Melissa Dusenberry talks about the engaging e-commerce site she created to educate jewelry consumers and boost women designers.
With jewelry collectors spending more time online, researching and buying pieces they’ve fallen in love with, the importance of educating consumers has never been greater. New York-based Melissa Dusenberry founded All the Brilliants when she realized there was a clear need to empower buyers to make informed choices.
“I want to really help people understand what it is they’re buying — and not just the value of gemstones and why they’re so expensive in some cases, but also what are good alternatives,” she says. “Why is one design a little bit more worth investing in than another? What are the sort of technical things besides someone’s intellectual property or their design aesthetic? What is it that really makes this particular piece of jewelry expensive versus another one that’s a quarter of the price?”
Dusenberry describes her engaging and informative sales platform as an “e-commerce community of women who create thoughtfully designed jewelry.” Celebrating and supporting women designers who are working with responsibly sourced materials and gemstones is one of her key missions. The jewelers with whom she works include Debra Navarro, Kristin Hanson, Benedetta Dubini of Dubini Jewellery, and Margherita Burgener.
“I think these are women who are worth investing in, and they are worth celebrating because they’re creating positive change in the world,” says the All the Brilliants creative director.
The website features articles such as “The Skinny on Gemstones” series, where consumers can find information about a particular gem and its value. They can then purchase the stones from All the Brilliants. Dusenberry has also worked with Philadelphia-based gemologist Adrianne Sanogo on educational videos dissecting what “sustainable,” “ethical” and “eco” actually mean.
What are the most frequent myths you need to debunk?
I think one thing is the idea of people not really understanding that if you like ruby, for example, there are a lot of other options. You have garnet, tourmaline, spinel. I think a lot of people don’t understand what inclusions really mean. And they say, “I know they’re bad,” or, “I know I’m supposed to buy a gemstone that is from a certain country.” If you start saying, “I only want an unheated gemstone,” “I don’t want any inclusion,” you’re limiting yourself. There are all of these other really beautiful things that sometimes are incredibly beautiful because of those inclusions.
How do you approach the issue of sustainability?
Adrianne Sanogo and I did a series on what sustainability really means for jewelry. We went through each kind of concept, whether it’s lab-grown, artisanal mining, recycled gemstones or heirloom gemstones. We outlined what they really mean, [distinguishing] the claim from the fact and [clarifying] how to make the most informed decision on what, in essence, is your value system.
It’s about transparency, but it’s also — and I think this is more important — helping people to understand…not only what their jewelry ingredients are, but maybe who mined them and how, what the economic and human impact is, and also the environmental impacts. One of the things that really strikes me is that people oftentimes want to be eco, and therefore they choose laboratory-grown gemstones. And I don’t feel that’s really the full story. I feel there is not enough data that says lab-grown is any more or less harmful to the environment, that their carbon footprint is better or worse than natural mined gemstones. And in some cases, it’s actually not the ethical choice, because you’re then taking away opportunities from these people who live in remote pockets of the world where this is maybe the only opportunity they have to have a thriving community. The point is not to say one is bad and one is good. What I’m trying to achieve is a general understanding of what it really means to make a responsible choice in what matters to you as a consumer.
Before Covid-19 hit, you organized live events such as wine and gem pairing. What new initiatives have you introduced to keep your audience engaged?
I launched the TalisWomen series, which is something inspired by these challenging times: fun and attainable bracelets, rings, necklaces, and now tassels made of gemstone beads. Our ancient ancestors believed gemstones were imbued with special properties, and the jewelry they wore was a reflection of what was of meaning and value to them. I believe this can be true today. The TalisWomen series can manifest something we are creating for ourselves, or simply remind us of who we are and what we are made of. This series has been a powerful way to connect with women via Zoom on a personal level, as well as open up the fascinating history of gemstones and what makes them uniquely special. What has been especially great is that the series has led to customers discovering the women designers that I curate, resulting in sales. It could not be a more beautiful example of women supporting women!
