We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bryson Roberts a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Bryson thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Choice Jewelry is not your average jewelry store in a couple ways that diverge from the jewelry industry.

Big box stores are often production based businesses. This means they create the same pieces of jewelry over and over again. Jewelry is often times shared between multiple people as a symbol of something special between them. A symbol of marriage, a symbol of love for anniversaries, or a symbol of pride in someone for an accomplishment they have achieved. In my personal opinion this mass produced jewelry simply doesn’t hold as much sentimental value knowing that multiple people are wearing the exact some piece. That is why Choice Jewelry does not replicate anything, whenever possible. I believe that custom jewelry should be custom made just for you. Knowing that you are the only person in the entire world that is wearing that one piece of jewelry is where Choice really captures the sentimental value for our clients.

I also do things for my clients that most stores in the industry are just not willing to do. Choice specializes in reworks. Meaning I take family heirlooms, broken or outdated jewelry and redesign them into a new piece that our clients will be happy to wear daily. All while using their metal and their stones, again adding even more sentimental value to their custom piece of jewelry. On several occasions I have even taken ashes from a loved one and incorporated it into their jewelry. Whether that is adding a little capsule into the piece to hold the ashes or literally melting the ashes down into the metal. Several clients of mine were turned away from big box stores for wanting these things done. Choice doesn’t turn anyone away. If my clients can dream it, I will figure out a way to make it happen for them.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began my journey in jewelry making at East Carolina University where I majored in Metals Design. This was very much catered towards the art side of jewelry. Learning and playing around with different types of material to create jewelry, all while learning the basics of metalsmithing. After graduation I took a few continuing education courses in the jewelry industry. I took multiple stone setting courses at The New Approach School for Jewelers, outside of Nashville, TN. Earning a Comprehensive Stone Setting certification and later earning my Advanced Stone Setters certification.

Once I earned these certifications I was able to work as a goldsmith for a custom shop in Durham, NC for nearly a decade. This is the where I really began to grow my skills as an overall jeweler/goldsmith. Really honing in on things like the art of metal fabrication, all the different types of stone settings, and gaining my own style of jewelry design.

I think one of the main things I would want potential clients to know about me is I have a fear of becoming stagnant. They can trust that I will always push the limits of design for them and also provide them with the highest level of craftsmanship and artistry. That’s why to this day, even though it’s not necessary to continue in my line of work, I still take continuing education courses to grow as an artist and as a goldsmith. With art there is no peak. You can always grow and always learn new things.

In 2022 I attended a hand engraving course at Texas Engraving School right outside of Houston, TX. Once I finished the course and got back in my studio, I started focusing on the art of drawing scrolls which was extremely difficult and then practiced engraving them on just about anything metal that I could find. After about 7 months and 100+ hours of practicing, I now offer hand engraving through Choice Jewelry. Whether it is jewelry, guns and knives, or even one of those metal Ridge wallets, I can now add a special touch to your piece with hand engraving.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Choice Jewelry was always a dream of mine. But just like everything else in life, I never knew that it would become reality the way it did. Choice is a success story without investors, a completely self funded jewelry studio with hard work and a quality product to get it started.

My wife got a job offer in Charleston, SC and we could not turn down this opportunity for her career. Once we made the decision to move, we were in Charleston about 3 months later. Any business owner will tell you that 3 months is no where near enough time to put together enough capital to start a business. But I thought to myself “Hey, I’m still young, dumb, and have the work ethic to make this happen!” I decided to not start the business with any investors because I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to make the business what I envisioned it to be and even more importantly I think my artistry would have been hindered with investors being involved. So I decided to be completely self funded.

It was extremely difficult at times but I continued to focus on three things, the quality of my work, creating designs that were eye catching, and providing the highest level of customer service possible. Making these things my top priority everyday started to catch the attention of the community. Allowing me to bring in more business and grow Choice Jewelry to where it is today. After the humbling beginnings of working out of the guest bedroom in our home, I now have a fully equipped studio with quality tools and a consultation area where my clients can come relax and design their jewelry with me and have a jewelry experience like no other.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth. I am one that believes in letting my work do the talking. When you are working with me you can immediately sense that I’m not your typical salesman that is trying to convince you into making a purchase. I like to keep things simple. I am honest with people about the possibilities of what they are looking for and I educate my clients throughout the design process so THEY can be comfortable with their decisions. Then I simply create beautiful pieces of jewelry and back it with lifetime guarantees.

So much of my business comes from previous clients referring friends and family to me. Clients leave the studio not only excited to have a new piece of jewelry, but they feel comfortable with me and they feel like they were truly cared for and not just another sale. Because of this they are excited to tell people about what I do and refer them to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.ChoiceJewelryCharleston.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choicejewelry.charleston/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/choicejewelrycharleston/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryson-roberts-choice-jewelry

Image Credits
Headshot by Paolo Ciccone of DreamLight Images