Innovating With Colour

Fine jewellery is one of the most beautiful and emotional things in the world. Nothing makes a person feel special like a lovely piece of jewellery, and nothing evokes more feelings of love and happiness. A great deal of marketing and advertising effort is put into promoting traditional white/colourless diamonds as the preferred gemstone for fine jewellery, but more and more people are discovering that coloured gemstones and diamonds are just as beautiful and noteworthy.

You can increase your customer base and expand your business success by tapping into this rapidly growing fascination with coloured gemstones and diamonds. All it takes is a bit of creativity and some attention to detail to help your customers understand how much fun it is to be innovative with coloured gemstones.

Innovating with colour in many different ways

While it’s true that most people do not think of coloured gemstones as their first choice in fine jewellery, more and more people are beginning to look at using colour where they used to use white. You can take advantage of and encourage this trend by consistently finding ways to show coloured gemstones in a variety of looks, combinations, and settings.

Replace white with colour – A great way to start off with your innovative new approach is to start using coloured gemstones in places where you would otherwise use traditional white diamonds. Start promoting rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that feature coloured stones as the central focal point. It is important to have a strong collection that can stand up on its own and not scatter pieces amongst your white diamond collection.

Pair colours in unique ways – Find unique ways to pair up different colours in different ways. Use coloured stones or diamonds, instead of white diamonds in a traditional. Or alternate white and coloured stones in an eternity ring. The list is truly endless.

Use colours in non-traditional ways – Think of situations where most people would normally choose white diamonds and show them what it looks like to use coloured gemstones instead. Some examples include using coloured gemstone jewellery with wedding gowns, cocktail dresses, and casual clothing.

Increase demand by increasing choice

Remember that when many people go searching for jewellery they look at what is displayed in the store and assume those are the latest trends. You can increase demand for coloured gemstones by increasing the number of them that you have on display.

Encourage customers to view coloured gemstones as a popular trend by offering numerous choices and options. Show engagement rings that include coloured gemstones, and display necklaces that combine colours in unique and attractive ways. Put coloured gemstone earrings right alongside and in the midst of traditional white diamond earrings as well.

Another excellent way to increase demand is to start wearing more coloured gemstones yourself. Give them as gifts to your family members so they will wear them more often as well. Get to know the people in your area who are fashion leaders and encourage them to try wearing coloured gemstones as well. Make coloured gemstones a popular new trend by treating them as if they already are a popular new trend. You’ll be amazed at how showing confidence in your product can help your customers feel relaxed about making their purchase, thereby increasing coloured gemstone sales and your profit!

What are your feelings about using coloured gemstones and diamonds and how have you brought these products to your customers’ attention?

Please leave your comment below or read other peoples’.

Colour Combinations Grab Customer Attention

Grabbing the attention of customers and potential customers is a big part of your overall success. After all, if you can’t get them to notice your gemstones and your jewellery pieces you are not going to get them to actually make a purchase. Coloured gemstones can be a huge benefit in grabbing customer attention, so think about all of the creative ways you can use them to your advantage.

A splash of colour makes all the difference

Think about the advertisements you see in your local newspaper. Which ones attract your attention the most? Chances are it is the advertisements that contain a splash of colour. A headline, a border, or just a burst of colour off to the side is often all it takes to make one advertisement stand out from all the rest. Capturing attention in this way is a common approach in advertising and other promotional activities, and it can just as easily be used to attract attention and increase sales in the gemstone and jewellery business as well.

In the gemstone business, coloured gemstones are your version of a bright headline or border in a printed advertisement. Placing them strategically in places where you want to draw your customers’ attention will help you attract that attention and keep them looking. The key is to experiment with different ways of combining colour so that you gain the maximum benefit from the process.

Using colour combinations effectively

So how can you use coloured gemstones effectively? One way is to use different colour combinations to attract attention. For instance, you might combine several different shades of sapphires with either white diamonds or other coloured gemstones. Try using combinations of loose stones and specific pieces with combinations of colours; the loose stones are often the attention grabber, while the specific pieces help customers envisage just how beautiful and attractive it can be to combine stones together in their jewellery choices.

Another way to use colour combinations effectively is to adjust your displays based on the upcoming holiday or season of the year. For Valentine’s Day, emphasise different shades of rubies, pink sapphire, garnets and tourmaline, and for St. Patrick’s Day emphasise emeralds, green tourmaline, jade, and peridot. And at Christmas, which is one of the biggest gemstone buying holidays of all, mix up your emeralds, rubies, garnets, peridot, and other traditional Christmas colours.

Changing your colour combinations based on the season of the year is another way to use coloured gemstones to grab and keep customer attention. Spring is a bright time of year so think about combining yellows and oranges. Move into the summer months with sunny colour combinations as well as sky blues. As autumn comes along, adjust your colour combinations to reflect more oranges, browns and reddish tones. Even winter is a season where certain colours seem to go together well, such as black and white, and mixed fancy colours.

There is no single right or wrong way to combine colours, so take advantage of this freedom to be creative. Try different things along the way and watch to see which combinations tend to attract the most attention. The more you experiment with colour the more you’re going to attract the attention of customers and potential customers alike.

Please let me know what work has worked for you and what didn’t. Please leave your comment below or read other peoples’.

Promoting Colour in Creative Ways

Diamonds are forever, or at least that’s what the major diamond companies continually try to hammer into the consumer’s mind. In the face of this kind of constant promotion, how can you successfully promote the beauty, value, and desirability of coloured gemstones?

