November 19, 2024 • 36 mins
Omi was founded nearly 35 years ago by Omi Nagpal and his wife, Preeti, whose family were ruby miners dating back to 19th century Burma. Later, their son, Niveet, founded Omi Privé, their finished jewelry business that specializes in one of a kind finished colored stone jewelry.
From design processes to nurturing retailer relationships, Niveet sheds light on the strategic side of the jewelry vendor business. He shares insights on building meaningful partnerships with retailers who value understated luxury, as well as a deep dive on the business of colored stones.
Learn more about Omi Prive: https://omiprive.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back everybody to In the Loop.
What is up everybody?
My name is Michael Burpo.
Thanks again for listening toIn the Loop this week.
I'm joined by Navit Nagpal andhe's with Omi Prive, and if
you've never seen Omi Prive'swork, they have the most
incredible colored stone jewelry.
(00:21):
Every piece is one of a kindand truly unique, and he talks a
little bit about their origins,but also how they choose stones
for pieces and sometimes howthey have to hold on to certain
stones because they haven'tfound the perfect design
specifically for it, and alsowhat comes first the setting or
the stone.
It's a really cool conversationabout custom jewelry and about
(00:44):
the creative process.
I really enjoyed it and ifyou're interested in learning
more about Omiprive, you can goto their website.
It's O-M-I-P-R-I-V-Ecom.
Thanks, enjoy the show.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
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Slash go.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
And now back to the show.
Welcome back everybody.
I'm joined by Naveet Nagpal andhe's with Omi Prive.
How are you doing today, naveet?
Pretty good.
Michael, great to be here.
Yeah, so exciting.
I mean, this is kind of thecontinuation of my interview
(02:15):
with Ray Lance from the DiamondCenter.
He mentioned that you're one ofthe vendors that he works with
closest and that it's reallycool how he's been able to build
a little bit of a connection.
You guys are based out of thesame area.
I was wondering if you couldtalk to me a little bit about
Omi Prive and kind of whatyou're doing there.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, Omi Prive is a jewelry brand that we launched
in 2012.
My parents started a businesscalled Omi Gems and Omi is my
father's name, so Omi Gems.
He built a great reputation,you know, in the colored
gemstone community, providingcolored gemstones to the trade.
And, as you know, businessevolved and things changed and
we kind of organically grew intoa space where we needed to
(02:58):
create jewelry.
So I launched Omi Fae in 2012.
And so we still do quite a bitof loose colored gemstones and
the main business now is OmiPreve, which is finished goods.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah, and you had mentioned on your website, at
least I was reading about.
They started the business 35years ago and they were based
out of Burma and they wereprimarily rubies and you guys
have since kind of made thedecision to go to many different
types of gemstones.
Was that something that you had, that they made that decision,
or was getting into loosegemstones?
(03:31):
Is that sort of the naturalprogression for a business?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, I mean I think the mining rubies in Burma was
early 1900s.
That was my mom's side of thefamily and so you know that
naturally progressed and youknow, went through world wars
and changing countries and andmaking money and losing
everything and starting overagain, and so there was a lot of
you know incarnations of that,of that business.
But my father actually didn'tknow anything about gemstones
(03:55):
until he was almost 40 years oldand my mom knew more about
gemstones being around thefamily business at some points
in her life, so she had someknowledge of gemstones when they
started in the industry andthen in 1985, then they started
Omi Gems, which was primarilycolored gemstones, mainly
focused on ruby, sapphire, butpretty quickly after that they
introduced emeralds and a lot ofthe other birthstones and sold
(04:18):
to a lot of differentmanufacturers and designers.
And that's pretty much how theygot their business started when
a lot of manufacturing wasstill done domestically.
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And so they were Omi Gems, and now you're Omi Pruve.
Can I ask, what does Pruve mean?
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Well, since we still have Omi Gems, it's still the
head company.
Oh, I didn't see.
We went through and thought ifwe're going to have a jewelry
brand, we wanted it to stillrepresent our heritage and where
we came from and the businessmy parents started.
And so we just went through,you know, a bunch of different
names and when we came back withthe consulting companies, omi
still came up to a name thatjust is a positive uh is a
(04:55):
positive name and a positiveword in a lot of different
cultures and languages.
So you know, we decided tostick with omi and stick with
that heritage.
And then prive means private infrench, so it's more like
exclusive a bit.
So you know we wanted to createsomething that was higher end,
manufactured in los angeles, youknow, only available in
specific places where they couldreally understand the
craftsmanship and the quality ofwhat we were doing.
(05:17):
So we wanted to be a little bitmore, a little bit more
exclusive and a little bit morekind of like understated luxury.
So that's kind of where wherethe Preve came in.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Oh, very interesting.
So I guess I'm alwaysinterested in the progression of
the jewelry industry.
I think that increasingly thejewelry industry is like picking
up steam and what it is now isvery different than what even I
joined in, you know, about sevenand a half years ago, and even
you know 10, 20, 30, everysingle year they're having their
(05:45):
own spin on what's going on.
Are you able to kind of talkabout how the industry and your
business has changed since youstarted it in 2012 versus?
I mean, now we're recordingthis in 2024, at the end of 2024
.
So that's about 12 years.
And even in the past 35 yearssince Only Gems was started, how
has kind of the business andthe offering sort of progressed
(06:08):
along the way?
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, I mean you know , I've been in the business,
around the business at leastsince I was a little kid and
I've been working, so I'm in thebusiness since the late
nineties.
So I've been, I've been aroundthe business, I've seen a lot of
changes and I love the questionbecause I really feel like
there's two parts to it, right,there's one part where it's
changed so much.
There's another part where it'sthe same as it was, you know,
500 years ago or whatever.
There's still that.
(06:30):
You know the whole adornmentand you know things that are
coming from nature and wearingthings to celebrate life or to
celebrate your status or youknow whatever jewelry means to
you and it's one of the oldestprofessions in the world and,
and you know some of thosethings are still there.
And I think you know it'sfascinating our business.
A lot of it is still done onreputation and handshakes and
trust and and I love that about,about our industry.
(06:52):
That's one of the reasons thatyou know I came back into this
industry after working infinance for for a couple of
years, so there's all that.
But then in terms of change, Imean there's been so much change
since I started in the businesswith technology and softwares
and inventory management, andthen the advent of social media
and everything else.
So you have all the technologyadded into what we're already
(07:13):
doing.
I think our business the mostimportant thing is it's a very
emotional business.
Absolutely.
I think that you have theemotional side of it, then you
have the technology side of it.
You have the emotional side ofit, then you have, like, the
technology side of it and if youcan merge those together, as we
progress, as we get moretechnology and as we get social
media, we're able to tell thestories.
I think the stories that wetell about the pieces that we
make, why we design them or why,why the stone is special or why
(07:36):
it's rare, the more stories youcan tell about how things are
formed, you know, millions ofyears ago in the, the earth, and
we're just like custodians ofthem.
We're just finding them andthen figuring out how to get
them to the person they weremeant to be with and how, how
you know how to reflect that.
So it's like we're we'replaying a small part in it and
technology is just helping usevolve and be able to tell the
(07:57):
stories to a wider audience andmake people appreciate what we
do more.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Absolutely.
It's super cool to hear you saythat, because you know, one of
the things is like the effectsof technology, like you were
saying, in social media.
I mean that is one of the bestways that a lot of our jewelers
are selling their goods onlineis by trying to trigger that
emotional connection.
And one of the things that I'veincreasingly been hearing is
(08:21):
like higher, what is it?
Higher elevated centerstonesfor engagement rings are
becoming more popular, in partbecause people like to be able
to take photographs of them kindof protruding just a slightly,
a bit more, and it's one ofthose things.
Is that, does that make sense?
It's like, well, when you drawthe connections, it starts to
(08:42):
make more sense in your mind.
But you could maybe it's justfashion in the big kind of
overall kind of arch, buthearing what is actually the
cause behind something is alwayskind of one of those surprising
and interesting kind of detailsthat I've started to like.
