
Additionally, a large portion of custom<br />
made rings have also featured Australian<br />
Inverell Sapphire and other coloured<br />
gemstones.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
It was a great period of trade of us during<br />
COVID.<br />
As fewer people were travelling they spent<br />
their hard earned money in Australia, and<br />
it seems they wanted luxury goods such as<br />
jewellery.<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
We are incredibly lucky to have highly<br />
experienced and long-term serving staff<br />
members within our business, with me<br />
being the youngest at 20.<br />
We are always looking for potential new<br />
team members. One future problem<br />
we will have to face will be hiring new<br />
members of the team.<br />
There are a lot of qualities that make a<br />
great retail jewellery assistant. Product<br />
Finding staff within the jewellery industry<br />
isn’t easy.<br />
As staff need to be trustworthy with<br />
valuable stock and capable of learning<br />
new things, such a jewellery design and<br />
gemstone knowledge.<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
We have focused on having some of<br />
Brisbane’s largest variety of stock in<br />
the shop windows, especially for the<br />
upcoming <strong>December</strong> (Christmas)<br />
trading period.<br />
Stock is critical to successful postlockdown<br />
trade.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
I have recently set up an online shop on<br />
our website - stonesdiamonds.com - and<br />
so far it’s been so far successful.<br />
So I’m excited to see how it continues to<br />
develop and grows into the future.<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour in the past 5 years?<br />
More and more consumers tend to want<br />
education on what they are purchasing.<br />
Especially when it comes to larger<br />
purchases such as engagement rings.<br />
Looking forward to 2023, what trends are<br />
you anticipating in consumer behaviour?<br />
I think as economic times get tougher we<br />
will see increased consumer uncertainty<br />
with spending money on luxury items such<br />
as jewellery.<br />
But in saying that we know people will<br />
continue to continue to get married, have<br />
anniversaries and celebrate important<br />
occasions with beautiful jewellery.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“Remain open,<br />
honest, and<br />
upfront.”<br />
Customers have been a mixture of both<br />
those who want an in-depth education on<br />
what it is they are buying.<br />
Then there are those customers who just<br />
want to see their loved ones happy with<br />
some new beautiful jewellery. Quality<br />
made and Australian made goods always<br />
appeal to local consumers.<br />
Are you selling more 18-carat gold<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes, we sell predominately stock and<br />
make jewellery in 18-carat gold. We have<br />
however noticed a large demand for ninecarat<br />
gold too.<br />
Are you selling more colour gemstone<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
We sell a constant percentage of coloured<br />
gemstones - more have been sold as<br />
engagement rings in recent times.<br />
Are you selling more pearls and pearl<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
We have seen increased demand for our<br />
pearl jewellery, especially in South Sea<br />
pearl strands, bracelets and earrings.<br />
What will be the most significant<br />
challenge your business faces in 2023?<br />
To continue to evolve and follow market<br />
trends within the jewellery industry.<br />
Do you see jewellery chain stores as<br />
being a larger or lesser threat to your<br />
business over the next five years?<br />
Lesser threat. Australian customers<br />
rather pay for quality, giving businesses<br />
like ours an advantage.<br />
Additionally, customers love to experience<br />
a personal customer service experience,<br />
something larger chains can’t offer.i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 41
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Customers increasingly desire<br />
a piece to cherish forever<br />
Seb Brown <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
with Seb Brown, Owner<br />
Est. 2009 • Years in Trade 13 • Location Melbourne, VIC<br />
seb-brown.com<br />
The problems of businesses finding<br />
suitable staff have been widely reported<br />
in the media; have you had to change the<br />
way you manage your staff?<br />
I maintained consistent work hours, put<br />
all staff on contracts which offer sick leave,<br />
paid holidays and I pay above the award<br />
wage. This has led to staff loyalty and overall<br />
happiness in the studio. Staff are also able<br />
to upskill within their interest area and<br />
constantly learn new skills and knowledge;<br />
so there is progression.<br />
Have you made any changes now that<br />
lockdowns are behind us?<br />
I enlisted architect Sean Godsell to design<br />
my new store and workshop. Our store is<br />
now open 9-5 Monday to Friday, we offer a<br />
range of stock for purchase, but the main<br />
impetus is to attract clients to our bespoke<br />
service. We have continued to sell online<br />
alongside bricks and mortar. I have also<br />
resumed showing at international markets,<br />
namely Paris fashion week and undertaking<br />
trunk shows interstate.<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
Sales have increased significantly. My<br />
presence in the international market has<br />
increased, as has our client base here in<br />
Melbourne.<br />
I have aligned with retailers and brands<br />
overseas to raise my profile and explore<br />
new markets. My brand is relatively new<br />
so our growth has been steep, as has the<br />
learning curve.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
Any jeweller without an online store needs<br />
to get one ASAP. It will definitely increase<br />
as customers become more and more<br />
comfortable with shopping online, young<br />
people have no qualms about spending<br />
significant amounts of money online.<br />
Are you selling more 18-carat gold<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes. Significantly more; it is my material<br />
of choice. My clients love the warmth of<br />
18-carat yellow gold and the patina which<br />
builds up over time. I also prefer working<br />
with it, and don’t leave the house without<br />
an 18-carat gold ring.<br />
Are you selling more colour gemstone<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes. I utilise a lot of pink sapphires, spinels<br />
and an array of multi-coloured stones. Our<br />
clients are quite adventurous and appreciate<br />
my use of (sometimes discordant) colour<br />
combinations. I have also noticed an<br />
increase in desire for large boldly coloured<br />
stones (not going to give away which type)<br />
set simply into gold.<br />
Do you think your store will increase its<br />
bespoke jewellery category ?<br />
Most definitely. My clients love the bespoke<br />
hand made process, they can meet one<br />
of my team in the studio, choose all the<br />
elements of their pieces and walk away with<br />
something truly unique.<br />
My pieces take time to make and nine times<br />
out of ten our clients are more than happy<br />
to wait. I also get a lot out of the bespoke<br />
process, as I can spend time sourcing<br />
interesting stones and expanding my<br />
repertoire of shapes.<br />
