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By Suzanne Wade

In an age when national chains sell diamond tennis bracelets and heart pendants by the tens of thousands, and Wal-Mart is the nation's largest jewelry retailer, one-of-a-kind jewelry is an antidote to the generic.

One-of-a-kind jewelry meets consumers' desire for the unique and fills a craving for adornment that reflects personal style. And for retailers under relentless price pressure by discounters, it offers a product where price is usually a secondary factor.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: A fire opal pendant from Claudia Mullen of C & C Creations. A multi-colored ribbed bypass ring of 18K white, yellow, and rose gold with a center diamond; a triangular-shaped 18K white gold ring with a bezel-set oval tanzanite accented with pear-shaped citrines; designs by Greg Stopka of JewelSmiths.

But selling one-of-a-kind jewelry isn't as simple as replacing mass-produced pieces in the display cases. One-of-a-kind designs are inevitably more expensive than mass-produced jewelry, simply because the cost of design must be absorbed by a single sale, rather than spread over hundreds or thousands of pieces. One-of-a-kind pieces are also typically handcrafted, so they do not benefit from the economies of scale found in mass production techniques.

Customers who are drawn into a store by low advertised prices on diamond total weight or are accustomed to paying for gold by the gram are unlikely candidates for one-of-a-kind jewelry sales. Unique designs require a unique consumer, one who can appreciate the artistry and skill involved in crafting a one-of-a-kind piece.

Retailers who want to attract these buyers must do more than fill the cases with pretty baubles. They must make a personal connection with the customer.

"People who are interested in fine craft usually like knowing the story of how things are made and meeting the craftsperson," says Susan Joy Sager of South Berwick, Maine, author of Selling Your Craft. "If you go to the mall or a chain store, you might get a cheaper item, but what [these customers are] interested in is not what it costs. They're interested in the story and having an experience."

This customer is normally "out of the mainstream," says Ivan Barnett, director of Patina Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They're looking for something very different, and for something handmade, not manufactured. "We sell works of art, not item numbers," he says.

These works of art may be anything from platinum and diamonds to copper and beach pebbles. They might be painstakingly handcrafted with tools no more sophisticated than a jewelers' saw and torch, or designed with the latest computer-aided design software. They include both unique designs created by craft artists and custom designs produced by fine retailers in collaboration with customers.

Although one-of-a-kind jewelry tends to be more expensive than its mass-produced counterparts, that doesn't necessarily translate to high prices. Barnett notes that his gallery carries items ranging from $18 up to $30,000.

In a survey conducted for Colored Stone by the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC), the most popular price point was under $100, with 17 percent of respondents reporting purchase prices in that range. But higher-end goods were almost as common, with nearly 12 percent of respondents saying they spent more than $2,000 on their one-of-a-kind pieces.

However, 45 percent of survey respondents said they don't own any one-of-a-kind jewelry, and the most-often-cited reason was price, with 43 percent saying they simply couldn't afford it.

One way retailers can overcome this perception is to let customers know they will work within their budgets. "I've done everything from sterling to 14K to 18K gold to platinum. It depends on what a person is looking for," says Claudia Mullen of C & C Creations in Willowbrook, Illinois. "If they say they really like a certain look but can't afford a certain aspect, I change things for them. For example, I had one man who wanted a custom piece for his wife. He really wanted a blue sapphire and diamond piece, but he couldn't afford the diamond, so I worked with him and did a blue and white sapphire piece. It was the same look, but stayed within what he could afford to spend."

The common assumption among consumers that they can't afford one-of-a-kind jewelry is one reason that Marlene Richey, the wife and business partner of jewelry designer William Richey and owner of Richey Jewelry Gallery in Portland, Maine, suggests artists consider including some more affordable items in their collections — even if that means adding some production pieces to the one-of-a-kind offerings. "It helps to have a few entry-level pieces," she says. "A younger buyer might be more adventuresome and might be willing to buy a small [limited] production piece. And they might come back when they're CEO of Microsoft and want a major piece."

Consumers encounter one-of-a-kind pieces in many different places, ranging from traditional jewelry stores to art galleries to Web sites. According to the JCOC survey, though, most buyers of one-of-a-kind jewelry purchase it from a fine jewelry retailer or directly from the craftsman.

