A CEBUANA fine jewelry designer is in pursuit of millennial spending power.
Gladys Young, known as “G,” is creating another brand named Ve to introduce younger clients to her intricate, custom-made, avant-garde fine jewelry pieces at more affordable prices.
Young is known for her flagship brand Vero, which is popular among high-end fine jewelry collectors. Her Vero collection is on display at the lobby of the Cebu City Marriott Hotel.
Young said her move to capture the younger market through Ve is an approach to introduce them to the Vero brand.
She said her intricate pieces should ignite the interest and appreciation of millennials when it comes to fine jewelry, considering they prefer a more contemporary look or choose jewelry made by niche designers.
Unlike the 18 karat gold used for Vero, Young said, the Ve brand will play within the 14-karat base, clear art, no-fuss, contemporary pieces.
Young plans to unveil the Ve brand in the first quarter of 2018. She said she’d like to encourage the millennials to look at fine jewelry as another investment option.
“This is a niche market. I play with gold, diamonds and gemstones to create one-of-a-kind pieces, from necklaces to bracelets and cuffs, handcrafted for the modern woman,” she said.
Coming from a family of artists, Young veers away from taking inspiration from fashion magazines and instead takes her ideas from the curves, geometry, character and architectural details, paintings and sculptures.
She said that when she is not designing avant-garde pieces for Vero, she revives old, unusable jewelry by redesigning and resetting them using precious and semi-precious stones, which was how her very first venture into fine jewelry came about.
“Cebu’s (spending) landscape has changed. I have seen improvements in terms of client preferences, spending power, and the interest in pieces that have real value,” she said.
Young brought her 2017 Vero Holiday Collection dubbed “Art Storm” to Manila last Oct. 18 and 19. Today, she will be showcasing 20 of her latest collections in an “Art Storm” trunk show in Cebu.