She’s the chief working officer at Zachary’s Jewelers in Annapolis, Maryland. She’s moreover the designer behind optimistic jewelry mannequin Birthright Foundry.
Lastly, she’s the proprietor of Bloomstone Jewelers, a lab-grown diamond boutique moreover positioned in Annapolis.
Throughout the first two roles, Polamalu works utterly with pure diamonds, whereas Bloomstone focuses on lab-grown stones.
In a modern interview with Nationwide Jeweler, she shared how the businesses align, when and why she modified her ideas about lab-grown diamonds, and why she chosen to take care of pure and lab-grown stones separate.
This interview has been edited for dimension and readability.
Lenore Fedow: I’m accustomed to your roles at Zachary’s Jewelers and Birthright Foundry, nevertheless not collectively along with your latest enterprise. Can you inform me additional about Bloomstone?
Constance Polamalu: Bloomstone Jewelers is an utterly lab-grown diamond retailer. It was conceived after I used to be performing some SWOT analysis for my completely different firms.
LF: What’s a SWOT analysis?
CP: SWOT analysis is [looking at] strengths, weaknesses, alternate options, and threats. Lab-grown diamonds had come up as a menace to my pure diamond firms. And so I started truly digging, and I wanted to know additional; I wanted to know how it was being provided and the best way it was being positioned.
I felt like there was a chance there, which I imagine happens heaps whilst you check out weaknesses.
You presumably can have weaknesses or threats. The best way you deal with them can flip right into a chance, and that’s what occurred with Bloomstone.
I observed a chance with lab-grown, nonetheless it didn’t make sense to me to ship lab grown into Zachary’s or to work with it for Birthright because of I imagine they’re two very completely completely different selections for varied buyers, nevertheless they’re underpinned by the an identical human have to have one factor beautiful, sparkly, and enduring.
Constance Polamalu opened Bloomstone Jewelers, a lab-grown diamond boutique in Annapolis, Maryland.
LF: There are many sturdy {{industry}} opinions about lab-grown diamonds. How would you describe their place throughout the jewelry world?
CP: I’d say that to understand the lab-grown place on this planet, now we’ve got to take off our jeweler hats, positioned on our shopper hats and take a look at what people are coping with and what points to people.
Much like an incredible purchaser doesn’t buy merely what they like for a retailer, an superior purchaser goes to buy what they see changing into and dealing for the people they serve.
It’s very comparable with pure and lab grown. I imagine it’s essential that we stop this diamond civil battle, for all sides.
Lab-grown diamonds nonetheless survive as a consequence of this want for diamonds. We’re in some way inherently associated to diamonds, and I imagine it has to do with daylight and our want for power and stability, the problems which might be properties of diamonds and, scientifically, properties of lab-grown diamonds as correctly.
I imagine what we see is a necessity for entry globally. People have entry to points by means of social media. So, as a worldwide financial system, our youthful people are rising up determining that completely different points exist.
Twenty years previously, pre-social media or on the early onset of social media, people didn’t know there have been others on this planet strolling spherical with 5-carat diamonds on. Now they do and now they want to know, ‘how can I experience that? How can I actually really feel that glamorous?’
Lab grown is an answer for that. It’s an identical to how Airbnb is an answer in your dream journey in case you don’t have the means to non-public a visit dwelling. The necessity [for lab-grown diamonds] comes from a must be included.
[We don’t want to] by likelihood alienate people and start a class battle in direction of diamonds because of that’s the hazard that we run if we proceed telling those who one or the other is harmful.
Each facet can sink this whole ship for everyone.
LF: As a retail reporter, my perspective always has been that it must be a lot much less about want and additional about shopper coaching. For a client, the difficulty arises when people don’t understand what they’re searching for. Everytime you’re coping along with your prospects at Bloomstone, how do you incorporate that coaching?
CP: Part of the rationale why it was so essential to me to open a separate enterprise is because of I imagine one among many largest points is disclosure and navigating that.