Looking forward to 2023, what trends are<br />
you anticipating in consumer behaviour?<br />
I have noticed an uptick in remodeling<br />
requests; people are looking to refresh<br />
old pieces and have sustainability and<br />
cost in mind.<br />
More exploration into Australian gemstones;<br />
parti-sapphires, zircons, diamonds and<br />
so on. Heavy interest in sustainability<br />
particularly to do with provenance of<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“question<br />
the notions<br />
of beauty,<br />
preciousness<br />
and<br />
ownership”<br />
diamonds, mining techniques and ethical<br />
making.<br />
Online sales continue to be strong and<br />
customers are happy to organise a piece<br />
via Zoom/email/phone. Unsure if sales will<br />
increase as interest rates rise, cost of living<br />
increases, fuel prices etc, but this remains<br />
to be seen.<br />
Recycled gold is a hit. I’m thankfully seeing<br />
a ‘buy less choose well’ mentality remain,<br />
clients will save up money for a thoughtfully<br />
made piece they will cherish forever.<br />
What is the most significant change to<br />
the industry in recent years?<br />
I was predominantly selling chunky silver<br />
pieces via a small network of boutique<br />
retailers and galleries. A lot of these shops<br />
have closed, and the market has shifted to<br />
insatiable demand for gold rings. This is due<br />
to pressures of online retailing, high rents<br />
and the changing nature of fashion.<br />
Online sales are a large and growing<br />
proportion of sales, this barely existed in the<br />
jewellery trade 10 years ago. Large online<br />
stores have gained trust, can offer a wide<br />
selection of brands/pieces and free returns.<br />
Lastly people are far more adventurous<br />
and are willing to invest in everything from<br />
‘push presents’ to divorce rings! Obviously<br />
online promotion and digital marketing has<br />
increased. The gallery model for presenting<br />
jewellery has remained, but as customers<br />
are more likely to connect with the jeweller<br />
directly this may be on the wane.<br />
What is one change you’d like to see<br />
within the jewellery industry?<br />
More investment and time focused on<br />
innovation in design and curation. The<br />
ability to access provenance information<br />
for diamonds. Also – Pinterest being<br />
permanently deleted! i<br />
42 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Making the most of Australia’s<br />
beautiful gemstones<br />
Utopian Creations<br />
with Ben Manning, Director<br />
Est. 2005 • Years in Trade 24 • Location Adelaide, SA<br />
utopiancreations.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge your<br />
business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Competition online has been the biggest<br />
challenge to our business in <strong>2022</strong>,<br />
especially in the field of Australian sapphire<br />
engagement rings which have been a focus<br />
of our business for the past 10 years.<br />
COVID lockdowns forced established<br />
businesses to increase their online presence<br />
and it gave a lot of people time at home to<br />
start new small businesses. It’s the best type<br />
of challenge to have though, pushing us and<br />
the whole industry to innovate and provide<br />
customers with the best products available.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
We created the first retail website for our<br />
business back in 2005 and while the world<br />
of online retailing has changed massively<br />
over the past 17 years while customers<br />
purchasing patterns haven’t.<br />
Our website serves as an excellent home<br />
base for customers to gather information,<br />
but at the end of the day, most sales are still<br />
conducted after numerous contacts with a<br />
sales member either in-store or via phone/<br />
email. Our website is worth every cent and<br />
every bit of time we put into it however, it<br />
rarely makes sales by itself. This proves<br />
the importance of a physical store and a<br />
knowledgeable sales team.<br />
Are you selling more colour gemstone<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Coloured gemstone jewellery continues to be<br />
our focus, predominantly Australian sapphire<br />
engagement rings. We’ve seen a slow and<br />
steady rise in people searching for Australian<br />
sapphires over the last 10 years with a more<br />
pronounced rise over the last 5 years.<br />
It’s not an easy space to work in due to the<br />
difficulty sourcing light and bright colours,<br />
and issues with photography, especially<br />
when dealing with interstate or international<br />
customers, but the outcomes are often<br />
more memorable than white diamonds<br />
due to the individual personalities of each<br />
sapphire.<br />
It’s a lovely supply chain to be involved with<br />
and building long-term relationships with<br />
miners and cutters in Australia is very<br />
rewarding. Traveling to the mining areas,<br />
seeing the miners in action, and noting the<br />
care that’s taken for the local environment is<br />
really important, helping us to build a story<br />
around our products, and connecting the<br />
consumer with the materials’ origins.<br />
In a world where customers expect better<br />
financial, health and safety outcomes for<br />
supply chains and care for the environment,<br />
local gemstones can be a real asset.<br />
Are there any products that have surprised<br />
you in sales performance?<br />
The rise of Australian sapphires as<br />
engagement ring stones has surprised us<br />
and I’m sure the rest of the industry, both in<br />
Australia and overseas.<br />
10 years ago we still had contacts, mainly<br />
ex-miners with extensive sapphire<br />
collections that contained incredible<br />
sapphires. Most of these collections have<br />
now been used and like others, we rely on<br />
newly mined sapphires. Thankfully we have<br />
20 years of experience and can provide our<br />
customers with most of their needs.<br />
Another product that has taken off over the<br />
past 10 years is lab-created diamonds. We<br />
imported our first about 10 years ago from a<br />
European company. This was very early for<br />
lab-created diamonds in Australia and even<br />
though we advertised lab-created diamonds<br />
on our website and in-store we didnt have a<br />
lot of interest for the first five years, making<br />
a few bespoke pieces per year.<br />
The last five years have seen steady growth<br />
though and I don’t see any reason for it<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“keep an open<br />
mind and be<br />
kind.”<br />
to change. There is a lot of conflicting<br />
information online that scares some<br />
customers off, I’m sure some coming from<br />
the mined diamond industry, but price and<br />
a perceived environmental benefit are such<br />
strong factors for some customers that lab<br />
will continue to be the choice for many.<br />
We continue to sell both mined and labcreated<br />
diamonds, providing customers<br />
with accurate information and we see<br />
a 60-40 split in favor of lab-created<br />
diamonds, but keep in mind all our mined<br />
diamonds are from traceable sources and<br />
are therefore generally more expensive<br />
than open market mined diamonds so the<br />
price difference for our customers may be<br />
even greater than normal.<br />
What will be the most significant challenge<br />
your business will face in 2023?<br />
