Let online jewellers dazzle you

Satyajit, founder of a tech start-up, had just got back home after jetting around North America and meeting up with half-a-dozen new clients on behalf of his firm. As he let himself into his duplex at Koramangala at midnight on February 10, realisation dawned. He’d forgotten to pick up the antique solitaire ring at Tiffany & Co that he’d promised Debasmita for their first Valentine’s as a married couple.

A quick online search drew him to CaratLane.com, an online retailer of gold, platinum, gemstone and diamond accessories. Not only did Satyajit get to choose from 180 different readymade solitaire rings on the site but he even got to design the piece to his exact specifications.

The ease of shopping from the comfort of one’s home and the mind-boggling choices on offer are one reason why online jewellery retailers are doing brisk business, especially with men shoppers. Sumit Sukhija, CEO and Founder of online jeweller Addimon says, “There are a large number of men who shop on our website for gifts.”

Well, one can understand why guys with a guilty conscience may go online to buy expensive baubles. But why would any woman give up the plush, dimly-lit extravagance of an old-world jeweller for the fuzzy, pixelated world of online shopping?

Many women are going online, insist the growing tribe of exclusive online jewellery retailers such as CaratLane, Stylemydiamonds and Addimon. Here’s what they’re offering in an attempt to beat your family jeweller at the game.

Customisation

You’ve fallen in love with an antique-finished choker; but wish that it had black solitaires in its pendant instead of emeralds.

Well, your old-world jeweller may not be able to oblige you but your online retailer can, thanks to his wide global network of vendors. Online jewellers say they frequently take requests to custom-design the pieces of jewellery on display on their website. The customisation could allow you to change the basic metal of the accessory, remove or add stones, replace other gemstones with diamonds or vice versa or even change the size of the piece. No request is too difficult for the right price.

Given that online retailers don’t have to actually stock up on all that expensive inventory, the range that they offer can be quite vast. So, at Stylemydiamonds.com, you can pick up any piece of jewellery in 10 carat, 14 carat, 18 carat yellow gold, white gold or platinum. At Addimon.com, you can choose a solitaire based on your preferences for shape, colour, clarity, cut and polish.

You can even get the retailer to replicate a certain piece of designer jewellery that caught your fancy. Sukhija of Addimon recollects, “Once we had a request from a customer who wanted an antique design similar to something she saw on Parade Designs. The ring she wanted was available for $2,200 in the market. But we designed a similar one for her with her choice of diamonds for around $1,000.”

Tryouts

The best part of buying jewellery is trying it out and absorbing how gorgeous it actually looks on you. How do you do that in the click-and-buy stores? Well, online retailers allow you to model your favourites (with different outfits if you like) in the comfort of your home, by offering exclusive tryouts at your doorstep. The brick-and-click business model of online jewellers allows them to send their representatives to your residence so you can to have a closer look at the design and try it out before making your choice.

“It is an experience akin to the olden days, when the family goldsmith visited women of the royal family with his latest collection,” says Calvin John, Vice President-Offline Marketing, at CaratLane. “Our sales team is trained to handle all queries with regard to the jewellery.”

But be warned that you may not get your hands on the real thing during the trials, due to security concerns. Most jewellers send only a replica of the actual accessory, with the original being shipped after you place the order. Retailers such as Stylemydiamonds send the genuine piece for trial but may place limits on the number of items you choose for your tryout.

Can you refuse to buy an item after asking for a tryout? Yes, say the jewellers, but add that their conversion rates are quite high, with 70-80 per cent of the trials resulting in sales. After trying them out, if the customer needs alterations for size or fit, those can be done too.

Returns

If you’ve spent a fortune on jewellery, having second thoughts about it once you receive it can be quite unsettling. So, what do you do if you bought an accessory but find the cut, colour or design not to your taste after it arrived? Online retailers give you an option to return the jewellery.

Nitin Raj, Chief Marketing Officer at Stylemydiamonds, says, “We have a ‘no questions asked’ policy on returns. If a customer returns the product within 100 days, we take it back without asking any questions.”

CaratLane offers a 100 per cent ‘money back’ policy, where you return a piece within 30 days of purchase. At Addimon, you can expect a full refund for returns made within 15 days. For returns beyond a fortnight, only 80 per cent of the prevailing market price of the jewellery is returned.

The little extras

Online retailers also tag on a few little extras that differentiate them from the swanky stores on high street. CaratLane, for instance, offers you a personal shopping assistant to help you make your choice.

This facility appears to be targeted at male shoppers who may not be sure about what will appeal to their girlfriend or fiancé. Will she like barely-there elegance or in-your-face bling? Well, just give the personal shopping assistant a complete account of her life style, hobbies, profession and age and she will find just the right trinket for you.

Custom-wrapping of gifts, accompanied by a bouquet and a personalised message, are other add-ons that make online shopping a good gifting experience. Sometimes retailers throw in other extras to keep the shoppers interested — surprise gifts, special discount offers. Premium customers at Stylemydiamonds get complimentary flight tickets. They also get to tour the company’s factory.

Though online retailers do not hold inventory and work only to orders, they keep to their indicated delivery dates of three to five days.

The time taken may be longer for orders requiring more customisation. Of course, if you, like Satyajit, are keen to request fast-tracked delivery to beat a ‘deadline’, the online jewellers are happy to oblige.

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