Ring Concierge's Nicole Wegman on How to Scale a Fine Jewelry Business

Watch the full conversation between Nicole Wegman and Deputy Editor Ana Colón on The Fashionista Network.

Ever since Nicole Wegman founded Ring Concierge in 2013, her priority has been to understand what customers are looking for in their fine jewelry. It started with bespoke engagement rings, and has expanded into other categories and multiple brick-and-mortar retail locations across New York City. It's also gained a steadfast following, largely around its signature Whisper Thin style.

"[Whisper Thin] really kind of exploded [Ring Concierge] because it was a bridal design that millennial women had really been wanting and all of the jewelers had been saying, 'No, we can't do it,'" Wegman told Ana Colón live on The Fashionista Network. (Watch it here!) "So [it goes] back to always having to listen to your customer and figure out how to meet where they are and give them what they want."

Wegman began using Instagram to promote product and organically build customers long before it became a crucial tool for brands. "I didn't really make it about me," she said. "The brand is not named after me, it wasn't ever meant to be about me. During Covid, that's when we took a big shift of it strategically being more about me. I started showing a lot more of myself, and we noticed instantly this huge boost in engagement, follower growth, people sharing the stories and [direct messages.]... So we built out this strategy, making sure we're always entertaining. Essentially, it's a content-to-commerce strategy."

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As entertaining as Ring Concierge's social presence is, Wegman noted it's equally about educating customers.

"I've always tried to be extremely transparent in my communication with clients and on social media... because there's really nothing to hide," Wegman said. "Do you want to understand what really matters when thinking about a diamond? We will tell you. Do you want to understand how do you get the biggest diamond for your budget? We will give you the hacks. We've always been super transparent. We've always layered education to everything we put out there because jewelry is an investment and engagement rings are a massive purchase and you want to feel really comfortable in your decision. So that's also been something that's kind of helped us stand apart of our competition."

In the near future, Wegman is focused on Ring Concierge's retail expansion. "There's a ton of room for expansion and additional revenue for us by opening brick-and-mortar stores," she said. "We have two in New York City but we're certainly exploring other markets — we know we want be on the West Coast, [and] we know we need to be in the major metropolitan areas. So there's a large strategy for physical retail rollout that we are working through as a team."

This conversation was hosted on The Fashionista Network powered by interactive media platform Fireside, where viewers get the chance to participate and speak directly with industry figures. Learn more about The Fashionista Network here.

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