The next 12 months could bring significant<br />
challenges not only to our business but the<br />
wider economy. The global economy is close<br />
to, if not already in a recession and at this<br />
point it’s not well understood how deep it<br />
will go. We are a small business with under<br />
10 employees which can bring benefits<br />
during widespread downturns as its easier<br />
to pivot away from marginal income streams<br />
and focus on what’s really important.<br />
The full impact of this slower economy<br />
might not be felt for two or even three<br />
years but it’s the work put in over the next<br />
12 months that will be important. For our<br />
business, it’s going to mean expanding<br />
our offerings to customers in-store and<br />
online while continuing to attract more<br />
local customers into our physical store and<br />
perfect our interstate and overseas sales.<br />
Coloured gemstones and lab-created<br />
diamonds provide customers with a lower<br />
price point for engagement rings so we<br />
expect a busy few years even if the global<br />
economy loses momentum. i<br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | 43
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
INDEPENDENT JEWELLER<br />
Aiming for continued growth<br />
despite a cloudy economy<br />
Cleopatra’s Bling <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
with Olivia Cummings, Director and founder<br />
Est. 2011 • Years in Trade 11 • Location Melbourne, Victoria<br />
cleopatrasbling.com.au<br />
What’s the most significant challenge your<br />
business faced in <strong>2022</strong>?<br />
It’s been challenging deciding where to put<br />
cashflow and investment while the world<br />
struggles with crisis after crisis.<br />
It’s a matter of following your gut because<br />
you know your business, while making clever<br />
financial decisions.<br />
As <strong>2022</strong> ends, was there anything that<br />
caught you by surprise during the year?<br />
I was expecting sales to drop more than<br />
they did, and for people to be more thrifty.<br />
Our sales were still strong.<br />
The problems of businesses finding staff<br />
have been widely reported in the media;<br />
have you had to change the way you<br />
manage your staff?<br />
We haven’t had any staffing issues, in fact,<br />
we needed to hire and found really incredible<br />
people.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer product preference?<br />
Gold continues to grow for us, over sterling<br />
silver. We have noticed a big spike in clients<br />
wanting bespoke jewellery.<br />
Have you made any changes to your<br />
business strategies now that lockdowns are<br />
behind us?<br />
Our business model didn’t really change,<br />
however that is also the beauty of<br />
e-commerce.<br />
We did however open a store during COVID<br />
which in retrospect was a bold move.<br />
It’s done well and since we moved into a<br />
bigger store with offices and dispatch.<br />
Can you comment on online retailing?<br />
We are happy with our online sales, and we<br />
ship internationally which is also helpful<br />
when reaching a global market.<br />
That said, we always aspire to more and<br />
we are implementing growth strategies<br />
for online growth.<br />
Have you noticed any major change to<br />
consumer behaviour in the past 5 years,<br />
particularly due to COVID?<br />
We found people were treating themselves<br />
more and jewellery has become more<br />
“everyday” than it was.<br />
In <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>, are you paying more or<br />
less tenancy costs (rent/lease, outgoings<br />
etc) than you were in <strong>December</strong> 2019?<br />
Yes, we’re paying more but purely because<br />
we moved into an entire building.<br />
Before we were only paying for dispatch<br />
rent, whereas now we have an entire<br />
building to pay for.<br />
Has your sales income increased or<br />
decreased in the past five years ago?<br />
It’s increased, I think partly also due to our<br />
bespoke (solid gold) range.<br />
We are working hard to grow our bespoke<br />
range and it grew since COVID.<br />
Have you noticed any new trends or<br />
changes in consumer shopping habits?<br />
Post COVID we noticed a lot of clients<br />
wanting to purchase in store when they<br />
have the option.<br />
I imagine it’s because of how tired of online<br />
shopping people became.<br />
Are there any products you’re selling more<br />
or less of today that surprises you?<br />
10 years ago I made beads and relic pieces.<br />
I am always surprised that we are still<br />
selling as many of them today as we are.<br />
Are you selling more 18-carat gold<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes, in both our demi fine and solid gold.<br />
WORDS TO LIVE BY<br />
“There’s<br />
always<br />
something<br />
else waiting<br />
to be<br />
discovered.”<br />
Are you selling more colour gemstone<br />
jewellery than you were five years ago?<br />
Yes, and beaded products too. We are also<br />
selling more pearls and pearl jewellery.<br />
Is your store selling more or less bespoke<br />
or handmade jewellery, compared to five<br />
years ago?<br />
Yes, our bespoke range has grown. We want<br />
to increase this because it’s a great form<br />
of creative expression for us but also great<br />
profit.<br />
We’ve also observed a decline in jewellery<br />
repairs work, which we attribute to an<br />
increase in the quality of our jewellery.<br />
Looking forward to 2023, what trends are<br />
you anticipating in consumer behaviour?<br />
We hope to keep growing our bespoke<br />
solid gold range and offer a very bespoke<br />
customer experience.<br />
We don’t really follow trends with other<br />
jewellery brands as such, we like to carve<br />
out our own path through storytelling.<br />
What’s one thing hope for or one change<br />
you’d like to see within the industry?<br />
More people investing in solid gold because<br />
they see the value in gold, as opposed to<br />
custom jewellery.<br />
It’s better for the environment but also<br />
it supports the ancient craft of jewellery<br />
making and the artisans that we work with,<br />
and in turn our business.<br />
On a scale of 1 to 10 – how confident are<br />
you for the next 12 months in terms of<br />
sales and profitability?<br />
10 - although we are anticipating a<br />
significant challenge with the incoming<br />
global recession and people potentially<br />
spending less. i<br />
44 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
18ct Diamond & Precious Coloured Gemstone <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Collection<br />
DJDIAMONDDESIGNS.COM.AU<br />
Daniel Jacuk | 0412 071 103 | sales@djdiamonddesigns.com.au<br />
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2012 – DECEMBER<br />
Tackling the tricky customer<br />
MARGARET FAY, FAY’S JEWELLERS<br />
What<br />
did<br />
jewellers<br />
After a lifetime in jewellery retail, Margaret Fay of Fay’s <strong>Jeweller</strong>s in<br />
Davenport shares some industry knowledge about the little things that<br />
make a retailer’s day run smoothly.<br />
“We have all had customers who have “checked it out on the internet” and<br />
who “know all about diamonds”. It can be a challenge, but always smile, be<br />
polite and congratulate them on their good taste.<br />
What about the dual lay-by conundrum? – he has a lay-by of which she is<br />
unaware; she also has a lay-by that he doesn’t know about. Ideally, the gifts<br />