Here are three ideas for promoting colour in creative (and effective) ways:

1. Link colour to life. It’s all too easy to fall into the rut of old habits each day, especially in these challenging economic times when people feel compelled to “play it safe” with their finances. There’s no reason why coloured gemstones cannot be promoted as an easy, cost effective way to bring a little bit of colour and glamour to life.

   Create opportunities to talk about coloured gemstones every chance you get. For instance, you might speak to a local retailers’ association about the different ways a simple splash of colour can help spark interest and attract customers; team up with a local fashion retailer and pair a coloured gemstone necklace with an outfit in the display window, show how coloured stones can add a sense of glamour to even the most conservative business suit, or suggest different colours that can be used to create different feelings and emotional responses.

2. Pair coloured gemstones to create distinct impressions. Show customers and potential customers several ways to pair and combine coloured gemstones for the purpose of creating specific effects and impressions. Take advantage of the drama of red rubies, for instance, by pairing them with pearls, sapphires, or lighter coloured rubies in a cluster setting. Or, show the rich colour of a dark sapphire combined with the glow of a yellow diamond, citrine, or the softer blue tones.

3. Maximise the display power of coloured gemstones. The background colour used in your coloured gemstone displays can have a dramatic influence on the radiance and attractiveness of the gemstones. Whenever possible opt for strong and dramatic background colours, such as darkest black, purest white, emerald green, or royal blue. These strong colours combined with the right lighting will make coloured gemstones literally leap out at potential customers, highlighting their beauty and increasing their desirability.

   Remember, there is no single right way to promote interest in and attraction to coloured gemstones. The most important thing to keep in mind is to let your creativity lead the way; don’t settle for the same old displays, done in the same old ways, and don’t fall into the same old patterns of advertising or promoting the same gemstones in the same way each week. Try different pairings of colour, combine colours into different topics or themes, or take a chance and try something completely different to anything you’ve ever done before.

   With a bit of thought and open mindedness to trying new things, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the many different ways you can successfully promote the beauty and desirability of coloured gemstones in creative ways.

Please add your suggestions by clicking here and let us know what works for you.

Protect Your Margins with Colour

First off, I want to extend a very warm welcome to theGembank. You are getting this email because you signed up for it at our web site <www.thegembank.com>.

As part of my commitment to anyone involved in creating or selling jewellery, I have put together a series of emails that I hope you will find of use. Most of the topics are around finding of making more money in your business. As someone whose background is in selling coloured gemstones and coloured diamonds, I thought I’d kick off the series with articles relating to selling them. I am of the opinion, that selling things that are easy to sell will never make you as much money as selling something that is a little more challenging. But if you have the tools, skills and knowledge, you are a fair way down the track.

I hope you enjoy the emails and if there is a topic you would like me to look into, or a comment you would like to make, please feel free to get in touch. Email me at Richard@thegembank.com.

OK, enough formalities, I have prepared a series of articles that you might find interesting. The articles are just helpful tips and information about coloured gemstones, natural colour diamonds, sales and marketing and the gem trade.

Making money in the fine jewellery business can be tough, especially in these days of online and large scale retail competitors. For a small to medium sized business it might seem impossible to compete and make any money. With coloured gemstones, however, you have a great opportunity to protect your profit margins and be successful. All it takes is a little creativity in positioning coloured gemstones to attract the attention and interest of your potential customers.

Please leave your comment below or read other peoples’.

Promoting Colour In Creative Ways

Diamonds are forever, or at least that’s what the major diamond companies continually try to hammer into the consumer’s mind.  In the face of this kind of constant promotion, how can you successfully promote the beauty, value, and desirability of coloured gemstones?
Read more

Colour Combinations Grab Customer Attention

Grabbing the attention of customers and potential customers is a big part of your overall success.  After all, if you can’t get them to notice your gemstones and your jewellery pieces you are not going to get them to actually make a purchase.  Coloured gemstones can be a huge benefit in grabbing customer attention Read more

Protect Your Margins With Colour

Making money in the fine jewellery business can be tough, especially in these days of online and large scale retail competitors.  For a small to medium sized business it might seem impossible to compete and make any money.  With coloured gemstones, however, you have a great opportunity to protect your profit margins and be successful. Read more

Emerging Butterfly

I know this might look a little lame – no post since March, but I have been stuffing the site into a cocoon, and towards the end of the summer of 2009 I hope to be relaunching it.  Why bother you may ask? Well the web isn’t something that stands still and there is technology out there that when harnessed well can do amazing things for your business.

I have found that with all the research I am currently doing about the internet and its application to business, if I can make it succeed in the gem trade – this venerable form of trading, I can make it succeed with any business.  Even yours!

So I will carry on with the boffins, techies and wizards and look forward to showing you how what use the web can be to any business with the right application.

One call to action:  Let me know what features you would like a site for the gem and jewellery  trade to feature? Post below or send me an email.

Thank you for your continued patience.

Welcome to Colour in its Element

Colour in its element is the gateway to TheGemBank.com (where you can search my stock of Gemstones and Coloured Diamonds) and Gemrunner the Concierge service where I look for stones not found in my stock). It is somewhere to read an article about the trade, or other business matters and comment on them if you wish. You can even visit the free picture gallery and send a friend a postcard form there.

In time you’ll be able to do a lot more from this site. Please let me know how I can improve the site and your experience of it. Feel free to let me know what topics you are interested in or even write one yourself for posting. You can do all that by leaving a comment below or emailing me

Thank you and enjoy
Richard