And as a jewelry designer and,you know, as a as a manufacturer
(09:02):
yourself, are you kind oftrying to get ahead of the curve
?
Are you chasing these trends orjust doing your own thing,
regardless of what the trendsare?
Is that something you have tokind of pay attention to as a as
a jewelry designer?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, you always want to kindof see what's going on in the
world and see the trends and,and you know, see what's going
on, but I I really I reallydon't pay that much attention to
it.
I want to know what's going on,but in terms of what I'm doing
I don't pay so much attention.
I used to, I think, earlier inmy career, try and predict
things and try and move forwardthings and I realized that you
(09:36):
can't really do that, especiallyin what we do with colored
stones.
You don't know what is going tobe available.
When it's going to be available, all of a sudden you'll be able
and they'll hit a pocket andwe'll see some supply and then
it'll completely dry up.
So you know you can't reallyplan around what stones are
going to be available.
Early in my career I used totake all this data.
(09:57):
I thought I was like I did thisbig data class and watched like
Iron man and then Tony Starkand all this data.
You know, with all this dataand it's like you know, I'm
going to figure out exactly whatI sell and what price points
with what stones and what kindof designs, price points with
what stones and what kind ofdesigns.
And I did all this data andthen I followed it for the next
couple of years and it wascompletely off because it
completely changed.
You know, we're not sellingmillions of pieces, we're
selling one of a kind pieces andwe're selling one of a kind
(10:18):
things and and into, you know,in in smaller spaces.
So I I kind of kind of went backto I just want to find the most
beautiful gemstones.
I can create designs aroundthose gemstones and then the
rest will just happen.
So I don't try to think aboutit too much anymore.
I just try to, I just try to be.
You know, in my business ofcourse I'm looking at trends and
strategy overall, strategically.
(10:39):
But when I'm designing I'm notthinking about any of that.
I'm just trying to focus onthat specific stone and
acquiring the best gemstonesthat I'm designing around.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
You know, it's really quite interesting.
In my conversation withconversation with Ray, I was
asking are you a feels kind ofguy or are you an analytics kind
of guy?
And he was like oh, you know, Ilike to think I'm a feels guy,
but the analytics do kind ofhelp with validating and
allowing me to impact or act onthose feelings a little bit more
(11:08):
.
I guess wholeheartedly.
A little bit more, I guesswholeheartedly.
So you had mentioned that a lotof times you go with a center
stone or a stone in general, andthen you'll build something off
of that and you're working with, a lot of times, these one of a
kind stones like you know, justto pick one in particular,
opals.
Opals are so different fromstone to stone, I mean, they
(11:30):
almost have their ownpersonality.
Are you typically starting with, you know, a really select,
amazing stone and then buildingoh, this one feels like it
should be in a ring, or this onefeels like it should be in a
pendant.
Or do you do it in reverse,where you create a setting, you
know, for a two and a half caratstone of some sort, and then
(11:51):
you find the perfect thing tomatch it?
What's that creative processlike?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Yeah, no, it's absolutely about the stone and
you know we always talk abouteverything starts with stone.
So it's almost like you knowI'm a stylist or a you know some
type of a architect orsomething, where you got to go
in and you have to learn about,about the person and their
personality and what you knowwhat that is.
So same thing with stones.
Like, I want to see thatstone's personality, whether
it's very sparkly or whetherit's got this really rich color,
(12:20):
whether it needs more light orless light, whether it's better
in a warmer tone, gold or awhite metal, a platinum, cool,
and things like that.
So I'm always looking at whatis going to bring the
personality out of that stoneand what's going to make that
stone like really shine and liveits purpose.
So, yeah, everything isdefinitely like just all for
that stone.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Is, I guess.
Do you ever buy a stone andthen have to, like, I guess, sit
on it or hold it for, I guess,a long time until you decide
what to actually use it for?
Like, do you have like a like abacklog of pieces Cause as a?
As a painter, sometimes I dothat with frames because I don't
want to paint something andthen have to find the frame
(12:58):
later.
A lot of times I'll buy theseframes in bulk, but occasionally
I buy a frame where I'm justlike this thing is so fancy, so
special that I'm going to holdonto it.
And then I end up holding itfor like a year, two years,
three years, and it's like, okay, maybe I shouldn't have to move
this another house.
Like, let's actually use thisthing.
What's that like for?
(13:19):
For precious stones?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, no, I love that analogy.
It's definitely true.
There's stones that I'll buythat are really unique and
interesting stones.
I love things that are justmore unique and interesting in
colors that people haven't seenbefore in a sapphire or in any
other stones, but just uniquethings.
So sometimes I'll know withinlike a few minutes or a couple
days exactly what I want todesign.
(13:41):
But sometimes when it's areally unique stone or something
that is really special to me,then yeah, it's hard.
Then I start designing and thenI think I don't know if this is
worthy and then you kind ofkind of go in a different
direction and you know, then Igo with a different stone and
then some.
So sometimes, yeah, sometimes,there's certain stones that will
sit with me for two, three,four years, um, before I
actually do something with them,and other ones in 10 minutes,
you know yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So, man, and working on I mean, like you said you're,
everything you make is prettymuch one of a kind and it's a,
it's a one it's a piece of art.
But you also are selling B2Band then having these stores
then pass them on and they'rehearing the results from the end
consumer.
I'm sure that occasionally youreally have just a masterpiece
(14:25):
on your hands.
It's a hit.
You go, you sell it to whoever,just to say Ray, and he goes
and he sells it in one day.
And then what is thatconversation like then, from the
retailer to the artist in thiscase you where he might say that
was such a hit, I want two more, three more, ten more, just
(14:48):
like it because it's so good, 10more, just like it because it's
so good.
But I can see where you mightwant to be the artist and you
might want to say like, nah, man, that was a one of a kind thing
, I'm not doing it again.
Like I want to make newcreative things and stretch your
creative talent.
Is that like a push pull, or isI mean money's money?
It's like, hey, I'll sellwhatever's gonna, what's ever
gonna make it out the door.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Yeah, I mean, most of the time I would say it's not
that much of a challenge,because when we have a one of a
kind piece and you sell it tothat client and that was like
something that was meant forthat client, that client like
that, you know design aesthetic,that like that specific stone,
that specific color scheme, butif we see a trend of you know
certain certain colors andcertain metals and ways things
are coming together, then we'llmake other pieces similar to
that.
And you know, generally whenI'm buying and looking at
(15:36):
gemstones, sometimes I don't,sometimes I'll buy one stone
here or there.
But when I see a new productionof something like cobalt spinel
from Tanzania has beensomething last couple of years
I've been, I've been hot on whenI can find some, so I'll buy
those and I'll have a wholecollection of those.
So so I'll buy those and I'llhave a whole collection of those
.
So I'll build rings around acobalt spinel you know beautiful
, bright blue spinel, andthey'll all be a little
(15:56):
different but they will havesome similarities to them.
So it's kind of both.
But usually we won't remake likeexact rings and usually our
price points are a little higher, like I said, and it's
individual, you know it's madefor that individual person.
So we won't usually make theexact same exact same piece.
But it, you know, it depends on.
It, depends on the piece.
If it's a, you know, two caratround Sapphire and a very simple
(16:17):
ring, then yeah, then we can.
Of course we can reproduce thator something similar to it.
But if it's more of a ring thathas more of a design element,
to it, then we don't usuallyrepeat exactly the same thing
Interesting, wow.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
I Interesting, wow I can only imagine, because on the
one hand, I can see how youfigure out what the bread and
butter is and it's like you knowwhat I'm going to.
I'm going to run this thingback as many times as it takes,
and you know, if the retailersare happy, then that's great for
you.
But at the same time, if youare, you know, feeling like this
is a one of a kind moment andlike these are, you know, unique
and special.
