117 - Laryssa and Liz Interview Monica Stephenson, Champion of Responsible Gem Mining

Summary

Success With Jewelry Podcast Episode 117: Championing Responsible Gem Mining with Monica Stevenson

Release Date: February 10, 2025

In Episode 117 of the Success With Jewelry podcast, hosts Laryssa Wirstiuk and Liz Kantner engage in a profound conversation with Monica Stevenson, the visionary founder of Anza Gems and co-founding collaborator of Moyo Gems. Monica, also known as idazzle, brings to the table her extensive experience in the jewelry industry, focusing on responsible gem mining and sustainable business practices. This episode delves deep into defining and sharing values, authentic storytelling, and the transformative impact of ethical practices in the gemstone trade.

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1. Monica Stevenson's Journey in the Jewelry Industry

Monica begins by tracing her roots in the jewelry business, highlighting nearly a decade with Anza Gems and her pivotal role in launching Amazon's jewelry business in the early 2000s. Her transition from retail to an internet-based business in the late '90s set the foundation for her future ventures.

Monica Stevenson [01:28]: "I realized, oh, that's kind of a milestone. And it's a big milestone in a lot of small businesses to be around for 10 years."

After a brief hiatus to focus on her family, Monica reignites her passion by starting idazzle.com, a jewelry blog that connects her with numerous jewelry designers and provides insider access to their creative processes. This platform became the catalyst for her shift towards responsible gem mining.

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2. From Blogging to Gem Dealer: Embracing Responsibility

Monica's foray into responsible gem mining was sparked by her curiosity about the origins of gems and the stories behind them. A turning point came in 2013 when she learned about a documentary tracing gems from Tanzanian mines to finished products. This inspired her to pivot from blogging to becoming a gem dealer committed to ethical practices.

Monica Stevenson [03:57]: "And that's kind of the Anza Gems sort of trajectory and business model. So it's a circular model that kind of gives back into those communities and helps them participate more in the global gem trade."

Her business model with Anza Gems emphasizes sourcing rough gems directly from licensed brokers in East Africa, cutting them in the US, and reinvesting 10% of sales into community initiatives supporting education, vocational training, and development through her 501C3 organization, Gem Legacy.

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3. Founding Moyo Gems: Empowering Women Artisanal Miners

Monica's travels to East Africa revealed the significant yet marginalized presence of women in the gemstone mining industry. Discovering the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) artisanal mining training program for Tanzanian women miners, Monica saw an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

Monica Stevenson [05:28]: "GIA was doing an artisanal minor training program specifically piloted to the Tanzania Women Miners association in the exact regions that I had been traveling."

This collaboration led to the creation of Moyo Gems, a venture that sources gems from women artisanal miners in Tanzania and Kenya, ensuring fair market access and empowering these women economically.

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4. The Evolution of Industry Conversations on Sustainability

Monica reflects on the gradual shift in the jewelry industry's focus towards sustainability and ethical sourcing. While pioneers like Eric Braunwort of Columbia Gem House and Jen Dawes had initiated conversations about responsible materials, it wasn’t until the past five to eight years that these discussions gained substantial traction.

Monica Stevenson [07:31]: "It's not just a fringe topic anymore. It's actually important for people to be investigating where things come from."

The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated this shift, prompting businesses to reevaluate their supply chains and adopt more responsible practices.

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5. Defining and Sharing Business Values

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the importance of defining and sharing business values. Monica emphasizes that establishing a value-driven business is as crucial as having a clear vision or strategy.

Monica Stevenson [10:25]: "It's as important as any kind of vision or strategy or planning... really thinking about what drives you. What's the why behind your decision making?"

For Monica, redistributing wealth within the supply chain and supporting women miners are foundational values that guide every business decision. This intentional focus ensures that her business not only produces beautiful gems but also fosters positive social impact.

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6. Authentic Storytelling in Marketing

Monica and the hosts explore the role of storytelling in marketing jewelry. While some argue that excessive storytelling can dilute a brand’s message, Monica believes that authenticity and consistency are key.

Monica Stevenson [17:03]: "Your actions actually kind of meet that messaging."

She advocates for transparency, where customers are informed about the origins of their gems, the miners who extracted them, and the cutters who shaped them. This approach not only differentiates her products in a crowded market but also builds trust and loyalty among consumers.

