Speaker 1: Welcome back to another episode of Excuse My Grandma. It's Kim and my cohost.
Speaker 2: Grandma Gail.
Speaker 1: Okay, Grandma. We have a guest this week. I'm very excited. I feel like we talk about jewelry a lot, And it's also kind of taken over my social media feed, my friends discussions. Like it's always engagement rings and look at that piece.
We were even at the Bravo thing
Speaker 3: we did the other week.
Speaker 1: We were like looking at every housewives jewelry.
Speaker 2: They have a lot of jewelry on.
Speaker 1: There's all the group chats between natural and lab. And just the fact that when we're getting dressed, jewelry and accessorizing can really change a whole outfit. And what's funny when we have these discussions, I feel like the generations, they do think of jewelry a little bit differently. You really just wear your classic pieces that you've had forever other than a few costume items. And then I feel like girls my age, they're mostly buying things for themselves.
Right. Where correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like a lot of women of your generation, like, they're gifts from, like, a husband or passed down from a parent or whatever. It's not like you're going shopping. No.
Speaker 2: Because most of us right. And when we got the jewelry, we weren't we weren't working. So it was really usually our husband's money or our parents gave, you know, heirlooms. But the funny thing is on the red carpet the other night, I wore a little brooch on my little vest that was a hand down from your grandmother, your great grandmother on your Poppy's Poppy's side. Andy Cohen didn't stop looking at the I
Speaker 1: know he's obsessed.
Speaker 2: He was obsessed with the jewelry. Yeah. So jewelry is still what people love. It just takes different forms in every generation.
Speaker 1: And so I'm really excited to talk to a guest about it as well as Mother's Day coming up. Right. And it just made me think of how jewelry is one of those things that feels so meaningful as a gift.
Speaker 3: Whether it's For it.
Speaker 1: Lockdown or it's a new item. So today, Wegman is here with us. She founded Ring Concierge back in 2013 and has obviously built this massive modern jewelry company for women, by women. And I went to the new Soho store the other day and tried on the million dollar necklace, and I have not stopped thinking about it. So we're gonna talk about that.
But Nicole, welcome.
Speaker 3: Well, thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 2: Yeah. We're so excited
Speaker 1: to have you. So let's start all the way at the beginning. What kind of led you to the jewelry industry? Were you, as a kid, interested in jewelry?
Speaker 3: So I've always been interested in jewelry. I've always been, like, very girly into fashion. There's this story my mom always tells me. I went to Mardi Gras with her when I was, like, three. I don't I don't know why I was at Mardi Gras, but I was.
Right. And there's pictures of me with, like, 100 strands of the beads that I was collecting off the ground. Oh, funny. So I've always loved it, but I never thought about it as a career path. We went to the same school.
We just we just chatted about that. And millions. Yes. And I went for fiber science and apparel design. I always knew I wanted to come to New York City and be in fashion.
And so that's how I started my career. Never thought about jewelry as a career path because I didn't know anyone that sold jewelry. Then when I was getting engaged, I was 26 in New York. My now husband and I went to 47th Street and did the whole thing and looked for diamonds. And I'm coming from this industry that's all women, pretty much, designing apparel for women.
Speaker 1: Mhmm.
Speaker 3: And now I'm shopping for the most expensive item I'd ever bought at the time, and it was all men. The whole street, the whole diamond industry.
Speaker 2: Oh, it's an orthodox industry on 47th Street, basically. We have to say that to our viewers.
Speaker 3: We do. Yeah. And older men. And I was this 26 year old fashion girly. I'm like, this is
Speaker 2: This
Speaker 3: is how I'm gonna design something I'm supposed to wear every single day. And it just felt so disconnected. And I I felt like I had to figure it all out on my own. Who do I trust? I certainly didn't trust their aesthetic over my own.
And so I ended up finding an antique ring and loved it, and I still love it. But that's what sparked the idea of there needs to be a different experience for women.
Speaker 1: Mhmm. Mhmm.
Speaker 3: The world has changed just like you guys were talking about. Women are designing and buying their own jewelry today, but we're not represented in the diamond industry. Right. And so that's how the company started twelve years ago.
Speaker 2: That's very exciting. Yeah. Because I could remember when I got my ring. You're absolutely right. Both I had several rings, but the last ring, you go to these places that are rooms with all kinds of locks on the door, and you're you're they're buzzing you in from one thing to the other, and they're basically old men bringing out stones.
Speaker 1: You know? Do they have, like, taste? Do they understand? Well, it
Speaker 2: doesn't matter. When you're it depends what you're buying. I would never buy a piece of jewelry from these fellows, but if you're buying diamond solitaire Uh-huh. They were the most knowledgeable. That's that's I'm sure all changing now.
I mean, because they would have it approved if you were buying a stone that had papers or whatever. You know, there was a, what do you call that, a cronyism amongst the whole group of, and you knew there were maybe really big ones. There were maybe four or five really big ones, and then the rest of them were on the street. But it was a really intimidating experience because you're spending a lot of money on a stone that you're relying on somebody's good word that that's the real stone. So when I really got up to the point where I said, well, that's what I want, the stone had to go to someplace to give us the shape, the picture, certification, because you're not gonna lay out that kind of money and not have it certified.
But, you know, I don't know what people look at. It's so beautiful the way they do the settings. When I bought, it was just in a platinum setting with maybe too little baguettes on the side. Now the settings are as beautiful as the stone in many
Speaker 3: cases, That's isn't a really fun evolution that's actually shifted over the course of my time being in this industry is lately, people are getting really creative with their settings. It used to all be about a solitaire, and solitaires are still really important. They're our number one category. But I think women are feeling like they want the ring to be unique to their personality and match their style. And so we are seeing chunky settings, curvy settings, diamonds sent to a set to a slant, like, all of these things that didn't exist ten years ago, which is really fun because it is personal.
