Jewelry: A matter of harmony, not price
Jewelry: A matter of harmony, not price
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A few months ago, a woman requested jeweler Endi Lay, 60, to
make her a brooch set with a low-grade emerald. When they met at
a reception recently, Endi did not recognize the brooch, even
though it was his own creation.
"The brooch looked more beautiful and more expensive because
it was combined with a gown that matched the color of the
emerald," Endi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday at his house in
Melawai, South Jakarta.
According to Endi, the choice of gowns is important in
enhancing the jewelry to look more alluring. Usually, a woman
also accessorizes with a bracelet, ring and necklace to go along
with a brooch.
"They complement each other," he added.
Endi is among the few Indonesian jewelers who works seriously
to develop this highly specialized business.
In order to do so, he converted part of his spacious house
into a workshop and employed about 40 craftsmen to create his
jewelry. They design, cut and set a variety of semi-precious and
precious stones into charming pieces.
"I supervise the process everyday. Sometimes, I also work on
the jewelry. I am both a designer and a craftsman," said Endi.
Starting his business a quarter of a century ago, Endi now has
about 40 to 50 loyal customers. Today, he finds so many orders
coming in that he must often decline some orders.
"It takes a month to finish a brooch," he said.
With the assistance of his younger brother, who is a graduate
of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Endi does not
worry about the influx of branded jewelry now flooding the
market.
"The presence of foreign products does not affect my business.
Our jewelry are handmade products, and we have our loyal
customers," Endi said.
Jewelry with famous brand names like Felice, Frank & Co,
Bvlgari, Cartier, Gucci and others are available in town.
Today, for example, Felice Jewellery operates 20 outlets in
seven major cities across the country: Jakarta, Bandung,
Denpasar, Surabaya, Pekanbaru, Pontianak and Medan.
Felice offers thousands of ring, earrings, necklace and
bracelet designs. Some of their pieces are made of plain white
gold, while others are embellished with diamonds, sapphires,
rubies or pearls.
Prices start from Rp. 500,000 to Rp. 100 million, so customers
can choose according to the most suitable budget.
"We target women from the middle-class and upper-class," said
Felice marketing manager Linayanti Dewi.
Separately, Natalia, who owns Yanvan Jewelry in Bali, also
felt that the influx of imported jewelry did not affect her
business.
Instead, she said, the influx of imported branded jewelry was
a motivational factor that urged herself and her employees to
create more attractive products.
"We focus on making high-quality products at affordable
prices. We also give a guarantee on our products, and this is why
our customers have trust in us," she told the Post.
Moreover, Endi said that even though his creations were
locally made, he used imported gemstones from Thailand, Myanmar
and India.
"We have only a limited supply of gemstones. We have to import
sapphires and rubies because we have no supply (here)," he said.
While jewelry is often displayed as a symbol of wealth and
status -- that is, it is assumed that the more expensive the
jewelry, the better the effect -- but as Endi noted, the most
important aspect in accessorizing with jewelry did not lie in its
price.
Rather, he stressed, it was the combination of dress and the
personal style of their wearers that would bring out the true
beauty of a piece of jewelry.