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Diamond-Focused Denver Jeweler Inspired by Her Clients’ Excitement

Millennial shoppers respond to education, privacy and transparency.

Published

4 years ago

August 26, 2019

INSTORE Staff Instore September 2019 Issue Online Extra

Diamond-Focused Denver Jeweler Inspired by Her Clients’ Excitement

Online Extra

TIMELESS AND TREASURED. Most of my clients come to me with their own ideas for rings, but my source of inspiration is helping refine them into something that is timeless. I try to remind people that they are buying something that they, or the person they’re buying for, is going to wear for a very long time. The rings that I have designed for our case are timeless, not too busy, and the focus is on the actual diamond.

SHOWING RESPECT. I wanted to create a transparent experience. That’s why people come to us. The secret to selling diamonds to millennials is educating them. I think they find you are respecting them when you give them that information rather than just selling them something because it’s pretty. And it’s about respecting their budget. A lot of my friends say retailers show them things that are $5,000 or $10,000 over what they said they want to spend.

ALTERNATIVE BRIDAL. I do sell salt and pepper diamonds. Not every day, most clients are coming to me for fine diamonds. Most people have been buying them through the Internet, but I bought them because people want to come in and see them. I sell them ridiculously cheap.

FOOL-PROOF PLANNING. Most guys don’t try to do it on their own. They either come in together as couples or the girls send me all the information ahead of time, I keep it in a file, and when the guy comes in, I pull out the file and he can’t mess that up. I imagine that is completely different from how it was done 15, or even 10 years ago.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”