It's probably the most personal piece of jewelry you'll ever own. So it's kind of fun to not have it look so cookie cutter.
Speaker 1: For sure. I didn't even realize it's only been the last, like, ten years or so that that's been a trendy thing to switch it up a little bit because I feel like it's all over my feed that people have really interesting
Speaker 2: Well, because you are pushing that that that button.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah. My whole Discover feed is probably engagement rings. Exactly. But even so, I feel like there's so many different options. But then at the same time, I feel like everyone kind of talks about wanting that timeless ring or even just in general, timeless jewelry.
Like, do you think that even exists? Definitely.
Speaker 3: It's a tricky balance with figuring out how to style yourself in a way that feels uniquely you, but not invest in something that is going to run its course too quickly. And so you can do it a couple ways. You can go really classic with the ring. Maybe you do a solitaire, but you think of a wedding band stack that's super chunky and cool. And if you did get sick of it, it's not that big of a deal.
Right. Or you can always reset. Mhmm. People reset all the time. All the time.
Even if you do the most classic platinum solitaire, in five years, you might think, like, I just wish it was yellow gold. Like, it's pretty hard to predict what you're gonna wanna wear every day that far out. So I always tell people, find the diamond shape you love because that's the investment. And then just pick a setting that you feel really good about probably for the next five to ten.
Speaker 2: Right. Don't worry about it.
Speaker 3: That you probably can't plan past that. Right.
Speaker 1: Yeah. That's good advice. We talk about family a lot on our podcast, obviously. And I love how you were saying when you guys went to Mardi Gras, like your mom knew even then that you were wearing a ton of beads and would be interested in jewelry. I relate to that because I feel like we had something at my apartment called, like, the play closet.
Do you know what I'm talking about? Like The dolls? Yeah. Like, I had dolls in there, and then I also had a trunk of dress up clothes Right. Where I would just try stuff up.
Eye. Wasn't that the best?
Speaker 3: The best. It was the best.
Speaker 1: Taking out a tutu and all the little accessories, and you would just go in your trunk every day after school, which Yeah. Now I wish it was more exciting to go in my own closet. Like, I feel like that's more fun. But how from that age did either your mom or anyone in your family kind of like foster that interest or what was their involvement up until Ring Concierge?
Speaker 3: Well, it's pretty interesting because my mom is, like, the least girly fashion. She's not any of those things. She doesn't like to shop. Like, she'll go to TJ Maxx. She just wants to get, a deal.
Doesn't really care. Funny. My dad is into nice things. He's always been into having a nice car, having some nice watches. So I think that piece of me that really loves because I I love shopping.
Like, I'm not gonna show you, but, like, love shopping, loves nice things, jewelry. That's actually from my dad. Interesting. But then from my mom, she's always been a big feminist, big about pushing boundaries, being in industries that women aren't typically in. Like, she was out protesting in the seventies.
She's probably been to jail and just didn't tell me. And so I think it's the combination that led me to love the finer things in life, but then push through an industry where I wasn't necessarily welcome in the beginning.
Speaker 1: Yeah. That makes sense. I feel like do you think in our family that's been something that, I don't know, that ethos has kind of been passed around or less so maybe?
Speaker 2: Well, I don't I don't know. You mean it for for in jewelry or just in the general the general being Well, I don't know. I I think no. You know, my mother wasn't as outspoken as I am. That's right.
And and my daughter wasn't as outspoken as I am. So I think I broke a mold, and then you inherited that from me. Perhaps. So I think it's all about how you develop as a person, what experiences you have going through high school, through college, and what triggers your intellectual you know, spark that all of a sudden lights you on a subject? I mean, you know, for me, it's been politics.
For you, it's writing and theater. For Nicole, it's about beautiful things and how she can create beautiful things. So I think everybody has a, a a point, and I was thinking what she said about a ring. You know, it's funny. When you're when you're getting engaged, you think, oh my god.
This ring is so important. And after first of most people don't even walk around, especially in a big city, don't walk around with an engagement ring anymore. They do wear a band or they wear something. I would never put my engagement ring on in Manhattan. I would feel very uncomfortable.
Speaker 1: And square it, like out for dinner?
Speaker 2: Well, maybe out for dinner. Yeah. Out for dinner, but not walking on the street or going to a job. I just wouldn't do that. But everybody is different, so therefore the other pieces around the ring might even become more important.
The wedding band for me actually is more important than the ring itself. The ring has been sitting in a safe place for years, and so I think business has evolved. You want more funky things now that you can wear during the day. Even hear you say more chunky earrings, more, you know, that kind of Totally. Exactly.
Versus the studs that everybody wanted in the 2000s and 2010s. Everybody had to have diamond studs in their ears, whether they were going up the ear or through their nose or whatever they were doing. So I think trends come and go, but if you get one good piece that you can eventually look at or even pass down, it's still worthwhile. It's still a beautiful thing to have.
Speaker 3: And I think there's a few pieces that will or categories within jewelry that hold the test of time. Watches. Well, watches, but classic diamond studs. Right. They're They're one of our best selling items.
Best selling items by a landslide. People just love them. Everybody wants a pair. And whether or not they trend in or out, they're never gonna really be out. And what shifts is the styling.
Right. Whether or not they're being worn formally, casually, whether or not you have three other things up your ear, but you still like want the stud. Stud. Tennis bracelets. Yep.
Tennis bracelets and tennis necklaces are are never gonna go anywhere. What's changed though is that people are wearing them casually now.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: Right. Ten years ago, you'd only wear them to, like, an event. Right. And now you wear them with a t shirt and a bunch of gold chains, and it's super cool. Yes.
So there's a few things that I think are an investment that you would never regret. It's how they're being worn and where they're being worn that keeps changing.
Speaker 1: Mhmm. Where should people get inspo for jewelry styling?
