To say that it’s a challenge in this economy to launch a high-end jewelry line with items that retail for as much as $110,000 would probably be an understatement.
Ruff&Cut’s strategy: Tug at heartstrings by trying to appeal to humanitarians and environmentalists.
The jewelry line, which launched today and is sold online and in independent boutiques, features pieces that are made with recycled gold and “conflict-free” diamonds. The company is also donating 10% of the retail price of each piece to NGOs working in Africa to improve the lives of people involved in metal and gemstone mining and jewelry manufacturing. The company’s e-commerce site specifies where each diamond came from.
The pieces don’t come cheap. Designed by established jewelry names such as Me&Ro, the line includes items that largely fall within the $250 to $22,000 price range. $250 gets you a pair of recycled gold ear-rings while the $22,000 pieces include engagement rings and diamond necklaces.
Founder Wade Watson calls the timing of the line launch “kind of a bummer.” But he notes that he’d spent a year and a half preparing for it and did not want to delay it. But Mr. Watson, who is optimistically projecting $3 million in wholesale sales during the first year, is hoping that the socially responsible aspect of his pieces will appeal even to consumers who have cut back. “There’s the added value of the fact that you’re doing good on the other side of the world,” he says.
– Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com
