Starter Kit. Idea 403 of 500. Cluster 20
Jewellery design in silver and the lesser gems, for the mid-market abroad
The mechanism, from the book
Sri Lankans make the world's underwear to the world's standard, and the country has no fashion brand of its own that the world has heard of.
The first step
Design three pieces in silver, each set with one of the lesser gems, have a local jeweller make them, and price them for a mid-market shop abroad. Show them to two buyers at independent jewellery shops through contacts abroad, and to guests at a Sri Lankan event abroad with an order book open. Orders placed are your proof.
- Who pays first
- A shopper abroad who wants a real gemstone piece with a traceable origin at a price well below the luxury houses.
- What leaves today
- A loose lesser gem earns little on its own; set in silver under a Sri Lankan design, it keeps the making and the margin on the island.
Ask first
- National Gem and Jewellery Authority. Ask what a jeweller must hold to buy and set gems for export.
- Sri Lanka Export Development Board. Ask whether support exists for jewellery brands selling to shops abroad.
Check before you spend
The gem dealing licence you need, hallmarking of the silver, and honest descriptions of each stone as buyers abroad require.
Find out these three numbers
- What price will mid-market shops abroad pay per piece?
- What does a local jeweller charge to make each design?
- How many orders came from one event?
A comparison from the book
The gems. Chapter Two
"The loss happens further down: in certifying the stone, in the brand, in setting it into jewellery, in owning the customer."
Setting the stones yourself and owning the buyer is where the value stays.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.