Holiday Email Marketing for Jewellers
If you’ve not yet planned out your year-end email campaigns, now is the time to get to it! No matter what you might hear from the social media gurus, email is still one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal, with the best ROI that outperforms even organic search (SEO). Harness email’s ability to yield maximum conversion with these pointers:
Introducing Samuel Manyisa: new Centre Manager at the Ekurhuleni Jewellery Project
The Ekurhuleni Jewellery Project recently welcomed business wiz Samuel Manyisa as its new centre manager. While his predecessor Colin Campbell’s extensive knowledge of jewellery manufacture ably led their stable of trainers and moderators, Samuel’s appointment injects a new level of entrepreneurial know-how.
Calibrating your jewellery scale
It goes without saying that an accurate scale is the only kind you want in order to track your use of metals and help determine pricing of finished products. This is especially pertinent when weighing smaller items and quantities, or gemstones (remember that one carat is equal to exactly 0.2g, or 200mg).
Digital security for jewellers: protect yourself from hackers and scammers
Ecommerce has boomed as a result of lockdown regulations. Jewellers who previously had lagged the trend quickly felt the disadvantages of not having a digital retail presence, and many sites were cobbled together quickly as something to tick off the list. But these sites are not a one-and-done job.
Basic videography tips for jewellers
Article contributed by CPM videographer Brad Jackson The key to taking quality videos of your jewellery products and pieces is utilising what you have at your disposal to its full potential. Camera equipment can be rather costly, and although I am lucky to use some nifty gear these days, I still make my own fittings and camera components if the need is there. Most phone cameras are in serious competition with entry/mid range DSLR cameras. As long as you have some form of video-recording device, basic content creation is possible!
Zulu Mien: Award-winning African jewellery with a heart of gold
Zulu Mien is a grassroots social enterprise dedicated to supporting female artisans in South Africa. This people-before-profits brand is the culmination of Nicola Robertson’s years of experience on the ground, working and living with women in remote communities. The jewellery emerging from this collaboration is as appealing for it’s beauty as it is for its philosophy: that we should live a life of grace and integrity, and never lose the awareness that we are all connected to each other.
Women run the show in the Cape Precious Metals lab
In-house training and development has always been a top priority for CPM, and one of our strategic core objectives is to empower our own staff rather than recruiting from outside the fold. This has consistently proven to be worth its weight in gold, if you’ll excuse the pun!
CPM celebrates Mandela Day by giving back
After the violence and unrest that directly preceded Mandela Day 2021, the spirit of the occasion was particularly pertinent this year. As fires still smouldered in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the CPM team visited charitable organisations in all 4 provinces.
Babalo Rozani – King of ‘Xhosa Bling’
Nobody could accuse Babalo Chuma Rozani of resting on his laurels. While the B.Tech he holds in Jewellery Design and Manufacturing may be nothing unusual in this industry, he’s also a qualified technical report writer and advanced project manger, as well as being an accredited moderator, assessor, learning facilitator, coach and mentor. Adding to this string of achievements, he also placed as a finalist at the PlatAfrica Awards in 2016 for his Isagweba Sceptre in wood, platinum and leather; and has completed an advanced course in Rhino 4.
Why shouldn’t jewellers do their own refining?
Refining is not as simple as it sounds, despite what that dodgy YouTube tutorial tells you. DIY projects may put your safety, reputation and profits at risk, and can have unpredictable and disastrous results for your finished jewellery pieces.