For companies, pivoting digitally has almost become a must to survive in these challenging times.
It’s a strategy employed across different industries, including by one innovative player in the jewelry space.
Dearest Customized Bridal Jewelry was born of the vision of scalable personalization using technology. According to Germee Ronirose Abesamis, founder of the “jewelry tech” start-up, the goal is to create dream pieces for clients using the online platform.
“It should be easy for anyone to co-design their dream piece with a designer, even if they don’t even know what they want at first,” Abesamis, 36, told the BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview. “Since it’s mobile-first, everything is done online.”
Abesamis means it when she says “everything.” This even includes ring sizing. Dearest has recently launched its own digital ring sizer, which uses machine learning technology the first in the industry, according to Abesamis. Through their own app Dearest Fine Jewelry, a client can get their ring size by just taking a photo of their hand.
Moreover, the company is working on an AI Curation Tool. By visiting the company’s web site and answering a personality quiz, the system can curate an engagement ring for his or her loved one. The technology also helps clients imagine wearing their bespoke dream jewelry crafted by the best master artisans in the world.
“With the help of our technology, our clients feel seen, and feel more human, wearing pieces that really represent them,” Abesamis said. “We have other innovative things in mind, and we are taking it one step at a time.”
Accountant to jeweler
Abesamis is an accounting extraordinaire. She was top 7 in the CPA board, taught accounting and finance at her alma matter University of the Philippines-Diliman and served as a financial analyst at a global company.
Being a third-generation jeweler, however, her innate passion for jewelry design became too hard to resist. She flew to Italy and trained under artisans. Today, Abesamis holds free Financial Visioning and Innovations webinars for entrepreneurs and takes care of her own business.
Dearest now has clients in the Philippines, Europe and the United States. They all search for alternatives to heritage brands, looking at companies that deliver the same high quality and offer more meaningful pieces. Abesamis noted that their clients value individuality and personal style, as well as their relationships.
“It’s ironic how the world is full of interesting people, and yet, jewelry options are too generic or there is an overwhelming amount of options, they don’t know what they really want anymore,” Abesamis said. “At Dearest, we love to curate for personalities, and make having their dream piece hassle-free for them. So, why don’t we create technologies that make us feel more human?”
Dearest does this by merging technology with beautiful craftsmanship. The formula, it seems, produces pieces that exclusively garner warm responses from clients. In fact, the company has never had a single return, and has only 5-star reviews on their FB page.
“It’s such a personal curated service,” said Abesamis, adding that their tools are made user-friendly being a tech start-up that values personal relationships. “We are innovating to create bespoke pieces for our clients, and building technology that can help us deliver the best and most personal to our clients.”