Speaker 3: Oh, besides our Instagram ring concierge. I think it's really fun to look at the different not necessarily runways because I think runways are a little hard to interpret as just, you know, a regular person. But some of the really cool fashion influencers and the people that attend the shows might take a trend and interpret in a way that you could digest and say, okay, cool. Like broaches. Broaches are big right now.
But they were all over I think it was the Oscars recently. And the Metropolitan
Speaker 2: started it. And that's
Speaker 3: a little hard to say, okay. Yeah. Sure. She's in a an Oscar de la Renta gown wearing a brooch. That doesn't apply to me.
Right. But then you start to see it on people in a blazer. Right.
Speaker 1: Okay. I get it.
Speaker 3: I could do that. I could pull that off. Right. Mhmm.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, it sounds like your dad has very cool, like, items potentially. Is there anything you'd wanna steal from his collection?
Speaker 3: No. No. I mean, like, has a classic Rolex. Right. No one's saying no to that, essentially.
But, no, I'm really I do understand the appeal of jewelry being passed down. I'm not really gonna get much from my family.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: So I'm busy making my own over here.
Speaker 2: She's gonna do it.
Speaker 3: My daughter, like, is gonna be in a ridiculous place. It's almost too much that she's gonna get. Lucky her. But no, I had to figure out ways to get it myself, and that does go back to women are now just buying it, which is very different from your generation. Exactly.
You know? And it's
Speaker 2: Well, you you would always have an anniversary or birthday or Valentine's Day, and your husband, at least my husband, always brought me something. But then what he did do, and I'm laughing about it, was if I said I liked something, a particular design, every year I got the same design in a different color, which I love, by the way. The things he bought me were beautiful. But after a while, I had five or six of these necklaces. I said, that's it.
I can't wear more than that.
Speaker 1: Why don't you just mention another thing for him to get?
Speaker 2: Well, did eventually. He said, Stop with the necklaces. I can't wear anymore.
Speaker 1: That's
Speaker 2: funny. But they do because they're not really You know, they don't have a venue like your stores at the time. So he would go to a department store that carried a particular brand that I liked, and he would say, Well, if she liked it in white, then she'll like it in pink or she'll like
Speaker 1: I it in could so see him doing
Speaker 2: it. He did it.
Speaker 3: And he probably just wanted a sure thing. A sure thing.
Speaker 2: And he knew this saleswoman in there knew me and then he would go right to her and he would say, alright. Just give me a new one. Wrap it up. So And that's part
Speaker 3: of what our team tries to solve for is being the female voice if it is a man purchasing for their partner because they don't know. You know? They're going in kinda blind or they're going in very liberally, apparently.
Speaker 2: Correct.
Speaker 3: And so how do we guide them? There's instances with engagement rings when we're working with a client where we say, show me her picture. Let me see her style. Let me go through her Instagram. Okay.
I get it. Like, I know her vibe. We can figure out how to create a ring for her. I have guess important.
Speaker 1: That was not happening, I'm guessing, at the diamond.
Speaker 3: It's still not happening at the Diamond District. You have to have a very different team to do that. And our team are primarily women, primarily younger. So they get it. Like, they get what the average bride wants when they're coming to us.
Right.
Speaker 2: Would you say that's more than half of your business,
Speaker 3: the engagement ring? It's not more than half. It's actually less than that. The bigger piece of our business are all the other fine jewelry categories because women are self purchasing. Okay.
And so it's about 75% of our website purchases are by women just shopping for themselves.
Speaker 2: Could go online and buy an engagement ring.
Speaker 3: People do. They do? We sell them online. Most are done in person. Most are done here in New York City.
But, no. People do.
Speaker 2: But you have stores in many different cities.
Speaker 3: We have we have a store in LA. We have one down in Boca.
Speaker 2: Ah, alright. So people can go they're in they're in big cities.
Speaker 1: Yes. Okay. I'm scared to ask this, but what is the most expensive item that Ring Concierge Was it your necklace? The $1,000,000 necklace.
Speaker 3: We've sold a few 7 figure pieces, some really cool ones. It's always the most fun when it's a solitaire diamond that costs over $1,000,000 because, obviously, it's visually impactful.
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 3: I think it was a 16 carat, like, colorless oval we sold once that was over 1,000,000. We've sold a really rare pink diamond that was over 1,000,000.
Speaker 1: I'm glad she brought this up. You've told this story so many times.
Speaker 2: I didn't tell it to her. When I was getting my solitaire, it's now forty years ago, my husband, I was in Israel on a trip, and he says, I just went to the jeweler who was a friend of ours. And he had Russian contacts in the time we're talking about long time ago, and he said, I saw the most gorgeous pink diamond. I was 40 years old. It was for my fortieth birthday.
He said, You have to have this. I said to my husband, what am I gonna do with the pink diamond? Nothing goes. Of course, I didn't get the pink diamond. If I had gotten the pink diamond, it would be zillions of dollars to get And the point and white one has gone down.
Yeah. So but I laugh about that, the pink diamond. I said, what what goes with pink? It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.
It was so pink diamond if you're given a pink diamond. Exactly.
Speaker 1: So stupid. Be a Gramma gal rule.
Speaker 2: It's a pink diamond. Diamond.
Speaker 3: Well, here's a fun, like, quiz. What do you think is the most rare diamond color?
Speaker 2: Yellow? No. Oh. No. No.
I know nothing. I would've I would've said either red or has to
Speaker 1: be
Speaker 2: one of the the odd colors because, you know, they're they're really so red in nature.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Red. I believe it's red first then green.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Green.
Speaker 3: And I think it goes because they're so rare. Pink and yellow. Yellow's not that rare.
Speaker 1: No. Right.
Speaker 2: There are a lot of people with yellow diamonds.
Speaker 1: Yeah. But I guess what I was thinking of it,
Speaker 2: like Not a yellow bad diamond, but a true Yeah.
