Rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings - all this has always attracted women and is a good gift for any occasion. It is believed that girls look very unusual and impressive when they wear jewelry. But you need to be able to keep a balance between everyday jewelry and evening options, because jewelry is created to decorate, and not to be superfluous in the image. Where to buy jewelry, how much can you invest, what is produced on the domestic market? The answers to all these questions can be found in this article.
Jewelry chains in Belarus
At the moment, there is no shortage of jewelry in Belarus; there is jewelry for every taste and budget. Whether it’s a gold ring or silver earrings, you can purchase any type of jewelry in the store, and experienced consultants will guide you through the purchase.
Zorka
Today, the ZORKA jewelry factory, which is rightfully considered one of the leaders in the jewelry industry in Belarus, is engaged in the production of jewelry in Minsk. Only the best world technologies and modern equipment are used here, thanks to which the company is famous for its wide range of jewelry of the highest quality. All stages of production at the ZORKA plant are the sphere of application of the enormous talent and hard work of the craftsmen.
Ray
“Luch” is a watch production plant, it is quality and precise design in all details. This is a watch you can be confident in at any moment. The plant has a full production cycle of mechanical watches. During its existence, the factory has developed more than 20 mechanisms, and produced even more watch models.
Tsar's gold
Tsarskoye Gold is a chain of jewelry stores that sells gold and silver items with precious stones. Each of the company's stores offers its guests refined classics, created taking into account the best traditions of jewelry art!
EgoArt
In 2000, a small jewelry workshop “Ego-Art” opened, where jewelry was repaired and products were made from the customer’s gold. Gradually the workshop developed, the guys studied tastes and modern trends. Now they have their own collection of jewelry and a retail chain of stores in Minsk, Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk, Mogilev, Gomel and Mozyr, where everyone can buy rings, earrings, pendants; exchange jewelry; order the production of jewelry from a catalogue; repair jewelry.
Monomakh
Jewelry is one of the first chains in Belarus, which has been offering residents of our country the best selection of jewelry for more than 20 years. Classic and modern jewelry from leading Russian and foreign companies, made of red, white or combined gold, without inserts, decorated with the best precious stones and Swarovski crystals. In addition to traditional jewelry, the Monomakh showrooms offer handmade religious jewelry made of silver with gilding, silverware and accessories, and Orthodox icons.
7ct
The first 7 Karat store opened in 2011. Over time, it was decided to open its own retail network, as well as a network of pawnshops (today there are 25 of them throughout the country). For four years in a row, 7karat was recognized as the best enterprise in Belarus in the field of wholesale and retail trade. Today they are represented in almost all major retail stores, “Galileo”, “Expobel”, “MOMO”, “Titan”, “Zamok”, “Magnit”, etc. As for the regions, 7 carats are presented in Brest, Bobruisk, Grodno, Vitebsk and etc.
Zico
ZIKO is the largest chain of jewelry, watches and accessories stores in Belarus. ZIKO offers a huge selection of gold and silver jewelry from the Belarusian jewelry factory ZORKA. ZIKO is also the official distributor of Swiss, Japanese and European watch brands.
Crystal
The origins begin with the first Belarusian diamond, which was cut on December 27, 1972. This memorable day can be called the birthday of not only the Belarusian diamond cutting industry, but also the birthday of the Belarusian jewelry industry. And since 2013, the Company has been included in the list of privileged clients of the world's largest diamond mining company, which includes only about 40 companies in the world united in ALROSA-Alliance.
Slavia
“Slavia” is a chain of jewelry stores that is known and loved in Belarus. Here they sell the latest collections of jewelry from famous brands at modest prices. Currently, more than 50 stores operate under the Slavia brand in 37 cities of Belarus.
Who works at the plant and how
There are 250 employees, and 100 of them are jewelers. There are a lot of both women and men, but only women are involved in quality control and acceptance. Our guide notes: “Women always like meticulously collecting jewelry.”
Photo: Alexander Glebov, probusiness.io
There is not much turnover here - for example, Kirill himself has been working here for 6 years. And not only experienced specialists come to work at the plant - the company trained more than 60% of the “jewelry” staff itself.
How and what future jewelers learn - look at the short commentary by Kirill Kozlov:
Attention! You have JavaScript disabled, your browser does not support HTML5, or you have an older version of Adobe Flash Player installed.
Belarusian jewelry
Jewelry on the Belarusian market has also stepped forward, and now offers beautiful, exclusive jewelry that a person of any income can afford. All jewelry is tested by the State Assay Inspectorate of the Republic of Belarus and has a stamp imprint confirming the gold purity. Precious stones in jewelry meet strict requirements, have high optical characteristics and impeccable cutting quality. Each piece of jewelry has a tag, which is a passport of the product, as well as a certificate for jewelry stones.
Sales and Marketing
Jewelry is sold mainly through the retail chains ZIKO (in Belarus) and ZORKA (in Moscow). Part of the assortment goes to other jewelry chains in Belarus and is exported to Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and even Italy. The Belarusian market accounts for more than 50% of sales. ZORKA's market share varies greatly by product category. For example, the share of wedding rings has doubled since the launch of the project for making custom wedding rings.
