Fashion trends are rarely universal. The iPod may be an exception, but when it comes to jewelry, styles and tastes vary. The necklaces we sell retail in Ireland would be difficult to sell in London, and the sterling silver sold by wholesalers in the UK tends to stay on Irish shelves for a very long time.

This was one of the reasons we began sourcing our own stock. It’s true that in England there are great big warehouses full of jewelry of all descriptions, and many of these same warehouses sell to high street chains such as Next and their clones, but on our side of the Irish sea, customers take one look at this stock and walk the other way.

The differences in taste between our American buyers and their English counterparts are just as great. One of our best selling retail lines to the U.S. has been our Celtic themed pendants, rings, and earrings. Here are a few of those lines that seem to go well across the Atlantic, but generate little or no interest this side of the water.

The Celtic pendant below is one of our top sellers. As you’d expect from the picture, it’s sterling silver (pendant and chain) and weighs in at a modest 4 grams. It’s a simple design - not too pretentious.

Maybe it’s Irish Americans seeking out a little of their heritage, but for whatever reason these sorts of pendants are extremely popular. The Celtic design combined with the cross-like shape below is one of our few Celtic lines that sell well in Ireland as well as the US.

The pendant below is much larger, at over 6 grams. Not quite as popular, but again, it only seems to sell in large numbers to US buyers.

The message here is: not all your customers are the same, and if you treat them as if they are, they won’t be your customers for long. Do you know EXACTLY who is buying what, and if you don’t, why not? If your party planners want cheap necklaces, give them cheap necklaces. If your French buyers want heavy Baltic Amber, give them heavy Baltic Amber. If your market traders want color and variety, give them color and variety.

And if your high street stores want to look exactly the same as Next or River Island, then leave them alone - they’re probably already buying from the wrong right place.

If you’ve checked out our catalogue, you’ll know that we sell a wide range of Baltic Amber rings, pendants and earrings. For many years now, they’ve been amongst our top sellers - both retail and wholesale. And we’re not the only ones. It seems that every jewellery website and eBay seller is hawking ‘Baltic Amber‘ these days, and at first glance it all looks pretty much the same.

It’s yellow or green and it’s set in sterling silver, so it must be real. Right?

I’m afraid not. There is an awful lot of imitation Amber out there attempting to pass itself off as the real thing. Otherwise known as synthetic or faux Amber, it can be incredibly hard to spot. When all you have to go on is a picture on a website, how do you tell the difference?

The answer is quite simple. Just ask! Most sellers, though they may not admit to selling fake amber in writing on their web-site, will be honest about it if you simply send them an email and ask. They don’t want a charge back from your credit card company any more than you want to be lumbered with dodgy goods. The problem is, many people do not know enough to ask, and only find out a few months later when a particularly knowledgeable customer calls them on it - pointing out their mistake at the most embarrassing moment possible.

Here at Nirvana, we only sell 100% genuine Baltic Amber, and have never stocked the synthetic variety.

When buying jewellery of any description from photos on a web-site or eBay, your motto should be: “If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.” Bargains can be had, for sure. But how does the price stack up against the competition? Manufacturer’s prices for amber rings are reasonably consistent, so if you’re seeing rock bottom, bargain prices, that’s the time to start asking questions.

And if anyone offers you pristine pieces of Amber with perfectly preserved mosquitos, positioned dead centre and looking only a week or two old, chances are they ARE only a week or two old, and not the 30-50 million years you’ve been told.

In March 2007 we launched our very first web-site. For years we had been selling retail and wholesale through other channels, but had given the web a wide berth - fear of the unknown and a distinct lack of technical knowledge each played their part.

Last Christmas, over one bottle of wine too many, we decided to give this web thing a try. How hard could it be? Today, we’re going a step further and starting our very own Nirvana Blog. Now, don’t panic - there will be no pictures of cats or discussions about how our baby is smarter than your baby.

This blog is so we can talk to you, our customers; so we can tell you more about our business than a simple web page allows; and so YOU can tell us what you think. Our plan is to focus the blog on a number of areas:

1. Frequently asked questions. Whether it’s about postage costs or delivery times, we’ll fill you in.
2. Up to date information. For example, public and bank holidays that affect deliveries are not always the same in Ireland, the UK and the US. And if we’re going on a 10 day expedition up the Nile in search of quality sterling silver, you might want to know about it before placing an order on the day we depart.
3. Info on special offers and stock clearances, as well as a first glimpse at some new lines before they go live.
4. Sharing our knowledge. Over the years we’ve build up a lot of knowledge and experience covering all aspects of the fashion jewellery business. Whether it’s spotting that fake Baltic Amber, or advising you on how to package your sterling silver necklaces so they’ll look just as good as any professional Jewelers, we’ll fill you in.

In the future we may allow ‘guest‘ posts from some of our more valued customers, where you will have the opportunity to talk about your business: what you sell, where you sell it, and what sort of issues you have in sourcing stock.

Comments are open, so please feel free to let us know what you think. We always value feedback, and your input will help us to deliver better products and a better service.