I can only imagine how much ofa pull that's probably is on you
(16:55):
, because you do want to keeppushing forward and you don't
want to stay stagnant justrunning it back, because where's
the fun in?
Speaker 3 (17:01):
that Right, yeah, and also also one of the things
that that, um, that we talkabout is no compromise.
We don't want to compromise onthe quality of anything we do.
And so sometimes you make, youhave this beautiful stone and
you make this ring, even if it'snot, you know, a very expensive
one, but it's something veryunique and good quality.
And then if you have to makeanother one, then you have to
find that stone.
(17:21):
And when you go out to find astone it might not always be
that special, it might not havethat same quality.
So I don't want to compromiseon the quality just because we
have to make another piece thesame.
So that's why we try not to doit in that way.
If sometimes we'll get a parcel,we'll have, like, several
stones that are similar orsimilar sizes, similar quality,
then that can be different.
But I don't like to.
I don't like to drop thequality just to fill the order
(17:43):
of finding a stone or findingsomething that fits specific
things.
That's probably my biggestchallenge is I'm probably more
picky on the quality than mostof our clients would ever be.
So sometimes we lose businessor sales, or sometimes we don't
make certain things or docertain things because I'm more
picky on the quality than than Imaybe need to be, but that's
but.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
That's how I built a brand, so yeah, and I always
wonder, though, because thereare variations in these stones.
There are there's so muchvariation between, just inside,
even the same stone from oneruby to another, or even the
place of origin, or differentcuts are just slightly different
.
Is that something that you arelooking at?
(18:24):
Is that solved by buying, likeyou said, parcels and buying
them in a bunch together, butinevitably you'll probably have
one or two loose ones left?
Is that something that you'rekind of trying to solve ahead of
time Like I'm going to buy thisparcel of six emeralds and I'm
going to make a piece with allsix of the emeralds because they
(18:45):
all come from the same point oforigin or is that, like you
know, you can get away withhaving a couple of different
variations in there.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Yeah, definitely, Because usually they're all
going to be a little different.
And I do like buying, if we canlike more productions, but they
don't always have to be the samesize or shape, but just from
the same area, the same mind,like the same character.
And when I'm looking at thestones I'm really looking at the
quality of how do you say it,Like its internal qualities,
(19:18):
like the quality of the materialitself.
Because we can always repolishsomething, we can always recut
it into a different shape orimprove on the cutting.
So the cutting wise we canalways improve on and do
whatever we need to do, but theoriginal quality that it was
born with has to be there so tobe able to see that quality,
even if it's in an estate piece,even if it's a piece that's,
you know, comes back from themarket, or whether it's a newly
mined piece.
But it needs to have thatinherent quality.
(19:38):
And once it has that inherentquality, then we can unlock that
by recutting it into, like Isaid, recutting it to improve
the quality of the cutting oreven into a different shape.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Super interesting, naveed, I really appreciate
getting a chance to speak withyou.
We're going to take a quickbreak and we'll come back in
just one minute, and then I wantto ask you about your design
process.
So, everybody, stay with us.
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Speaker 1 (21:27):
And now back to the show.
And now back to the show.
All right, everybody stillspeaking with Naveed Nagpal,
with Omiprive.
Naveed, I wanted to ask youabout your design process.
It's something I'm veryinterested in.
I work as a designer andhearing how people make things
(21:50):
three-dimensionally is sofascinating to me, because I'm
always working in 2d, whetherit's for my job or working with
watercolors.
They're so um, there's a wholelike another dimension to it
when you're working in threedimension.
Uh, can you talk to me aboutthe design process that you guys
use?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
yeah, um, I mean most , most of the time, most of the
time, design process.
I, I see some stones and I'vebeen doing this long enough.
For once in a while I'll see astone and I know that, hey,
we've made a piece similar tothis before.
Let's make hard to do it.
Running a business day to day,I'm doing the buying, selling,
I'm doing the strategy, I'mdealing with all of it.
So sometimes it's hard to getthat, you know, creative process
(22:37):
solved.
So for me it's when everybodygoes home at the end of the day
and I take a, you know, take abreak and turn on some music and
kind of get in a different mode.
Then I'll sit on my, you know,go sit on our conference table
and I'll bring out a bunch ofgemstones and I'll, you know,
sometimes pour myself a glass oftequila or something, or you
know whatever.
I feel like that day, dependingon the music, depending on the
(22:57):
you know what I'm drinking, andI'll just sit on the table and
that's that's when I'll getcreative and it's kind of
getting into that mindset, youknow, away from the day-to-day
business into like a creativemode by doing that, and I'll
have two or three differentlight sources and different
color metal plates for thedifferent metals and I'll have
all the different stones spreadout on the table.
(23:19):
So one of the things we'rereally known for is how we mix
different colors together thatmost people wouldn't think of or
don't.
You know, you don't really seetoo much in jewelry and that's
really when that process happens.
Sometimes there's colors that Iknow will go good together, and
sometimes I just just kind ofhave them sitting on my desk and
I start, you know, setting themnext to each other on wow, this
(23:40):
, this, this looks really goodtogether.
I would have never thought ofthat, but, you know, sometimes
there's those inherentcharacteristics and unless
you're, like, really in the modeand, you know, focused on that,
on the creative aspect, youdon't see those things.
So so that's probably what Ienjoy the most and that's where
most of the magic happens, whenin our design process, that's
awesome.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
It's like a really adult expensive Legos.
That's super, super cool tohear.
Are you doing the and inrunning this gemstone business?
Speaker 3 (24:05):
And after that I just started designing some pieces
and kind of got that from myexperience and just from
(24:31):
learning, and so my designs arereally bad stick figures, if you
want to compare it to somethingthat most people don't
understand.
I'm sketching on paper, I'mwriting on top of a plastic box
with a Sharpie, just to get myideas down of what I want to do.
And then I'll sit down withNikki and we'll discuss some
things and I'll get with mymaster jeweler.
If it's a more intricate ornewer piece, I'll get with my
master jeweler to kind of seemore on the 3D side of things
(24:57):
what's happening there.
So we can use CAD as we gothrough to kind of adjust the
design.
But usually it's done in piecesand stages.
So when it's an intricate piece, then I'll sit down with the
master jewelers, sit down withNikki and we'll kind of go
through that process.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I love it.
That's super cool, reallyinteresting to hear.
I like hearing it from a lowertech standpoint.
Like you said, like theequivalent of doing stick
figures.
That's actually.
It's amazing how effective of adesign tool they are not
literally stick figures, but thefact.
Just putting it onto a piece ofpaper it conveys the idea so
(25:31):
much better than just, sometimes, words.
I think you have to havesomething on the paper to be
able to start editing from, butI guess I always wonder.
So you mentioned these colorcontrasts and, like you know
where the magic happens increating these things, if it was
me and I was sitting down, Iwould be designing what I call
showstoppers every single time.
(25:52):
You know a three carat center,um, and going up from there, you
know these pieces that are Idon't want to call them cocktail
rings, but they are these morelavish pieces, whereas but we
both know that that's not allrings and jewelry is there's
more standard pieces as well.
How, as a, as a business owner,how do you balance going for
(26:15):
these showstoppers but also thepieces that are more filling out
the catalog and are more youknow they're still beautiful,
but they are not leveragingmassive?
Speaker 3 (26:26):
um, you know, care account yeah, um, I mean, I
think it's a challengedefinitely, because I mean we're
talking about stones likeperibot, germaline or alexandra,
where even a one kick, you know, can get pretty pretty pricey
and that that will come intolike a you know one of a kind or
a special piece for someone.
And then there's some stonesthat can be really beautiful but
just aren't as expensive, theyaren't as rare, like, let's say,
(26:48):
an aquamarine, or certaintrimlines can still be beautiful
, and so size sometimes is notthe deciding factor, but it's
overall.
So I try and focus on differentprice points, different types
of designs, to try to always dosome more simple ones and some
more intricate ones, but reallyjust focusing on the stone and
the range and enough over thatrange.