Speaker 1: Fancy yellow. I didn't even know there were red and green diamonds.
Speaker 3: I mean, they're so incredibly rare. It's not like you're seeing them
Speaker 1: Every
Speaker 3: on the street. No. They're, like, in bolts. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Wait, grandma. Curious. Like, was there ever a time that you saw stuff and you're like, oh, I just wanna buy that for myself, and it was, like, annoying that you weren't going to?
Speaker 2: I bought everything for myself that I ever wanted. You're asking the wrong person. I never had to ask anybody for anything. I could have gone out and and bought anything I wanted any time in my life because I had my own money, but the truth of the matter is that it was never anything I wanted to do because I liked the idea of getting a gift.
Speaker 1: It was more such
Speaker 2: a So I was it was then what what? It it was just the way it was. And, you know, you can't look like what the girls are doing today. In the sixties and seventies, it was really finished by the time of the seventies. You really wanted to receive a gift from your loved one.
Speaker 1: Would it be a stigma if, like, a friend of yours said, oh, where'd you get that ring? I love it. And you were like, oh, I bought it for myself. Would they be like, well, why didn't David Well, I
Speaker 2: bought rings for myself, but not die but I bought the ring I'm wearing for myself. Yeah. I mean, I can go into a store and buy a ring, but I wouldn't have bought my bought bought a solitaire by myself. Yeah. Because that's really something that somebody would have given me That's still as this thing of love.
Speaker 3: However Alright. I would have said yes until, like, six months ago.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 3: We have made for a few different VIPs we work with, divorce rings. Right.
Speaker 2: That they Yeah. Oh, that's a very
Speaker 3: big thing. For themselves. Okay. The first one was with Brooks Nader. Mhmm.
The second one actually is with Rachel Zoe. Right. Amazing. And so there's a few other people we're working with on it. And it's the idea of part of it is because they had nice rings to start, and then they separated, got divorced, etcetera.
I'm like, why don't I get to wear a big diamond anymore? Right. And so we're calling them the unbothered rings. Because it doesn't necessarily have to be about something negative in your life. It could just be about I'm single, and I wanna wear a big diamond.
Powerful. It's very powerful. And so we're really excited about this because I think it further leans into women feeling empowered within this category and within, you know, the company that we've built, which is meant to really have women feel like they can be empowered. A 100%. And so I think we're gonna see more and more of that.
I really do. I think people are gonna take their original engagement rings and trade it in or reset it and just get them because you get used to wearing a diamond every day. It's a little sad to not. And so Brooks and Rachel have these
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Massive divorce rings that are just I
Speaker 1: have to look at
Speaker 3: them. They're so good. They're so good.
Speaker 1: Speaking of celebrities, I feel like Ring Concierge does a lot of collabs partnerships with influencers and celebrities. Like, what is the value of that do you
Speaker 3: think to the company? Well, what's interesting and I think what people don't realize is the majority of people we work with are already Ring Concierge customers, fans of the brand. Almost all of our bridal partnerships, if you will Mhmm. Approach us. And some of them, it wasn't a partnership.
They just bought a ring. And we were lucky to be in a category that people want. Right? Like, no matter who you are, celebrity or influencer, everybody would like diamonds and jewelry. So it's a very easy relationship to cultivate.
We don't have to knock on people's door and say, like, can we pay you to wear something? You know, they're thrilled to wear diamonds. But on the flip side of that, yes, there is a business element to, of course, influencers specifically. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Taylor Swift created a whole industry around that antique diamond that she got.
Speaker 3: She made it very popular. Yep. Yes.
Speaker 2: I mean, all of a sudden, everybody was talking about antique settings. You know, that
Speaker 1: Salina with the marquee.
Speaker 2: Yep. Yeah. So well, I have a hot marquee. Is that an in stone end?
Speaker 3: Marquee is very in writing.
Speaker 2: Oh my
Speaker 3: god. Oh, you're with it.
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm
Speaker 1: with it.
Speaker 3: I'm with it. We could reset it, maybe make it cool. You know what else people are doing? They're doing, like, big diamonds on their pinky
Speaker 2: wings so you can make it a pinky ring. Well, I don't think mine would go in a pinky ring, but I was thinking actually of doing it this way. Then I said, Oh my God, I'm not even gonna wear that thing. It's too big. But I love the way yours is set.
This is our most Now is that popular your engagement engagement ring? Pretty.
Speaker 3: No. It's just your I change what ring I'm wearing Let's see. Every day.
Speaker 2: But I like it because I it's set in plain. That's the perk
Speaker 3: of the job is I can just change my ring every day. Isn't that pretty? So that's our most popular setting. It's Yeah. Like that setting.
Speaker 1: Hey. Wait. Can I try it on?
Speaker 3: Of course.
Speaker 1: Oh, no. I'll put it on my
Speaker 2: right hand.
Speaker 3: I'll just bill you later. You
Speaker 1: should It fits have perfectly.
Speaker 2: Oh, then that's
Speaker 3: an oval. That's an oval. That's Five carat oval. So it's funny because you were saying you're uncomfortable wearing big jewelry around the city. I'm like wearing eight carat studs and a six carat ring every day, and I feel fine.
But I think it's Are walking?
Speaker 2: Walking or are you To
Speaker 3: be fair, I don't really do it on the subway, but I'll walk around
Speaker 1: the city. I love it so much.
Speaker 2: I'm not like You love it so much. You can swear it
Speaker 3: the rest of this episode. It's fine. Okay. Yeah. But I'm not We're gonna be confused.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I don't think you get used to this. All of a sudden, you're gonna get calls. Oh, you got engaged.
Speaker 1: You need Which, by the way, happens all the time for, like, all for no reason. Like, people like, I'll be like, I have an announcement, and I'll be like a new podcast guest. And they'll be like, you're engaged. Like, it so let's knock down the re
Speaker 2: Let's not give them a reason
Speaker 3: right fine maybe.
