Girl's best friend

Context

There are a few major expenses in a person’s life. We all know of the house and the car but then what? An engagement ring would be pretty high on most people’s list. An average ring can cost around $10000. This kind of outlay makes future husbands a little nervous. They don’t want to make a mistake. A diamond is, after all, for ever.

Problem

A purchaser of an engagement ring needs to be reassured of a number of things. In descending order they are as follows:

1. The vendor is reputable
2. The diamond is of suitable quality and price
3. The ring is of a suitable design
4. The service is good.

Generally high street jewellers may satisfy the first requirement, although this may not always be the case, however they fail in the other three categories. My small experience suggests that the diamonds on sale in traditional establishments are overpriced, the range poor and the service haughty.

One possibility is that purchasers go online to buy the ring. I would guess that online vendors would score well over all categories however, there is always a concern over reputation for such a high ticket item. Most purchasers would baulk at buying something worth $10000 online.

Solution

A physical and virtual store where purchasers can get a good price on the diamond and have a choice of several standard, “classic” designs for engagement rings.

Inspiration

Buying an engagement ringwas a difficult process. Luckily we had a very good experience from Marcus Creations, an importer of diamonds.

http://www.diamondsdirect.com.au

The business was good enough to get me excited about the possibility.

Implementation

Establishment would consist or real and virtual shop. Most sales through virtual but purchasers could come in to try on if required.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Need expertise in diamond important and jewellery manufacture. Not easy skills to get or to find.

Business Model

Good prices on the diamonds means that you need to make a bit extra on the ring. You don’t want to get into a cost cutting exercise in this market but there is room to be cheaper than the high street. Would need to rely on word of mouth in this business.

Outcome

A possibility but unlikely due to the expertise required.

Tags
idea
diamond
shop
website