A California jeweler uses technology to sell and produce on-demand inventory for his two stores
Featuring Greg and Lee Stopka, JewelSmiths: Pleasant Hill and San Ramon, CA

Greg Stopka works on a design for a customer using Gemvision’s Digital Goldsmith software. Customers view the work being completed on the counter monitor or on one of two TV projections.

Greg Stopka and his wife Lee (left) began JewelSmiths 18 years ago with the belief they could succeed by providing jewelry repair and restoration directly to consumers – with no inventory. Dean Stopka, Greg’s brother, joined the couple 12 years ago to manage a second location in San Ramon, CA. This dynamic team and their staff have been very successful in selling “virtual” jewelry (computer-generated images of jewelry designs). Their total sales between the two locations compare with or exceed the dollar volume of comparable stores which maintain large inventories. Here’s their plan for success.

Customers visiting JewelSmiths are there for a reason – to get their jewelry
and watches serviced and repaired. JewelSmiths began as a jewelry repair and restoration company. Customers were delighted when their expertly repaired
pieces were completed on time and gained confidence and trust in the store. As
they became regular clients, they also discovered the Stopkas had a gift for turning their irreparable pieces into new, beautifully designed jewelry. This created a stream of customers bringing unwanted or outdated jewelry to the store seeking redesign and new jewelry.

Sales of new pieces were an unexpected but welcome addition to Stopka’s endeavor. To facilitate these sales, Greg Stopka initially offered sketches and waxes of his design suggestions to customers. When he learned about Gemvision’s Digital Goldsmith software, he envisioned a more effective method of communicating his design ideas. He purchased the Gemvision package of Digital Goldsmith software, a camera system and applicable training 12 years ago and has never looked back.

Dean Stopka, a bench jeweler and store manager at the San Ramon location, uses Digital Goldsmith to prepare design ideas for a customer. Dean learned to use Digital Goldsmith in one month. After customers decide which designs they prefer, a 50% deposit is required for the manufacturing to begin..

“With Digital Goldsmith, sales of new jewelry increased 57% in the first year and have steadily increased since,” Stopka says. “We show our customers on-screen
and in-scale what their jewelry will look like. This technology allows us to easily
print a picture of the item for the customers to take with them. I have even printed the jewelry design on transparency film and placed it over a customer’s finger so she can envision what it will be like when the piece is completed.”

Stopka says the benefits of using Digital Goldsmith have been invaluable and include:

• The ability to quickly create unique jewelry items in front of customers using their gemstones.
• Upon viewing images on Digital Goldsmith, customer communication and confidence is immediately established.
• Customers take ownership of the designs as they offer input.
• The pieces are dimensionally accurate giving customers a realistic view of what will be made for them.
• Increased sales of new jewelry year after year—without the need to carry a finished jewelry inventory.
• Profit margins for jewelry creations are higher than selling from inventory.
• With no physical inventory there is a significant reduction in cost (purchase of inventory, insurance, display, storage and maintenance) and risk (shoplifting, robbery and unsold goods) for the business.

Greg Stopka works on a design for a customer using Gemvision’s Digital Goldsmith software. Customers view the work being completed on the counter monitor or on one of two TV projections located above Stopka.



Over the years, Stopka has developed a sales strategy that includes:

• Relating to a customer on an emotional level.
• Quickly displaying an image and presenting ideas while incorporating customer gemstones and metal colors in new design options.
  Involving the customer in a discussion that explains how a piece would look with her skin and color tones.
• Maintaining eye contact with the customer and proceeding with the “sales checklist.”
• Responding to customer expressions of interest in style and tastes by efficiently changing the design image or rearranging elements to suit.
• Establishing customer ownership by including her materials and input.
• Making the sale emotionally, seldom inquiring about the customer’s budget.
• Closing the sale. If the piece exceeds a perceived price the customer imagined, Stopka offers to take less than the 50% down initially, but will not begin the manufacturing until the full deposit is made.
• Always showing personal enthusiasm for the design in development and responding positively and actively to customer suggestions.
  

Wax carved using the store’s Revo 540 Model A mill, according to Stopka, produces the work of two to three wax workers.

“The virtual sale is the hardest one to make. Being a great communicator, and enthusiastic plus incorporating all customer requests are key in the process.” Stopka says that 25% of JewelSmith’s overall sales are add-on design sales. When a customer brings in multiple stones with the request to “put them in a new piece,” Stopka might instead imagine a suite of new jewelry for her. Within a few minutes and with some quick clicks of the mouse, there is an enthusiastic exchange and several images to be viewed on the monitor. And, of course, she is thrilled.

Stopka invested in Gemvision’s Matrix 3D software and Revo 540 Model A mill when the package first became available five years ago. He primarily uses Digital Goldsmith for customer presentations and sales and occasionally uses Matrix with customers who request additional detail. After the sale has been made, Stopka begins the manufacturing of the piece by laying it out in Matrix, then uses the file to carve the wax on his mill. He also uses Matrix for jewelry images displayed on the walls in his two stores and for images used in advertising. He says that laying the piece out in Matrix and having the mill cut the wax guarantees precision, manufacturing efficiency and greatly improves quality over hand carving the wax from the Digital Goldsmith image.

All jewelry is made at one of the store’s two locations. There are four bench jewelers, each possessing unique skills and specialties. The shops are partitioned from the sales area by floor-to-ceiling metal-framed glass walls so customers may observe jewelers at work.

This ring was originally designed for the customer using Digital Goldsmith. The customer loved the design and made a commitment. She requested viewing the Matrix 3D rendering. After studying the details and making a few changes, she had JewelSmiths make the piece. It was cast using yellow and white gold and it included diamonds from the customer and new ones provided by the store.

The Stopkas are believers in the technology. Stopka writes and prepares the store’s advertisements using jewelry images he’s designed and produced using Matrix software, giving the ads a consistent look. They have software that controls the take-in, pricing, tracking and delivery dates for all repair, reconstruction and custom orders. If a piece would be quicker to produce by hand, then it’s made by hand or partially by hand. In the end, Stopka says Gemvision technology has increased production by 3% since he began using it. He has made Digital Goldsmith better by incorporating over 5,000 images of jewelry for use in showing customers design ideas.

When the customers picked up their new ring, Stopka called up the working image of it in the Matrix software. They love the ring, saying that it is just as they imagined.

Greg Stopka is starting a jewelry design service for retailers. Participating retail stores will pay
a monthly fee and receive designs rendered in Gemvision Matrix software and additional designs in
a portfolio, similar to the one he’s holding. Additional pages will be designed to be inserted into the protfolio. Retailer members will also receive marketing materials such as counter cards and Microsoft Powerpoint slide shows featuring the designs. Stopka will also create the designs on request for members. Retailers will have the rights to manufacture the design or Stopka will arrange to have the pieces made using the store’s materials.

In addition, Stopka has written a book, Selling Pretty Pictures, and is in the process of updating it for its second printing. It covers the strategies, methods and techniques for sellling jewelry with no inventory. For information about Greg Stopka and JewelSmiths jewelry service studios visit www.jewelsmiths.com.