are for each other, though one can never be sure. In the meantime, we<br />
mustn’t get them mixed up and can only pray they don’t bump into one<br />
another when coming into the shop.<br />
On those difficult days, I like to remember why I chose retail – the whirr of<br />
EFTPOS, the clink of the till, the unpredictability of customers, the challenge<br />
of the sale. It’s the ultimate gamble; it’s what we love.”<br />
think?<br />
2012 – APRIL<br />
Talk security, fight crime<br />
TONY BENSIMON, SHIELS<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong> winds back the clock and reflects on<br />
what jewellers, retailers, and other members of<br />
the industry had to say more than one decade ago.<br />
2012 – FEBRUARY<br />
How much are you worth?<br />
DEAN HARRISON, ALCHEMY INFUSIONS DESIGNS<br />
I have once again found myself back ‘on the bench’, and immediately I find<br />
myself questioning the norms of the industry. What is a fair salary after all,<br />
asks Dean Harrison, owner of Alchemy Infusion Designs.<br />
“It’s a vicious circle – bench jewellers do not charge their time properly, then<br />
complain about a lack of income that stops them from training new jewellers,<br />
resulting in under-qualified jewellers, which affects the quality and standard<br />
in the industry. This leads to retailers complaining about the lack of competent<br />
jewellers and not wanting to pay fair and reasonable rates.<br />
Retailers need to ask themselves; are they prepared to invest money in quality<br />
bench jewellers by adding smaller margins to the customer, thereby allowing<br />
bench jewellers to chare reasonable rates for the skills and expertise which, in<br />
turn, will help the jewellery trade to grow?<br />
Being a jeweller is not simply about discount ring sizing; it’s about craftsmanship<br />
and quality. As manufacturing jewellers, we are blessed with the skills to create<br />
perfect little works of art made from precious metals, and that should always be<br />
respected and not forgotten.”<br />
Possibly the least favourite aspect of the jewellery trade is the<br />
issue of security. Toby Bensimon director of Shiels believes better<br />
communication between jewellers could help fight crime.<br />
“Although robberies are relatively rare, they are unforgettably traumatic<br />
to anyone who has had the misfortune of experiencing one.<br />
Our 40-plus stores are robbed regularly in the form of snatch and<br />
grab style robberies – once per fortnight on average. We are robbed<br />
after-hours once per year, which involves thieves smashing the front<br />
glass and making off with a few hundred dollars worth of jewellery but<br />
leaving a $3000 glass bill, and around every two to three years, we have<br />
a robbery where burglars gain access to the store and steal anything we<br />
do not secure in our safe.<br />
Recently, however, we were robbed by a crew of thieves who used a<br />
crude yet effective method to bypass our alarm system and gain entry to<br />
our safe. This was the first time in over 40 years that our safe had been<br />
accessed and they stole only the high-priced items.”<br />
2009 – JUNE<br />
Forward without fear<br />
RENEE BLACKWELL, RENEE BLACKWELL DESIGN<br />
In times of looming recession, the businesses that succeed are the ones<br />
who change their strategies accordingly. Renee Blackwell discusses<br />
some ways to keep the fires burning.<br />
As we progress into the global financial crisis, we are bombarded daily with<br />
fear-based, profit-oriented hype from all major media. Many jewellers and<br />
customers have become concerned, not knowing how to proceed or how to<br />
cope, but while financial doom and gloom is all over the media, we’ve really<br />
got to stop and think about how it’s actually affecting us right now.<br />
My business is actually doing well, as are many businesses like mine,<br />
because there are plenty of retailers still doing well, too. Retailers continue<br />
to spend money, but they are looking for something exciting and fresh -<br />
something that’s going to set them apart. This is the right attitude to have.<br />
46 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
2012 –JULY<br />
Time is running out, so ‘Save the Time’<br />
NICHOLAS HACKO, NICHOLAS HACKO FINE WATCHES<br />
The Tasmanian Tiger is one of the most fabled animals in the world, and<br />
yet it remains one of the least understood, explains Nicholas Hacko.<br />
The Tasmanian Tiger may be ‘recreated’ from a remnant of DNA in the near<br />
future. Unfortunately, recreating a master watchmaker from DNA would be<br />
impossible!<br />
“Watchmaking is not a dying industry, merely one that is dying in this<br />
country as talent is forced overseas.<br />
Independent watchmakers are a true asset to any society. They possess skills<br />
acquired over many decades of complex restorations and repairs. They work on<br />
high-grade watches, both new (providing they can get spare parts!) and vintage<br />
and restore and repair fine and unusual timepieces, like vintage pocket watches,<br />
music boxes, clock mechanisms and barometers.”<br />
2007 – JULY<br />
The silver lining<br />
NIC CERRONE, CERRONE JEWELLERS<br />
The Australian jewellery industry has a great deal to boast about,<br />
according to Nic Cerrone of Cerrone <strong>Jeweller</strong>s. So why the long faces?<br />
Comprising a bevy of wonderful jewellers, the Australian jewellery<br />
trade operates in conjunction with a strong economy where people<br />
live privileged lifestyles.<br />
Despite this, I constantly hear negativity from members of the trade:<br />
complaints that the economy is bad; that there is a lack of customers;<br />
and that competition from imports is stiff, as is the general<br />
competitiveness of the business.<br />
But if you really love what you do, you will find a way to reach your<br />
goals. Isn’t it more rewarding when something is difficult to achieve<br />
- and you finally do achieve it?<br />
Overall there is enough business for everybody - business for cheaper<br />
jewellery, business for high-end, importing and exporting. The consumer is<br />
more aware of jewellery now than ever and there are many more buyers.<br />
2007 – JUNE<br />
Keep the lights on<br />
JAGO GAVIN, TAMANIE JEWELLERS<br />
Product disclosure and customer education should not come at the expense<br />
of making a quick sale, argues Jago Gavin from Tamanie <strong>Jeweller</strong>s.<br />
Our industry is getting hurt because we’re trying to make the quick sale and we’re<br />
not giving the customer the correct information.<br />
Sure, the dearer piece may not be the most viable option for your customer, but at<br />
least ensure they are fully informed about differences in quality before they decide<br />
on a cheaper alternative. Ensure you’re giving a full disclosure of the product. That<br />
way, the customer can walk out fully aware of what they’ve bought.<br />
Consumer awareness of jewellery products is increasing, but it’s the responsibility<br />
of the retailer to educate staff and, in-turn, educate customers about the quality of<br />
the product on sale.<br />
At the moment, the industry has lost some of its consumers’ trust because<br />
members have not been completely open with their customers. I recommend<br />
that we all try to be as transparent as possible in order to regain this trust.<br />
Once we do this, customers will start to believe in jewellery as a viable gift.
