4 Courtesy Saratoga RV Park
By Jill Nagy
Breanna Chiarello calls herself a “jewelry concierge.”
She is in the business of helping people turn their jewelry ideas into reality at Her Rock Jewelry, recently opened at 10 Lake Ave. in Saratoga Springs.
Chiarello interviews prospective customers about their preferences and price range and then meets with them in person. At the meeting, she presents some stones and sample settings that meet the customer’s specifications. After the customer chooses the desired combination, the jewelry is made to order and delivered in three to four weeks.
The shop sells about 30 rings monthly, Chiarello estimates.
She tries to provide a quiet intimate setting for the meetings. Her suite of offices includes a conference room, a showroom, and her office.
Her Rock specializes in diamond engagement rings, most of them sporting “lab diamonds,” which are manufactured in New York City, not dug out of the ground.
She said the difference between the lab diamonds and natural diamonds is not obvious. Both are made of the same element, carbon, and “they look the same, they feel the same, and they sparkle the same.”
The biggest difference is in the price. The lab specimens are thousands of dollars less expensive than the natural item. For example, a two-carat lab-grown diamond might cost $6,000 while a similar natural diamond might run $18-20,000.
Chiarello’s website, www.her-rock.com., includes a veritable primer on lab diamonds, their shapes, sizes, and elements like color and clarity, and the range of prices for various combinations of them.
The website also shows a line of ready made jewelry, curated by Chiarello from samples she sees at jewelry shows. Those items can be purchased online or in person and are generally priced under $2,000. They include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other jewelry items as well as rings. She also offers sapphires, rubies, emeralds and other precious and semi-precious stones in addition to the diamonds.
Her clientele splits fairly evenly between men and women and, because of her emphasis on bridal and engagement jewelry, couples often shop together, she said.
Meetings are by appointment only. The appointments can be made online, at the store’s website or Instagram site.
Chiarello began working in the jewelry business right after high school. She sold “fashion jewelry” (prices under $1,000) for a few years and then switched to a store selling “fine jewelry” She also studied to become a gemologist. She thought she saw a void between what stores offered and what people wanted and that led her to start her own business six years ago, first in New York City and now in Saratoga Springs.
All the work is done by hand, she said. In addition to items created to customer specifications, Chiarello designs jewelry on contract. A freelance social media expert rounds out the cast.
Her website is www.her-rock.com.