5 Tips to Starting a Diamond Jewelry Home Business

Starting an online or home-based business is a great way to eliminate overhead, save money, and mitigate risk of theft, but what do you need to know to be successful? The diamond jewelry industry is large and complex and to navigate it you need some crucial information. If you’re considering starting a home business that involves diamond jewelry, read on for some important tips about the diamond industry, jewelry insurance, and marketing.
 
Understand Diamonds
The first step towards running your own diamond jewelry business from home is becoming an expert. Knowing the four Cs isn’t enough, you need to be able to tell from your own examination whether stones are flawed, faux, or exceptional. Study everything you can about cut, color, carat, and clarity and look beyond them to find your own markers that gauge the quality of a diamond. A well informed business owner should be able to tell more than just a stone’s four Cs from a cursory examination.
 
Research the International Market
 
It’s not enough to know that conflict stones usually come from African markets and that Israel and Middle Eastern are major wholesale diamond markets. You’ll need to research diamonds on the internet, speak to diamond wholesalers, and invest your time in learning about every aspect of the business, national and international.
Know the Source
 
Even if you were a brick and mortar store owner, sourcing stones on your own is a much more cost effective way of buying diamonds than working through middle men. Every layer of middle men you work with drives up the cost of the stones and forces you to pay more money for each diamond. Find qualified, reliable merchants locally and abroad and visit them once your business is started. Build a relationship with them to ensure you get good prices and quality diamonds.
Having a great stone merchant also means you have a choice between getting stones set in jewelry with them, setting them with a local jewelry manufacturer, or buying the diamonds loose. Get quotes for all of these, so you can choose the most profitable option.
 
Conflict-Free

In today’s world, people are becoming more conscious of the effects diamond mining has on the environment and more aware of the human rights violations that occur in certain diamond-rich countries. As a diamond jeweler, you’ll have to decide whether you want to source responsibly in order to appease your customers.
 
Import Your Goods
You can’t do everything on your own, so hiring an import agent will save you time, energy, and money when you’re importing merchandise from overseas markets. An import agent will know much more about documentation, shipping containers, and fees and they’ll help you get your gems safely and efficiently.
 
Marketing Consultations
 
Doing your own marketing can be a real hassle, but if you’re comfortable advertising on your own, you can save a lot of money. If you’re not sure you have the knowledge and confidence to undertake marketing for your business, hire a consultant to guide you. They’ll help you write company literature, create advertisements, and advise you about sales opportunities like conferences, expos, and diamond events. Your marketing consultant can even help you conduct jewelry viewings at people’s houses.
 
Hold Inventory
As you buy and sell merchandise, you’ll need to record and examine the flow of your business. Look for times when business is slow and times when you sell out quickly. A thorough analysis of your sales month over month and year over year will help you determine how much inventory you should carry at any given time.
 
With this information you’re also better equipped to decide when to buy inventory, which items to buy, and how much insurance is necessary to protect you from theft.
 
Prepare for Growth
As you grow, you’ll need to hire more associates to help you run your operations. Conduct your own training to guarantee that every member of your company works in-line with your vision and desires.
 
Start Now
 
Using all of this advice to piece together your business will ensure you have smoothly running operations and a steady rate of growth. Gaining knowledge of your chosen field and its related topics also helps you assess and react to volatile changes in the diamond market like political power shifts, diamond monopolies, and conflicts within countries. Don’t enter the diamond market unprepared. Conduct research to ensure your success.
Author Bio:
Amy Trotter  is a jewelry appraiser and a freelance writer from Los Angeles, California. With over 15 years of experience in the jewelry industry, she has developed an expertise in appraising diamonds and other precious gemstones for his clients. When she is not busy at work, she enjoys writing insightful articles to share with potential business owners and other influential people in the industry.