2014 – AUGUST<br />
Outsmarting the smartphone<br />
MICHAEL GRIMALDI, MICHAEL’S SHOWCASE<br />
I have been in this industry for 30 years, says Michael Gimaldi of Michael’s<br />
Showcase <strong>Jeweller</strong>s. My father was in the industry for 60 years and his father<br />
was in it before him. Times change and so too do shopping habits.<br />
These days we have a new breed of customer and a new shopping modus<br />
operandi that is becoming harder to compete with: the mobile phone, internet<br />
shopping and branding galore.<br />
Let me paint a picture, one with which I’m sure you’re all familiar. The customers<br />
come into the store, try stuff on, wear the pieces and ask you all about them.<br />
Not long after, you’re in your local coffee shop and here they are again, using<br />
their smartphone to view online all the gear they just played “Twenty questions”<br />
about with you. But wait, there’s more! One week later they have the cheek to<br />
come in and want that piece, the one they bought online, fitted or adjusted.<br />
So what are you going to do? I charge 15 bucks for a watchband resize.<br />
Hey, I’ve got people I need to pay. They seem to be OK with it now but one year<br />
ago when I started charging, boy did I get some shocked faces.<br />
2012 – MARCH<br />
Family jewellers: making them work<br />
TONI DESBROW, BILOELA SHOWCASE JEWELLERS<br />
As far as succession planning goes, it is the ultimate question says<br />
Toni Desbrow, co-propietor of Biloela Showcase <strong>Jeweller</strong>s. If a<br />
jewellery business can stay in a family for 100 years, I suppose it<br />
is a good thing, because it shows the strength within that unity.<br />
Husbands and wives working together? That’s another story. It is not always<br />
healthy for the family environment.<br />
Sometimes spending 24 hours a day together can be very unhealthy as it is<br />
hard to create any separation between home life and office life – everything<br />
travels with you, from work to home and vice versa.<br />
Sometimes it is nice to be able to leave the stresses of the working week<br />
behind you at the end of the day and that can be harder to do when your<br />
work, including your partner, goes home with you.<br />
When you are employed by someone, you finish your day and go home and<br />
leave work behind you. Maybe that is the advice we need to take:; work is<br />
work and home is home, and we should all do your best to keep it that way<br />
as much as we can.<br />
Working with a spouse is a touchy subject, particularly if one of you has not<br />
come from that industry. Generally, it should be the person with the industry<br />
experience who should run the business.<br />
Knowledge of the industry is everything and you shouldn’t be pulled back on<br />
growing a successful business.”<br />
2007 – AUGUST<br />
A change in attitude<br />
NIKHIL JOGIA, JOGIA DIAMONDS<br />
Despite the growing power of internet retailing for all sectors, too many<br />
jewellers are still resisting it. Nikhil Jogia of Jogia Diamonds calls for a<br />
new approach toward this dominant medium.<br />
The Australian jewellery industry still doesn’t fully understand the internet.<br />
Unlike traditional media, the internet has very few barriers to entry. Website<br />
templates can be downloaded and installed within minutes. Domain names
WHAT DID JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
2008 – APRIL<br />
Combating the invasion<br />
DEAN WALKER, DEAN WALKER DESIGNS<br />
Dean Walker of Dean Walker Designs argues jewellers should<br />
focus on manufacturing their own designs, instead of spending too much<br />
time repairing imported jewellery, to protect Australia’s design identity.<br />
I think most would agree that Australian manufactured jewellery is generally<br />
superior to imported jewellery, especially when it is handmade.<br />
Given imported jewellery transactions greatly outnumber sales of local<br />
jewellery in our market, there must be reasons, apart from quality - the<br />
two that come to mind are price and product knowledge (or lack of).<br />
I have often told customers that I am reluctant to resize rings due to a<br />
lack of sturdiness, pointing this out without the use of weasel words.<br />
An example would be: “This ring has been excessively hollowed, and any<br />
forces applied to it will concentrate around the settings”. Such advice serves<br />
two purposes: it gives the customer wisdom to use for future purchases,<br />
and educates the consumer that jewellery shopping is not only a question<br />
of price.<br />
People appreciate knowing and sometimes come back to buy better quality<br />
items than they would have bought before.<br />
2007 –MARCH<br />
The real robbery begins now<br />
ROBERT HAIN, DARJE JEWELLERY<br />
After a robbery in his store, the last thing Robert Hain, director, Darjé<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>y expected was poor treatment from his insurer. He argues it’s time<br />
insurance companies better supported the victims.<br />
In a laughable final slap in the face, our assessor then informed me that our<br />
premium would now rise to double what we had paid previously. I didn’t even<br />
complete the form when it arrived because there was simply no way I could<br />
afford it - it would have taken most of my profit, especially when I was only<br />
supposed to be making $25 an hour! Thus, I was left uninsured.<br />
The entire ordeal left me very angry and very hurt. In the jewellery trade, you<br />
must be honest. I have always been honest because I’m continually dealing<br />
with customers’ jobs and their trust is paramount to my business. I do the<br />
right thing, and I expect the right thing in return; in this case, I didn’t get it.<br />
If you fall victim to robbery in your store and the insurance assessor gives you<br />
a hard time, don’t tolerate it. The more we stand-up and protest as a united<br />
industry, the less chance this will happen again. Telephone the insurance<br />
company and voice your concerns. Get them to appoint a different assessor to<br />
handle your claim and hopefully they’ll take care of it for you.<br />
My advice is to insurance companies: stop treating the victims like the<br />
criminals or you’ll lose many valuable customers.<br />
... continued<br />
and hosting can be bought for less than a cup of coffee.<br />
Add to this the promise from Google that your ad can be on top of the search<br />
results in minutes (with the right bid), and it is very tempting for jewellers to<br />
start selling online without any professional advice.<br />
A prime example of this is Gemex.com.au, a blog offering “consumer advice”<br />
that has received lots of attention in the past year. The previous management<br />
of Jogia Diamonds paid large sums of money for a small display ad on this site.<br />
As it turns out, the ad brought us between five and fifteen visitors per month.<br />
