Success With Jewelry – Episode 150: Why People Really Buy Jewelry (and How to Speak to It)

Hosts: Laryssa Wirstiuk & Liz Kantner
Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this milestone episode, Laryssa and Liz dig deep into the true motivations behind jewelry purchases—emphasizing that buying jewelry is never just about the product. They uncover the emotional, psychological, and value-driven reasons people choose specific pieces (or designers), and deliver actionable advice for jewelry brands on tapping into these motivations. This episode is rich with personal anecdotes, practical marketing strategies, and inspiring reminders about connection, storytelling, and customer relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jewelry as an Emotional Purchase

• Emotions First:
  Jewelry symbolizes milestones, connection, memory, and self-expression. It's about how customers want to feel and what they want to express, not just the physical product itself.

  • "Jewelry represents emotion, identity, connection, celebration, and memory. When someone chooses a piece from you, they're choosing how they want to feel and what they want to express." – Laryssa [00:56]

• Feelings Drive Decisions:

  • "Marketing is all about how you're making someone feel. Every sales experience is about how you're making someone feel. It's not just the piece of jewelry." – Laryssa [01:47]

2. Brand Loyalty & Values

• Brand Loyalty Simplifies Shopping:
  Overwhelm in the marketplace leads people to stick with brands they trust.

  • "If you like a brand, it's just, like, easier to keep buying from them…" – Liz [03:08]
  • "Once you really know a brand and trust it, you're going to stick with it." – Laryssa [03:52]

• The Emotional Pull of Brand Values:
  Customers are drawn to brands whose values align with their own, even for everyday purchases (example: East Fork ceramics supporting local causes).

  • "I like their values…that's who I tend to go to." – Liz [02:16]

3. The Role of Relationship & Retention

• Nurture Existing Customers:
  Investing in current customers cultivates loyalty and repeat purchases—akin to the old 'family jeweler' concept.

  • "Those are people you really want to nurture, because they will keep coming back." – Laryssa [04:55]

• The Power of Email Marketing:
  Newsletters and email outreach are the best ways to deepen these relationships.

  • "That's why I love email marketing so much, because that is the best place to do all of that." – Liz [06:37]

4. Storytelling and Perceived Value

• The narrative behind a piece—the inspiration, craftsmanship, and sourcing—builds emotional connection.
  • "The story...can really help with shaping a perceived value and building that emotion." – Laryssa [06:45]

5. Main Motivations Behind Jewelry Purchases

• Celebrating Milestones:
  Birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, or achievements often drive purchases, both as gifts and self-rewards.

  • "Milestones always...commemoration...promoting or treating yourself for doing something hard." – Laryssa [07:27]

• Gift Giving:
  Jewelry as a personal and meaningful gift remains evergreen, especially around holidays.

  • "Gift giving is another reason people purchase." – Laryssa [10:31]

• Self-Expression:
  Jewelry helps people convey personality, mood, or celebrate individuality.

  • Liz and Laryssa’s own purchases exemplify buying for self-expression or supporting the local art community ([08:01], [08:56]).

6. Purchase Considerations: What Customers Look For

• Alignment in Values & Ethics:
  Modern consumers want to support brands whose missions, ethics, and practices they admire.

  • "Before they buy...they want alignment in values." – Laryssa [10:54]
  • Story of a hair brand donating to chemo patients resonating emotionally with Liz [11:20–12:14]

• Trust & Proof:
  Testimonials, behind-the-scenes content, and process transparency communicate craftsmanship, quality, and trustworthiness.

  • "Trusting the maker is super important; proof of craftsmanship and quality… testimonials are a great way to show that." – Laryssa [12:47]

• Story as a Social Narrative:
  Customers love being able to share the origin or meaning of their jewelry piece.

  • "A narrative that they can share when wearing the piece...story is really important." – Laryssa [12:47]

7. Leveraging Psychology in Marketing

• Benefits > Features:
  Rather than just stating physical attributes, focus on what the jewelry means, how it feels to wear, and its uniqueness.

  • "Focus on the benefit, not just the features… I would argue that you do need jewelry or adornment or self expression…" – Laryssa [13:28]
  • "Metaphysical benefits of gemstones, if you're into that..." – Liz [14:31]

• Share Your Why:
  Articulate personal inspirations—but always bridge it to the customer, helping them see themselves in your story.

  • Liz reframes a classic story:

    "You could still use that framing but say—and I want my customers to also feel the connection of generations and bring that generational love to life through my work." – Liz [15:50]

  • Laryssa: "Sharing the 'why' behind your work is really important…" [14:35]

• Speak To Desired Feelings:
  Use evocative, customer-centered language in product descriptions:

  • "Speak directly to how you want customers to feel… that's great for product descriptions." – Laryssa [16:22]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Jewelry's been around forever. Adornment's been around forever. So... we do need it in certain ways." – Laryssa [13:28]
• "There's a way, too, like even if you're talking about yourself and your why, to still make it about the customer." – Liz [15:03]
• "[With jewelry] you want to, maybe somebody got their commitment set from you, they're going to want all their anniversary gifts from you as well, because that's a really nice story. Like, this is the family jeweler." – Laryssa [04:54]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:56 – Why People Buy Jewelry: emotions, milestones, identity
• 02:16 – Example of buying based on brand values
• 04:55 – Importance of nurturing existing customers
• 06:45 – How storytelling shapes perceived value
• 07:27 – Main motivations behind purchases
• 08:01 – Hosts discuss their most recent jewelry buys and what drove them
• 10:54 – Today's customers look for value alignment and trustworthiness
• 13:28 – Using psychology: focus on benefits, not just features
• 15:50 – Liz’s example of making your 'why' about the customer
• 16:22 – Speaking to customer feelings in descriptions

Actionable Takeaways for Listeners

• Understand your customer's emotional drivers and reflect these in every touchpoint.
• Prioritize nurturing existing customers over constant new client acquisition.
• Share authentic stories—about your brand’s values, your craftsmanship, and your inspiration.
• Make sure testimonials, behind-the-scenes content, and process transparency are prominent in your marketing.
• When framing your story, always connect it back to how it benefits or resonates with the customer.
• Use product descriptions and content that evoke feelings, not just state facts.

Success With Jewelry’s celebratory 150th episode is a masterclass in connecting with buyers on a human level—reminding designers and marketers that what truly sells jewelry is meaning, not materials.