Speaker 1: Yeah. But I know you have some other pieces that we're gonna take a look at in a minute.
Speaker 2: Which is so much fun. Kimberly's gonna be so excited.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Okay. Let's get into Mother's Day
Speaker 2: Mhmm.
Speaker 1: A little bit. So I feel like people struggle with any gift giving. Yeah. Husbands to wives, sons and daughters to mothers, would love to hear your recommendations depending on age or maybe it's like no matter what their age is, it's the same price range, whatever you wanna give. So I think it
Speaker 3: I think age and price range matter, but it also comes down to what do they already own. Right. So for, like, the men out there that don't know what to get their wives or their partner, if she doesn't already own studs, very safe place to start. And we have so many sizes of studs. Right.
So, like, you don't have to spend $10,000. You can spend a thousand dollars on a beautiful pair of studs. Right. Or tennis. If she has studs, get her tennis.
K. She'll never regret a tennis bracelet. Same thing. Huge variety of sizes. So if you can afford a bigger one, like Right.
Sure. Get a four or five, six carat, but we also have a one carat that's super affordable. Then I would say that's probably a little pricey for a son to buy from mom and also maybe a little too, like, cereal.
Speaker 2: Stick with flowers or candy.
Speaker 3: Or you do personalized jewelry. A piece that's engraved with maybe, like, her kids' names.
Speaker 1: I like
Speaker 3: Or if she has grandkids,
Speaker 1: we
Speaker 3: have so many pieces you could put birthstones in, which I think is a nice subtle nod if you're not into having initials Yeah. Or names. We have a lot with birthstones that are very, very easy to style and stack. So I think that's a really nice thing to buy for any mom, any grandma, something that is very personalized that she can wear every day.
Speaker 2: Right? Say, oh, look what my granddaughter or grandson gave me.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, grandma, what kind of jewelry might you want to receive?
Speaker 2: I think some like a charm. Okay. Like Nicole was saying, any kind of little thing with a stone in it would be pretty.
Speaker 1: Step on earrings?
Speaker 3: No. Damn. But my daughter's been asking for a pair of doesn't have
Speaker 1: her ears.
Speaker 2: I don't have my earrings. Nope. I'm not gonna pierce them either. Anybody who wants my earrings is just gonna wear them clips or they'll have to then take them in
Speaker 3: and do it.
Speaker 1: Because I'm
Speaker 3: just Why didn't you pierce your ears?
Speaker 2: I thought it was barbaric. Really? I really did. Then my daughter did it after she got married because I never let her do it. Then it became everybody was doing it.
And then I think Kimberly wanted me to do it once when she did it, and I said, I can't.
Speaker 1: Oh, really? I don't even remember that.
Speaker 2: And then what do you do with all your old earrings? You have to put little You have to convert them. I know. That's too much. Too much work.
Too much effort.
Speaker 1: Okay. Well, we'll do a different piece for you. Right. Does on the back end, do you see like certain pieces do better on Mother's Day compared to like Christmas, Valentine's?
Speaker 3: Yeah. Mother's Day is big for personalization. Okay. Which we have a pretty big personalization assortment. And the prices range from like, you know, 100 to Right.
4,000. So it's that's the time I think people want something sentimental. Right. Because it's meant to represent family in some capacity. But and then for other holidays, it's usually something more classic.
What's interesting though with men, they don't think that far out. So personalized jewelry sometimes requires some thought.
Speaker 2: I'd rather go into the store and say, I'll take that in blue.
Speaker 3: So that's why we have a whole collection of just initials where they can save themselves. Oh, this is like, I picked this out just for
Speaker 2: you with the letter m, but he got it the day before. Yeah. Great.
Speaker 3: That's perfect. Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's great.
Speaker 1: You wanna make them look good when they're giving
Speaker 3: a gift. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And also, there's such a thing as people I see it on Instagram all the time, and we had it too, but we didn't make as big a fuss about it after somebody has a child. Then you expect a little better present.
Speaker 3: Push present.
Speaker 2: Push present.
Speaker 3: You're a
Speaker 2: thing, though. That's a thing. Right?
Speaker 3: That's when women can really kinda Yeah.
Speaker 2: They really
Speaker 3: something because rightfully so. Rightfully so. So that's when usually people will come back for a bigger eternity band that maybe was out of budget during their wedding. Exactly. Like, I just did that, I'd and like an eternity band.
Yeah.
Speaker 1: You know? Are there any other, like, wild new excuses, but like holidays, people are making up, or like reasons to get gifts that you've noticed? Still a big No. But like a rand like, I feel like push presents. I guess that's been around for a while, but someone might come in and be like, it's national.
Like, I don't know. Whatever day.
Speaker 2: So Saint Patrick's Day doesn't warrant too many big gifts.
Speaker 1: I guess so.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I I I still think it has
Speaker 1: to Anniversary is like a Anniversary. Anniversary. I feel like Well, that's big thing. Do monthly anniversary.
Speaker 3: Well, you know what I think women are finding reasons to treat themselves without it being Right. A holiday, like a promotion.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Like, we'll have
Speaker 3: women that come in and buy a tennis bracelet or just like a killer gold chain because she got promoted. Yeah. She wants to maybe it's a little bit of an excuse, but, like, go for it and something to just feel proud of where she's at in life that she could afford herself.
Speaker 1: A 100%. Okay. Should we look at some pieces? For those who are just listening, make sure you're following us on social, excuse my grandma, or watching the episode on YouTube, cause you're going to wanna watch this portion of the episode. Grandma's listening on Spotify, you can also be watching on Spotify because we have some gorgeous pieces of jewelry out in front of us.
Speaker 2: See, what I think is so beautiful first of I love this shaped stone. So what is this? Enemerald. This is what my mother had. And then what is this called?