Because of the low visitor numbers, we cancelled the ad. Still, even more<br />
jewellers advertise without any independent metrics whatsoever.<br />
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WHAT DID JEWELLERS THINK?<br />
2011 – FEBRUARY<br />
The enemies within<br />
JOHN TEMELLI, TEMELLI JEWELLERY<br />
2010 – JANUARY<br />
Do your homework<br />
MICHAEL SOBBI, LINDA & CO. DESIGNER JEWELLERS<br />
Not everything should be sold for a song, says John Temelli.<br />
Discounting – both on and offline – is ruining consumers’ perception<br />
of value in the Australian jewellery industry.<br />
Where has the prestige or the luxury gone in our industry? I ask, because<br />
I’m not sure I can see it anymore.<br />
The jewellery industry is supposed to be driven by luxury and brand ideals<br />
such as desire, status, new innovation and design. But lately I’ve begun to<br />
think retailers are losing sight of what makes it valuable.<br />
If this carries on, what was once seen by consumers as a status symbol will<br />
quickly lose that status. Brand ideals will falter and desire will falter with it.<br />
There is no doubt many of us are in this industry because we love it – but<br />
there are certainly others who view it as nothing more than a quick buck,<br />
easy money and take advantage of an industry built on trust.<br />
In this respect our biggest enemies are not pressures on the jewellery<br />
industry, but pressures from within it. To me, the biggest evils are internet<br />
diamond ‘wholesalers’ and the practice of discounting. These may seem<br />
different, but essentially they do the same damage to the industry and<br />
the consumer.<br />
According to Michael Sobbi from Linda and Co. Designer <strong>Jeweller</strong>s,<br />
the secret to successful retailing is to refresh your offering<br />
accordingly by regularly researching and reviewing the market.<br />
With the ever-growing use of the internet as a research tool, customers<br />
are a lot more educated than they once were; ultimately, the people<br />
representing the trade must be more highly skilled than ever before in<br />
order to gain a customers confidence.<br />
Focusing on those who are professional and have a passion for the<br />
industry is a sure way to improve not only the sales of the business,<br />
but also its customer relationships and service levels.<br />
Strengthening customer relations is vital. Customers remember the<br />
experience of the sale and will return if the experience was positive. And<br />
remember, customers don’t have to choose you. In the face of rising gold<br />
prices (and subsequent jewellery prices) jewellery has become a luxury.<br />
People are prepared to travel further to a jeweller whom they believe<br />
will give better service, better choice and better value.<br />
By providing only the highest quality service and constantly undertaking<br />
research and review, all retail jewellers can unlock rapid growth in their store.<br />
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FEATURE: INDUSTRY INSIGHT<br />
What do<br />
jewellers<br />
think about...<br />
PRICE TAGS?<br />
It’s an age-old debate within the jewellery industry –<br />
price tags, yes or no? SAMUEL ORD explores the<br />
pros and cons of labelling jewellery with price tags.
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK ABOUT PRICE TAGS?<br />
Razmik Avakian<br />
RAZMIK & CO.<br />
"It shows a certain<br />
amount of respect for<br />
your customer and more<br />
importantly, that you<br />
respect their time.”<br />
Marissa Tomah<br />
VERVE JEWELLERS<br />
"Some customers are<br />
hoping to play it safe<br />
and will just assume that<br />
they can’t afford an item<br />
- in those cases everyone<br />
misses out.”<br />
W<br />
hen customers browse the price tag<br />
on any given item, the tag plays an<br />
important role in the emotion generated<br />
during that initial contact.<br />
This is the case whether it be something<br />
as big as a vehicle parked in a car yard or<br />
something as small as a diamond ring in<br />
a store’s front window.<br />
Academics from around the world have<br />
exhaustively studied sales techniques searching<br />
for that ‘silver bullet’ formula – and while it’s<br />
never been discovered, we have learned that<br />
there are a number of crucial elements that go<br />
into successfully communicating the price of a<br />
product to a customer.<br />
By now it’s likely you’re familiar with the ‘9<br />
Factor’ – it’s such a well-established retail play<br />
that not only do the majority of business owners<br />
know about it – so do the majority of customers.<br />
Items priced to end in a 9, 99 or 95 are known<br />
as ‘charm prices’ because consumers have<br />
been culturally conditioned to associate prices<br />
that end with a 9 as being discounted or reduced,<br />
even when they’re not.<br />
Furthermore due to what’s known as ‘left-digit<br />
bias’ customers’ perceptions are more heavily<br />
weighted towards the numbers we read first –<br />
meaning $10.99 feels more like $10 than it<br />
does $11 and that $397.99 feels more like<br />
$300 than it does $400.<br />
Likewise, font size on price tags matters too.<br />
Professors at the University of Connecticut<br />
found that customers perceive sale prices to<br />
be a better value when the price is written in<br />
a small font rather than a large, bold typeface.<br />
Customers mentally tend to associate prices<br />
with a larger front as having a higher numerical<br />
value, merely due to the ‘big’ nature of the text.<br />
It’s also common to believe that a price displayed<br />
with a larger font is the ‘original’ price whereas<br />
discounted pricing is expected to be smaller.<br />
Think of clothing stores placing a reduced<br />
price sticker on top of the original bigger tag.<br />
“Items priced to end in a 9,<br />
99, or 95 are known as ‘charm<br />
prices’ because consumers<br />
have been culturally<br />
conditioned to associate<br />
prices ending with a 9 as being<br />
discounted or reduced, even<br />
when they’re not.”<br />
It’s usually done that way to avoid the timeconsuming<br />
practice of retagging the clothing,<br />
however, it’s that kind of practice that has<br />
conditioned customers to view smaller price<br />
tags as those that have been discounted.<br />
Lose the tag?<br />
Understanding the ‘tricks’ of the trade is<br />
important – but what if you could avoid<br />
the stress of getting all the smaller details<br />
right by doing away with price tags entirely?<br />
Marc Salzmann, director of Micheli <strong>Jeweller</strong>y,<br />
says that presenting jewellery items without a<br />
tag can open up new opportunities for sales staff.<br />
“With some of the more expensive pieces of<br />
jewellery leaving the price tag off opens the<br />
door for an important conversation between<br />
the customers and our staff,” he explains.<br />
“When a customer is forced to ask how much a<br />