(27:08):
But generally, generally it'stough for going underneath
because of the quality ofmanufacturing and the quality of
the materials that we use.
It's always a challenge to, toto be in the lower price points
(27:29):
and still make something.
That, I think, is what ourbrand is absolutely.
You know, there's a lot ofjewelry in the lower price
points that are that aremanufactured differently than
ours, so so I don't try tocompete in that space.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Yeah, I think that that ties in really nicely with.
Um, if you don't mind me asking, how are you finding your
retailers?
Because, like you mentioned, uh, average price point 25 K, um,
that is not a fit for mostretailers, you know, or every
retailer, and it can be.
Maybe it's difficult or arduousto find that good fit because,
(28:00):
at the same point, you know, orevery retailer and it can be,
maybe it's difficult or arduousto find that good fit because,
at the same point, you are, uh,I think you said LA based, right
, and being California, um, youknow that does offer a certain
type of clientele and folks thatmight be willing to look for it
.
Are you looking at jewelry, uh,jewelry stores in California
specifically, or do you go totrade shows and then advertise
(28:22):
as such?
Um, what is that process offinding clients like for you?
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Um, I mean, I think I think today, with technology
and social media, you're, youknow, you're always going to be
spread all over.
Um, we do some business in LAand some in California, but I
think we do just as much in theMidwest or the South, or
interesting, interesting, Ithink it's more.
You know, some stores have acertain aesthetic and a certain
type of clientele that mix withours.
Usually they're the, you know,family owned, larger stores that
(28:51):
have been around for a while,the guild type stores that have
a great reputation in theircommunity, and those tend to be
stores that get along with ourcultures and our values.
So we seem to do well in thoseareas.
So that's kind of what we lookfor.
But then, you know, we really,when I'm creating jewelry, we're
creating pieces that areone-of-a-kind, pieces, that are
for, you know, people that wantsomething that's different,
(29:13):
people that want somethingspecial, people that can
appreciate art and they'relooking at it is like
understated luxury, notnecessarily a big, loud brand or
, you know, with a big logo orpeople that are like that.
So, and I think every store hasthat client, whether it's one
or two or three or five, everystore has a handful of those
clients that like to own specialthings, that are collectors
(29:34):
that like one of a kind pieces.
So we still work with a lot ofother stores more than what just
carry our line.
The ones that carry our lineget first priority and get the
attention and service first.
But there's a lot of otherstores that have a handful of
clients that will have privateappointments with or censor
specific things out for them tosee and we've developed those
relationships over a while.
(29:54):
So the collector client at theend of the day is our real
client, is that consumer thatwants to collect things.
You never know what store it'sgoing to be from.
Sometimes it's a.
It's a very large store thathas a large clientele and
sometimes it's a small storethat has a few, a handful of
great collectors and we can dothe same business with both.
You know the same volume withboth of those types of stores.
It just depends on theirpersonality and their their
(30:15):
clientele man.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
It's a fascinating kind of situation to be in.
You know where you are, youknow B2B, but you also have to
keep an eye you know one eye onthe on the road and see, you
know what the consumer andconsumers are going to be, and
kind of balancing that act.
That's definitely prettydifficult.
So you it sounds like you havea mixture of retailers that
(30:37):
carry this line, that carriesyour line, and are more of like
a, a closer relationship, itsounds like, and something that
you have to kind of develop, andthere are some that are, um, I
guess, carrying just maybe oneor two or three pieces at the
same time.
Is that an accurate kind ofsummation?
Speaker 3 (30:55):
yeah, there's there's some stores that have multiple
clientele or larger client base.
So we support them with a lotof the marketing and a lot of
the outreach and and and um thethings I had to bring their
clients in and doing privateevents and and bringing things
in.
So we're constantly trying todevelop clientele for those
stores.
And then there's other storesthat they just have there with
two or three specific clienteleand we'll just work directly
with those.
(31:15):
You know, two or threeconsumers that they have.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Interesting.
So I guess, finally, just kindof putting a bow on this, and if
you want to talk about this,you definitely can for as long
as you want, but I would love tohear what the effects as a as a
vendor, of winning awards are.
So, for example, there are incertain spaces, certain
(31:40):
verticals, awards are the way toget to the top.
You know, the weirdest one thatI can think of is, for example,
beer brewing is like thequickest way to make it to the
top is you brew one beer and youwin a gold medal or an award or
something like that, and thensuddenly become a household name
and suddenly people trust youbecause you have been, I guess,
(32:03):
given, given the the nod.
Um, you guys recently won some,some awards for your jewelry and
I wanted to ask what theeffects are on your business.
Is that something that like,hey, if it comes, it comes.
You know, if we're going to win, keep what's more awards on our
shelves.
Um, is that something that youare like specifically targeting,
like, oh, we want more now, or,um, are the effects more or
(32:26):
less?
Hey, we'll, we'll do themarketing ourselves anyways yeah
, I think it's a great question.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
Um, I think winning winning jewelry awards depending
on on how the awards are judgedand what type of contest it is
could definitely be helpful fora number of reasons.
I'm more partial to the AGTASpectrum Awards because I grew
up AGTA is a colored stoneorganization, so with AGTA I
grew up around that and I usedto see when we only did stones.
(32:51):
I used to see some greatdesigners winning that award and
when I started designingjewelry I thought to myself that
would be amazing if I couldever win a Spectrum know, win a
spectrum award with something Idesigned and then, several years
ago, won a, won a first placeand a best use of platinum, and
that was that was reallygratifying to be recognized by
your peers because the judgesare your peers and being
recognized by your peers andcoming from a place of loving
(33:14):
the industry and loving colorstones, but not really being a
designer and learning aboutmanufacturing, learning about
designing and then being able tobe awarded a spectrum award is
great.
And then now I think I think itwas 27 awards or something like
that in the last few years, notincluding this year, the Agile.
So so it's pretty humbling andpretty amazing.
And I think, just on a personal,from a personal standpoint, you
(33:36):
know, that really validates allthe hard work I put in and
everything I've learned overtime and gives me the confidence
, gives me the confidence topush our jewelry line to new
levels always and not be afraidto innovate and not be afraid to
take chances in my design.
So the validation definitely isone.
And then when you show, youknow, when the consumer sees a
piece and they know it's won anaward, I think that definitely
(33:57):
adds, you know, definitely addssome value to it, knowing that
you know they feel moreconfident, that that wow, this,
you know this is a piece thatwas, that was supported by its
peers, it's a piece that hadcertain quality.
So I think that having that,you know, having that on there,
is definitely helpful as well.
Like you said, it kind ofvalidates.
It kind of validates who youare.
They may not have heard of ourbrand, but if they see the
awards that we've won, I thinkit does validate your brand a
(34:19):
little bit.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
I think I think you're right.
Yeah, especially with, like, Idon't want to say that you were,
you know, an outsider becauseobviously your, your family, had
started the business, and thatwith only gems.
But coming from what you hadmentioned finance and then
coming in and sort of puttingyour flag on the ground and
saying you know, hey, we're notjust here as like a, as a hobby,
(34:40):
or just for dealing stones, wealso make incredible jewelry.
Um, I can only imagine whatthat must feel like.
That sounds amazing.
Yeah, yeah, it's been a greatride, Awesome, navit.
Um, as we wrap this up, isthere a place that people can go
to if they want to learn moreabout Omiprive?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
We have our website, which isomeprevecom, and we were very
active on social media, soespecially on Instagram again at
omeprevecom, and you can jumpon there and be part of our
email list.
We're always sending out emailsof new pieces and, like I said,
we'd love to tell the storiesof where things came from and
how we design things and aboutthe stone, so we'd love to post
(35:18):
a lot about that.
So, yeah, we'd love to geteverybody on there and get
everyone's feedback.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Amazing.
Thank you so much.
It's really interesting hearingabout your jewelry line.
I really am fascinated by theartistry of it and you have
gorgeous, gorgeous pieces, so Ithink it was great getting a
chance to speak with you.
