Every terrain of human endeavor is said to have its pitfalls. So, it applies to all businesses, as each comes with its attendant problems and luxury jewelry is no exception. In a recent interview the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s top jewelry brand,Shyllon Adeola of Houseofamearypearl highlighted some of the challenges besetting the business, while also analyzing the pros and cons inherent in the business landscape.
According to her, “Educating some customers about what they are trying to purchase/Invest in is a big challenge. Some customers don’t really know much about watches but they heard somewhere luxury jewelries are investments so they come to a jeweler with a full note of questions, hence your job starts in educating them and trying to make a deal happen with them. This becomes interesting with time if you really love what you do by the way.”
“Foreign exchange rates are one of the major factors and challenges besetting this business of ours. Current exchange rate has made the business so difficult but I still have to ensure prices remain friendly to our dearest customers. Exchange rate is factor number 1 for sure, then there are custom duties and shipping issues. Shipping sometimes can be difficult and there is a lot of competition from other vendors,” she added.
She advised that when buying jewelry, you need to consider a wide range of things, from verifying your dealer to be sure you’re not getting sold a fake product, to making sure you go for products that actually keep your money for investment purposes.
“I’d say there’s a lot of factors to put into consideration when dealing,”she pointed out
She posited that one of the best forms of investments in tough economic times is buying an item that would continue to appreciate and could be sold at a later date for profit. She added that the gold buying business is a good way to make a huge profit , as gold is the most gainful and unchanging, predictable raw material there is.
“When buying gold or diamond, ensure the authenticity of the seller, so most definitely if you trust the person , you will definitely get exact jewelry with no issues and also make sure it has an Italian 18 karat gold logo on it and you are good to go,” she advised on a general note.
“Buy from a tested and trusted vendor as it can be difficult to spot a fake jewelry at first sight, a gold plated and solid gold jewelry can look identical but overtime the true identity of the gold plated will show,” she offered her candid advice when it comes to making a choice of jewelry to buy,” she added.
She also stated that the number 1 jewelry maker in the world are from Italy, India, Thailand and Switzerland and affirmed that the strongest market place right now to acquire decent jewelry is in Dubai.
“Most of the companies in Italy and India etc now have one or more major branches in Dubai.
Shyllon Adeola is a serial entrepreneur, happily married with two children. She graduated from Olabisi Onabanjo University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering. She also did some Engineering programs to assert herself as a certified engineer but one enjoying life as a businesswoman.