Photo: Alexander Glebov, probusiness.io
The sales level is now lower than in 2013-2014, the average bill has also decreased. Although gold traditionally takes the lion's share of sales, more and more buyers prefer silver and 375 gold, that is, cheaper items. But 2022 and 2016 are comparable, and a positive trend has already been observed in the second half of 2022.
Photo: Alexander Glebov, probusiness.io
In general, buying jewelry is still an event for many. This is not grocery retail, where a person puts purchases into a basket. Hence the peculiarities of marketing. The main strategy of the network is to retain the client for a long time. One of the ways is a loyalty program, which gives a discount on a purchase, the opportunity to accumulate bonuses and redeem part of the purchase with them. So, the discount on the card is up to 25%. And on a birthday, the client has the opportunity to receive a small gift: a cash certificate or a silver pendant. Approximately 80% of cardholders make a second purchase within a year or two. Consistency in this segment means purchasing once or twice a year.
For more information about how the company works with clients in retail and differentiates itself from competitors, see Irina Starodubtseva’s commentary:
Attention! You have JavaScript disabled, your browser does not support HTML5, or you have an older version of Adobe Flash Player installed.
Another way to stay with a client for a long time is to flexibly adjust production to demand. And this is a reason to return to the first video - look again at how long the products go for someone to like them and buy them.
Foreign jewelry companies in Belarus
Residents of Belarus love to pamper themselves with jewelry, but despite the variety of our products, they also prefer foreign products.
Pandora
Today PANDORA is one of the most successful jewelry brands, known on all continents - from America and Europe to Australia. The brand is represented in more than 100 countries on 6 continents. PANDORA jewelry is a treasure trove of gift ideas for any woman and for any occasion. Jewelry from Denmark is in unprecedented demand here, and is presented in 3 stores in Minsk: in the Castle shopping center, in the Galleria shopping center, and in the Arena-city shopping center.
Swarovski
Swarovski AG is an Austrian company specializing in the production of loose crystals, jewelry, crystal figurines and the cutting of synthetic and natural gemstones. Today absolutely everyone knows this brand, and Swarovski crystals are gaining such popularity that they can be seen not only on jewelry, but also on phone cases, on nails, on clothes, and on any gift.
Sokolov
The history of the brand begins back in 1993, when Alexey Sokolov created the first jewelry of the brand in Moscow. And already in 2011, the first office was opened in Switzerland, and through hard work and perseverance, the brand became a leader in Eastern Europe in terms of the number of jewelry produced. In 2016, the opening of an office in Germany, then the release of the first watch with a lunar calendar. And today Sokolov cooperates with the largest brands of clothing and accessories, and invites the most popular artists to be its ambassadors.
How the plant works
The factory building is three years old; its general architect was the designer of the Tiffany jewelry company factory, Italian Giuseppe Dal Doso. Along with consulting on architecture, he also helped on the product itself - so we can say that a piece of Tiffany was reflected in “Zorka”.
Photo: Alexander Glebov, probusiness.io
The plant is divided into several areas:
- Foundry
- Stamped
- Production of wedding rings
- And a chemical laboratory where the metal is purified and ensures that it exactly matches the declared carat value.
The plant building also has a showroom, which is visited by partners, employees, journalists and other guests of the company. And in some workshops, the floors are covered with special gratings, through which gold stuck to the soles falls onto the floor.
Photo: Alexander Glebov, probusiness.io
After the shift, it is collected with a special vacuum cleaner, the floors are washed, the garbage is burned, and the gold is melted down - and back to work. There is also a laundry room, where the gold on clothes is also filtered. 10-20 grams of gold are washed there per quarter. Because of such errors, each workshop has its own gold loss rate. But you can’t just lose a pebble completely. And such losses, Kirill adds, do not happen here.
Photo: Alexander Glebov, probusiness.io
As for gold jewelry, 375, 585 and even 750 gold are used here. 375 is the most popular for Europeans, and Belarusians have also begun to lean towards it. The plant requires about 500 kilograms of pure gold per year. And besides this - diamonds, cubic zirconias, Swarowski stones, sapphires, topazes... The company buys diamonds in Belgium, cubic zirconias and semi-precious stones - in Asian countries. And the gold comes from the Ministry of Finance and the residents of the country - they can give it away for buying or exchange old jewelry for new ones.
Photo: Alexander Glebov, probusiness.io
How jewelry is created
Every two to three months a new collection with 20-30 pieces of jewelry is released. They go a long way. The art council - which includes the production director, product development, product management, retail and marketing representatives - only approves half of the designs.
Those that are too elaborate and also too expensive to produce are not suitable. Still, it is better to make a mass product of average price and more or less everyday style. In the chain stores in Belarus, they buy simpler items for “every day,” but clients from Russia love bright and massive jewelry.
The process of creating jewelry.
The company has never encountered a counterfeit brand. “The complex production process, as well as the original design, which is developed and remains at the factory, leaves zero chance of counterfeiting the products,” says Irina Starodubtseva, head of the promotion and advertising department.
