One of the many things to take a hit during the pandemic has been our confidence. From dealing with just the general uncertainty of the whole world being upended to adapting to working from home, sometimes we just want to look good and feel good. Even if it is just for a Zoom call. The so many Zoom filters and backgrounds that are now available are testaments to this.
One way to look and feel good is by dressing up. Some nice clothes, and some jewellery. Now the clothes are easy enough to sort out. Online shopping is one of the few things to have been truly pandemic proof. But the jewellery is a little more tricky. For one thing, traditional jewellery is a bit clunky. It’s also not everyone’s cup of tea. Buying modern jewellery online comes with its challenges. From authenticity in terms of raw materials to things like “will it really look the same once I get it?” and, of course, affordability. Everyone’s tightening their belts. Investing in something like jewellery when your income is limited or uncertain isn’t always the wisest move.
The Glitteray story
This is where Glitteray comes in with their newest collection designed to help women express themselves and dress well, even from home at this time. Glitteray started as Sri Lanka’s first online jewellery store in 2013. This was a time when e-commerce was new to Sri Lanka and other than one or two companies selling electronics online, there was Glitteray selling jewellery, a very different market. Speaking to Brunch, Glitteray Founder Rayhana Jiffry shared that the whole idea behind Glitteray was to “disrupt an age-old traditional brick and mortar industry run by a few families who have been selling the same way they have for generations. The idea was to familiarise people with buying jewellery online, give them access to a lot more designers and trends, and give anyone with a mobile phone the chance to own quality jewellery”.
All Glitteray jewellery is handmade by local craftspeople, with the designs focusing on capturing major trends. Jiffry explained that her vision is to be able to empower women to be able to express their identity and personality freely through jewellery, adding: “We style our jewellery on personalised stones, daily and workwear; jewellery for mothers and wives. We want to give women the chance to be able to choose contemporary jewellery they would love as opposed to it being a gift.”
Glitteray’s newest offering
Glitteray’s newest collection is one of several that has been designed to reflect the needs of the modern woman mid-pandemic. With fewer events, parties, and reasons to go out, even if just to work, Glitteray has created a collection of simple, lightweight gold-plated jewellery and accessories to help elevate anyone’s look in these digital and socially distanced times.
This includes a range of delicate back-to-work jewellery, a range of eyewear chains, and a range of chains that can be attached to facemasks so they can hang around someone’s neck stylishly when not in use as opposed to being unceremoniously placed on a table, or worse, dropped or lost. These creations are simple and charming enough to be worn at home, while also being beautifully crafted and striking enough to make an impression when out and about.
Speaking about this newly launched gold collection, Jiffry shared that even though gold prices have skyrocketed, people do still want to invest in gold jewellery, and this was what led Glitteray to create this collection of 18 and 22-carat yellow gold pieces that were lightweight, affordable, and trendy, keeping in mind the woman getting ready to go back to work. “People no longer want to invest in heavy pieces of jewellery,” Jiffry explained, adding: “They want to invest in small pieces they can wear every day and this is what the new collection hopes to provide.”
The new gold collection also marks the beginning of Glitteray’s partnership with Mintpay, a payment service provider that allows any Glitteray customer to purchase their favourite Glitteray pieces in monthly instalments over three months. Applicable to both credit and debit cards, all a customer needs to do is sign up with Mintpay before heading over to the Glitteray website.
Responding to the pandemic as an exclusively online jewellery business
As a jewellery business that works exclusively online, Glitteray has had to face some unique challenges during the pandemic. One was the huge increase in the prices of silver, with a gram of silver far exceeding $ 1 because of lack of imports. This made silver an investable metal, and to that end, Glitteray offered its customers an exchange policy, giving customers the chance to trade in old silver for new Glitteray pieces.
The pandemic also saw Glitteray’s craftsmen unable to work because they were stuck in their homes and unable to visit their workshops. It also saw many craftsmen become unemployed. With the wellbeing of their craftsmen being a core value of the Glitteray brand, Glitteray launched an incubation programme, helping their craftsmen from all around the island to set up small workshops at their homes so they could continue their trade and keep their livelihoods going.