ring or necklace is worth, sales staff are given<br />
the chance to share the background of the item<br />
and what makes it important or appealing.<br />
When you take this approach you also get<br />
the opportunity to justify why an item might<br />
be priced the way that it is – while having the<br />
price tag out in the opening might otherwise be<br />
enough to turn a customer away from a piece<br />
they really like.”<br />
Salzmann added that Micheli <strong>Jeweller</strong>y uses a<br />
mixed approach, openly pricing some pieces of<br />
jewellery while leaving others a mystery.<br />
“Opening the door for the sales staff to build<br />
some rapport through conversation is another<br />
important benefit,” he added.<br />
“We also understand that some of our customers<br />
like to have the pricing information readily<br />
available, so we price many items openly.”<br />
William Stone is a third-generation jeweller<br />
working at the family business in Brisbane -<br />
Stones Diamond Ring Specialists.<br />
Stone sees immense value in conversation<br />
with customers and says that avoiding price<br />
tags opens the door to new opportunities.<br />
“For the stores with higher priced items, leaving<br />
the price off a necklace, ring or set of earrings<br />
gives any member of staff the chance to speak<br />
with a customer in-person, in-depth, and<br />
hopefully at length,” Stone explains.<br />
52 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
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sales@lacouronnejwl.com.au<br />
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New Designs<br />
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK ABOUT PRICE TAGS?<br />
IP153-PWG-BT<br />
Lisa Stephens<br />
MAX WILSON<br />
DIAMOND JEWELLER<br />
IP153-EWG-BT<br />
"When you’re upfront<br />
with information like<br />
how much a piece of<br />
jewellery costs, you save<br />
your customers any<br />
unnecessary effort."<br />
IP154-EYG-GA<br />
“It’s the chance to convey the significance of a piece of jewellery and<br />
perhaps more importantly why it’s priced the way that it is. It gives you<br />
the chance to build rapport and have a stronger connection through<br />
conversation, which is crucial in the jewellery trade.”<br />
Darren Nancarrow is the owner of Diann Darling <strong>Jeweller</strong>s in<br />
Engadine, New South Wales.<br />
Nancarrow has spent more than 30 years in the jewellery<br />
industry and he echoed the sentiment of Salzmann and Stone.<br />
IP154-PYG-GA<br />
“When a particular piece is truly one of a kind or unique, leaving<br />
the price tag off is a worthwhile idea because you’re giving your<br />
employees the opportunity to speak with the customer about the<br />
background of the item,” he said.<br />
IP83-BANGLE-YGP<br />
“Understanding the ‘tricks’ of the trade is<br />
important – but what if you could avoid the<br />
stress of getting all the smaller details right<br />
by doing away with price tags entirely?”<br />
“It also gives that employee the chance to leave a strong, favourable<br />
impression on the customer. Our business we don’t feel particularly<br />
strong either way – price tags or no price tags. It’s perfectly acceptable<br />
to do both.”<br />
Calm down!<br />
It’s no secret that shopping for jewellery can be a stressful<br />
experience. It’s more often than not a substantial investment,<br />
and for many people, it’s into a product which requires extensive<br />
research to understand.<br />
Luxury Pearl and Opal <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
+61 2 9266 0636<br />
enquiries@ikecho.com.au<br />
www.ikecho.com.au<br />
Pair those circumstances with the nerves of the jewellery being<br />
for a special occasion, for example, a marriage proposal? That’s a<br />
recipe for stress!<br />
Marissa Tomah, of Verve <strong>Jeweller</strong>s in Stanhope Gardens in
William Stone<br />
STONES DIAMOND<br />
RING SPECIALISTS<br />
“It gives you the chance to<br />
build rapport and have a<br />
stronger connection through<br />
conversation, which is crucial<br />
in the jewellery trade.”<br />
New South Wales, says using price tags can relax customers<br />
in an otherwise stressful time.<br />
“I think it’s important we use price tags and open pricing with<br />
customers because it’s often a very intimidating or daunting<br />
experience entering a jewellery store for the first time,” she says.<br />
“Particularly in a high-end store! If an item doesn’t have a price tag,<br />
you automatically run the risk of an otherwise nervous customer<br />
assuming that the item is well and truly outside of their budget,<br />
when perhaps it might not be.”<br />
“Customers mentally tend to associate<br />
higher prices with a larger font as having a<br />
higher numerical value, merely due to the<br />
‘big’ nature of the text.”<br />
She continued: “Some customers are hoping to play it safe and will<br />
just assume that they can’t afford an item – and in those cases,<br />
everyone misses out. A customer misses out on an item they really<br />
like and the jewellery store or business loses a sale.<br />
It’s often said today that the average person is comparatively ‘timepoor’<br />
when compared to generations past.<br />
What it means to be time poor can differ from study-to-study. For<br />
most it’s defined as the chronic feeling of having too many tasks to<br />
complete in too little time.<br />
available in 9ct & 18ct gold and platinum<br />
“Over the past two decades, global wealth has risen,” a recent<br />
report from Nature reports.<br />
“Yet material affluence has not translated into time affluence.<br />
Most people report feeling persistently ‘time poor’ — like they<br />
have too many things to do and not enough time to do them.”<br />
Respecting this widespread phenomenon and placing emphasis on<br />
saving time for customers is something Lisa Stephens, of Max<br />
FINE JEWELLERY MANUFACTURERS<br />
MARKMCASKILL.COM.AU<br />
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ADELAIDE | BANGKOK
WHAT DO JEWELLERS THINK ABOUT PRICE TAGS?<br />
Marc Salzmann<br />
MICHELI JEWELLERY<br />
Darren Nancarrow<br />
DIANN DARLING JEWELLERS<br />
“Opening the door<br />
for sales staff to build<br />
some rapport through<br />
conversation is another<br />
important benefit.”<br />
“It also gives that employee<br />
the chance to leave a strong,<br />
favourable impression on the<br />
customer. Within our business,<br />
we don’t feel particularly<br />
strongly either way - price tags<br />
or no price tags.”<br />
Wilson Diamond <strong>Jeweller</strong>s, says is immensely<br />
important.<br />
“We place price tags on everything in our store<br />
because we think our customers prefer to be<br />
offered the information up front and it helps<br />
them make an informed decision quickly,”<br />
Stephens explains.<br />
“In my opinion it’s really important to keep<br />
