Episode 220 Part 1: Secrets from a Jewelry Brand Strategist: How Lionel Geneste Gets Jewelry Brands on the Map

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why working with jewelry designers is part business, part therapy.
• Why the jewelry industry is picking up its pace to match the fashion industry, and why this trend might backfire.
• Why customer feedback on comfort and wearability is essential for jewelry brands.
• How Lionel defines success for his jewelry clients.
• What caused so many fashion houses to develop fine jewelry lines in the last few years, and what this trend means for the industry. 

About Lionel Geneste

Lionel Geneste is a fashion and luxury industry veteran, having worked for John Hardy, Givenchy, Catherine Malandrino and Randolph Duke in various capacities, from global marketing to communications and merchandising. He is also the founder of the gift-giving service b.Sophisticated.

Born in Tehran to French parents, Geneste grew up as a modern nomad: Cairo, Istanbul, Lagos, Beirut, Paris are just a few places he once called home. And so he acquired an eclectic eye, at an early age, for the refined and urbane—only further encouraged by his clotheshorse mother and her like-minded friends.

Additional Resources

• Website
• Instagram

 

 

Photos Available on TheJewelryJourney.com

Transcript:

How does an independent jewelry brand get noticed? For some lucky jewelers, the secret is Lionel Geneste. Lionel is a jewelry strategist and advisor who has launched iconic brands, shown new collections at Paris couture week, and gotten small jewelry artists into top stores. He joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about how the jewelry industry compares to the fashion industry; the trends, opportunities and challenges jewelers are facing today; and how he chooses his clients (and why he has to believe in their work). Read the episode transcript here.

Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey podcast. This is the first part of a two-part episode. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it's released later this week.

Today, I'm talking with Lionel Geneste. He's an independent strategist in the jewelry industry. He does this after 15 years in fashion, so he knows fashion and jewelry. He's multi-lingual, and he represents many people abroad in the U.S., which is very, very unusual.

In fact, I met him through an independent jeweler, and I thought he had such an interesting background I wanted to talk to him more. Lionel, welcome to the program.

Lionel: Sharon, good morning. Thank you for having me.

Sharon: I'm really glad to have you. How did you come into this business?

Lionel: Well, I was in the fashion industry, then a friend of mine was taking over John Hardy. We're talking about 2006 or 2007. They were launching a one-of-a-kind collection, and they brought me on board to launch that collection and to develop it and then basically to do all the PR for John Hardy in general.

Sharon: I'm not familiar with John Hardy. Is it fashion? Go ahead.

Lionel: John Hardy is this company that does mostly silver. They're based in Bali. All their