How Dominion Jewelers Made Northern Virginia a Excessive-Finish Jewellery Vacation spot
Mohammad Barimany and Jairo Rojas didn’t open Dominion Jewelers in 1985 with the purpose of promoting 25 to 35 items of bijou — 80 % of them made in-house — per week. However that’s precisely what the brothers-in-law are doing.
Barimany, a gemologist, handles the diamonds and valuable gems, whereas Rojas, a Rhode Island College of Design–educated craftsman, manages design and manufacturing.
“They actually married their two skills, and it’s nonetheless that means at this time,” says Rachelle Barimany, Mohammad’s daughter and chief operations and monetary officer.
Many different points of their enterprise have modified, nonetheless. For one, it moved in 2013 from 107 Rowell Ct. in Falls Church to its greater present location at 917 W. Broad St.
However the largest shift was their marketing strategy. They initially got down to present high-end {custom} manufacturing to native jewelers, to not the general public. It was an untapped market within the Washington metropolitan space on the time, Rachelle Barimany says. “You needed to go to New York [or] L.A. to get high-end {custom} manufacturing,” she says.
However phrase shortly obtained out a few duo of proficient jewellery makers. By the point Barimany joined the corporate in 1997, it was 60 % manufacturing and 40 % direct-to-the-public retail. She and her cousin, Sergio Rojas, Jairo’s son and the shop’s normal supervisor, switched instructions with shopper promoting and advertising campaigns.
In the present day, the store has 27 workers, most of whom are centered on retail, though they preserve a small contingent of wholesale purchasers.
“The individuals have modified, who we serve has modified, however the core values of the corporate, I believe that’s positively a key to the longevity of this firm,” she says. “My father’s and my uncle’s enterprise rules and practices have actually been instilled within the second era of this firm. … We’re only a massive household.”
Engagement rings, that are principally custom-designed in-house, are amongst their bestsellers.
The shop designs about 80 to 100 rings monthly. Barimany has seen some new traits in what individuals need. This contains extra yellow gold and fewer platinum, and extra coloured stones, particularly sapphires, taking the middle spot. Streamlined designs with hidden halos are additionally well-liked. (An everyday halo is a hoop of small diamonds surrounding the middle stone, however in a hidden halo, the diamonds sit under the stone and face out, not up.)
“We’re seeing plenty of stacking easy engagement rings with a number of bands to get a much bigger, chunkier look, however every [component is] slightly bit less complicated and slightly extra tailor-made,” she says. “Additionally sort of a throwback is our two-stone engagement rings. We noticed that within the ’80s, late ’70s.”
Regardless of being funding items, engagement ring kinds are fleeting, she says. Whereas resetting a hoop is simple for somebody who needs a brand new look, it might be a better option to keep away from getting too stylish.
“Diamonds are lovely in any means, form, or type,” Barimany says. “All of those designs will be tailor-made for the particular person. Selecting an engagement ring is quite a bit about determining who’s carrying it and what their arms seem like and what’s going to look greatest on them.” 917 W. Broad St., Falls Church
What’s In Retailer
1. Platinum eternity band with 32 emerald-cut diamonds, $19,000
2. Yellow 14-karat ring with tsavorite garnet, tanzanite, and diamonds, $13,600
3. Platinum wedding ceremony band with sapphire and diamonds, $40,000
4. Platinum halo wedding ceremony band with baguette and spherical diamonds, $6,400
5. Pink peach morganite set in rose gold with small diamond halo, $8,500
6. Fancy yellow canary diamond with hidden halo and platinum diamond band, $35,000
This story initially ran in our January concern. For extra tales like this, subscribe to our month-to-month journal.
