According to Google’s Adwords keyword tool, there are approximately 90,500 monthly global searches for the term “made in America” on average. And in June 2009, the term’s local search volume rose slightly to just over 100,000. By comparison, there were over 30,000,000 global searches for the term “jewelry” – as well as over 37,000,000 local searches in June 2009 – but very little correlation for these terms together. So in other words, not many consumers researched for “jewelry made in America.” Sad – but true.
While America still endures our economic troubles, I was hoping to find that we as citizens would look to make mainly domestic product purchases to help stimulate the economy. As more and more jewelry manufacturers turn to resources abroad as their main jewelry suppliers, left behind are thousands of American jewelry craftsmen that have been getting the job done for the jewelry industry at large, albeit during a stronger economy. Outsourcing overseas may be a lot cheaper than producing products locally, but do those designs have the same quality that American jewelry products should be known for? I tend to think not. Is saving a few dollars on a piece of jewelry worth turning your back on our homegrown jewelry industry in general? I hope not. But I guess that in these times, the value of what you can get for a dollar is thought of much more that the value of what you are actually paying for. Where’s an “up sell” mentality on the part of product selection? I am will to expect that people will pay more for American made products if they meet quality expectations, despite the condition of the economy. They may not buy 10 pieces of jewelry in a year, but the few purchases that might be made certainly will count.
Not all jewelry products are made exactly the same or to the exact same specifications. To meet different price points, companies can create their designs in different metals (platinum, palladium, 18kt gold, 14kt gold, sterling silver and more), in different thicknesses, using various grades of diamonds and employ many other variations that separate something seen at a typical mall store like Zales from something in the window at Harry Winston’s on 5th Avenue. However, whatever the price point, I still see the value in jewelry that’s made in America. Metals, diamonds and gems do have to come from other countries, but a final jewelry piece can be created right here in the good old USA. If they can, jewelry companies need to hang their hat on the “Made in America” tag, as this can be a distinct competitive advantage.
We search online for jeans, shoes, cars, electronics and many other American made products, but for some reason not much attention is paid to jewelry. There are nearly 2.2 million couples a year getting married, but how many are actually concerned if their wedding band or wedding ring comes from overseas? Apparently – not too many! There are over 1,000,000 global searches for “wedding bands,” but not enough data to estimate the term “wedding bands made in America.” Again, this is very sad but true.
Keep in mind that all Novell wedding bands, wedding rings and engagement rings are made one at a time in New Jersey. We literally ship hundreds of wedding bands and wedding rings a day, and none have been imported. Our factory is chock full of American-based craftsmen. “Made in America” is a term that is very important to Novell. Hopefully by raising awareness, more and more Americans will look for and specifically ask for jewelry that’s made in America.