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7. Communicating Values to End Consumers

While Anza Gems operates on a wholesale model, Monica ensures that the values and stories behind each gem are conveyed to designers and retailers, who then pass them on to end consumers. She discusses the potential of utilizing blockchain technology to enhance traceability and provide consumers with detailed information about their purchases.

Monica Stevenson [22:06]: "I can give you the miner's name... Who faceted it, and who ultimately benefits from it."

This level of transparency offers consumers a compelling reason to choose ethical gems over others, aligning their purchases with personal values.

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8. The Future of Value-Based Jewelry Consumption

Looking ahead, Monica is optimistic about the rise of value-based consumers, particularly among younger generations like Gen Z, who prioritize ethical considerations in their purchasing decisions.

Monica Stevenson [29:22]: "There's these, the big brands, but then the small ones... want to support also even recently all the messaging around, you know, supporting causes."

She envisions a future where jewelry not only serves as personal expression but also as a testament to the wearer’s values and support for meaningful causes.

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9. Practical Tips for Designers

Monica offers actionable advice for jewelry designers aiming to integrate and communicate their values effectively:

1. Choose Meaningful Values: Identify a few core values that resonate deeply with you and your business.
2. Consistency is Key: Ensure that your actions align with your stated values to build authenticity.
3. Transparent Storytelling: Share the stories behind your products, including sourcing and production processes.
4. Leverage Technology: Explore tools like blockchain to enhance transparency and traceability.
5. Engage with Your Community: Support initiatives and causes that align with your mission to foster trust and loyalty.

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10. Connecting with Monica Stevenson

Listeners are encouraged to follow Monica’s journey and connect with her through her platforms:

• Instagram: idazzle and Onza Gems
• Moyo Gems: MoyoGems.com

Monica’s commitment to ethical gem mining and empowering women in East Africa serves as an inspiring model for jewelry entrepreneurs seeking to make a positive impact in the industry.

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Conclusion

This episode of Success With Jewelry underscores the significance of embedding ethical values into business practices. Monica Stevenson’s journey from a blogger to a champion of responsible gem mining exemplifies how passion and purpose can drive meaningful change. Her insights offer valuable lessons for jewelry designers and entrepreneurs aiming to build sustainable, impactful brands in the ever-evolving jewelry landscape.

Transcript

[Larissa]

Welcome to the Success with Jewelry podcast where we invite you inside our conversations about business success and marketing for jewelry designers and entrepreneurs.

[Liz]

We're Larissa and Liz, jewelry marketing experts with a combined 16 years of experience in jewelry marketing and proven track records and helping jewelry brands meet their goals. When you listen to or watch this podcast, you get an intimate and exclusive peek behind the curtain of all the things you wish you could know about earning success in this industry.

[Larissa]

Welcome to episode 117. In this episode we'll be chatting with Monica Stevenson, also known as idazzle. She is the founder of Anza Gems and co founding collaborator of Moyo Gems. Monica believes that gems can be beautiful and beneficial. We'll be discussing defining and sharing your values in the bonus content. We'll dig deeper into this topic and talk about sharing your story authentically. To get access to the exclusive content as well as direct access to me and Larissa, sign up by visiting Success success with Jewelry.com. hey Larissa and Monica, let's get into it. Welcome to the podcast, Monica.

[Monica Stevenson]

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Thank you.

[Larissa]

You made such a good point in your email you sent me yesterday that like this is a great topic for kind of the start of the year to be talking about defining values and sharing your values. But let's first start with an introduction. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself and also both of your projects.

[Monica Stevenson]

Absolutely. So I'm Monica Stevenson. I founded anza gems almost 10 years ago. Actually that just kind of occurred to me with 2025.

I realized, oh, that's kind of a milestone. And it's a big milestone in a.

Lot of small businesses to be around for 10 years. And I got my start in retail many, many years ago and that kind.

Of led to me starting an Internet based business in like the late 90s, which then led to helping Amazon launch their jewelry business in the early 2000.

So I was kind of this like.

Tech and jewelry combo.

And then I took a step back for a couple of years to have my two children.

And when my youngest was about a year old, I started blogging.

So that's when idazzle.com the jewelry blog.

Kind of came about.