Paul And I
Speaker 1: love No. No. The bevel.
Speaker 3: Those are channels that's a bezel set.
Speaker 2: That's all gone.
Speaker 3: And then they're channel set sideways baguettes going on.
Speaker 2: Oh, there are baguettes? Oh my god. But you can't even see
Speaker 3: ring is actually really has a lot going on, but it seems simple.
Speaker 2: This shape I love. Look how pretty that is. Very classic. Now how big is this stone?
Speaker 3: I'd have to double check, but it looks about like Four. Three and a half to four.
Speaker 2: Yeah. No. This is this is a bear. See, this I could wear every day.
Speaker 1: That looks good on your hand.
Speaker 3: So you must have a much bigger I do. So okay. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Why did this look bigger on her hand
Speaker 2: than my hand? Or do you not see fingers are longer.
Speaker 1: Doesn't it look bigger on her hand?
Speaker 3: No. Finger side like, overall hand size makes a difference. Like, I have longer fingers, and things look smaller on me.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: So I
Speaker 2: just have
Speaker 3: to go very big. Yeah. You can't show it.
Speaker 1: No option.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So you could use that in your favor. Maybe no. Maybe that you don't like that that shape. See, that's why people have to try on shapes.
Right. So Everybody's hands look different.
Speaker 1: My hand's bigger than your hand.
Speaker 2: It's than my hand. That's why. So you have you have an
Speaker 3: excuse to have to go bigger. Right. Yeah. But also different shapes look bigger. Like, ovals and marquise Look big.
And hair look bigger than any other shape, which is partially why they're so popular. Like, this looks gigantic. Now this is an probably only a carat bigger. Right.
Speaker 2: Right? That's an oval? I I I can't see.
Speaker 3: This is oh, yeah. That's an oval. See, some of the
Speaker 2: Okay. It could be a pinky ring.
Speaker 1: We have to describe what we're seeing for the listeners.
Speaker 3: Okay. So that's another An oval solitaire.
Speaker 1: It doesn't fit my finger.
Speaker 2: But it could be a pinky ring, and that's a vibe.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Think that.
Speaker 2: These are too these are too small. Oh my gosh. It's a lovely pinky ring.
Speaker 1: Piss the ring.
Speaker 2: It's beautiful. Now these yeah. Let's go to the next category. This Tennis. The tennis.
Now I have something like this.
Speaker 3: So that one is made with emerald cuts. The most classic tennis and the majority of what we sell are Round. Around. There are really unique ways to do it. Or if you already have a round and you need
Speaker 2: something so pretty.
Speaker 1: And you guys do natural and lab. Exactly.
Speaker 3: Most of our jewelry is in natural, but we do have many pieces available in both. So tennis, for example, comes in lab as well.
Speaker 2: So fabulous.
Speaker 1: I'm showing it on the video. You guys
Speaker 3: are watching. Alright.
Speaker 2: So now I'm gonna put this away.
Speaker 1: There you
Speaker 2: go. Nicole, we love it. Now these are bangles Yes. I gather. And you would always do this in a in a in a series of more than one.
Speaker 3: Well, I don't I'm wearing just one today. That's another thing that changes with the trend. Oh, I see. Few years ago, it was all about, like, three Yes. And now I think I'm it's a little bit like less is more happening with bangles, which is where one
Speaker 2: That's good for me. Mhmm.
Speaker 1: Less is Wait. So, yeah, I wanna hear more about trends too because that's really helpful. Like, sometimes
Speaker 2: I like the bigger gold one.
Speaker 1: I can see how wearing a few might look dated, and this is, like, chicer just to have
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think
Speaker 3: about think back, like, five years ago when it was all about the love bracelet. Right. And then that was meant to stack, and now it's kind of shifted from that.
Speaker 2: Right. See, and I like the plain gold one, like Nicole is wearing. I think that's so
Speaker 1: chic. Yeah.
Speaker 3: So it also looks cool to wear one on each wrist, which is a thing right now. Because it used to be all about one big That's what I have.
Speaker 1: Would you wear two big ones on either wrist,
Speaker 3: or does that look like superwoman? No. People are doing that.
Speaker 2: I have those Elsa Prudding bracelets from the seventies. I one to I have two. Yeah. So she said two is too much. So she wore one.
Speaker 3: Of course. But if people are wearing them over the sleeve I
Speaker 2: can't see, Kim.
Speaker 1: Okay. I'm giving you
Speaker 3: Like, if you dress it up, you could wear one over each sleeve of, like, a tight
Speaker 2: It's very cool, Kim. I told
Speaker 1: you to take I'm telling you. Thank you. That's cute. What else are we looking at? You've got some great angles.
Speaker 2: I'm to the next tray. So far, like everything. I love that one bevel. I like that bevel thing, but they look better in certain shapes.
Speaker 3: Or Yeah. You each setting needs to really be custom for the shape It's a different. I had something similar to So what's cool about those earrings Yeah. Is the bottom two circles can come completely off, and then the top could just be a
Speaker 1: giant huggie. So you're basically getting two sets of earrings.
Speaker 3: Two for the price of one is how I like to think about it. But, yes, we try to make pieces that
Speaker 2: Very pretty.
Speaker 3: Are multiuse. Mhmm. Because if you're investing in a nice piece of jewelry, it'd be great to get different ways to wear it out of it.
Speaker 2: They're beautiful. Yeah. Very pretty.
Speaker 1: So what would you wear that with?
Speaker 3: Black top. That is evening. Yeah. That that is I've worn those many times to events, but then you can take the bottom off, and
Speaker 2: you just
Speaker 3: have a huggie
Speaker 1: that you
Speaker 3: can wear to dinner or to work. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Oh, that's the earring I love. This mommy has something.
Speaker 1: Oh, I yeah.
Speaker 2: So these this simple. See, this to me is just classic.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So we're holding up a gold chain where what would you call this?
