wedge blog

(This post is published on the InStore magazine blog)

There has been a lively discussion on Polygon in the last week about the jewelry equivalent of a catalogue showroom.

There are certain stores in Canada where customers walk up to open displays, pick out a basic engagement ring–or two or three–and wander about unsupervised with 8mm rocks in designer settings. If they run out the door, I doubt if the sales clerk would even bother to chase them.

The rings are what’s known in the jewelry trade as ‘brass and glass’– base metal cubic zirconia examples of rings that can be customized with real gems and gold when an order is made. “Want that setting in rose gold, size 4 1/2 for pear shape? No problem. Come back in three weeks and it’s yours. That’ll be $4500 please. Ka ching!”

I see the tactical advantage of this, especially in slower economic times. Instead of investing in expensive “Cinderella Rings” that often live in a showroom for years, jewelers can order a basic style and make dozens of orders from a single base metal ring. The strategy also allows clients to browse without a nosy salesclerk. Imagine how far a semi-mount budget would go if a jeweler switched to brass and glass.

One of the jewelry industry’s most respected gurus is already helping several stores convert to this marketing strategy. You may be seeing brass and glass at a competitor or near you.

A couple of years ago, Overnight Mounting started to offer $20 brass and glass examples, so I delved in with a few hundred bucks. It was a dismal failure. Clients can get those rings off their fingers fast enough, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was not compatible with my business strategy.

First, I think it’s a mistake to mix fakes with the real McCoy. Customers expect the shopping experience, not a split personality. What’s real and what isn’t? Second, in a small town, you don’t want to sell too many versions of the same ring. Third, I think my attitude rubbed off on my clients: they could tell I just wasn’t that enthusiastic. Fourth, since I was leveraged and real goods and customers usually want things right away, I had little incentive to push the ersatz rings.
I can’t help thinking of a television ad for cellular networks where everything needs to go like clockwork. The stagehands kill the rain on command. The wedding planner locates the misplaced flowers, but suddenly the groom has cold feet. “Cue the stand-in groom!” A smiling substitute waits for the I-do’s.

I wonder if her two-carat ring was late, if that bride would accept brass & glass along with a cardboard groom.