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At Marks Jewelers ‘Quality Lasts Forever’—AGS Jewelers Speak Series October 14, 2023 (0 comments)

Montgomeryville, PA--The Centurion in collaboration with The American Gem Society (AGS) continues our new editorial series featuring informative, Q&A style interviews with AGS retailers. Entitled "AGS Jewelers Speak," this third article in the series presents a look at what's new and exciting at retailer Marks Jewelers, as detailed by David Mazer GIA G.G., AGS C.G., R.J., I.S.A., director of Sales and Training, diamond buyer.

The Centurion: Please tell us about the latest change(s) to your store and its/their success

David Mazer: Our Leadership team at Marks Jewelers are all voracious readers. But even with that, we felt something was missing in our pursuit of continual self-improvement, individually and as a company. And during this internal discussion we had a chance to see the TED Talk featuring Dr. Atul Gawande and it hit us; we needed a business Coach, just like professional athletes has. So, we embarked on adding this to our pursuits. Because of this self-review, this look internally of ourselves, the basis was laid to solidify our corporate foundation, and we are proud to be opening our second store later this year.

TC: Please tell us about a recent successful promotion or campaign

DM: One of the founding principles to Marks Jewelers is our award-winning custom department, JewlVision. Each year we reach out to the community we serve and invite them in, with all of their old jewelry, broken jewelry, half-pairs, anything they no longer enjoy, and sit with one of our consultants and/or a JewlVision architect to redesign. It is wonderful to see the pleasure a new piece of jewelry brings to our clients. Especially when you tie in the sentiments much of the old jewelry has, but succumbed to being worn out. Many of our clients now reward themselves yearly, turning old into new.

TC: How do you differentiate your store from other businesses competing for your customer's purchases?

DM: For us to differentiate ourselves, we have to fully comprehend who we are, what we are, and what we wish to be in the jewelry space. Much like Tom Peters wrote about in his seminal book, “Good to Great,” we have to have a well-defined hedgehog, and agree to always keep it in mind. Marks Jewelers, and for that matter, no jeweler, can win in the miasma that is low price; someone will always be a theoretical dollar less. But we can be successful in bringing quality jewelry, classic jewelry, to our clients, along with extraordinary, personally curated, diamonds, that allow for a client choosing something better. We make a conscious decision to the vendor-partners and diamantaire-partners we align with. The allure of low price is fleeting, but quality lasts forever. And shows respect for one's hard-earned dollar.

[Marks Jewelers, Montgomeryville, PA] 

TC: What is your most important focus right now and why?

DM: Most important to Marks Jewelers is...Marks Jewelers. Reviewing everything that is us, never being satisfied with what was once successful will remain as such. Where can we improve, individually and as a company? To stand still is to fall backwards.

TC: As a member of AGS, what value or benefits have you found in being part of this community, and how has it helped you in your business operations?

DM: We always wish to be thought of as a business that conducts itself beyond reproach. A jewelry business much like a Doctor and the Hippocratic oath they are to abide by, we adhere to the principles of always doing what is right for the client. Keeping their best interests at the forefront; what is best in a given situation for them, even if not for Marks Jewelers. These values perfectly align with the American Gem Society founding principles. We are honored to be a part of AGS, representing not only ourselves, but realizing all that occurs in our corner of the world, all that we say, all that we do, equally represents our fellow members, too.