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Most women associate getting fine jewelry with special occasions, like anniversaries, engagements, and birthdays.
But that doesn’t have to, and frankly shouldn’t, be the case if you ask Noura Sakkijha and Justine Lançon, the cofounders of Mejuri, a Toronto-based jewelry startup.
Sakkijha and Lançon launched Mejuri in early 2015 with the idea that women don’t need to wait for someone else to give them fine jewelry; instead, they wanted to put the purchasing power in the hands of women, giving them the opportunity to buy contemporary, fine jewelry for accessible prices.
“We wanted to create a class of jewelry for women who shop for themselves the way they shop for their shoes and bags,” Sakkijha told Business Insider. “Women don’t want to spend their whole paychecks on high-quality jewelry; they want to have a choice to buy high-quality, non-overpriced jewelry for their day-to-day lives. And we are giving them that choice.”
Women currently account for 89% of the company’s transactions. As a woman, I totally get why it’s resonating with this demographic so well.
The jewelry market looks crowded, but if you pay close attention, it’s mostly divided into very classic and expensive fine jewelry or affordable costume jewelry that won’t last. Women want something in the middle, and Mejuri fills the gap with its delicate collection of rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, which retails for as low as $ 25 for a solid gold stud to as high as $ 325 for a solid gold evil eye necklace.
To that end, Sakkijha and Lançon told me Mejuri has already exceeded over 1 million dollars in year two of operation and reports 20-30% of monthly transactions are from repeat customers. “We’ve established a great level of loyalty with customers in a product category that is perceived as a non-frequent purchase,” said Lançon.
The company’s direct-to-consumer business model, which allows it to keep price markups low, and its commitment to customer service are largely to credit. Since launching, Mejuri has relied heavily on customer feedback to improve its jewelry.
“We involve our customers in product feedback, since this helps in the evolution of our quality and choosing what we introduce to the market,” Sakkijha and Lançon told me. “We also give them the ability to reach out to us via email and text, and will be integrating more and more technology to speed up our response times. We’re really driven to provide a luxury experience to every single customer.”
After getting to wear a few pieces from Mejuri’s current fine jewelry collection for a few weeks, I’d recommend the company as one of the best places to buy fine jewelry online. Not only is Mejuri constantly putting new pieces into production (it’s established a lean and quick supply chain that allows it to get products from concept to store in 3-4 weeks), its message, high quality, and transparent prices are all things I can get behind.
The company sent me a pair of hoop earrings ($ 125), choker-style necklace ($ 255), and ring ($ 170) so I could get a sense of the jewelry’s overall quality, and each piece feels and looks a lot nicer than its price suggests. They’re my new everyday go-tos, and I’m already eyeing a couple other pieces I want to eventually buy for myself.
Mejuri is smart addition to the jewelry market and one that’s going to be great for customers, be they women who are shopping for themselves, or people who are looking to find great gifts for the women they love that don’t put a huge dent in their wallets.
Have a closer look at some of my favorite jewelry from Mejuri below:
Mejuri
Wearing a choker with another slightly longer necklace is a subtle way to step up your jewelry game.
Spheres Choker, $ 255 | Diamond Necklace, $ 290
Mejuri
These elegant threader earrings don’t have backs to them, so you can adjust where and how they fall.
Grace Threader Earrings, $ 170
Mejuri
Stacking a few dainty rings together adds some extra sparkle to your outfit and looks cool. Feel free to mix metals, too — yellow, rose, and white gold all play well together.
Diamonds Line Ring White Gold, $ 200 | Solo Diamond Ring, $ 175 | Beaded Ring White Gold, $ 73
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