Thanks so much for listeningeverybody.
We'll be back next week Tuesdaywith another episode.
(36:08):
Cheers slash loop.
That's L-O-U-P-E.
Thanks.
We'll be back next week,tuesday with another episode
Cheers Bye, thank you.
Welcome back everybody to In the Loop.
What is up everybody?
My name is Michael Burpo.
Thanks again for listening toIn the Loop this week.
I'm joined by Navit Nagpal andhe's with Omi Prive, and if
you've never seen Omi Prive'swork, they have the most
incredible colored stone jewelry.
(00:21):
Every piece is one of a kindand truly unique, and he talks a
little bit about their origins,but also how they choose stones
for pieces and sometimes howthey have to hold on to certain
stones because they haven'tfound the perfect design
specifically for it, and alsowhat comes first the setting or
the stone.
It's a really cool conversationabout custom jewelry and about
(00:44):
the creative process.
I really enjoyed it and ifyou're interested in learning
more about Omiprive, you can goto their website.
It's O-M-I-P-R-I-V-Ecom.
Thanks, enjoy the show.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
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Slash go.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
And now back to the show.
Welcome back everybody.
I'm joined by Naveet Nagpal andhe's with Omi Prive.
How are you doing today, naveet?
Pretty good.
Michael, great to be here.
Yeah, so exciting.
I mean, this is kind of thecontinuation of my interview
(02:15):
with Ray Lance from the DiamondCenter.
He mentioned that you're one ofthe vendors that he works with
closest and that it's reallycool how he's been able to build
a little bit of a connection.
You guys are based out of thesame area.
I was wondering if you couldtalk to me a little bit about
Omi Prive and kind of whatyou're doing there.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, Omi Prive is a jewelry brand that we launched
in 2012.
My parents started a businesscalled Omi Gems and Omi is my
father's name, so Omi Gems.
He built a great reputation,you know, in the colored
gemstone community, providingcolored gemstones to the trade.
And, as you know, businessevolved and things changed and
we kind of organically grew intoa space where we needed to
(02:58):
create jewelry.
So I launched Omi Fae in 2012.
And so we still do quite a bitof loose colored gemstones and
the main business now is OmiPreve, which is finished goods.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah, and you had mentioned on your website, at
least I was reading about.
They started the business 35years ago and they were based
out of Burma and they wereprimarily rubies and you guys
have since kind of made thedecision to go to many different
types of gemstones.
Was that something that you had, that they made that decision,
or was getting into loosegemstones?
(03:31):
Is that sort of the naturalprogression for a business?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, I mean I think the mining rubies in Burma was
early 1900s.
That was my mom's side of thefamily and so you know that
naturally progressed and youknow, went through world wars
and changing countries and andmaking money and losing
everything and starting overagain, and so there was a lot of
you know incarnations of that,of that business.
But my father actually didn'tknow anything about gemstones
(03:55):
until he was almost 40 years oldand my mom knew more about
gemstones being around thefamily business at some points
in her life, so she had someknowledge of gemstones when they
started in the industry andthen in 1985, then they started
Omi Gems, which was primarilycolored gemstones, mainly
focused on ruby, sapphire, butpretty quickly after that they
introduced emeralds and a lot ofthe other birthstones and sold
(04:18):
to a lot of differentmanufacturers and designers.
And that's pretty much how theygot their business started when
a lot of manufacturing wasstill done domestically.
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And so they were Omi Gems, and now you're Omi Pruve.
Can I ask, what does Pruve mean?
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Well, since we still have Omi Gems, it's still the
head company.
Oh, I didn't see.
We went through and thought ifwe're going to have a jewelry
brand, we wanted it to stillrepresent our heritage and where
we came from and the businessmy parents started.
And so we just went through,you know, a bunch of different
names and when we came back withthe consulting companies, omi
still came up to a name thatjust is a positive uh is a
(04:55):
positive name and a positiveword in a lot of different
cultures and languages.
So you know, we decided tostick with omi and stick with
that heritage.
And then prive means private infrench, so it's more like
exclusive a bit.
So you know we wanted to createsomething that was higher end,
manufactured in los angeles, youknow, only available in
specific places where they couldreally understand the
craftsmanship and the quality ofwhat we were doing.
(05:17):
So we wanted to be a little bitmore, a little bit more
exclusive and a little bit morekind of like understated luxury.
So that's kind of where wherethe Preve came in.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Oh, very interesting.
So I guess I'm alwaysinterested in the progression of
the jewelry industry.
I think that increasingly thejewelry industry is like picking
up steam and what it is now isvery different than what even I
joined in, you know, about sevenand a half years ago, and even
you know 10, 20, 30, everysingle year they're having their
(05:45):
own spin on what's going on.
Are you able to kind of talkabout how the industry and your
business has changed since youstarted it in 2012 versus?
I mean, now we're recordingthis in 2024, at the end of 2024
.
So that's about 12 years.
And even in the past 35 yearssince Only Gems was started, how
has kind of the business andthe offering sort of progressed
(06:08):
along the way?
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, I mean you know , I've been in the business,
around the business at leastsince I was a little kid and
I've been working, so I'm in thebusiness since the late
nineties.
So I've been, I've been aroundthe business, I've seen a lot of
changes and I love the questionbecause I really feel like
there's two parts to it, right,there's one part where it's
changed so much.
There's another part where it'sthe same as it was, you know,
500 years ago or whatever.
There's still that.
(06:30):
You know the whole adornmentand you know things that are
coming from nature and wearingthings to celebrate life or to
celebrate your status or youknow whatever jewelry means to
you and it's one of the oldestprofessions in the world and,
and you know some of thosethings are still there.
And I think you know it'sfascinating our business.
A lot of it is still done onreputation and handshakes and
trust and and I love that about,about our industry.
(06:52):
That's one of the reasons thatyou know I came back into this
industry after working infinance for for a couple of
years, so there's all that.
But then in terms of change, Imean there's been so much change
since I started in the businesswith technology and softwares
and inventory management, andthen the advent of social media
and everything else.
So you have all the technologyadded into what we're already
(07:13):
doing.
I think our business the mostimportant thing is it's a very
emotional business.
Absolutely.
I think that you have theemotional side of it, then you
have the technology side of it.
You have the emotional side ofit, then you have, like, the
technology side of it and if youcan merge those together, as we
progress, as we get moretechnology and as we get social
media, we're able to tell thestories.
I think the stories that wetell about the pieces that we
make, why we design them or why,why the stone is special or why
(07:36):
it's rare, the more stories youcan tell about how things are
formed, you know, millions ofyears ago in the, the earth, and
we're just like custodians ofthem.
We're just finding them andthen figuring out how to get
them to the person they weremeant to be with and how, how
you know how to reflect that.
So it's like we're we'replaying a small part in it and
technology is just helping usevolve and be able to tell the
(07:57):
stories to a wider audience andmake people appreciate what we
do more.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Absolutely.
It's super cool to hear you saythat, because you know, one of
the things is like the effectsof technology, like you were
saying, in social media.
I mean that is one of the bestways that a lot of our jewelers
are selling their goods onlineis by trying to trigger that
emotional connection.
And one of the things that I'veincreasingly been hearing is
(08:21):
like higher, what is it?
Higher elevated centerstonesfor engagement rings are
becoming more popular, in partbecause people like to be able
to take photographs of them kindof protruding just a slightly,
a bit more, and it's one ofthose things.
Is that, does that make sense?
It's like, well, when you drawthe connections, it starts to
(08:42):
make more sense in your mind.
But you could maybe it's justfashion in the big kind of
overall kind of arch, buthearing what is actually the
cause behind something is alwayskind of one of those surprising
and interesting kind of detailsthat I've started to like.
And as a jewelry designer and,you know, as a as a manufacturer
(09:02):
yourself, are you kind oftrying to get ahead of the curve
?
Are you chasing these trends orjust doing your own thing,
regardless of what the trendsare?