And that's actually I think how I met you. Originally Liz was at Couture, the Couture show. And as a result of the blog I was able to kind of have these amazing conversations with a lot of.

Jewelry designers and fortunate enough to even.

Go into their studios. And I went to the shows. But I found myself Kind of more and more drawn to maybe around 2,000 or, yeah, 12, 13 stories about kind.

Of responsibility in the industry.

I think I interviewed Jennifer Dawes, who was working a lot with sustainable, responsible materials. And it kind of set me on.

This whole new path, like, not just like talking about the sparkle of things.

But actually kind of where things come.

From and how did they get here.

And whose hands touched it. So I saw a random tweet in 2013 for a trip to East Africa.

In 2014 for a documentary film, film.

That was going to actually go to mines in Tanzania and Kenya and trace the journey of a gem from origin.

In the mine all the way through to the finished product.

And I was incredibly intrigued, loved this idea. And I was able to actually convince my husband to let me go.

I had pretty young children at the.

Time, and it's not hyperbole to, I.

Guess, say that that changed my life.

So I changed from jewelry blogger and pivoted to gem dealer.

And on the gems was kind of.

The result of all of this kind of cohesive, you know, cohesiveness going into.

A gemstone company that I buy the.

Rough in East Africa directly from, like.

Licensed brokers and dealers there.

I have a cut in the US and then when I sell things, I give 10% back to initiatives that support mining communities through education and vocational training and community development there, oftentimes through the 501C3 gem legacy. But that's kind of the Onza Gems sort of trajectory and business model. So it's a circular model that kind of gives back into those communities and helps them participate more in the global gem trade. And then that led to me taking.

Many trips to East Africa.

And along the way, I would see a lot of women miners kind of in the industry, but literally on the periphery, like, combing through tailings of mines. But women were definitely present and in higher numbers than you would maybe think. And so I heard about a program.

With the Gemological Institute of America. GIA was doing an artisanal minor training.

Program specifically piloted to the Tanzania Women.

Miners association in the exact regions that I had been traveling.

So I was very excited about this.

I heard that the women miners were.

Very super excited about what they were.

Finding and much more energized after this education, which they had never gotten before. No one had ever really told them.

What they were finding, how to bring it to market. So I reached out to the NGO who was working with GIA and was like, well, how do I buy these gemstones? Like, I'd love to support these women who are working so hard and.

And I knew the gems were beautiful because I'd been to that region.

So we together, we worked on a collaboration called Moyo Gems that brings these gems from women artisanal miners, Tanzania, and now expanded to Kenya to the market.

And we provide fair market access.

And it's really kind of an unusual collaboration among a few industry partners.

[Larissa]

It's all so interesting to me, like, having been in the industry kind of like alongside you and when you were starting this, because you really were a part of, like, those kind of first conversations that felt like people were finally talking about the channels of where things came from and being transparent about it.

[Monica Stevenson]

Yeah, I do think there was a real shift. There have always been a few people.

Like Eric Braunwort of Columbia Gem House.

And Jen Dawes and some other people have been kind of talking.

Christina Miller founded Ethical Metalsmiths with Susan Kingsley back in 2004.

So there were early conversations, but I really felt that it's just been in.

Maybe the last, even like five to.

Eight years that the conversation has really shifted to. It's not just a fringe topic anymore. It's actually important for people to kind.

Of be investigating where things come from.

And I really feel like. I feel like Covid was a big.

Turning point as well.

I feel like people kind of turned inward. Like, they weren't.

None of us were really sure when.

When things hit the fan, where our business was going to go. And I think a lot of people started really looking at, where did my materials come from? How can I. How can I do this more responsibly.

For myself in my studio, but also all the people involved in. In the process.

[Larissa]

And working. I work with a lot of emerging brands and it, you know, you're right. In the past five to 10 years or even like less than that is when emerging brands started being like, I'm coming to market with the idea that I'm going to be sustainable in my business, or I'm going to think about where my gems are coming from, or I'm going to only offer fair mine gold. And we actually had Alyssa Thorpe from Mercurious. Yeah. On the podcast to talk about the Tucson Gem show last week. And it's. She's another, like, huge voice in it. Like a newer voice, but a huge voice in it. And there's so many of these great new voices coming into the conversation.

