Wearing Jewelry To Work
In a world where people are almost constantly judged by their appearances, we have taken on the challenge of addressing risks and rewards of wearing jewelry at work. Having developed a reputation in the jewelry and diamond industry for producing “encore moments”, we are often asked to make judgement calls on what jewelry is considered “appropriate” for certain settings and situations. “The question our customers generally want answered is what jewelry in the workplace is ‘safe’ and what jewelry to avoid; which rings and earrings will be seen in positive light and which necklaces or bracelets is one better off wearing outside of the workplace”, says Joseph D., Encore DT’s Director of Call Center Operations.
“In most cases”, Joseph adds, “the answer depends on two major factors – where you work and what your company culture is. “Many of our customers are corporate employees who operate in stressful environments, constantly walking on thin ice in a rigid culture of unforgiving circumstances”. In strict environments, we generally recommend jewelry styles that do not interfere with or overpower one’s general appearance. “When looking at you, if my eyes quickly fall on a piece of jewelry you’re wearing, your office jewelry is introducing a risk that may or may not be worth taking”, says Boris E., our President of Global Sourcing. “The fact is, in rigid environments we generally recommend, what I refer to as, ‘mild designs’, which add to the presentation of self rather than something that leads and defines it”, he adds. “If you can imagine a meeting behind closed doors and a comment, after the meeting is over, on your way out – ‘By the way, I like your diamond earrings’. That is the desired result for my customer”. In other words, in this case the diamond earrings are clearly stylish and worthy of attention, but they are also neutral enough to avoid overly strong reactions, positive or negative.
Finding An Edge
The other typical workplace we often encounter is a more relaxed and forgiving setting, such as a skater shop, bar or pub. The environment these settings present is almost the polar opposite to that of our previous example, at least in terms of the office jewelry its employees can comfortably wear. “In some way, you almost have to present an edge in your appearance in order to survive in that environment”, says Michael A., Encore DT’s President of Operations. “Getting a compliment on your jewelry in an increasingly relaxed environment requires an edge beyond what the average person would even be willing to consider”, he adds. Often times, the jewelry we recommend to people in such environments is bold and reckless, and it brings us joy to be able to offer such a wide variety of jewelry products to our customers.
Choosing The Right Style
Finally, and often times the most challenging workplace setting to advise on, is the one between the two extremes we have already discussed – the relaxed and the overly stringent. “The most challenging judgement calls our call center has to make, in terms of recommending a specific jewelry styler for the workplace, is your average workplace setting that isn’t extremely strict but is not too relaxing either, such as a middle-class restaurant or a retail store”, says Joseph D., Encore DT’s Director of Call Center Operations. Boris E., our President of Global Sourcing, puts it this way: “The reason the ‘average’ setting is the most difficult to advise on, with regard to jewelry in the workplace, is that we often rely on our customers to communicate their company culture to us, which is subjective and subject to interpretation. In other words, our call center does not always have 100% confidence that they know where on the spectrum the workplace lies with regard to culture, closer to stringent or to overly relaxed”. This is where old fashioned question and answer techniques fall in play like nowhere else. “Our call center consultants often ask questions like, ‘What kind of office jewelry does your boss wear to work? A diamond ring, necklace or bracelet, or just a stainless steel ring that you can barely remember noticing? What about his or her boss?’ Ultimately the answers to these questions tell a story, and it is this story that allows our representatives to make the proper style recommendations based on the known facts our customers communicate to them”. “At the end of the day”, says Boris E., diversity of styles is as beautiful as the jewelry that makes it possible, and is yet another reason why we carry over 12,000 designs in our inventory, so that we can cater to some of the most complex workplace settings, leaving our customers happy and their employers even happier”.
Copyright © 2013 Encore DT Co., All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without the expressed written permission from Encore DT.