Speaker 3: Chain. This is our multi link earring. Same thing. The bottom can come off, and, like, the one that you're holding, Gail, you could swap it.
Speaker 2: Same thing.
Speaker 3: Got it. Diamond link on the bottom.
Speaker 2: That would be
Speaker 3: cool. It's super cool.
Speaker 2: It's one one would be the diamond, and one would be plain.
Speaker 3: Yeah. You could keep the top gold and the bottom diamond, which price the top. Great.
Speaker 1: I love that. I I actually feel like I would wear that all the time. That's very cool.
Speaker 2: Yep. The whole thing is cool.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And then you could also just wear the top link and not the bottom. Right. A lot
Speaker 2: of these gonna make earrings pierced ears that are cool.
Speaker 3: Yeah. There's the Here
Speaker 2: it is. This is the one we Oh, yeah.
Speaker 3: Like the but it does require a piercing.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, can't do it. So Kimmy will have it. Cheers. Very pretty, sweetie.
Speaker 1: Yay. These are lovely. Very pretty. Fun. I would do this all day.
Speaker 2: Well, this is it's fun. Like, we're dressing up.
Speaker 3: Yeah. You're in the closet. We're back in the trunk.
Speaker 1: Back in the play closet.
Speaker 2: Back in the closet.
Speaker 3: Is a son could buy for his mother. Anyone could buy it. Any could buy. Yeah. And I think this is ageless.
Like, I could see someone in her twenties wearing it,
Speaker 2: and I could see someone like, you could wear it.
Speaker 3: You know? It really Bot Bitzvah gift. That's true.
Speaker 2: Which I think is beautiful.
Speaker 3: It's a nice pot mitzvah
Speaker 1: Just so people listening, we're holding a gold chain with a little heart
Speaker 2: Here, Kim.
Speaker 1: On it that has an initial.
Speaker 2: It's so pretty. It's beautiful. And may I ask, how much would this sell for?
Speaker 3: The charm that's a great question. I should know these things. The charm is a couple 100, maybe like 2 to 300.
Speaker 2: Well, because it has a little diamond.
Speaker 3: And then you can buy any chain you want Exactly. For
Speaker 2: See, has the little diamond
Speaker 1: on it.
Speaker 2: And you can engrave it,
Speaker 3: which makes it feel very special.
Speaker 1: I can
Speaker 2: see that. Don't know because
Speaker 1: I
Speaker 2: I can't see can't
Speaker 1: read
Speaker 2: without my glasses anymore. Diamonds, she can see. Diamonds, I can see. Diamonds are forever. Okay.
Thank you.
Speaker 3: It's a miracle.
Speaker 2: It is a miracle.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 2: Now wait a minute. I've gotta find my own ring. There. Okay. Amazing.
So that was fun. You for that was like being in fantasy world. I really love this ring. I might have I might have to buy a second ring for myself.
Speaker 1: You should. Imagine this. We have some whiteboards here because we're gonna play a little game and reveal it, our answers. So basically, we're
Speaker 3: gonna
Speaker 1: do I'm gonna say an occasion, like a first date, and then we can each write the jewelry the jewelry we would wear to that occasion. On a first date? Well, yes. I'm gonna give a few different Okay. And then we'll reveal and compare our answers.
Speaker 2: Okay. Don't peek.
Speaker 1: Okay. Okay. Deal. So let's do that first. Let's do jewelry for a first date.
Speaker 3: Okay. Are we just writing one piece?
Speaker 1: Like, the key piece? The key piece or a few key pieces if you think that you need a few. Okay. Okay. Tell me when you guys are ready.
Speaker 2: Ready. Ready.
Speaker 1: Okay. 123. Okay. So
Speaker 3: Oh, okay. You said simple gold hoops. I said diamond huggies, which are similar. Yeah. Just like little earrings, and then I said some gold chain bracelets.
I like You're like, totally naked.
Speaker 1: I like that. I yeah. I wrote simple, small gold hoops, like, you know, just a little something. I feel like I don't I didn't when I was going on lots of dates, I didn't want guys to, like, pay attention to the jewelry I was wearing. I just wanted it as, like, a little embellishment.
Speaker 2: And I said a watch and simple earrings.
Speaker 1: Okay. Why a watch? Simple.
Speaker 3: Because I always wear a watch.
Speaker 1: Oh, I thought you were gonna say so you know when to get out of the date.
Speaker 2: Well, that's a good idea too,
Speaker 3: but I always wear a watch.
Speaker 1: Okay. Let's So
Speaker 2: I know that you always say you have your phone, but I like wearing a watch. So the summary is
Speaker 3: go simple on your first date.
Speaker 2: Yes. Exactly.
Speaker 1: Okay. Next one is jewelry for meeting his parents.
Speaker 2: Oh, god. It also depends who his parents are.
Speaker 1: But alright. Meeting his Okay. Well, that's interesting. Why?
Speaker 2: Well, because if if they have a lot of money, then I would I would go up. If they don't have a lot of money, I would dress down. Okay. But alright. We're just saying an average person.
Correct? Sure. Okay.
Speaker 1: Okay. One, two, three. Oh, we are, like, insane. Good. You're the Okay.
Speaker 3: Nicole said Small diamond studs and maybe a little tennis bracelet.
Speaker 1: Yes. K. Beautiful.
Speaker 2: I Oh. K. You go next.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I I also said small diamond stud. Again, just like it's pretty, a little something, and unless I I don't know. At first, I was thinking like, would I do a necklace? But I'm probably not wearing like a super low cut top or anything.
Speaker 2: Let's hope not.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Right. So then it's like don't know. I feel like let's not pay attention to the decollete and pay more attention to the face.
Speaker 2: Okay. I said the same thing as before. Simple earrings because I always wear the same earrings and a different watch.
Speaker 1: Okay. Let's do jewelry for running into your ex.
