Jeweler Mejuri Sets a Strategy in Silver

LONDON — When the going gets tough, opt for sterling silver.

That’s what Mejuri’s customers have been doing, snapping up pieces from the new Puzzle collection, which is made from sterling silver, gold vermeil and a mix of lab-grown and mined diamonds and colored rocks.

Puzzle features architectural stacking rings, and small sliding birthstone charms to add to necklaces. All the rings fit together, allowing customers to create their own stacks, and even wear them all at once. There are 14 styles of rings with prices starting at $158, while the 12 charms cost $168 each.

If there was ever a collection that mirrored these straitened times for demi-fine jewelers, Puzzle is it. It launched last year with a series of 18-karat gold vermeil rings and a few months ago Mejuri added sterling silver rings and slider charms.

“The rings are all at an accessible price point, and they are modular. Each piece looks amazing on its own, but you’re able to come back and collect the remainder of them, and create an amazing look,” said Noura Sakkijha, cofounder and chief executive officer of Mejuri, and a third-generation jeweler.

The strategy has struck a chord among consumers, she added, with Puzzle becoming Mejuri’s fastest-selling collection to date. Some 60 percent of shoppers have been purchasing three or more rings from the collection.

Puzzle’s offer is part of Mejuri’s wider diversification strategy. Over the past two years, the brand has ramped up its overall silver and gold vermeil offer. Sakkijha said the team, which is based in Toronto, is already working on introducing “new categories and materials” in response to declining consumer sentiment, especially in North America.

“The world is shaky. In North America, consumers are really worried about spending, and consumer sentiment is low. Retail, in general, is having a [challenging] moment and gold prices are high. I tell everybody that in the past two years I’ve gained 15 years of experience,” she said.

Since Mejuri launched 11 years ago as a direct-to-consumer brand, the gold price has quadrupled to around $4,500 per troy ounce. Silver has also become more expensive.

It’s not just the raw material prices that are hurting jewelers. The impact of U.S. tariffs coupled with the cancellation of de minimis exemptions meant that Mejuri and its peers, even the ones that sell at lower price points, have had to find solutions to support the top and bottom lines of the business.

She’s not the only one flagging the challenges to the middle segment of the market. Earlier this month, Pandora’s CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier said the K-shaped economy in the U.S. is dragging sales down.

“What we see is that consumer sentiment is disproportionately degrading with the middle and the lower income,” with Pandora “over-indexed on middle income.”

The CEO was speaking as Pandora’s revenues slipped 3.3 percent in the first quarter to 951.3 million euros, dented by “lower consumer sentiment in North America” and weakness in Europe. In response, Pandora has been shifting from silver to platinum‑plated jewelry.

Although Mejuri’s prices are higher than Pandora’s, the company is still adjusting them in line with its ethos. Sakkijha has always described Mejuri purchases as a “guilt-free celebration” due to the overall price points. It was also one of the first demi-fine jewelers to promote self-purchase among its mainly female customers.

Currently, entry prices start below $100 while most of the purchases are between $200 and $500, according to Sakkijha. For big spenders, there’s a tennis necklace priced at $10,000.

Mejuri has also been tightening up its operations due to the changing times.

“We’ve been focusing on improving our bottom line. When tariffs hit and the de minimis exemption was removed, our cost structure — all of a sudden — got inflated. The business is no longer about growth, growth, growth, it’s about sustainable growth,” she said.

Last year was a big one, with 15 store openings, mainly in the U.S. and Canada, while this year there will be only four openings — three in the U.S., and one in Melbourne, Australia.

Mejuri opened at The Village at Corte Madera, outside San Francisco, earlier this month. Later this year it will open at Century City in Los Angeles and at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, Ill. Its second Melbourne store opened at Emporium, in the heart of the Central Business District, in early May.

The company currently has around 60 stores, including franchises in the Middle East, where it is also looking to expand.

Sakkijha said the goal over the next few years is to continue its expansion into the GCC states, such as Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. She added that Mejuri’s stand-alone stores in London’s Marylebone, Chelsea and Covent Garden neighborhoods have amplified brand awareness in the Middle East.

Sales in the U.K. have been expanding quickly, rising 13 percent since the brand launched here five years ago. “The U.K. is a nice chunk of the business right now. And when you grow in the U.K., you start to have an influence in neighboring countries. We’re super excited to expand in Europe in the future, too,” she added.

Some 50 percent of Mejuri’s monthly revenue comes from existing customers, with the other half coming from new ones. Sakkijha likes the balance. “To me that speaks to the health of the business, because it means you’ve created a relationship with the customer that makes them want to come back. You’re not a one-hit wonder,” she said.

Mejuri has worked hard on those relationships. From the beginning the brand made the decision not to put the jewelry behind, or under, glass, with the exception of the most expensive pieces.

“People thought it was crazy. But from the get-go we designed the stores for you to go in and touch and feel the product and get styled. I always explain that Mejuri is like having a friend” who happens to know a lot about jewelry, she said.

“I want people to feel welcome in our stores, not intimidated. Our tone of voice is conversational, not condescending. We’re talking to smart women. Even when we do our photography, we try to feature relatable women, and catch them in a moment. It’s all about joy,” she added.

The result is that, despite challenging times, sales are growing 20 percent year-on-year, while Mejuri’s customer base has risen to more than 3 million.

Self-purchase remains at the core of the business. “It is the first thing we think about when we design products, when we do photo shoots,” Sakkijha said, adding that she gets her biggest buzz running into customers who “tell me about each piercing they had, each piece that they bought, why they bought it. It’s what we set out to do,” she said.

The brand has been working on the sustainability front, too.

It is Butterfly Mark-certified by Positive Luxury, the London-based organization that advises companies and conducts ESG and related assessments. This independent Butterfly accreditation verifies a brand’s commitment to high standards of environmental performance, social responsibility, governance, and innovation.

Mejuri also said its gold vermeil exceeds standard industry benchmarks. It uses a 2.5-micron layer of gold over sterling silver, along with a palladium barrier layer to enhance durability and help prevent corrosion. The company said each piece is tested using methods such as X-Ray Fluorescence to confirm precise metal composition, alongside additional durability testing for heat, humidity and wear.