About Retail: The Ring of the Month Club

ago, he started thinking--what if he could sell 100 of these a month or week, instead of just one, by making them for other jewelers?

And that’s how he came up with the idea for the Ring of the Month Club.

The club will work like this.

Jewelers who pay the one-time $499 fee to become members will receive, as the name of the club indicates, a different mounting or semi-mount set with a cubic zirconia center every 30 days on memo.

About 80 percent of the rings will be bridal designs, some of which Walters will select from his portfolio of already copyrighted designs.

Jewelers will set their own diamond or other gemstone into the design (or Walters can do it for them.) He says while the mounting will be made to fit a 1-carat stone, the designs are done in CAD and therefore easily can be adjusted to fit up to a 3-carat stone.

There’s also flexibility with the metal. Although the delivered design will always be in 14- or 18-karat gold, it can be special ordered in platinum (add $1,000), or rose or green gold.

If they don’t sell the ring after a month, then they can keep it and pay Walters the wholesale price or return it, though he notes that if the program goes well, he’s hoping to be able to give jewelers more flexibility on the return dates.

“I can see it really going well, and a year from now, we’ll have enough turnover going (to be able to do that),” he says. “There will be no dogs in this line. Every design will be a good one.”

Walters said because the rings are not mass manufactured and can’t be shopped online, he says jewelers should be able to do a keystone markup.

So, for example, the first ring in the program--his bestseller, the aforementioned “Wispy Bishop”--retails for $2,900. If jewelers sell it, they keep half and then get the next ring in the program.

Walters also has worked up a display that can be used with the program that is in the shape of an artist’s palette.

While the design is still being finalized, he says he it will be about 8 inches by 6 inches, possibly white leatherette with “Ring of the Month” in gold, with spaces where jewelers can display alternate center stone choices if they want, much like a painter has various dabs of color on his or her palette.

The cost of the palette, as well as geographic exclusivity, are included in the $499 it costs to join the club.

Walters plans to support the jewelers who enroll in the program with marketing and training and already thinks that it gives jewelers’ salespeople a great opening line to use on people as they enter the store: “Have you seen our Ring of the Month?”

For more information or to join, visit RingoftheMonth.com or email moresales@ringofthemonth.com.