By drawing very clear boundaries and saying, that’s the place we promote pure diamonds and that’s the place we promote lab-grown diamonds, the shopper already is making just a bit little little bit of a name sooner than strolling into each retailer. That removes just a few of the burden from my staff in each home.
I try to follow all of my people to be precise truth based totally.
Lab-grown diamonds are scientifically diamonds, nevertheless because of they’re a know-how and by no means a commodity, the pricing may very well be very completely completely different. Experience pricing tends to be additional incrementally based totally and commodity pricing is always going to be exponentially based totally.
We share that with people, and we ask them to make their very personal choices.
As soon as they ask us if it’s an incredible funding, that’s a troublesome one because of you could define funding. Is that this an incredible funding like searching for land? No, neither [natural nor lab-grown diamonds] are.
That’s a dialog I imagine we’ve mistakenly made a part of jewelry searching for for a really very long time.
I say, one has a historic previous of holding value, and that can be pure diamonds. Although correct now we’re at a down stage, finally, I think about that it will applicable.
As a know-how, I can’t promise you that [with lab-grown diamonds]. I can’t speculate on what’s going to happen with the value of lab grown. It’s purely what you make of it.
Usually people will say, “I merely don’t assume it’s as vital to have a lab-grown diamond.”
And to that, I’d drawback people and say, “I’ve plenty of costume jewelry from my grandmother. It has no value aside from it was my grandmother’s.”
It’s allowing people to assign their very personal which suggests and value to what they’re shopping for. I want them to do this with out judgment. [With] judgment calls, we alienate people.
If we discern that one factor won’t be correct for our particular enterprise, that’s OK. As a businessperson, I don’t see it working [at Zachary’s or Birthright Foundry]. What’s working there could also be already working. Depart it alone.
Nonetheless there could also be various for lab-grown enterprise and for lab grown to be provided in any other case than I observed it being provided wherever else.
“Within the occasion that they’re sturdy pure [diamond] proponents, they don’t maintain throughout the [Bloomstone Jewelers] very prolonged, which I imagine is unquestionably a revenue to everyone involved.” — Constance Polamalu
LF: That’s attention-grabbing. I often marvel how plenty of these intra-industry conversations about lab grown and pure change over to the precise world whilst you’re actually at a counter with a purchaser. Do your prospects at Bloomstone categorical any issues about searching for lab grown over pure?
CP: I’d say within the occasion that they’re sturdy pure proponents, they don’t maintain throughout the retailer very prolonged, which I imagine is unquestionably a revenue to everyone involved.
They don’t waste any of their time or my staff’s time. There’s merely no should persuade anybody of the selection they’ve already made.
For me, that was one factor I wanted to be taught because of early into the lab-grown dialog, I was very in direction of it. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand why people would wish it. It merely appeared scary and threatening and aggravating.
I used to have the ability to duke it out with people. After which I started to grasp, that’s fallacious and I’m feeling aggressive about this as a consequence of my non-public perspective proper right here. If I take away myself and I take into accounts what’s most interesting for the person standing all through from me, yeah, I can understand.
Now, I have to be very clear about what they’re searching for and what the value propositions are for each, nevertheless I imagine now we’ve got to perception that our prospects, if given all of the data, are going to make their very personal choices.
I moreover wished to ensure that I was presenting one factor that wasn’t greenwashing. I truly didn’t like one of the best ways plenty of lab-grown firms have been coming into the home suggesting they’ve been the eco-friendly selection when what I do know to be true is that there are nuances to all of the items.
A look inside Bloomstone Jewelers
“Much like an incredible purchaser doesn’t buy merely what they like for a retailer, an superior purchaser goes to buy what they see changing into and dealing for the people they serve,” talked about Polamalu about her choice to provide solely lab-grown diamonds at Bloomstone.
LF: Do you uncover that prospects come to you with the idea of their head that they are making a additional eco-friendly choice?
CP: Positive. There’s been plenty of harm achieved and many misinformation unfold.
