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Chain reaction
Article Autor: Diana Jarrett
The Story Behind the Stone
By themselves or in the supporting role as hangers for pendants, the chain in silver, gold or platinum is a must have staple in every jewelry collector’s wardrobe. Often we sell them together with a pendant, but what about reminding our customers that a chain has a life of its own? Sleek modern dressing, especially for daytime wear need not be a fussy affair. It’s all the more reason to assist your client in finishing their total look with a simple tasteful chain.
Have you seen the creative styling that many designers are offering lately? Even wide millimeter chains offer versatility when paired with wide open bale pendants. Alone or with an extra bauble, each way worn doubles the pleasure and utility for your customer. Styles that may seem ‘obvious’ to you just might be an un-thought about style that could appeal to the next lookie-loo who enters your door. Consider the more well known chain styles. There’s curb, snake, mariner, box, figaro, rope, Byzantine, Singapore, and popcorn, just for starters. While those styles are well known within the industry, a customer may be seeing it for the first time and decide that it can be a thing of beauty by itself, or paired with a pendant she already owns. And with current gold prices on the ascent, these sales are not simply add-ons as they once might have been. At the moment, they are important sales. Do you have a jewelry bench on-site? Many of your customers own neck chains they no longer favor, for a variety of reasons. What to do with them? If they sell them for their gold weight as scrap, they will get little. But if you suggest they are turned into a bracelet - now you’ve given them a brand new jewelry piece at a reasonable price, and will have earned money from the bench work charges. Not long ago, I sat next to a stylish woman at a luncheon in Westport, CT. She was undecorated in a purposeful way. Her simple and well thought out outfit was accented with a wide braided gold cuff. What a statement that made! Several of your customer’s omega necklaces might be transformed into a similar cuff. Ropes and other types of unused chains can also have a new life braided together or simply styled into a wide new gold band. Would they be able to buy such a new bracelet with today’s gold prices? Probably not. No matter what the next customer who enters your store says they’re looking for, lead them to your chain case and start a low key informational chat about the versatility of today’s chains. And by the way, it wouldn’t hurt to make such a note on your buying list, when you get ready to restock. Graduate Gemologist Diana Jarrett is also a Registered Master Valuer, and a member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. Her regular columns appear in the NY Mineralogical Club Bulletin and Colored Stone Magazine. Contact her for appraisals or personal appearances at info@dianajarrett.com. Learn more by visiting her web site www.dianajarrett.com. | ||||||||||||||||||
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