Speaker 2: Oh. Now
Speaker 3: we are switching gears.
Speaker 1: Switching gears. Okay. Okay. Ready? One two three.
Lariat necklace.
Speaker 3: So a lariat necklace is the kind that drops down Yeah.
Speaker 1: The low.
Speaker 3: So you would wear the top you should not wear to meet his parent. Right. Draw all the attention there.
Speaker 1: I think that's a good one. I said show off, like stack a lot of necklaces. So, yeah, I think eyes to the chest. And
Speaker 2: I wrote large diamond solitaire plus showy watch.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Okay. Things are going really went great without you.
Speaker 1: Right. Exactly. Exactly.
Speaker 2: Let's do one One more, Kim? Love these boards.
Speaker 1: I'm between two.
Speaker 2: Do these pens last forever?
Speaker 1: Probably not. Okay. Let's do let's do two more. Jewelry for a wedding where you don't know anyone. Oh, you're a guest.
Speaker 2: You're a guest. No. Wedding What kind of wedding? Is it a, you know, a black tie New York wedding, or is it a country wedding? Give us give us a parameter.
Speaker 3: Like, are we in a barn?
Speaker 2: Because that's very different.
Speaker 1: Right. Okay. Fine. New York wedding, classic wedding guest.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 3: So black tie optional? Sure. Okay.
Speaker 1: I always actually struggle with this when I go to weddings because I also feel like it's a simple thing.
Speaker 2: Wear. If you're if you're going to a country wedding, you're not wearing the same thing you'd go to the Waldorf.
Speaker 1: Feel like I do. Oh, what is it called when it's, like, not teardrop, but it's, like, multiple I have a pair of earrings that are like this. It's, like, diamond, string, diamond, string, diamond.
Speaker 3: Not string. It's like a diamond station earring, but you want, a diamond drop? Like a drop. A statement earring.
Speaker 1: Yeah. A simple statement. Called? A drop earring?
Speaker 2: Yeah. Drop earring would be a
Speaker 3: I'm telling you. We are, like, really
Speaker 1: going What on
Speaker 3: with that? Wrote diamond drops, and I meant, like, similar, like a long dangly earring.
Speaker 1: Nothing too busy. Exactly. Mhmm.
Speaker 3: Diamond drops and what? Or a tennis necklace. Okay. You know, would do both. You I'm you you do both.
Click a princess. It's not good. You do one or the other. Statement earring or a statement necklace. Never both.
Speaker 1: Okay. Grandma?
Speaker 2: Okay. I have diamond earrings, but, you know, mine are, of course, clip on, but they could be hanging. Probably not in this case because I'm also wearing a diamond long chain.
Speaker 1: Oh, good for you.
Speaker 3: So then you go a little more simple on the earrings.
Speaker 2: Perfect. Well, they would never be simple.
Speaker 1: So for grandmas, it's okay. For grandmas
Speaker 2: I think so. Like, I do does not go
Speaker 3: so I do think you hit a certain age and, like, you then it does become more as more.
Speaker 2: You know? Exactly. I can't wait for that era for myself.
Speaker 3: I think I'm gonna thrive.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I can see gonna be in heaven. But the the truth is the old diamond necklaces, which I possess, are very sad because they are really never gonna come back, I don't think, because
Speaker 1: Wait. We're doing our last one.
Speaker 3: Oh, would you be another one?
Speaker 1: Last one is girls' night.
Speaker 2: Oh, girls' night. Oh.
Speaker 3: Are we at dinner?
Speaker 2: Yeah. Where are we, Kim? Give some parameters. They're not playing mahjong, are we?
Speaker 1: I was thinking that, but then I'm like, that's really casual. Let's do girls night out dinner.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Okay. Ready? Mhmm. Okay. Reveal.
Speaker 3: Nicole? I said lots of gold layers, like a bunch of chains, maybe gold stacking rings. Yeah. I like to stack up gold when I'm going out with the girls.
Speaker 1: Great point.
Speaker 2: Glad you like that too.
Speaker 1: I do that. And I feel like I didn't think to write rings for some reason, and that is definitely like, I always feel more I don't know. Especially because you're spilling the tea, you're talking with your hands, like, like having rings on. I said stacked tennis necklaces, but I'm kinda over that. Or gold chunky earring.
Okay.
Speaker 2: And I said funky gold earrings
Speaker 1: Oh.
Speaker 2: Wedding band, and a watch, naturally.
Speaker 1: There we go.
Speaker 3: Are you watching wearing a watch right now? Yes. Oh, that's pretty. Gold, though. So it's like Gold.
But I have lots of different colors. Feminine, fancy.
Speaker 1: I like I love white a lot. White or black.
Speaker 2: Yeah. But gold goes with everything, and platinum goes with everything. So it's just a matter of what you feel like, what you're wearing on your ear.
Speaker 1: Mhmm. Fair.
Speaker 2: Amazing. This was so fun. Fun. Love everything you showed us.
Speaker 1: Yes. Me too. Go ahead.
Speaker 2: Inspiration. Yeah. Inspiration. We try. And it's and it's beautiful.
Speaker 3: Thank
Speaker 2: you. And I love women doing it for women, and it it's really something new. That's what I think is even more so exciting for for me to see.
Speaker 1: Yeah. It's really inspiring. So thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1: And tell everyone where they can find you. Find a ring concierge.
Speaker 3: So you can find us at Ring Concierge on Instagram, or that's our website, ringconcierge.com. And we do have a few stores and two are in New York City. So if you're local, come say hi, especially our new Soho store.
Speaker 1: Yeah. It's gorgeous, and it's like the best location. It's good. Yeah. Okay.
Amazing. Another great episode of Excuse My Grandma. Remember to follow us, Excuse My Grandma on social. My personal is Kim Merstein. And rate and review the pod if you haven't yet.
Thank you so much. Bye.