Crowdsourcing Jewellery

Crowdsourcing is a business stategy talked about in many circles and more recently becoming popular and gaining strength in various industries.

In the jewellery industry crowdsourcing jewellery may actually oil the wheels for new brand building , increase consumer purchasing incentives and develop jewellery profit sharing.

Crowdsourcing jewellery has started to be a 2013 buzzword in the jewellery industry. Crowdsourcing being a product of a technological evolution and open-source software movement is one of the many offshoot marvels of the internet . It is not surprising to see Crowdsourcing jewellery making a mark.

She is a Diamond in The Wild by Digitalism Artist, Anuppa Caleekal

When online shopping first started in the jewellery industry,we saw pioneers of online jewellers like Blue Nile get the customers to participate in building their own rings and getting consumers involved in diamond education . This was the start of getting the consumer to participate within the limitations of the in-house jewellery designer and design options.

Crowdsourcing jewellery has now let the jewellery industry dabble in crowd creation, crowdfunding and listening to the global crowd’s preferences to jewellery.

Crowdsourcing is the new face of the nouveau jewellery industry. Before we go on to look at the forerunners of fine crowdsourcing jewellery, lets take a look at what crowdsourcing is.Crowdsourcing
was originally coined by Jeff Howe contributing editor for Wired Magazine in his 2006 article,”The Rise of Crowdsourcing” and continued work in his blog crowdsourcing.com which emphasizes “why the power of the crowd is driving the future of business”(crowdsourcing.com)

Crowdsourcing is the amalgamation and coming together of various tried out strategies such as the open-source software movement”out sourcing”, “needs assessment”, “innovative brain storming”, ” global input”, ” “social media platforms”, followers who “like” and followers who “dislike” . Crowdsourcing involves the creative utiliztion of free internet traffic of labour for the best price and the best voted idea. It incorporates the union of profit with the participation of consumers and expert skilled labour and knowledge as the basis for producing data information, products or innovations in the fastest time as a preferential choice amongst a broad global target audience.

The internet utilizes human resources globally seeking the best solution , design or function. Crowdsourcing is the fastest means of pooling scarce resources through the eye of the needle and reaching out to a global target audience with a profit oriented product or information liked and useful to all those that participate in the process. Crowdsourcing is a form of participatory advocacy for innovation, branding , profit sharing or even encompassing a philanthropist goal.

In this issue, Digitalism Online Magazine takes a look at crowdsourcing jewellery as a fruitful application not only as applied to fine jewellery but also pertinent to the costume jewellery industry.

A Toronto based Canadian company MEJURI has started crowdsourcing jewellery for fine jewellery in Canada. The Mejuri Company has had roots in fine jewellery since 1953. Mejuri functions as a retail component but has enhanced and expanded Mejuri’s scope of creativity by adapting with the times and embarked on fine jewellery crowdsourcing.

For instance to celebrate the month of May birthstone Emerald, Mejuri launched the “Enchanted Emerald” design challenge” while also celebrating emerald green as the 2013 official Pantone colour.So to embark this creative launch, Mejuri used Crowdsourcing by calling upon designers from around the globe for their emerald fine jewellery design submissions. When the challenge time ended, the winner was picked .The designers compete for a cash prize, royalties, marketing and to see their design made and sold. Submitted Designs from across the world are then voted by a public vote. Visit Mejuric.com to see this phenomenon of crowdsourcing used in the jewellery indusry.

Tanishq, a fine jewellery company in India in 2011 held a crowdsourcing campaign to their jewellery brand Mia crowdsourcing campaign ‘My Expression’ to create a new line of jewellery for young working women(To Read More on Tanishq’s campaign using crowdsourcing consumer input see source
http://www.campaignindia.in/Article/307473,tanishq-gets-young-women-to-interpret-design-utility-for-mia.aspx)

Crowd funding is also being utilized by Crowdsourcing companies although in the jewellery industry this may not be so easily available in lieu of the economic times. Nonetheless, talented designers can attract crowdfunding by a combination of consumer votes and seed funders.

With Seed funding crowdsourcing is easier to operationalize.

ShopBevel.com is one such example of a jewellery company which raised seed funding from LightBank and Great Oaks Venture Capital . ShopBevel.com uses crowdsourcing to recriut world and amateur designers. This works for the designers who otherwise have to work in a highly competitive world to have their work seen.

It works well for jewellery companies who have their own manufacturing company or even to outsource them to companies in India and China to actually get the designs made and produced at a lower cost.

One of the world’s leading trend firms, Trendwatching.com scans the globe for emerging consumer trends, insights and innovations.
In the May 2013 Trend Briefing , Trendwatching.com talks about PRETAIL ” as a new mode of consumption that sees consumers treat crowdfunding platforms as the new shopping malls”. The briefing notes the rise of such crowdfunding PRETAIL platforms such as Christie Street and Crowd Supply. Trendwatching.com recognizes today’s techno oriented consumer engaging in the natural transition from Pretail to Etail and Retail . Crowdsourcing allows a better market fit, builds trust and is open to the “global brain” bringing diversity and the “consumer-made” participation and co- creation function in brand creation.

Crowdsourcing gets the online global consumer to vote, the manufacturer to construct, the designer to draw the vision, and the retailer both online and in the real world to sell. Crowdsourcing may be a strong force in the future of the jewellery industry with all components being a direct part of the production cycle.