shopping at our store an efficient and enjoyable<br />
experience. When you’re upfront with information<br />
like how much a piece of jewellery costs, you save<br />
your customers any unnecessary effort.”<br />
Survey<br />
In April of 2021, Instore performed a survey<br />
of readers posing this very question – “should<br />
jewellers show prices?<br />
The outcome may surprise you! 42 per cent of<br />
responders said they would like jewellery stores<br />
to display prices, while 58 per cent said they<br />
preferred it be kept a mystery. Among the more<br />
interesting responses from those wanting prices<br />
to be displayed…<br />
• Customers appreciate the information being<br />
made available without the need to ask.<br />
• It puts customers at ease and removes the<br />
anxiety of asking about an item they may not<br />
be able to afford.<br />
• It gives customers more confidence in the<br />
jewellery store and removes an uncertainty.<br />
While the majority of those who responded<br />
to the survey said they preferred pricing kept<br />
secret for the following reasons…<br />
• It looks messy and displays appear cleaner<br />
without price tags.<br />
• Sales staff are given a chance to build<br />
rapport with customers when they need to<br />
ask how much an item costs.<br />
• Price tags take away from the value of a<br />
luxury item like jewellery – unique items are<br />
about what they mean to the possessor and<br />
not the mere value.<br />
“What it means to be<br />
‘time-poor’ can differ from<br />
study-to-study. For most, it’s<br />
defined as chronic feeling<br />
of having too many tasks to<br />
complete in too little time.”<br />
It’s a matter of respect<br />
The majority of the jewellery industry members<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong> spoke to in preparation for this feature<br />
were comfortable acknowledging the strengths<br />
and weaknesses of both sides of the argument.<br />
One individual – an industry veteran with decades<br />
of experience – wouldn’t sit on the fence and<br />
emphasised his belief that placing price tags<br />
on items is about showing respect for your<br />
customers.<br />
“I think it’s very important that a jewellery store<br />
has its pricing on every item clearly displayed.<br />
You must do it! It shows a certain amount of<br />
respect for your customer and more importantly,<br />
it shows that you respect their time,” says<br />
Razmik Avakian of Razmik & Co.
“I see people putting up signs outside jewellery<br />
stores – 50 per cent off! 50 per cent off<br />
what I ask? You can also save people a lot of<br />
embarrassment by making it clear how much<br />
an item costs.<br />
He continued: “Perhaps they love an item, a<br />
necklace or a ring, but because it’s not priced<br />
clearly they ask and find out that they can’t<br />
afford it – that’s very disappointing for them.<br />
In my experience, so many people will not<br />
bother to enter a jewellery store that does not<br />
have prices clearly printed and as a business<br />
owner, you’re losing those sales before you’ve<br />
even had the chance to say hello.”<br />
“42 per cent of responders<br />
said they would like jewellery<br />
stores to display prices,<br />
while 58 per cent said<br />
they preferred it be<br />
kept a mystery.”<br />
The rules<br />
There are many additional reasons why one<br />
may choose to conceal the price of an item of<br />
jewellery.<br />
Private pricing can help a business avoid unfair<br />
competition from nearby rivals who may use<br />
the information to dominate a specific category<br />
with targeted pricing.<br />
Some retailers offer a wide range of jewellery<br />
products in terms of pricing – earrings from<br />
as low as $80 near diamond rings worth many<br />
thousands of dollars.<br />
It’s natural for a jewellery store to want to<br />
proudly display the most expensive inventory,<br />
however, when it’s paired with a heavy price<br />
tag, that may be enough to scare some<br />
customers away from the store forever. This is<br />
a disaster if there’s plenty on offer within their<br />
budget!<br />
All of these factors and more are important –<br />
but not as important as following the guidance<br />
of Australia’s trade practice enforcement<br />
– the Australian Competition and Consumer<br />
Commission (ACCC).<br />
The ACCC’s advice on the matter of pricing is<br />
simplied into five simple points.<br />
• Businesses must display clear and<br />
accurate prices, and must not mislead<br />
consumers about their prices.<br />
• There are specific laws about how<br />
businesses must display their prices.<br />
• Businesses must display a total price that<br />
includes taxes, duties and all unavoidable<br />
or pre-selected extra fees.<br />
• If a business charges a surcharge for card<br />
payment, weekends or public holidays, it<br />
must follow the rules about displaying the<br />
surcharge.<br />
• If more than one price is displayed for an<br />
item, the business must charge the lowest<br />
price, or stop selling the item until the<br />
price is corrected.<br />
Anything outside of those key points is fair<br />
game!
10 FACTORS TO CONSIDER<br />
1<br />
Saves the customer time by preventing the need to<br />
inquire about an item that may be outside of their<br />
budget.<br />
2<br />
A<br />
lack of clear pricing makes jewellery feel<br />
more like a piece of artwork, rather than a<br />
commodity with a set value.<br />
1/2 PG V<br />
ADVERTISEMENT<br />
3<br />
The<br />
4<br />
<strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />
‘mystery’ generated by the lack of a price<br />
tag opens the door for sales staff to converse<br />
with customers and build rapport.<br />
stores look ‘cleaner’ and present better<br />
with more of an emphasis on the product itself<br />
without price tags.<br />
5<br />
Sales<br />
6<br />
Correctly<br />
staff are given the opportunity to share<br />
interesting background information about a piece<br />
of jewellery when customers ask about the price<br />
due to a lack of tag.<br />
pricing each item on display within<br />
a jewellery store can be extremely time<br />
consuming for staff.<br />
7<br />
A<br />
business may be ‘under cut’ by rivals who use<br />
the information displayed on price tags to provide<br />
discounted offerings.<br />
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8<br />
A<br />
9<br />
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10<br />
customer who asks about a piece of jewellery<br />
without a tag that is outside of their budget may<br />
feel embarrassed after finding out the price.<br />
items on display can be intimidating for<br />
customers, pushing them away from a store when<br />
it’s possible other items match their budget.<br />
An issue or error with the price tag on an item<br />
could be costly for a business and frustrating<br />
for a customer.<br />
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