"What happens is that customers come into the showroom, look at the pieces I have made up, and say, 'I really like this, but I also like this part of that, and I like the color of the stones in that one,' " says Mullen. "So I say, 'Let's combine [those features] and make up exactly what you want.' "

Greg Stopka of JewelSmiths in Pleasant Hill, California, says that many of his one-of-a-kind clients come to him initially to have repair work done. "What we advertise primarily for is repair [work], because there's so much more traffic volume [for that type of work]," he explains.

Once the customer is in the store, they're surrounded by examples of Stopka's custom designs. "I have my designing computer piped in to overhead monitors, so when people come in to pick up or drop off a [repair], they can see what I'm doing with another client," he says. "When that's not running, I have PowerPoint presentations running like a commercial, showing my designs. . . . When customers come in and look at those, they pick up on a design that they might like, and that starts the desire process."

A key part of the appeal is the uniqueness of the pieces. In the JCOC survey, respondents ranked innovative design, personal service, and the feeling of owning a piece no one else has as the most important factors influencing their purchases.

A one-of-a-kind platinum and 18K yellow and white gold pendant with Tahitian pearl, diamond pavé plate, yellow beryl, and Mali garnet from William Richey Designs.

"I have a gallery where I sell a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces, and one of the great things is you can say, 'This is one-of-a-kind; you're not going to see this anywhere else,' " says Richey. "I think the main thing about selling one-of-a-kinds, at least for me, is that I have to know the artist well. I have to be able to tell their story, to romance the pieces, to tell about its inspiration, and to show why it is a really special piece."

Custom jewelers achieve this by sitting one-on-one with a customer and designing a piece just for her. "We have an area where we sit [customers] down, and we basically start creating a dialogue," says Stopka. "If, [for example], they want to take the stone from another ring and want to design it into a new piece, we take measurements of the stone, [put a virtual stone of that size on the computer monitor], and then we start playing. We start bringing up different looks, and through dialogue, start honing into a design for them. The relationship is everything."

For other jewelry artists, marketing materials can be a key way of connecting. "Most galleries welcome some kind of little cards or hang tag, and a lot of times they like having a small photograph of the craftsperson in the studio," says Sager. "They'll have a shelf of someone's work and a picture of them framed, with two or three sentences from them, which I always like."

The more professional those materials, the more positively people will respond to them, she adds. "Have a professional take your picture and keep that in your back pocket," Sager advises.

Good photos — of both the artist and his work — can also make it easier to get editorial attention in magazines and newspapers, which can also help sales. "When something has been published in a magazine, that really makes it easier to sell," says Richey, noting that such coverage adds a little more cachet to the piece.

But most importantly, good marketing materials enhance the perception of the individual piece as unique. "I just sold a necklace from one of my artists, who makes bead necklaces from beads collected all over the world," Richey recalls. "Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and she has a little handout that goes with every piece. She names every single piece, and she tells you why she named it, her feelings when making it, and exactly what materials she used, down to the type of wire. It really helps when people see that with the piece, because they know they are buying something that is literally one of a kind."

If first impressions matter, so do final ones. One-of-a-kind purchases, whether made in a fine jewelry store or at an outdoor craft show, should be accompanied by hang tags and other marketing materials that help customers bring a little bit of the romance home with them.

And don't underestimate the importance of how the customer carries their purchase out of the store or away from the show booth. One of Sager's pet peeves is artists who do a great job of selling their unique, one-of-a-kind works, only to stuff the beautiful item into a plastic grocery bag once the sale is made. "[Artists sometimes] have the grungiest bags to put your stuff in," she says. Her advice? "Invest in flat brown paper bags with little handles, and staple a postcard or business card on it."

By definition, one-of-a-kind jewelry isn't a volume business. But by meeting emotional needs, it offers retailers a way of competing with the volume merchandisers that the discounters just can't beat.

"When it comes to designing jewelry, most women are reacting from an emotional side," says Stopka. "I use descriptive and colorful words to get a point across and connect with the customer on an emotional level. So when it gets down to brass tacks, price is not so much of a stopping point. It's just not as much of an issue."

"A lot of designers I've talked to say, 'You know, it's scary to not have anything in your hands to sell,' " he concludes. "It comes down to being able to relate to that customer and being able to tell a story about how you design. If you can master those two things, the world is your oyster."

READ MORE: The complete online study of one-of-a-kind jewelry buyers.

July/August 2004 • Style: On the Money • Selling: Story Selling • Sources: Nothing to Declare • Bonus: Reader's Choice Award 2004 • Bonus: Consumer Study on Designer Jewelry • News & Updates • In This Issue