With Sri Lanka still very much mid-pandemic, Glitteray is looking to inspire its customers to look good and feel good, calling out to micro-influencers, regardless of the size of their followings, to reach out to them to collaborate on inspiring content that can help women look good and feel good, even when stuck at home.
One way to look and feel good is by dressing up. Some nice clothes, and some jewellery. Now the clothes are easy enough to sort out. Online shopping is one of the few things to have been truly pandemic proof. But the jewellery is a little more tricky. For one thing, traditional jewellery is a bit clunky. It’s also not everyone’s cup of tea. Buying modern jewellery online comes with its challenges. From authenticity in terms of raw materials to things like “will it really look the same once I get it?” and, of course, affordability. Everyone’s tightening their belts. Investing in something like jewellery when your income is limited or uncertain isn’t always the wisest move.
The Glitteray story
This is where Glitteray comes in with their newest collection designed to help women express themselves and dress well, even from home at this time. Glitteray started as Sri Lanka’s first online jewellery store in 2013. This was a time when e-commerce was new to Sri Lanka and other than one or two companies selling electronics online, there was Glitteray selling jewellery, a very different market. Speaking to Brunch, Glitteray Founder Rayhana Jiffry shared that the whole idea behind Glitteray was to “disrupt an age-old traditional brick and mortar industry run by a few families who have been selling the same way they have for generations. The idea was to familiarise people with buying jewellery online, give them access to a lot more designers and trends, and give anyone with a mobile phone the chance to own quality jewellery”.
All Glitteray jewellery is handmade by local craftspeople, with the designs focusing on capturing major trends. Jiffry explained that her vision is to be able to empower women to be able to express their identity and personality freely through jewellery, adding: “We style our jewellery on personalised stones, daily and workwear; jewellery for mothers and wives. We want to give women the chance to be able to choose contemporary jewellery they would love as opposed to it being a gift.”
Glitteray’s newest offering
Glitteray’s newest collection is one of several that has been designed to reflect the needs of the modern woman mid-pandemic. With fewer events, parties, and reasons to go out, even if just to work, Glitteray has created a collection of simple, lightweight gold-plated jewellery and accessories to help elevate anyone’s look in these digital and socially distanced times.
This includes a range of delicate back-to-work jewellery, a range of eyewear chains, and a range of chains that can be attached to facemasks so they can hang around someone’s neck stylishly when not in use as opposed to being unceremoniously placed on a table, or worse, dropped or lost. These creations are simple and charming enough to be worn at home, while also being beautifully crafted and striking enough to make an impression when out and about.
Speaking about this newly launched gold collection, Jiffry shared that even though gold prices have skyrocketed, people do still want to invest in gold jewellery, and this was what led Glitteray to create this collection of 18 and 22-carat yellow gold pieces that were lightweight, affordable, and trendy, keeping in mind the woman getting ready to go back to work. “People no longer want to invest in heavy pieces of jewellery,” Jiffry explained, adding: “They want to invest in small pieces they can wear every day and this is what the new collection hopes to provide.”
The new gold collection also marks the beginning of Glitteray’s partnership with Mintpay, a payment service provider that allows any Glitteray customer to purchase their favourite Glitteray pieces in monthly instalments over three months. Applicable to both credit and debit cards, all a customer needs to do is sign up with Mintpay before heading over to the Glitteray website.
Responding to the pandemic as an exclusively online jewellery business
As a jewellery business that works exclusively online, Glitteray has had to face some unique challenges during the pandemic. One was the huge increase in the prices of silver, with a gram of silver far exceeding $ 1 because of lack of imports. This made silver an investable metal, and to that end, Glitteray offered its customers an exchange policy, giving customers the chance to trade in old silver for new Glitteray pieces.
The pandemic also saw Glitteray’s craftsmen unable to work because they were stuck in their homes and unable to visit their workshops. It also saw many craftsmen become unemployed. With the wellbeing of their craftsmen being a core value of the Glitteray brand, Glitteray launched an incubation programme, helping their craftsmen from all around the island to set up small workshops at their homes so they could continue their trade and keep their livelihoods going.
With Sri Lanka still very much mid-pandemic, Glitteray is looking to inspire its customers to look good and feel good, calling out to micro-influencers, regardless of the size of their followings, to reach out to them to collaborate on inspiring content that can help women look good and feel good, even when stuck at home.