[Monica Stevenson]

I have been so just encouraged and inspired by so many emerging jewelers who this is part of their business plan. This is actually. They would no more think about, you know, not thinking about where things come from.

Like, that is such a huge tenet of their business.

Like that is. I've been very encouraged by that and try to kind of help as much as I can. If people want to have those conversations or need to have those conversations, there's some great resources. And I love Alyssa.

I'm really excited to listen to her.

Her take on Tucson. We all love that. That gemstone, Crazy Vortex in the desert.

[Larissa]

Yeah. And we actually have also had Christina Miller on the podcast. Love Christina Miller. She has a great program for designers who are interested in learning more about sustainability. And we can link that in the show notes if anybody is interested. But there's a lot of. Not a lot, but there is education out there for anybody who's interested in that. But I think that, you know, kind of in the broader scale too. It's like a value based business in general is so important now. Right. So how do you determine your values?

[Monica Stevenson]

That is such a great question.

And actually just to kind of do.

A little plug for Christina Miller that.

Is part of her. This sort of like intro program is helping you kind of step back and actually kind of start to define your values. I do think that that is an important part of kind of.

It's as important as any kind of vision or strategy or planning, I think is maybe really thinking about what drives you. What's the why behind your decision making?

For me, like, I realized early on, you know, I had this epiphany of.

Like a purpose driven business.

I really wanted this. Anyone can like, well, not anyone, but like, you can be a gem dealer and not necessarily think as much about the origins. It can be all about. Hey, I have beautiful 9 by 12.

Pink tourmaline for you to source. And isn't it pretty?

It takes an extra step to kind of think about, okay, I really want to be able to not just have it reflect my values, but also be.

Able to kind of pass along that.

Story to my clients, to the designers.

Who are actually going to use these materials.

So for me, it was a gradual process. I knew I wanted to be purpose driven. I wanted to make sure that East Africans were participating more in the industry than they were.

When I went and I saw how hard they were working firsthand in the.

Dirt and only realizing a small fraction.

Of what the ultimate selling price is.

When after that material changes hands seven.

To ten times within country and then.

Again in the US over and over again.

And at every point there's value made, but the person who pulled it out.

Of the ground is really making, essentially.

Pennies on the dollar.

And so I really wanted to change that equation and kind of redistribute the wealth, which is why I've shortened the supply.

Ch.

That's kind of how my values kind of work is. Like, how can I make sure that everyone is successful, not just a couple of key players in the supply chain? And then eventually, what I kind of found was really, really important to me was supporting women.

And so I have a significant number of women facetors that we use for the gems that are faceted in the.

U.S. in addition to supporting artisanal women miners. But even, like my photograph photographer is. Is, you know, I look for. I look for representation in every kind.

Of facet of my business. And so I wrote that into my mission statement.

And it's the lens that I kind of see through values and mission.

[Liz]

That'S such an inspiring takeaway. Just in general, even for jewelry designers and jewelry business owners, to have something like that that you're filtering all your decisions through.

[Monica Stevenson]

And I am unfortunate to have that, like, you know, that filter, but I.

Think anyone can find a filter that's.

Like, very meaningful to you.

It could be something very, very different.

But I think there's many, many possibilities out there.

[Larissa]

Yeah, I'd say, like, for Larissa and I, you know, our passion is supporting designers, so that's why we do this podcast. But, you know, Larissa has different programs to support brands also, so there's different things. It doesn't have to be sustainability, although sustainability in this industry is, like, such an important thing to think about and think about how you can, like, you know, be more, you know, sustainable in your business and all of that. But, you know, I think that what's important about what you said is you chose exactly, like, what lane you wanted to be in. You decided what was really important to you, and you focused on that because you can't do everything.

[Monica Stevenson]

You really can't. And so I think. I think there's a.

There's as much value to that editing.

Process of, like, you know, you could.

You could brainstorm what. What is important to you if you really wanted to kind of do sort.

Of like a values, you know, some sort of an activity. But ultimately, I think choosing a couple.

Of things that you really want to focus on and that you can really feel like you can have impact with. I think that's as much a part of the process is coming up with.

Like, the terms to begin with, I think also knowing where to focus and because that also becomes your Messaging. And so I think that editing is really important as well.

[Larissa]

Yeah.