People talk about how AI goes to change enterprise and creative points. For me, an important issue [to note] is that it’s solely capable of repeating what it reads. And if it reads the an identical information, whether or not or not it’s correct or fallacious, 400 situations, it’s going to say that that is the reply.
So that’s the place in case you actually really feel comparable to you owe the world reliable options, you could give them. Nonetheless additional people have to get on board with telling the fact, or not lower than telling their truth, within the occasion that they want to have a say on it.
LF: Can you inform me about your purchaser base at Bloomstone versus in your completely completely different roles the place you promote pure diamonds? Does one skew youthful, and the other older?
CP: Truly, no. The make-up could be very comparable, age-wise.
There are additional ladies in Bloomstone, nevertheless which may be as a consequence of how we’ve designed the store and the best way we put it up for sale.
I imagine plenty of individuals, after I communicate to them, are shocked to hearken to that I’ve merely as many patrons of their late 70s as I do of their 20s.
Two variations of the “Nifo” pendant set with pure diamonds by Birthright Foundry, a optimistic jewelry mannequin impressed by Polamalu’s background as an American Samoan first-generation jeweler.
LF: Do you may have prospects who will buy from Birthright Foundry after which can even buy one factor at Bloomstone?
CP: I do. People have been truly confused about why I’m doing this and why I’ve three separate points occurring. I liken it to, if I’ve been a chef or a restauranteur, it perhaps wouldn’t be so weird, correct?
Zachary’s Jewelers may very well be our upscale steakhouse the place people have a tendency in town to go and have an excellent time explicit occasions. It feels truly fancy and elevated. It feels acquainted.
Bloomstone Jewelers may very well be my spin-off fashionable taco bar the place people are inclined to go for utterly joyful hours and just a bit bit additional casual fare.
After which Birthright Foundry may very well be my Omakase sushi spot. It’s not for everybody. It’s distinctive, nevertheless for a lot of who know, they know.
And if I had three consuming locations, some people would solely eat at a sort of consuming locations, some people would eat the least bit three, and some would solely eat at two of them.
LF: That’s a good way to take a look at it. That’s an attention-grabbing perspective.
CP: If we look exterior our {{industry}}, there’s plenty of precedent for all of this. Usually we spend quite a bit time looking at, what are these completely different jewelers doing? or what are my rivals doing? versus merely looking out for use-case eventualities exterior [the jewelry industry] and bringing them dwelling.
Polamalu will also be the chief working officer at Zachary’s Jewelers in Annapolis, Maryland.
LF: We’re at my closing question. It appears to be like as if for you, lab-grown and pure diamonds work most interesting as separate firms. Do you assume they may coexist in a single setting?
CP: I positively assume they may. There’s a heavy burden on the jewelers who’re trying to take care of them coexisting that I merely didn’t want, frankly.
It sounds cleaner and less complicated to set the expectations for purchasers the second they stroll throughout the door, fairly than to ship them in and woo them after which attempt to find out what made sense to them after the precise truth, notably with one of the best ways that the {{industry}} has gone throughout the closing 5 years.
Down the highway, would I wrap Bloomstone into Zachary’s? Maybe, nevertheless correct now; we’ve seen this truly tumultuous pricing development and margins throughout the closing 5 years, and that was an issue I merely didn’t want to deal with.
It appeared like one factor that wasn’t correct for me because of I imagine that when lab-grown obtained right here in early on and people have been able to make a ton more money, we had some people throughout the {{industry}} pushing lab grown of their outlets because of it was increased for them.
Now that the pricing has truly come out from beneath lab grown, in case you could have been used to selling it at 20 once more from Rap, making a killing on it, and now it’s $1,200 a carat, you is more likely to be additional inclined to push people once more to pure. I do know I’d. I didn’t want that inside battle because of I felt like which can impact relationships with prospects.
I imagine in case you’re up for that drawback and you have got an excellent plan, utterly, they may exist within the an identical retailer.
The frequent worth stage of a retailer goes to make a distinction too. All of us have completely completely different sweet spots, and there are perhaps some [stores] which might be completely completely different from mine the place it makes additional sense to provide every and gives those who selection.