The Secret to Selling Colored Gemstones? Tell a Great Story

ASK JEWELERS how to sell colored gemstones and you’ll hear one word more than any other: story.

“A story, you need a story, to sell them,” says Mark Clodius of Clodius & Co. Jewelers in Rockford, IL. “Be it of legend or lore, the beauty in the color, the rarity and place of origin.”

It’s a theme that runs through INSTORE’s January Brain Squad survey, where dozens of retailers shared their best tips for moving color. The consensus: technical knowledge matters, but narrative sells. (INSTORE will be featuring colored gemstones in its upcoming February edition.)

Eve Alfille of Eve J. Alfille Gallery and Studio in Evanston, IL, has built an entire approach around gemstone storytelling. She keeps books on gem lore in her waiting area, tells customers about famous stones like La Peregrina and explains how emeralds get their characteristic inclusions. “Emeralds are colored by two elements, chrome and vanadium, that don’t like each other, so they fight, giving the lovely gem many fractures,” she says. “But I go on to say, with emeralds, this becomes a feature: ‘Your emerald has a lovely jardin, Madame!’ Jardin is French for garden, meaning: your emerald is full of stuff!”

Humor helps too, she adds. “It relaxes tension about buying something you may not know.”

Kirk Gentry of Storey Jewelers in Gonzales, TX, agrees. “Know the stone’s lore and have fun with it,” he says. “Like how wearing amethyst prevents drunkenness. See Sally over there? She puts on an amethyst ring every day when she goes to lunch.”

For some jewelers, selling color is deeply personal. Jo Goralski of The Jewelry Mechanic Inc. in Oconomowoc, WI, says she could never pitch a white diamond with conviction. “I never saw the value, but a color gem will make me feel punched in the throat with its beauty, and make me cry. When you feel like that about a product it is so easy to sell.” Her hottest stone last year? Montana sapphire in teal blue-green. “I even had one client who thought ‘Montana’ meant teal color sapphire, not actually Montana Montana!”

Beyond storytelling, retailers emphasize knowing your product — and your customer. Betsy Barron of Love & Luxe in San Francisco, CA, says the first step is understanding provenance and treatments, then matching the stone’s durability to the buyer’s lifestyle. “Once all the factors are considered, it is the emotional response that makes the final decision.”

Ellie Thompson of Ellie Thompson + Co. in Chicago, IL, focuses on language. “This is a great time to use an evocative vocabulary,” she says, “whether it’s the mysterious hue of a rare gray spinel that gives up flashes of blue and lavender, or the rich velvety nature of a fine blue sapphire.”

And several jewelers suggest breaking away from the usual suspects. “Everyone sells the big three: emeralds, rubies and sapphires,” says Dianna Rae High of Dianna Rae Jewelry in Lafayette, LA. “If you want to set yourself apart from your competition, choose more unique gems. Tourmalines, spinels and zircons give you more variety in color and price.”

The bottom line? Colored gemstones require a different approach than diamonds — one built on education, emotion and a good yarn.