Guidance Please...

[mickeyblue42]

Hi all

I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place as its my first post. Firstly hi to everyone on the forum. I am glad I have found it.

So here goes, I have studied a traditional business degree majoring in marketing and management. In the last few years I joined the family businesses. We have had a store located inside a 4 star hotel of a well known international hotel group.

We used to sell predominantly curio craft , fine leather goods and gold ethnic jewellery. We have always sold wedding and engagement rings mostly in 18K and 14K (yellow gold). Solitaire,pave etc etc

Anyway, so now I find myself at 31 years old running this store. I have expanded into tanzanite jewellery aswell as loose tanzanite stones, black & white diamond jewellery aswell as silver crystal jewellery ( swarovski elements). Most of our jewellery stocked in the last
2 years has gone the way of 9K white gold due to the massive rise in gold costs.

I purchase from wholesale houses who I know in turn are ordering from hong kong/china. My late father used to go to the Hong Kong jewellery show in the 90's and buy on a larger scale.

So down to the question, being in this position, would I benefit from studying through the GIA to gurther my knowledge in diamond jewellery ( which we are going more into every year)?

I just feel so lost in the whole chain. I see people selling wholesale diamond rings to the public at maybe so close to my cost price.

I am not sure if I am allowed to say the following.

currently I am paying $1274 for a 18K Solitaire diamond ring 0.50 IJ VS2-SI2 ( its in a 4 claw setting, yellow gold), now is this a fair price to be paying?? I get a certificate from the South African Diamond Council with all pieces.

How do I move further up the value chain? Is it a matter of buying wholesale parcels and manufacturing myself? I possibly have the opportunity to work under a jeweller in my city with 25+ years experience. I see that most successful multiple store owners manufacture in house, am I on a road to nowhere as a straight buy and sell 'gimp'?

Maybe one of you can give me some advice via PM. I just read more and more and get more and more confused as it is such a massive industry