[Liz]

And to what degree you're, like, leaning into that, too? Because I think sustainability can be a value. But, like, are you leading with that story or does something or is that something that kind of comes up later in the conversation, you know.

[Monica Stevenson]

And I have mentored a couple of emerging designers.

And I always learn way more from my mentee than. Than I feel like I'm often giving as a mentor.

But, you know, we've had that conversation of where, like, do you start? You know, do you. Do you begin with that?

And then every single decision kind of flows from that.

But that's also. That' that's also really. That. That's a.

That's a tough decision, especially if it's something like sustainability. You can also start small, and maybe.

You know, maybe it's all about your craft. Maybe that's, you know, your.

Your lead option. And then you can start to find. It's also possible, I think, to discover.

Along the path what it is that really resonates with you and then have a vehicle for actually supporting that.

[Liz]

Yeah. And that resonates with the customers, too.

[Monica Stevenson]

It's really resonated with our customers, that's for sure.

[Larissa]

I think that you do such a nice job, like, kind of sharing that story, and there's a lot to it, and you have a lot to say on the topic, but you have really gotten it to a point where it makes sense and there's clarity behind it. Do you have any tips for designers who want to share their values in their business?

[Monica Stevenson]

Yes.

So I really feel like even five years ago, it was, like, not okay to talk about, you know, anything that could be considered political or social justice or, you know, there were certain topics that, like, no, no, no, no.

Stick to business.

Stick to business. But I really feel like there's been this shift of, I think it's okay to talk about your values. I think it's okay to talk about what's important to you, as long as.

You'Re authentic and you are consistent.

I think, you know, that's not jumping on a bandwagon of, like, oh, I'm going to post all the quotes today. That's great. But I. I would hope, and I think customers can see through to whether.

Your actions actually kind of meet that messaging.

[Larissa]

There are so many different directions, and it's. It's still important, I think, to be, like, really thoughtful about what you do want to stand for, because I think that we're all in this, you know, especially the Start of this year is like, what do we comment on? There's so many things to stand for. There's so many things to talk about. And I think that this. And this is something I say to designers all the time. It's like, decide what you really like, what is that important thing to your business, and lean into that. And to your point, Monica, is like, back it up with action and don't just say things, but, like, choose the thing that you really want to stand for. And then with that clarity, you don't have to comment on all the other things. You could be believing in it and donating to it privately or doing whatever you need to do. But for your business, like, what is it that you are standing for?

[Monica Stevenson]

There's always that line to walk, and I. I see some people walk it really, really well.

I. I hope that we do a pretty good job.

Like, I am very, very focused on East Africa and on women's issues, particularly there. And there's a lot of things that I might support quietly and personally, like, on my.

On my own time.

And I'm always reaching out to friends who might be going through various things. But I don't know that we're going to comment on absolutely every single geopolitical event or anything that kind of comes up. But we will try to support things that, again, align with our values and meet our mission, and then we're just very, very consistent about that representation. I think if you look through, like, the Onza Gems feed, like, we are very. We're very laser, like, focused.

I think we use stories to kind.

Of, like, that might kind of give us a little bit more of a rounded effect where we can support LA right now and we can do some other things, but we always really stay true to.

This is our mission.

This is where we focus, and these are.

Try to communicate. These are the ways that we support these things.

And again, it's a complicated mission and it's a complicated story, but I think.

That we've told it enough and consistently enough.

And I don't take our clients. You know, they're.

They're intelligent. They.

They can, you know, they can follow along and they've. They've. They can figure it out.

[Larissa]

Yeah. And I think that, like, just, you know, value shouldn't be. You can use them to, like, tell a story, and they can be used in your marketing, but it should really come from, like, this why and, like, what you really care about.

[Monica Stevenson]

And I think people really know and can sense. And again, it's like this consistency over time. The authenticity over time.

When I post photos of me going and like, you know, participating in the markets and what we do, I'm physically.

Showing kind of the action part of.

Like, you know, words can be, you know, cheap. And so you also have to kind of back that up with action as well.

[Larissa]

How do you communicate some of this stuff to your customers? Because, you know, we're talking about it from, as businesses from a marketing standpoint. But, like, how do you find it resonates with like, that end consumer who's purchasing the product and how do you, like, efficiently communicate to them?