Is that something you have tokind of pay attention to as a as
a jewelry designer?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, you always want to kindof see what's going on in the
world and see the trends and,and you know, see what's going
on, but I I really I reallydon't pay that much attention to
it.
I want to know what's going on,but in terms of what I'm doing
I don't pay so much attention.
I used to, I think, earlier inmy career, try and predict
things and try and move forwardthings and I realized that you
(09:36):
can't really do that, especiallyin what we do with colored
stones.
You don't know what is going tobe available.
When it's going to be available, all of a sudden you'll be able
and they'll hit a pocket andwe'll see some supply and then
it'll completely dry up.
So you know you can't reallyplan around what stones are
going to be available.
Early in my career I used totake all this data.
(09:57):
I thought I was like I did thisbig data class and watched like
Iron man and then Tony Starkand all this data.
You know, with all this dataand it's like you know, I'm
going to figure out exactly whatI sell and what price points
with what stones and what kindof designs, price points with
what stones and what kind ofdesigns.
And I did all this data andthen I followed it for the next
couple of years and it wascompletely off because it
completely changed.
You know, we're not sellingmillions of pieces, we're
selling one of a kind pieces andwe're selling one of a kind
(10:18):
things and and into, you know,in in smaller spaces.
So I I kind of kind of went backto I just want to find the most
beautiful gemstones.
I can create designs aroundthose gemstones and then the
rest will just happen.
So I don't try to think aboutit too much anymore.
I just try to, I just try to be.
You know, in my business ofcourse I'm looking at trends and
strategy overall, strategically.
(10:39):
But when I'm designing I'm notthinking about any of that.
I'm just trying to focus onthat specific stone and
acquiring the best gemstonesthat I'm designing around.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
You know, it's really quite interesting.
In my conversation withconversation with Ray, I was
asking are you a feels kind ofguy or are you an analytics kind
of guy?
And he was like oh, you know, Ilike to think I'm a feels guy,
but the analytics do kind ofhelp with validating and
allowing me to impact or act onthose feelings a little bit more
(11:08):
.
I guess wholeheartedly.
A little bit more, I guesswholeheartedly.
So you had mentioned that a lotof times you go with a center
stone or a stone in general, andthen you'll build something off
of that and you're working with, a lot of times, these one of a
kind stones like you know, justto pick one in particular,
opals.
Opals are so different fromstone to stone, I mean, they
(11:30):
almost have their ownpersonality.
Are you typically starting with, you know, a really select,
amazing stone and then buildingoh, this one feels like it
should be in a ring, or this onefeels like it should be in a
pendant.
Or do you do it in reverse,where you create a setting, you
know, for a two and a half caratstone of some sort, and then
(11:51):
you find the perfect thing tomatch it?
What's that creative processlike?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Yeah, no, it's absolutely about the stone and
you know we always talk abouteverything starts with stone.
So it's almost like you knowI'm a stylist or a you know some
type of a architect orsomething, where you got to go
in and you have to learn about,about the person and their
personality and what you knowwhat that is.
So same thing with stones.
Like, I want to see thatstone's personality, whether
it's very sparkly or whetherit's got this really rich color,
(12:20):
whether it needs more light orless light, whether it's better
in a warmer tone, gold or awhite metal, a platinum, cool,
and things like that.
So I'm always looking at whatis going to bring the
personality out of that stoneand what's going to make that
stone like really shine and liveits purpose.
So, yeah, everything isdefinitely like just all for
that stone.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Is, I guess.
Do you ever buy a stone andthen have to, like, I guess, sit
on it or hold it for, I guess,a long time until you decide
what to actually use it for?
Like, do you have like a like abacklog of pieces Cause as a?
As a painter, sometimes I dothat with frames because I don't
want to paint something andthen have to find the frame
(12:58):
later.
A lot of times I'll buy theseframes in bulk, but occasionally
I buy a frame where I'm justlike this thing is so fancy, so
special that I'm going to holdonto it.
And then I end up holding itfor like a year, two years,
three years, and it's like, okay, maybe I shouldn't have to move
this another house.
Like, let's actually use thisthing.
What's that like for?
(13:19):
For precious stones?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, no, I love that analogy.
It's definitely true.
There's stones that I'll buythat are really unique and
interesting stones.
I love things that are justmore unique and interesting in
colors that people haven't seenbefore in a sapphire or in any
other stones, but just uniquethings.
So sometimes I'll know withinlike a few minutes or a couple
days exactly what I want todesign.
(13:41):
But sometimes when it's areally unique stone or something
that is really special to me,then yeah, it's hard.
Then I start designing and thenI think I don't know if this is
worthy and then you kind ofkind of go in a different
direction and you know, then Igo with a different stone and
then some.
So sometimes, yeah, sometimes,there's certain stones that will
sit with me for two, three,four years, um, before I
actually do something with them,and other ones in 10 minutes,
you know yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So, man, and working on I mean, like you said you're,
everything you make is prettymuch one of a kind and it's a,
it's a one it's a piece of art.
But you also are selling B2Band then having these stores
then pass them on and they'rehearing the results from the end
consumer.
I'm sure that occasionally youreally have just a masterpiece
(14:25):
on your hands.
It's a hit.
You go, you sell it to whoever,just to say Ray, and he goes
and he sells it in one day.
And then what is thatconversation like then, from the
retailer to the artist in thiscase you where he might say that
was such a hit, I want two more, three more, ten more, just
(14:48):
like it because it's so good, 10more, just like it because it's
so good.
But I can see where you mightwant to be the artist and you
might want to say like, nah, man, that was a one of a kind thing
, I'm not doing it again.
Like I want to make newcreative things and stretch your
creative talent.
Is that like a push pull, or isI mean money's money?
It's like, hey, I'll sellwhatever's gonna, what's ever
gonna make it out the door.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Yeah, I mean, most of the time I would say it's not
that much of a challenge,because when we have a one of a
kind piece and you sell it tothat client and that was like
something that was meant forthat client, that client like
that, you know design aesthetic,that like that specific stone,
that specific color scheme, butif we see a trend of you know
certain certain colors andcertain metals and ways things
are coming together, then we'llmake other pieces similar to
that.
And you know, generally whenI'm buying and looking at
(15:36):
gemstones, sometimes I don't,sometimes I'll buy one stone
here or there.
But when I see a new productionof something like cobalt spinel
from Tanzania has beensomething last couple of years
I've been, I've been hot on whenI can find some, so I'll buy
those and I'll have a wholecollection of those.
So so I'll buy those and I'llhave a whole collection of those
.
So I'll build rings around acobalt spinel you know beautiful
, bright blue spinel, andthey'll all be a little
(15:56):
different but they will havesome similarities to them.
So it's kind of both.
But usually we won't remake likeexact rings and usually our
price points are a little higher, like I said, and it's
individual, you know it's madefor that individual person.
So we won't usually make theexact same exact same piece.
But it, you know, it depends on.
It, depends on the piece.
If it's a, you know, two caratround Sapphire and a very simple
(16:17):
ring, then yeah, then we can.
Of course we can reproduce thator something similar to it.
But if it's more of a ring thathas more of a design element,
to it, then we don't usuallyrepeat exactly the same thing
Interesting, wow.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
I Interesting, wow I can only imagine, because on the
one hand, I can see how youfigure out what the bread and
butter is and it's like you knowwhat I'm going to.
I'm going to run this thingback as many times as it takes,
and you know, if the retailersare happy, then that's great for
you.
But at the same time, if youare, you know, feeling like this
is a one of a kind moment andlike these are, you know, unique
and special.
I can only imagine how much ofa pull that's probably is on you
(16:55):
, because you do want to keeppushing forward and you don't
want to stay stagnant justrunning it back, because where's
the fun in?
Speaker 3 (17:01):
that Right, yeah, and also also one of the things
that that, um, that we talkabout is no compromise.
We don't want to compromise onthe quality of anything we do.
