The jewelry trade is the buying and selling of finished jewellery or components used in creating new pieces. It is a highly competitive industry and consumers have many choices. Jewelry retailers must keep prices low and offer exceptional customer service to thrive in the marketplace. In addition, they must keep up with consumer demands and find innovative ways to market their products to drive sales.
Jewellery is worn as decorative, functional or both and is made from a wide variety of materials. It is often a mark of status, as seen in the use of gold and diamonds to embellish items. It can also be symbolic, as in the case of religious or cultural symbols like crosses and Stars of David. Jewellery can be a form of art, as in the case of enamel and gold-work or carving. The earliest forms of jewellery were utilitarian, such as beads and rings to hold hair in place or as adornments for tools, but with the rise of exploration and the renaissance, finely-crafted ornamentation became more common. The term jewellery began to be used to differentiate between different types of craftwork, and the craftsmen who worked with cheaper materials were known as bijoutiers and those who worked with precious metals as joailliers.
Many consumers are attracted to artisanal and handmade jewelry, which is more likely to be ethically made. It is usually sold by independent jewelers or artisans in shops. However, it can also be found on websites that specialize in these items. Some of these websites are run by e-commerce companies, such as Shopify or BigCommerce, and provide the tools for small businesses to sell their jewellery online.
Other jewellery sellers sell their items through local channels, such as Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. These types of sites allow shoppers to meet local sellers and negotiate a price face-to-face, which can be more convenient for some buyers. It can be challenging to build a brand and sell jewellery this way, however, and it can be hard to make your product discoverable in the marketplace.
In some instances, a jeweler will buy back jewelry that has been damaged or otherwise no longer wears well. This is more common for high-end pieces and is normally done on a very small scale. Alternatively, the stones may be recycled to be repurposed into new jewellery.
Jewelers must be careful to avoid false advertising when marketing their products, as they can be hit with lawsuits if they do so. Misrepresenting an item as gold when it is actually silver, for example, can be very costly. In addition, it is important for jewelers to research the history of a gemstone or metal in order to ensure that they are selling genuine goods. In some cases, fraudulent jewelers will advertise gold-plated items as pure gold to attract customers. This can be extremely dangerous to those who have allergies or skin sensitivities.
