The rise of online jewellery sales has magnified the issue of remotely obtaining accurate ring sizes from customers.
There are various methods employed to obtain a ring size, such as customer templates, sizing Apps or High Street Jeweller sizing, however with no recognised calibration for ring sizers and international sizing differences, relying on a customer to provide you with their ring size can be beset by inaccuracies, potentially leading to a re-sizing once a purchase is delivered. All of which has the potential to impact on your time, profit and customer experience.
Paul Gilfillan from Jagged Jewellery explains his effective solution for remote ring sizing;
" As there is no standardisation of ring sizers or mandrels, I ask customers to purchase a plastic ring sizer from Amazon or other sellers (Aprox. £1 + postage). My customers then size themselves and mark the ring sizer accordingly and post it back to me. I then put the marked ring size on my own ring mandrel and make the ring to that size.”
- Expanding on Paul Gilfillan’s solution;
For high value ring sales, perhaps consider bulk buying some plastic ring sizers for posting out to customers and arrange a video call with the client once they are in receipt to guide them through the sizing process. You will be both using the same sizing template and therefore will be able to accurately size their commission.
Suggestion: Branded Ring Sizers?
Adding the cost of the plastic ring sizer plus average postage to the selling price of your high value rings will not make a huge impact on their sales potential, but it will guarantee the customer will receive a beautiful correctly sized ring, exactly as expected.
Paul Gilfillan
Many thanks to Jeweller Paul Gilfillan for his “Insider Trade Tip” and for providing the beautiful image of his workshop.
You can find out more about Paul and his Jagged Jewellery brand at https://www.facebook.com/jaggedjewellerypg/
BLOG - About the author
Dawn Meaden-Johnson is the Director and Founder of The Bespoke Jewellery Training Company. She has over 25 years’ experience working in the Jewellery Industry including at Signet Group Retail Jewellers and almost 10 Years at Birmingham City University School of Jewellery during which time she has worked extensively with national and international clients whilst managing their Short Course Programme project.
Dawn is also an experienced jewellery business specialist mentor for Jewellery Graduates and Designer Makers.
A graduate Silversmith of Birmingham School of Jewellery, Dawn still occasionally creates limited edition contemporary jewellery and her work was selected to be included in the Out of the Blue Exhibition at The Gill Wing Gallery in London.