And so sometimes you make, youhave this beautiful stone and
you make this ring, even if it'snot, you know, a very expensive
one, but it's something veryunique and good quality.
And then if you have to makeanother one, then you have to
find that stone.
(17:21):
And when you go out to find astone it might not always be
that special, it might not havethat same quality.
So I don't want to compromiseon the quality just because we
have to make another piece thesame.
So that's why we try not to doit in that way.
If sometimes we'll get a parcel,we'll have, like, several
stones that are similar orsimilar sizes, similar quality,
then that can be different.
But I don't like to.
I don't like to drop thequality just to fill the order
(17:43):
of finding a stone or findingsomething that fits specific
things.
That's probably my biggestchallenge is I'm probably more
picky on the quality than mostof our clients would ever be.
So sometimes we lose businessor sales, or sometimes we don't
make certain things or docertain things because I'm more
picky on the quality than than Imaybe need to be, but that's
but.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
That's how I built a brand, so yeah, and I always
wonder, though, because thereare variations in these stones.
There are there's so muchvariation between, just inside,
even the same stone from oneruby to another, or even the
place of origin, or differentcuts are just slightly different
.
Is that something that you arelooking at?
(18:24):
Is that solved by buying, likeyou said, parcels and buying
them in a bunch together, butinevitably you'll probably have
one or two loose ones left?
Is that something that you'rekind of trying to solve ahead of
time Like I'm going to buy thisparcel of six emeralds and I'm
going to make a piece with allsix of the emeralds because they
(18:45):
all come from the same point oforigin or is that, like you
know, you can get away withhaving a couple of different
variations in there.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Yeah, definitely, Because usually they're all
going to be a little different.
And I do like buying, if we canlike more productions, but they
don't always have to be the samesize or shape, but just from
the same area, the same mind,like the same character.
And when I'm looking at thestones I'm really looking at the
quality of how do you say it,Like its internal qualities,
(19:18):
like the quality of the materialitself.
Because we can always repolishsomething, we can always recut
it into a different shape orimprove on the cutting.
So the cutting wise we canalways improve on and do
whatever we need to do, but theoriginal quality that it was
born with has to be there so tobe able to see that quality,
even if it's in an estate piece,even if it's a piece that's,
you know, comes back from themarket, or whether it's a newly
mined piece.
But it needs to have thatinherent quality.
(19:38):
And once it has that inherentquality, then we can unlock that
by recutting it into, like Isaid, recutting it to improve
the quality of the cutting oreven into a different shape.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Super interesting, naveed, I really appreciate
getting a chance to speak withyou.
We're going to take a quickbreak and we'll come back in
just one minute, and then I wantto ask you about your design
process.
So, everybody, stay with us.
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Speaker 1 (21:27):
And now back to the show.
And now back to the show.
All right, everybody stillspeaking with Naveed Nagpal,
with Omiprive.
Naveed, I wanted to ask youabout your design process.
It's something I'm veryinterested in.
I work as a designer andhearing how people make things
(21:50):
three-dimensionally is sofascinating to me, because I'm
always working in 2d, whetherit's for my job or working with
watercolors.
They're so um, there's a wholelike another dimension to it
when you're working in threedimension.
Uh, can you talk to me aboutthe design process that you guys
use?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
yeah, um, I mean most , most of the time, most of the
time, design process.
I, I see some stones and I'vebeen doing this long enough.
For once in a while I'll see astone and I know that, hey,
we've made a piece similar tothis before.
Let's make hard to do it.
Running a business day to day,I'm doing the buying, selling,
I'm doing the strategy, I'mdealing with all of it.
So sometimes it's hard to getthat, you know, creative process
(22:37):
solved.
So for me it's when everybodygoes home at the end of the day
and I take a, you know, take abreak and turn on some music and
kind of get in a different mode.
Then I'll sit on my, you know,go sit on our conference table
and I'll bring out a bunch ofgemstones and I'll, you know,
sometimes pour myself a glass oftequila or something, or you
know whatever.
I feel like that day, dependingon the music, depending on the
(22:57):
you know what I'm drinking, andI'll just sit on the table and
that's that's when I'll getcreative and it's kind of
getting into that mindset, youknow, away from the day-to-day
business into like a creativemode by doing that, and I'll
have two or three differentlight sources and different
color metal plates for thedifferent metals and I'll have
all the different stones spreadout on the table.
(23:19):
So one of the things we'rereally known for is how we mix
different colors together thatmost people wouldn't think of or
don't.
You know, you don't really seetoo much in jewelry and that's
really when that process happens.
Sometimes there's colors that Iknow will go good together, and
sometimes I just just kind ofhave them sitting on my desk and
I start, you know, setting themnext to each other on wow, this
(23:40):
, this, this looks really goodtogether.
I would have never thought ofthat, but, you know, sometimes
there's those inherentcharacteristics and unless
you're, like, really in the modeand, you know, focused on that,
on the creative aspect, youdon't see those things.
So so that's probably what Ienjoy the most and that's where
most of the magic happens, whenin our design process, that's
awesome.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
It's like a really adult expensive Legos.
That's super, super cool tohear.
Are you doing the and inrunning this gemstone business?
Speaker 3 (24:05):
And after that I just started designing some pieces
and kind of got that from myexperience and just from
(24:31):
learning, and so my designs arereally bad stick figures, if you
want to compare it to somethingthat most people don't
understand.
I'm sketching on paper, I'mwriting on top of a plastic box
with a Sharpie, just to get myideas down of what I want to do.
And then I'll sit down withNikki and we'll discuss some
things and I'll get with mymaster jeweler.
If it's a more intricate ornewer piece, I'll get with my
master jeweler to kind of seemore on the 3D side of things
(24:57):
what's happening there.
So we can use CAD as we gothrough to kind of adjust the
design.
But usually it's done in piecesand stages.
So when it's an intricate piece, then I'll sit down with the
master jewelers, sit down withNikki and we'll kind of go
through that process.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I love it.
That's super cool, reallyinteresting to hear.
I like hearing it from a lowertech standpoint.
Like you said, like theequivalent of doing stick
figures.
That's actually.
It's amazing how effective of adesign tool they are not
literally stick figures, but thefact.
Just putting it onto a piece ofpaper it conveys the idea so
(25:31):
much better than just, sometimes, words.
I think you have to havesomething on the paper to be
able to start editing from, butI guess I always wonder.
So you mentioned these colorcontrasts and, like you know
where the magic happens increating these things, if it was
me and I was sitting down, Iwould be designing what I call
showstoppers every single time.
(25:52):
You know a three carat center,um, and going up from there, you
know these pieces that are Idon't want to call them cocktail
rings, but they are these morelavish pieces, whereas but we
both know that that's not allrings and jewelry is there's
more standard pieces as well.
How, as a, as a business owner,how do you balance going for
(26:15):
these showstoppers but also thepieces that are more filling out
the catalog and are more youknow they're still beautiful,
but they are not leveragingmassive?
Speaker 3 (26:26):
um, you know, care account yeah, um, I mean, I
think it's a challengedefinitely, because I mean we're
talking about stones likeperibot, germaline or alexandra,
where even a one kick, you know, can get pretty pretty pricey
and that that will come intolike a you know one of a kind or
a special piece for someone.
And then there's some stonesthat can be really beautiful but
just aren't as expensive, theyaren't as rare, like, let's say,
(26:48):
an aquamarine, or certaintrimlines can still be beautiful
, and so size sometimes is notthe deciding factor, but it's
overall.
So I try and focus on differentprice points, different types
of designs, to try to always dosome more simple ones and some
more intricate ones, but reallyjust focusing on the stone and
the range and enough over thatrange.
(27:08):
But generally, generally it'stough for going underneath
because of the quality ofmanufacturing and the quality of
the materials that we use.
It's always a challenge to, toto be in the lower price points
(27:29):
and still make something.
That, I think, is what ourbrand is absolutely.
