Three Keys to a Thriving Jewelry Industry

I wish we had a crystal ball to tell us exactly how the jewelry industry will bounce back from the hand we all have been dealt. Unfortunately, we do not - but even if we did, it would not change the undying focus we have at Jewelers Mutual Group, which is to do whatever we can to help raise the tide of the jewelry industry.  These are not just words but are the lens through which we challenge ourselves to see through, think though, and focus our resources through.

Regardless of what "shape" the recovery takes, it is important to be realistic and embrace the uncertainty as opportunity.  It is an opportunity to connect with customers in ways we have not done before.  It is an opportunity to provide enhanced products and services to your customers.  It is an opportunity to partner with others with like mindsets in order to pool resources and solutions together to make it easier for customers to realize the synergistic benefits that can be brought to them with new technologies . . .  and when we accept that we are often stronger together as an industry than we are going it alone.  This current uncertainty can be embraced and I hope makes us all willing to try new things and work with others in ways we have not done before.  I also hope it will encourage all of us to embrace much needed digital technology in how we interact with each other and our customers.

As I reflect on Jewelers Mutual Group's own transformation, it is clear that our investment in technology, curiosity-based culture, and collaboration with best-in-class service providers - such as IDEX - will be how we continue to help raise the tide of the industry.  We know we are truly stronger together than we are alone.  If we want to help raise the tide of the industry in the most impactful ways possible, then we need to assist others that have the same goal of helping jewelers, even if Jewelers Mutual itself does not gain anything directly . . . because we are all stronger if the tide of the industry rises.

Technology: Maximizing Your Potential

A few years ago, Mike Alexander, Executive Vice President at Jewelers Mutual Group, and I started talking about an idea we had to "connect the industry in ways like never before."

We didn't recognize the full potential of the idea at first because we thought, "we're an insurance company, not a tech company," but that's when it all started to make sense.

Instead of being reactive and weighing the cost-benefit of implementing a new technology to simply keep pace with the market, we should create something that actually provides tangible value to our customers. While many companies aim to conserve every possible dollar and ride out uncertainty, we knew this was a perfect time to double-down on our investment and quicken the pace of delivery.

Thanks to the guidance of Mike Pelto, Senior Vice President of Technology, and Adam Gerety, Vice President of Platform Operations, the Zing™ platform was officially announced at the recent JCK Virtual event.

The platform empowers jewelers to make smart business decisions, helps them create a seamless customer experience, and provides product selection not historically available to everyone.

Culture: Recognizing Curiosity as an Asset

The Zing platform would not be where it is today if it weren't for a cross-functional team of developers, user experience analysts, data scientists, and others who continue to ask questions and put the jewelers' needs at the center of every decision.

If it weren't for the spirit and mindset of our employees, we could have easily fallen into the abyss many other companies have simply because they couldn't get out of their own way. These weren't fly-by-night companies, either - they were once considered titans of industry that no stalwart competitor or innovative start-up could replace.

AT&T is a perfect example. In 1993 they unveiled an ad campaign called "You Will." They accurately predicted the commercialization of future technologies like video conferencing, streaming, and smart devices. Today, other companies dominate these categories and they are collectively worth trillions of dollars. AT&T never fully capitalized on its vision. 

As a business leader, you may have the grandest vision imaginable, but it means nothing if your employees and colleagues can't conjure the same dream.

Jewelers Mutual Group leveraged the curiosity of some of the brightest minds in the jewelry industry and in the tech space and created the Zing platform as the engine to power and accelerate business.

Partners: Capitalizing on Outside Expertise

We recognized early on that our expertise was insurance, but that alone wouldn't constitute a platform. We built experience with shipping and knowledge of warranty products, but even the addition of those elements wouldn't be enough.

When researching other needs facing the industry, a connection to a diamond marketplace immediately stood out. Craig Danforth, Vice President of Client Solutions, leveraged his relationship with IDEX and that's when the foundation of the Zing platform truly began taking shape.

With IDEX's Guaranteed Diamond Transactions™ service, suppliers can share their inventory (including specifications, grading, and pricing information), so that all jewelers have transparent access to inventory and pricing information around the globe.

This levels the playing field, because it brings real-time data and the power to analyze to everyone in the industry in ways they couldn't do on their own.

For our appraisal solution, we collaborated with Richard Drucker and Gemworld, which brought decades of trusted knowledge onboard. Now, in one location, a jeweler can search for a diamond and seamlessly transition to creating a retail insurance appraisal and store it in the cloud.

The most important thing to note is we're creating these additional products and services via a flexible technology infrastructure. The best of the best in the industry can easily connect and become part of an entirely new ecosystem. In my mind, there is no limit to what the Zing platform can offer, or whom it can serve.

We don't need a crystal ball to tell us what our future holds - we need each other.  And I want to be clear on this point if I have not already . . . we want to partner with others that have the same goal of helping jewelers.  Helping jewelers is the reason for our existence, and we are willing to partner with others that share this common goal of helping raise the tide of the jewelry industry first and foremost.

Together, we'll come together as a community and lift each other up. And if a rising tide lifts all boats, consider the Zing platform by Jewelers Mutual Group a moon that is always close by.

I invite you to join us, your fellow jewelers, and leaders like IDEX and Gemworld on the Zing platform at JewelersMutual.com/Zing.