I had a quite enlightening interaction with a certain man who was buying jewellery for his wife at one of our Aurex retail stores. Normally, male customers come and ask for ‘suggestions on the best jewellery I can get my partner’. We, on the other hand, usually already have a very long list of generic jewellery they can get, and in most cases, the final decision they make hinges on price. Which is why I took special interest in this particular encounter, not to mention that it also changed my whole perspective on jewellery purchase.
Value is best measured in meaning
So, the guy came in our retail store and briefly took a look around. He then asked if we were able to do a custom-made pendant, to which we responded affirming that we could. The next moment, he was showing us a lotus flower pendant, which was very cute too. Well, I have to admit that the whole team I was working with that day had no idea what a lotus flower was, or even what it symbolised! One of us was brave enough to ask what the funny shaped pendant was, and our customer was more that happy to share the story behind the pendant.
He said, “The lotus flower is a symbol of purity. Even if its roots are in the muddiest waters, it still blooms into the most beautiful flower. My wife and I have been through the hardest times, but our love grew stronger each time. I just want this chain to act as a reminder of that. You know, it is boring if it just a meaningless piece of jewellery, it should tell your story.” I cannot describe how thrilled I was at this revelation! Up to this day, that changed my whole perspective to jewellery purchasing.
The lotus flower pendant we came up with…
A rebirth of design creativity
Ever since, whenever anyone asks for my opinion on which piece of jewellery they can buy for their partner, or loved one (family and friends), I make sure to point back to this story. It is surprising just how creative and different your jewellery piece gets if it customised that way! I have shared a few creations below and the stories that gave birth to these as well.
On this design, we had a lady who wanted to give their friend a farewell present. She found this design online and it resonated well with what she wanted to let her friend know, which was “Let us both go all around the world, but let’s stay connected”. How cool is that!
We also had a guy who was looking for an engagement ring and after sharing our story, he mentioned that his fiancé-to-be and him were big on faith, and he wanted his ring to communicate that ‘we keep a God who is bigger than us at the centre of our union.’
How well do you think we managed to bring out that concept on his ring?
Blog by
Chiedza Marume
