Oster Jewelers

Dec 9

In their own words

“Our focus is still the same: providing beautiful quality. We want to work with the actual designers, the people with the passion that we feel is worthy of what we recommend to our clients. Over the years, we in the industry all learn. And the more I learn, the more appreciation I have for craftsmanship, originality in the design, the aspects of making a ring, and the quality that’s going to last so we know we are doing the very best by our clients.”

-Jeremy Oster

Jason’s Interview with Jeremy

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Jeremy Oster from Oster Jewelers. Tell us how you started. What's the story?

Jeremy

Started up in Aspen about twenty-five years ago. Got into luxury watches and jewelry, and found that I enjoyed the whole arena of this luxury field. I enjoyed connecting with luxury consumers and showcasing beautiful design, beautiful quality, and unique examples of fine watches and jewelry. And from there, developed a very good reputation for myself—learned the trade, learned the industry, and evolved to where I eventually wanted to open up my own store with my wife—Oster Jewelers in the Denver, Colorado area.

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We have a unique partnership and we work well together. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses, but we complement each other. My wife has an incredible eye for fine jewelry, she's incredible at spotting emerging talents and often we're the first to bring in new jewelry designers who go on to become very popular. On the watch side, I’ve always been well known for taking risks and often the first to carry luxury watch brands that most of America have never heard of, but go on to become strong, highly sought-after brands.

Jason
What's your wife's name?

Jeremy
Melissa.

Jason
Where did she study?

Jeremy
She, like me, was up in Aspen and has a raw eye for talent. Without a typical jewelry career—she came into it a bit later on, kind of through me. She has this raw eye that appreciates design and beauty.

Jason
Tell me a really fun engagement ring experience or proposal that's top of mind.

Jeremy
We've had some unique ones. We had one recently where the gentleman planned an entire trip in California to wine country, planned out every detail. But the fires that are going on scuttled that whole deal, so he had to reconsider how to do it. But the magic, of course, is in the romance and the sparkle between the couple. With the right ring, the right couple, it's going to work however it's presented as long as the emotions are real.

Jason
What's the plan for the next five years, ten years?

Jeremy
For the next five to ten years, our focus is still the same: providing beautiful quality, more uniqueness. We're going a slightly more exclusive way in that we're moving away from big brands. We want to work with the actual designers, the people that exhibit the passion that we feel is worthy of what we want to recommend to our clients. We're constantly learning. The more I learn, the more appreciation I have for the craftsmanship, originality in design, the aspects of making a ring, and the quality.

Jason
Can you talk to us about your podcast? How did it start?

Jeremy
The podcast is really my passion, something I truly enjoy. When we were in Switzerland visiting one of the big watch factories, I sat down with the head watchmaker there and had an amazing conversation over a cup of coffee. My wife, who is normally not interested in the watches, said it was the most incredible conversation she's ever heard. It got very theoretical, very philosophical, about the different approaches to watchmaking. She saw me come alive, that this is where I'm really happiest.

She wished she could have recorded that conversation to play to our clients, friends, people who are interested in watches and just want to listen. So we decided, let's start doing our own recording. Keeping Time as a podcast was born.

We started off working with a couple of watchmakers we know. The conversations are very natural, not scripted in any way. I rarely even have a list of more than one or two questions. It's just a conversation that I want to have with somebody that has something important to offer and share. As a result, the conversation is natural, real, and genuine, and the knowledge that I've acquired over nearly thirty years comes across because I'm able to ask questions that enable the person on the other end to open up and share the emotions and deeper thoughts that go into the product. We find that people all over the world are really enjoying it. We have listeners from Denmark, China, South Korea, Latin America. Quite incredible how many listeners we have all over the world. As a result, the podcast is now growing. A true work of passion. And if we can provide a service to the person who's making five watches a year, then we've showcased artistry and fine horology and opened people's eyes to what is truly possible in the world of watches beyond all the big brands.

Jason
Tell me about Bovet.

Jeremy
Bovet. We used to carry Bovet, we don't anymore. Haven't for a few years, but always had a lot of regard for Bovet. Like many of the brands we carry, such as Grönefeld and Kari Voutilanien, and the smaller independent watchmakers, and Parmigiani, they offer unique quality and a distinctive style. Bovet is located in the town of Fleurier, which is where Parmigiani is located. Parmigiani is one of our main brands. In fact, Michel Parmigiani, the founder of Parmigiani Fleurier, was actually one of the main people involved in recreating the modern-day Bovet brand. It has artistry and elegance about it. Everything that is appealing about the Fleurier way of watchmaking is very special and highlighted in the Parmigiani Fleurier line.

Jason
How do you think they're able to sell a $300,000 watch?

Jeremy
Well, they don't sell $300,000 watches, the people representing the brands do that part. It comes down to the right people behind the counter who understand and appreciate what they have in front of them and then having the client that is A) Open minded, B) Extremely affluent, and C) Wants something unique. Many fine watch brands are going to sell watches in that price range. There is a certain level of exclusivity, desirability, and a lot of times, the people buying those watches own multiple watches in that price range. If you can afford one, you can afford many.

Jason
What's the name of your podcast and how can people get there?

Jeremy
Keeping Time is the name of the podcast and you can download and stream it directly from our website, which is osterjewelers.com. We have a blog on there as well, so we accompany each episode with pictures of the people involved. You can access the podcast through iTunes and any other podcast player. We should be on Spotify shortly as well, we're just in their review period. But it's widely available.

Jason
Why do you think people can trust you?

Jeremy
Quite simple. There's always an element of a lack of trust, whenever you're dealing with people you don't know. The first part is you spend time with people—we're never pushy. We ask a lot of questions. We're interviewing you as a client as much as you're interviewing us as your retailer. We want to make sure it's the right fit. We don't want to sell a piece and then have it be returned because it wasn't quite right. We want to make sure it is a successful relationship. We're never interested in one sale. We're interested in one relationship, long-term. We're not going to be for everybody. Our product is very specialized, we may not carry a lot of the brand names that a lot of people recognize, but if people are open-minded and willing to look at true quality, inspect pieces, and appreciate what we do, they're going to find something a little more special than they had expected.

Jason
Tell us about a jewelry designer that's up-and-coming right now?

Jeremy
We have a few. We work with individual designers quite frequently. One is this lovely jeweler by the name of Melinda Risk. She has incredible skull jewelry and we see her frequently because she makes very few pieces and we're one of the exclusive jewelers that carries her. A lot of skulls, a lot of edgy stuff, a lot of details, she's quite interesting. Definitely not for everybody, but for those who appreciate that kind of art it’s very good. Others—we don't necessarily want to share. We want you to discover. So come into the store, check out our website. If you come to the store, we'll show you pieces you haven't seen before and designers you don't know.

Jason
How often do you change up your designers?

Jeremy
We never have a plan to actively rotate or cycle. It's about what catches our eye. If we see a new designer, we're going to get behind them. If we feel confident in them, we are going to jump on it. If we're happy with the product mix, and we normally are, then we're gonna stick with that mix. We recently added Messika Jewelry, which is a Haute Couture line out of Paris, featured very heavily on the red carpet. Very kind of clean, beautiful diamonds, the quality is exceptional. It's about showing something that offers true value and truly unique items that don't look like other pieces.

Jason
Here's your chance, you have a platform to say anything you'd like.

Jeremy
Open your eyes, don't listen to all the advertising. Contrary to what that may sound like, let your individual spirit guide you to the right jeweler and product. Have an open mind instead of being sold to by all the heavy advertising that is out there. Then you'll find the products that truly fit with you, your lifestyle, your personality.