[Monica Stevenson]

That's a really good point.

We are wholesale, so we tend to sell to the designers and retailers who are using our gems in their creations.

But we do have, we try to.

Give all of the information to our clients so that they can continue that story, hopefully to the end consumer.

And we have had consumers reach out and say, I really love your mission. Where can I buy your gems?

And then we can kind of like.

Forward them to the designer or retailer kind of in their, hopefully in their geographic region. But even if, you know, so much is done through, you know, there's, there's.

So many sales that happen digitally that.

That'S, you know, that's a very legitimate thing as well. But we try to really make it easy for our designers and retailers to.

Be able to continue that story.

So when you buy a Moyo Gem.

For instance, I can tell you the miner's name that I purchased it from at the market.

And so I can, I can pass along and I know exactly who cut it. I, I know the name of the cutter where it was cut, so I.

Can give you that information so that you can pass that along to the customer. I would love to even have a more formal way of doing that via blockchain. And we've kind of worked on some.

Of these ideas of like, being able to actually really track this and, and.

Put information in a very digestible way into the end customer's hands. And we're, we're getting closer.

It's not quite there yet, but I.

Think we're moving that direction where there's more visibility, more transparency, and more accountability.

Kind of at the, at the end.

At the end sale.

[Larissa]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Even if for whatever reason that got resold or given to someone else, even after the purchase, then that information kind of stays with the piece and it.

[Monica Stevenson]

Gives people a reason to buy us versus another brand. Right. There's, there's a lot of really beautiful gems out there. If you, if, if what you want.

Is something that doesn't come out of.

The ground, then we're probably not your, you know, your. Your gemstone dealer. But, you know, if you really care about, you know, it gives us a way of differentiating our product from another 9 by 12 pink tourmaline. Right. Well, we, we can actually tell you where it came from, who we purchased.

It from, who faceted it, and who ultimately benefits from it.

I can also tell you we did this give back to this community, and now they're able to go to secondary.

Education because we provided the scholarship for that.

So it's a really.

It's.

It's. It's good to have that from a.

Marketing standpoint, but it also.

There's impact. There's true impact on the other end as well.

[Larissa]

What a good story. I mean, for the retailers and designers who are purchasing your gems, like, what a good story to pass on to that end consumer. It's very cool.

[Monica Stevenson]

Well, you know, we unfortunately like the.

Movie Blood diamond, even though it was.

Very long ago and doesn't even apply to the same set of circumstances now.

That civil war has ended and there's probably other conflicts that we need to be more concerned about. But that narrative stays with people.

You know, the, The.

The negative side of jewelry.

And I think if you can give people positive reasons and say not only did it do no harm, but it actually is beneficial to this population, then I think we start to get into, you know, otherwise, you know, jewelry is a luxury product.

You know, we.

We don't necessarily need it.

Although I would argue that the need to adorn is.

Is ingrained in our DNA and is.

A very necessary part of being human.

But we don't technically need a lot of our products.

And so to be able to kind.

Of give people positive, beneficial reasons to shop for jewelry is always a good idea.

[Larissa]

It's always a good idea. This is kind of a topic that Larissa and I have of. Kind of note it to like, maybe do an episode about. But I wonder your point of view of like, I saw somebody post, like, is storytelling, like too much? Are we over storytelling kind of thing? Like, do people just want to buy. I believe that storytelling is everything. I think that that's like the most important part of a brand. That's why I buy brands, like value their values and then also the story behind it and wanting to support them because of the story and the meaning and inspiration, all of that. But what's your take on that?

[Monica Stevenson]

I would say that thank goodness there's.

Some really beautiful gems that come out of the Ground.

Because if. If all we were was the story.

At some point, there's.

There's a. You know, there. There's a finite life to that. Whereas the substance of what we're doing.

Like, it's still really beautiful gems, and they're still really.

You know, they're still really sparkly. And people there, I think you start to get a sense of, like, who.

Wants to hear the story and who.

Just wants to, like, try it on and say, I'll take it.

I think you do have to kind of straddle that line.

It's there if you have the client.

Who wants it and who needs it. But I think we have to also.

Think, like, you know, is our product beautiful and necessary? You know, like, is it.

Is it appealing?

And then, you know, besides that, there's all these other things that kind of.

