Independents
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Cumberland coaxes in opera, ballet patrons
By Joseph Dobrian
October 21, 2008
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| The entire team at Cumberland Diamond Exchange in Smyrna, Ga., save its vice president Wayne Jacobson, gathers for a group shot behind one of the store's well-stocked showcases. |
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Smyrna, Ga.--When the Atlanta Opera and the Atlanta Ballet moved into their new home last fall, Cumberland Diamond Exchange in suburban Atlanta was quick to take a seat on the welcome wagon.
Through an in-kind donation of $125,000, the jeweler has allied itself with the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre as part of a long-term strategy that aims to make the retailer the go-to jeweler for members of Atlanta's artistic community, says Mark Jacobson, Cumberland's president and co-founder.
"The performing arts center is a little over a mile from our store, so we saw it as a wonderful opportunity to enhance our position in the marketplace," Jacobson says. "We went to the center with the idea of providing a gift for each of the approximately 600 attendees of the grand opening, and we came up with a silver bookmark, engraved with the Cobb Energy logo, in a nice gift box."
Cumberland, founded in 1982 by Mark and Wayne Jacobson--two Virginia transplants--secures its diamonds through a partnership with a Belgian Diamond Trading Co. sightholder. Touting itself as one of the largest loose diamond and engagement ring stores in metropolitan Atlanta, it is billed as "Atlanta's Diamond Broker."
Cumberland is basic and humble in appearance, but it makes special events for higher-end customers one of its calling cards.
"We're a no-frills operation, but we're one of the more progressive jewelers in the region," Jacobson says. "We do, religiously, everything that management experts tell independent jewelers to do. Our customer service is as strong as anybody's in the industry; our business depends on long-term relationships."
Cumberland has a customer base of about 40,000, Jacobson estimates, and he corresponds regularly with about 8,000 of those clients. The store's main promotional events are private parties to which a few hundred customers are invited.
"Our holiday party is held in a nice restaurant, with a buffet and cocktails, for 200 to 300 people," Jacobson says. "The party has a way of bringing people into the store in November, so that we don't forget them when we're sending out invitations."
Cumberland employs 15 people in all, including four graduate gemologists--the first being Mark Jacobson's wife, Rhonda, who has served as president of the Georgia chapter of the Gemological Institute of America.
A 4,600-square-foot freestanding store has housed the operation since 1999. Jacobson says the store's exterior is low-key--it's a one-story brick building of a 1970s suburban style--but the inside is rich with offerings, including a broad display of men's and women's jewelry.
"The diamond industry has gotten tougher now that you have competition from the Internet and from direct buyers, so you have to buy well," Jacobson says. "We were lucky enough to have bought a number of large stones, for which there was good demand at the beginning of this year, so we've just come off one of our strongest first quarters ever. Now, though--having just come back from [the Las Vegas shows], where we didn't see a lot of transactions--we think it might be a time for caution."
As for current bridal and diamond trends, Jacobson notes that white metals still predominate, and he gives high marks to Martin Flyer's "FlyerFit" wedding sets.
"A band that fits flush against the engagement ring is often very important to the bride," he says.
The only watch brand Cumberland carries is TAG Heuer, but the company does considerable business in used and estate watches and is one of a few local jewelers to carry TAG's "Grand Carrera" line.
Jacobson recalls that he got into the jewelry business gradually, having started out in advertising with a one-man ad agency he opened in the late 1970s. His main client was a jewelry store that chose to forgo his services after Christmas of 1981.
"I was devastated, but I took the initiative to start my own jewelry business, having found a diamond importer to back me," Jacobson says. "I was in the right place at the right time."
His situation was ideal for a jeweler starting out, he jokes.
"I was single, so I could work the long days--and I was too young to know any better," Jacobson says.
TIPS for better customer service
--"Build your business one client at a time," says Mark Jacobson of Cumberland Diamond Exchange in Smyrna, Ga. "Treat clients as guests in your house, showing them the utmost respect and trust."
--Find a way. Never tell a client "It can't be done."
--Stay flexible. The jewelry marketplace changes quickly and dramatically, and staying current is the biggest challenge, Jacobson says.
Editor's note: This story first appeared in the July 2008 print edition of National Jeweler.
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