Clean lines, original designs and beautiful craftsmanship.
NAJO
In jewellery circles, silver has always been regarded as the step-child to pricier and more coveted gold pieces.
Also, with the amount of tender loving care required to keep silver jewellery looking, well, sterling, it’s no wonder that Malaysians prefer the glowing warmth of gold instead.
These colourful enamel sterling silver bangles and rings are Najo’s bestsellers in Malaysia.
Well, this perception is set to change if Australian brand Najo has anything to do with it. This sterling silver jewellery brand combines contemporary designs with outstanding craftsmanship to come up with an awe-inspiring line of jewellery that can easily knock the shine off any range of gold bling.
Founded in 1986 by Australian Jo Tory (the brand name combines her first name with that of her partner in the early 1980s, Fernando), Najo is essentially a young woman’s love affair with silver that has evolved into a well-loved jewellery line.
Armed with design know-how from the Sydney College of Fine Arts, Tory ventured to Mexico in the 1980s to work with textiles but was instead inspired by the craftsmanship of Mexican silversmiths.
"Last year, silver price jumped 30%, and because we are an ethical company, we felt that we shouldn’t pass all that on to the customer. I think that is the reason for this great loyalty that we enjoy" - Michael Elliot
The brand’s general manager, Michael Elliott, says: “She would constantly run out of money but she would buy a heap of silver and fly to Italy or London. She would set up a street stall and sell what she had. Then she would go back to Mexico to buy more.”
Today, Tory has definitely come a long way since the days of selling her wares in stalls in Europe. Najo is one of Australia’s more popular contemporary jewellery lines and its pieces are occasionally “dressed’’ with enamel work, other metals like gold and brass, as well as a variety of natural, synthetic and reconstructed stones. The brand has been available in New Zealand for several years and is now in Kuala Lumpur.
“We started exporting to New Zealand in 2005, and the business grew at an amazing rate. Then we thought we should look at other markets ... so I thought of looking at Singapore which is a shopping destination for tourists,” says Elliott, who has over 35 years of experience in wholesale and retail.
And so he went to the island early last year, had a meeting with a buyer from a department store but left disappointed and frustrated. The buyer thought Najo jewellery was beautiful but was unsure about the department store being the launch pad for the relatively “new’’ brand.
“She said if I could prove we could do well in other markets, then their door was open!’’ Elliott tells.
Not wanting to go home empty handed, he travelled to Kuala Lumpur.
“I went to every shopping centre and I couldn’t find anything that was similar to what we offer at Najo. I thought that this city had good retail potential,” he says.
A blue enamel multichain bracelet.
As luck would have it, on his last day here, he came across the Rhapsody boutique in Pavilion KL and was impressed by its great selection of fashionable time pieces as well as jewellery lines for Emporio Armani and D&G. He met up with the owners, who in turn, were impressed with what Najo had to offer. The rest, as they say, is history.
Carey Wong, the director of Rhapsody, had initially picked more conservative pieces for her first order which was in store in June, but Elliott was so sure the range would do well that he threw in a few high-end pieces for the store to display.
“Fortunately, I was right as the high-end pieces that they thought would not sell flew off the shelves,” he says.
Elliott recalls how one customer liked the enamel bangles so much but kept asking for a lower price. When she was told the prices were fixed, she left. However, she returned to buy half a dozen pieces because she could not find the same thing anywhere else.
A stunning red enamel necklace with a pretty tassel.
“Jewellery (buying) is based on emotions and once they (emotions) kick in, they pay for the product!”
He adds: “Long ago, people used to buy one watch and that would last for many years. It was the same for sunglasses or jewellery. But today, this no longer happens and buying patterns have changed.”
Elliott says that Najo has a huge following in Australia because the brand is unique and its designs are the benchmark for contemporary sterling silver. Its line consists primarily of pieces for women as it is a fashion-based jewellery collection with new collections every six months.
There are, however, some pieces for men but, according to Elliott, this it is not a significant part of the business. “There isn’t really a huge metrosexual male market in Australia. The guys buy items like cufflinks and are from niche industries like finance. Young men who embrace the beach culture in Australia buy their jewellery from surf shops.”
According to him, it is the brand’s unique designs that sets it apart in the jewellery market: “The difference is other brands don’t necessarily brand their products. They don’t support the product at point of sale and they don’t do design. What happens is these wholesalers will go to trade fairs in Hong Kong or Las Vegas and they buy off the rack, so they will have similar products (to others).”
Elliott points out that while Najo also buys from trade fairs, the sellers they buy from will not sell designs bought by the company to other buyers.
Also, Tory still continues to deal with Mexican craftsman who make pieces exclusively for the brand. (Unfortunately, these Mexican artisans are a dying breed as youngsters don’t want to be in the jewellery manufacturing business. To protect their craft, Elliott says that Tory is thinking of setting up a foundation in Taxco, south-west of Mexico City, to enable young Mexicans to undergo an apprenticeship to keep the craft alive).
Whatever their sales strategy is, it sure seems to be working. Elliott points out that Najo sometimes has “supply problems which is a great problem to have’’.
He says: “We had a stunning piece and we ordered 200 but we sold over 1,000 pieces eventually. Ninety percent of the range is handmade and if we run out of stock, it takes about 10 weeks (to be back in stock).”
Silver prices, like gold, are also dependant on market forces, but Elliott says that even when prices fluctuate, the company tries to keep its jewellery prices constant: “Last year, silver price jumped 30%, and because we are an ethical company, we felt that we shouldn’t pass all that on to the customer. I think that is the reason for this great loyalty that we enjoy,” he says.
A shiny chunky sterling silver bracelet.
He goes on to explain that all Najo jewellery carries is a 925 hallmark stamp, and this authenticates that its pieces are 92.5% pure silver. (Pure silver is very soft so 7.5% of zinc or copper is added to strengthen the silver.
“You may find Indonesian or Thai silver with the 925 stamp but it is probably only 60% silver, as it is a lot darker and does not have the sheen that normal silver has,” he adds.
He warns that there are two things one should keep silver jewellery away from: Chlorine in swimming pools and bleach.
The best way to clean silver is either to polish with a silver polishing cloth or just gently wash using soap.
To avoid silver from tarnishing, Elliott has this piece of advice: “The best thing to do is to wear it!”