You know, there's a lot ofjewelry in the lower price
points that are that aremanufactured differently than
ours, so so I don't try tocompete in that space.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Yeah, I think that that ties in really nicely with.
Um, if you don't mind me asking, how are you finding your
retailers?
Because, like you mentioned, uh, average price point 25 K, um,
that is not a fit for mostretailers, you know, or every
retailer, and it can be.
Maybe it's difficult or arduousto find that good fit because,
(28:00):
at the same point, you know, orevery retailer and it can be,
maybe it's difficult or arduousto find that good fit because,
at the same point, you are, uh,I think you said LA based, right
, and being California, um, youknow that does offer a certain
type of clientele and folks thatmight be willing to look for it
.
Are you looking at jewelry, uh,jewelry stores in California
specifically, or do you go totrade shows and then advertise
(28:22):
as such?
Um, what is that process offinding clients like for you?
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Um, I mean, I think I think today, with technology
and social media, you're, youknow, you're always going to be
spread all over.
Um, we do some business in LAand some in California, but I
think we do just as much in theMidwest or the South, or
interesting, interesting, Ithink it's more.
You know, some stores have acertain aesthetic and a certain
type of clientele that mix withours.
Usually they're the, you know,family owned, larger stores that
(28:51):
have been around for a while,the guild type stores that have
a great reputation in theircommunity, and those tend to be
stores that get along with ourcultures and our values.
So we seem to do well in thoseareas.
So that's kind of what we lookfor.
But then, you know, we really,when I'm creating jewelry, we're
creating pieces that areone-of-a-kind, pieces, that are
for, you know, people that wantsomething that's different,
(29:13):
people that want somethingspecial, people that can
appreciate art and they'relooking at it is like
understated luxury, notnecessarily a big, loud brand or
, you know, with a big logo orpeople that are like that.
So, and I think every store hasthat client, whether it's one
or two or three or five, everystore has a handful of those
clients that like to own specialthings, that are collectors
(29:34):
that like one of a kind pieces.
So we still work with a lot ofother stores more than what just
carry our line.
The ones that carry our lineget first priority and get the
attention and service first.
But there's a lot of otherstores that have a handful of
clients that will have privateappointments with or censor
specific things out for them tosee and we've developed those
relationships over a while.
(29:54):
So the collector client at theend of the day is our real
client, is that consumer thatwants to collect things.
You never know what store it'sgoing to be from.
Sometimes it's a.
It's a very large store thathas a large clientele and
sometimes it's a small storethat has a few, a handful of
great collectors and we can dothe same business with both.
You know the same volume withboth of those types of stores.
It just depends on theirpersonality and their their
(30:15):
clientele man.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
It's a fascinating kind of situation to be in.
You know where you are, youknow B2B, but you also have to
keep an eye you know one eye onthe on the road and see, you
know what the consumer andconsumers are going to be, and
kind of balancing that act.
That's definitely prettydifficult.
So you it sounds like you havea mixture of retailers that
(30:37):
carry this line, that carriesyour line, and are more of like
a, a closer relationship, itsounds like, and something that
you have to kind of develop, andthere are some that are, um, I
guess, carrying just maybe oneor two or three pieces at the
same time.
Is that an accurate kind ofsummation?
Speaker 3 (30:55):
yeah, there's there's some stores that have multiple
clientele or larger client base.
So we support them with a lotof the marketing and a lot of
the outreach and and and um thethings I had to bring their
clients in and doing privateevents and and bringing things
in.
So we're constantly trying todevelop clientele for those
stores.
And then there's other storesthat they just have there with
two or three specific clienteleand we'll just work directly
with those.
(31:15):
You know, two or threeconsumers that they have.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Interesting.
So I guess, finally, just kindof putting a bow on this, and if
you want to talk about this,you definitely can for as long
as you want, but I would love tohear what the effects as a as a
vendor, of winning awards are.
So, for example, there are incertain spaces, certain
(31:40):
verticals, awards are the way toget to the top.
You know, the weirdest one thatI can think of is, for example,
beer brewing is like thequickest way to make it to the
top is you brew one beer and youwin a gold medal or an award or
something like that, and thensuddenly become a household name
and suddenly people trust youbecause you have been, I guess,
(32:03):
given, given the the nod.
Um, you guys recently won some,some awards for your jewelry and
I wanted to ask what theeffects are on your business.
Is that something that like,hey, if it comes, it comes.
You know, if we're going to win, keep what's more awards on our
shelves.
Um, is that something that youare like specifically targeting,
like, oh, we want more now, or,um, are the effects more or
(32:26):
less?
Hey, we'll, we'll do themarketing ourselves anyways yeah
, I think it's a great question.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
Um, I think winning winning jewelry awards depending
on on how the awards are judgedand what type of contest it is
could definitely be helpful fora number of reasons.
I'm more partial to the AGTASpectrum Awards because I grew
up AGTA is a colored stoneorganization, so with AGTA I
grew up around that and I usedto see when we only did stones.
(32:51):
I used to see some greatdesigners winning that award and
when I started designingjewelry I thought to myself that
would be amazing if I couldever win a Spectrum know, win a
spectrum award with something Idesigned and then, several years
ago, won a, won a first placeand a best use of platinum, and
that was that was reallygratifying to be recognized by
your peers because the judgesare your peers and being
recognized by your peers andcoming from a place of loving
(33:14):
the industry and loving colorstones, but not really being a
designer and learning aboutmanufacturing, learning about
designing and then being able tobe awarded a spectrum award is
great.
And then now I think I think itwas 27 awards or something like
that in the last few years, notincluding this year, the Agile.
So so it's pretty humbling andpretty amazing.
And I think, just on a personal,from a personal standpoint, you
(33:36):
know, that really validates allthe hard work I put in and
everything I've learned overtime and gives me the confidence
, gives me the confidence topush our jewelry line to new
levels always and not be afraidto innovate and not be afraid to
take chances in my design.
So the validation definitely isone.
And then when you show, youknow, when the consumer sees a
piece and they know it's won anaward, I think that definitely
(33:57):
adds, you know, definitely addssome value to it, knowing that
you know they feel moreconfident, that that wow, this,
you know this is a piece thatwas, that was supported by its
peers, it's a piece that hadcertain quality.
So I think that having that,you know, having that on there,
is definitely helpful as well.
Like you said, it kind ofvalidates.
It kind of validates who youare.
They may not have heard of ourbrand, but if they see the
awards that we've won, I thinkit does validate your brand a
(34:19):
little bit.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
I think I think you're right.
Yeah, especially with, like, Idon't want to say that you were,
you know, an outsider becauseobviously your, your family, had
started the business, and thatwith only gems.
But coming from what you hadmentioned finance and then
coming in and sort of puttingyour flag on the ground and
saying you know, hey, we're notjust here as like a, as a hobby,
(34:40):
or just for dealing stones, wealso make incredible jewelry.
Um, I can only imagine whatthat must feel like.
That sounds amazing.
Yeah, yeah, it's been a greatride, Awesome, navit.
Um, as we wrap this up, isthere a place that people can go
to if they want to learn moreabout Omiprive?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
We have our website, which isomeprevecom, and we were very
active on social media, soespecially on Instagram again at
omeprevecom, and you can jumpon there and be part of our
email list.
We're always sending out emailsof new pieces and, like I said,
we'd love to tell the storiesof where things came from and
how we design things and aboutthe stone, so we'd love to post
(35:18):
a lot about that.
So, yeah, we'd love to geteverybody on there and get
everyone's feedback.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Amazing.
Thank you so much.
It's really interesting hearingabout your jewelry line.
I really am fascinated by theartistry of it and you have
gorgeous, gorgeous pieces, so Ithink it was great getting a
chance to speak with you.
Thanks so much for listeningeverybody.
We'll be back next week Tuesdaywith another episode.
(36:08):
Cheers slash loop.
That's L-O-U-P-E.
Thanks.
We'll be back next week,tuesday with another episode
Cheers Bye, thank you.
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