Online Jewelry News: Pearlman’s Fuels Desires for the Designer Look

Michael Beaudry, Carl Blackburn, Daniel K, Gurhan Orhan…the list of 52 designers represented by Pearlman’s Jewelers reads like a red carpet list of today’s best and brightest jewelry designers. For over 6 years, Bill Pearlman of Pearlman’s Jewelers has bucked the belief that online retailing is simply the domain of warehouse diamond deals and unbranded jewelry by building the largest luxury jewelry site in the world. Its 4,700+ page site, loaded with lush photography, artful graphic design, and elegant prose has become the ideal to which many other fine jewelers now aspire.

Supported by its long established Battle Creek Michigan store, Pearlman’s attributes more than 75% of their multi-million dollar business to PearlmansJewelers.com. As Blue Nile was gaining notoriety for average ring purchases of $5,000+, Pearlman’s was building its impressive list of today’s hottest jewelry designers and finding an enthusiastic online reception, regardless of the jewelry’s price tag. In recent months, Bill Pearlman has embarked on an innovative marketing approach, replacing his highly successful online Google ad campaigns with strategic billboard ads aimed on drawing even more customers to the average 8,000 who visit PearlmansJewelers.com every day.

“Bill is quite simply the very best at what he does,” says California designer Carl Blackburn. “No one foresaw so clearly the impact the internet would have on fine jewelry retailing, nor so skillfully used it to both their advantage and their customers’. Just go to diamond jewelry forums like Pricescope.com or DiamondTalk.com and you’ll see how dearly Bill is loved by his customers. When we decided to unveil our Neo Classics Collection™ this month, we immediately knew that Pearlman’s would be the perfect place for its debut.”

Pearlman’s satisfied customers can in large part be traced to balancing technology with the human touch. At PearlmansJewelry.com there is no shopping cart feature or online transaction. Every Pearlman customer must eventually speak to one of their store representatives before purchasing an item. Says Bill, “We empower our customers to ask informed questions and make cogent decisions. When you create a Wish List or request a price quote, you'll hear from a Pearlman's representative within 24 hours. From there, Pearlman's is with you every step of the way, because we know you deserve the best.” And providing the very best (of jewelry, service, and selection) is of course what being a fine jeweler has always been about. The internet hasn’t changed that.