A LOOK BACK: Q & A

• Article

  • September 17, 2004

  Ventura Star / Business and Stocks, page 3

  Jewels Quest

  Owner: André Aghamalian
  Type of product or service: Fine jewelry, brand watches, silver and jewelry repairs.

  Where: 2920 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

  
  

  Date established: March 2000.

  
  

  Hours opened: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

  
  

  Telephone: 496-9199.

  
  

  Employees: Three.

  
  

  Question to André Aghamalian: Why did you decide to start your own business?

  A: It was a dream of mine to run my own store. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I had to take that risk and see where it took me.

  
  

  Q: What was your background before you started your business?

  A: Initially, I worked for the family jewelry business overseas. When I immigrated to the United States, I continued working in the jewelry business for other companies as a jeweler/designer.

  
  

  Q: What do you consider unique about your business?

  A: Jewels Quest is not just another jewelry store but a welcoming place that combines many aspects of the jewelry business. Unlike many of the jewelry stores, I do all the jewelry repairs myself, on premises. Our watchmaker has more than 40 years experience and also does all repairs on premises. We don't send anything out.

  
  

  You'll find a beautiful selection of fine jewelry, watches, silver jewelry, handcrafted jewelry and we also do custom designing. There's something for everyone in our store. I take pride in our merchandise, especially in the unique pieces I create myself for special orders as well as for inventory. It always is a pleasure for me to show my latest creation.

  
  

  Q: What business courses or advice have you found to be most valuable in getting your business off the ground and keeping it going?

  A: Management courses and previous work experience prepared me for the challenges involved in any retail business. But the most valuable advice was given to me by my father, who said, "Treat your customers as you would like to be treated as a customer." This simple advice made a world of difference in the relationship with my customers.

  
  

  Q: What were the biggest hurdles you overcame?

  A: The first two years were a bit of a struggle, but I pushed and hung in there because I believed I had a lot to offer. Once you've gotten the customers' trust and they also believe in you and your store, it gets easier.

  
  

  Q: Who is your target client/customer base?

  A: Our customers range from young couples to ages 50 and up.

  
  

  Q: What is your strategy to increase market share?

  A: Next year is a year of celebration for Jewels Quest; we'll be celebrating our fifth anniversary, and we are planning to include our customers and potential customers in our celebration by offering wonderful specials. We've been slowly growing in the shadows but, with our fifth anniversary coming up, we intend to place ourselves in the spotlight.

  
  

  In 2005 we'll be focusing on expanding our marketing strategies to reach new customers and give them the opportunity to discover all the benefits of shopping at Jewels Quest.

  
  

  Q: What kind of competition does your business face?

  A: There are many jewelry stores around our area, but the reason Jewels Quest has survived is the same reason customers return and also refer us to their friends and families; they always leave our store satisfied with the quality of our jewelry and the integrity of our work, and I personally do everything to assure them the best value possible. I always tell my customers to go shop around if they are not sure of their purchase. They always come back to Jewels Quest.

  
  

  I am proud of the way Jewels Quest has been developing and look forward to many more years to come.

Traditional Birthstone Chart

• January - Garnet
• February - Amethyst
• March - Bloodstone
• April - Diamond
• May - Emerald
• June - Alexandrite
• July - Ruby
• August - Sardonyx
• September - Sapphire
• October - Tourmaline
• November - Citrine
• December - Turquoise

Modern Birthstone Chart

• January - Garnet
• February - Amethyst
• March - Aquamarine
• April - Diamond
• May - Emerald
• June - Pearl
• July - Ruby
• August - Peridot
• September - Sapphire
• October - Opal
• November - Yellow Topaz
• December - Blue Topaz

Easy Steps - Jewelry Care

- Avoid contact with soap, perfume, cosmetics and hairspray.

- Take chains and bracelets off at night, and store them flat to prevent them from breaking.

- Use a gentle soft cloth to polish gold jewelry after wearing.

About Platinum

Platinum (symbol PL) was accepted as a precious metal after only the second half of the 19th century and has a deep luster and a rich, white color. It is rarer and heavier than all other precious metals and is considered to be more valuable than gold.

Platinum is often used to set the most valuable gems to produce the finest jewelry. Platinum is one of the most popular metals of choice for ring settings,because the strength and color of platinum enhances the brilliance and depth of diamonds and precious stones.

Silver - Affordable & Fashionable

Silver has been known and used for thousands of years and was believed to have magical properties which could promote healing and bring good luck. Today silver is the most reflective and affordable of the precious metals. Its lower price permits bold, innovative looks. Sterling silver jewelry is often fashioned by top designers and can range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Sterling silver is the standard of quality for jewelry containing 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.

GOLD! That eternal precious metal

Gold was among the first metals to be mined because it commonly occurred in its native form; not combined with other elements, and because it was beautiful and imperishable, and because exquisite objects could be made from it. Artisans of ancient civilizations used gold lavishly in decorating tombs and temples, and gold objects made more than 5,000 years ago have been found in Egypt.The graves of nobles at the ancient Citadel of Mycenae near Nauplion, Greece, discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, yielded a great variety of gold figurines, masks, cups, diadems, and jewelry, plus hundreds of decorated beads and buttons. These elegant works of art were created by skilled craftsmen more than 3,500 years ago.

PURE (100%) GOLD
Pure gold is too soft, and is usually mixed with other metal alloys (silver, copper, nickel and zinc) to make it stronger and more durable for jewelry.

18K GOLD / 14K GOLD
18k gold contains a higher (75%) percentage of pure gold and therefore is more valuable than 14k gold (58.3%). A marking such as ’14k’ or ’18k’ indicates the karat, and you may sometimes also see the manufacturers registered trademark or the country of origin.

YELLOW, WHITE, & ROSE GOLD
Pure gold (which is always yellow) is too soft for making jewelry. The metal alloys that are mixed with pure gold for strength can also modify the resulting color to produce different shades of yellow, white, and pink gold. White gold was originally developed to imitate platinum, and usually contains 25% nickel and zinc or palladium. Nickel is cheaper than palladium and therefore more widely White gold is also rhodium plated to make the white gold whiter.

A side note about Rhodium: It is also a precious metal yet not feasible to make solid jewelry. Believe it or not it is about ten times if not more costlier than gold but it is a great for plating white gold jewelry, it is much more whiter, chrome like and makes a piece dazzling. It can also be used on silver, preventing it from quickly tarnishing. Rhodium plating will also make diamonds look bigger and brighter, nothing sets off diamonds like rhodium plating.

VALUE
There are many other factors that determine the value of a gold jewelry piece: Weight - gold is sold by weight - grams(gr) or pennyweights(pwt), the heavier the piece, the higher the gold content, therefore it is more expensive.

Design - designer jewelry is more expensive, especially if it is a one of a kind piece.
Finish - special finishes to the metal such as matte, or sand-blasted finish add to the cost of the gold jewelry piece.

A Brief Summary of the Diamond

The Diamond is the birthstone of April and the anniversary gemstone for the 10th and 60th years of marriage.

Diamonds were discovered in India in 500 B.C., and the name "diamond" comes from the Greek word "Adamas" which means unconquerable - suggesting the eternity of love. Since ancient Greece, diamonds have been the traditional symbol of love, and the ancients believed they were hardened dew drops, splinters from the stars or crystallized lightning.

A diamond is the hardest substance known to humankind, and is made of a crystallized carbon that has unique powers of light reflection. Since diamonds are composed of a single element, they are the purest of all gemstones.