JEWELRY & WATCHES

By David Stern

This Holiday Season—Start A Love Affair
Enjoy A Lasting Relationship With Your Jeweler

Regardless of time of year or special occasion, the purchasing of jewelry should be a pleasurable, sometimes memorable, experience. If you consider a jeweler as a professional, as you do with the other professionals in your life (i.e. your accountant, attorney, physician, personal shopper, etc.), then trust, confidence and inventory style is something that should be considered and taken into account when starting or maintaining a lasting relationship with a jeweler.

Here in South Florida, a great deal of people come from other areas of the country and/or are snowbirds who already have an established jeweler in their out-of-state residence. Others live here year ‘round, but their jeweler has relocated or sold their business. Some may still be using their parents’ jeweler, but are looking for more contemporary designer lines. For others, their current jeweler does not have custom design capabilities and they want to re-design family estate pieces. All could be looking for their "new local professionals" or a replacement for same. And that is why trust, confidence and inventory style is paramount in selecting a jeweler.

Gaining confidence and the meshing of personalities is key in working with a new jeweler. Therefore, as with your other professionals, you should feel free to ask questions:

• How long have you been in business?
• How long have you been in South Florida?
• What professional qualifications do you possess?
• What do you consider your specialties?
• What designer line exclusives do you have?
• What are your design philosophies?
• Are you a full-service jewelry store?
• Do you have an in-house studio workroom in which your work is done?
• Do you guarantee your work?
• What organizations do you belong to in town .i.e Chamber of Commerce?

These are some examples of questions you should ask. Providing you receive the answers that want to hear in a manner that is professional and non-challenging, then this would be where you can feel confident to move forward.

As the relationship builds, if you are looking to purchase a piece of jewelry that may not be in inventory, it would be to your advantage to give that jeweler the opportunity to find that item. As a matter of good business on the jeweler's part, you will find the more business and/or the longer the relationship, your personal jeweler will tend to repay your loyalty by giving you priority service and financial incentives that cannot be matched.

David Stern of David Stern Designing Jewelers, Boca Raton, can be reached at 561-994-3330 or david@davidsternjewelry.com.