Missoma: Step Aside Fine Jewelry, It's Demi-Fine Jewelry's Time To Shine

While both have their time and place in every wearer's closet, fine jewelry isn't very budget friendly and costume jewelry typically lacks quality Meet Missoma, a London-based online jewelry retailer known for being the driving force in the development of a new jewelry category known as, "Demi-fine" with distinctive pieces that combine semi-precious gemstones and 18ct gold vermeil On what made her start the brand Hordern tells me, "I've had an obsession with crystals ever since I was five when my mother bought me a small piece of labradorite and I quickly began spending all my money on crystals and gemstones.

I studied history at Oxford and afterwards settled into a corporate job I started making jewelry at the kitchen table with my mother as a hobby This is literally a cottage industry.

We would always go to the markets together and we found jewelry that was either too fine or really cheap looking We wanted to make pieces that we wanted to wear We wanted it to be wearable and affordable" Two years later, Hordern quit her job to make luxe pieces of jewelry at an affordable price full time.

Fast forward to today and not only is the brand busting the preconceived notions about this genre it is delivering what I thought was the impossible-high quality pieces with most prices under $200 "We focus on creating the perfect jewelry for your everyday wardrobe An integral part of our designs is their ability to be worn alone or layered.

We embrace the need for versatility, interchangeable pieces, mix & match studs, and collectable pendants and charms Ultimately, your jewelry should be a unique expression of your individual style", Hordern tells me of the brand's aesthetic "It's kind of crazy when you wake up and realize one day that you started a jewelry brand, but in reality you are really a tech company.

Ninety-six percent of our sales come from online You realize it's all about how to reach the end customer We work with different agencies to help with SEO and our affiliate business.

We are investing in new CRM platforms based on AI and buyers behavior to learn in real time what they are buying, what products work and which don't You end up being a systems business but you still need to retain the culture Our website is our storefront and we want to be first in our field".

Missoma is working hard to train female artisans, giving them more opportunities for jobs in places like Japuir, India where the best wages are in the jewelry industry. . Source