You can talk about. So for the customer that it matters to, you have the backup of that information.

But you should also.

In my. In my case, I'm like, are the gems pretty?

Are the gems the right market price?

Because, again, there's a limit, I think.

To also how much are people really.

Willing to pay for this item?

I think you have to kind of keep the market in check.

You have to keep the market in mind even when you are talking about your values.

You kind of have to know when it's important to someone and when it's. You know, it's all about the sparkle.

[Larissa]

That's such a good point. This is a random question, but I'm just wondering. You're wearing, like, such a beautiful necklace right now. What color gems are you into at the moment?

[Monica Stevenson]

Am I into. We always do really, really well with blue and green. And I'm. I'm wearing a tanzanite, and we always do super well with that. That's always, like, we know if we can cut aqua fast as we can cut it, we can sell it, basically. But in terms of what I'm excited about, I think I'm really excited about. Garnet is just such a.

It's such an underrated gem, I think, and it comes in this whole variety.

Of colors, so I really love these, like, Blushy Sherry, you know, like, pinks and reds. Right now, I'm really excited about. But I know that our clients really.

Like blue and green, so I think some.

There's some. There's. There's a.

There's two different spectrums there.

[Larissa]

It's been years that, like, blue and green has been, like, what does. Well, I think that's, like, always a winner.

[Liz]

I hear that too, it's as literally.

[Monica Stevenson]

Like blue and green.

Blue and green. What do you, what do you have? And so consequently we don't always have.

A lot of blue and green because.

We were small production. You know, we're, we're have, we have things cut in the US Primarily although we do have a small collection cut.

In Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Thailand, which allows us to do some calibrated gems or smaller kind of melle.

Size which we hadn't really ever been able to do before.

So it's traceable.

Melly, which is really exciting.

But we, we tend to kind of.

Sell the moyos almost as fast as.

We can have them cut by our U.S. cutters. We, we only have women cut.

Women facetors facet our Moyo.

So you know, it's a little bit of a, you know, it's not a huge production but, but we do sell it almost as quickly as we have it cut. So but blue and green always.

[Larissa]

Any other tips or thoughts that you want to share with everyone?

[Monica Stevenson]

You know, just reinforce.

I think, I think we keep moving towards this idea of value based consumers. Like I, I feel like I have.

Two Gen Z daughters and they shop.

A lot with their values and their, you know, who, who is being a.

Good ambassador for their brand, the brands that they follow.

So there's these, the big brands, but then the small ones like they really.

Search out and find and support and.

Want to support also even recently all.

The messaging around, you know, supporting la.

For instance, you know, brands that are putting their money where their mouth is and actually, you know, supporting things that are important to them or that kind of fit within their mission and values, I see that becoming, I think more important, not less. It's jewelry is already personal expression and.

Then in my business color is even.

More, you know, personal expression. And so the idea that you could buy something that is not only representative.

Of you but also like from an esthetic standpoint but also from a value.

Standpoint, I think, I think that's only.

Going to get more important.

So I think the, the more you think about this and the more clear you are, I think the better we're going to be.

[Larissa]

And how can everyone get in touch with you? Oh yeah, go ahead, Larissa.

[Liz]

No, I just like that's amazing what she just said.

[Larissa]

I know. It's like we gotta wrap it up here. That was great. That was perfect.

[Monica Stevenson]

Mic drop.

[Liz]

I got nothing else.

[Monica Stevenson]

Well, I, I appreciate that.

I guess after almost 10 years I.

I actually you know, have some, some.

Messaging I can deliver.

So you can reach me.

Instagram is a great place to kind of follow our journey.

So I am at idazzle I D A Z Z L E. And my company is at Onza Gems.

Just those two words. And then Moyo Gems at Moyo Gems.

So those are easy ways to kind of connect and see, like, visually see.

What I'm talking about.

It's kind of the personification. We have an amazing, I have an amazing staff that really, I think, believes.

Wholeheartedly also in the mission and values and then helps, you know, communicate that message out.

[Larissa]

Amazing. Thank you so much for being here.

[Monica Stevenson]

Thank you for having me.

Thank you.

[Larissa]

All right, do you share your values? Let us know. Visit successwithjewelry.com and if you love the podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a message or leave us a review. Thanks for being a part of our community.