Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Frost
Hi Matt, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We started in September of 2020. We started the business through my mother-in-law, who had been in the jewelry business for 25 years. She helped us get set up with our original suppliers. In those first months, there was a lot of trial and error, working with different people to whom we had reached out. We had also tried various ways of marketing, trying to get our brand voice figured out. Finally, we found our niche by focusing on custom lab diamond engagement rings. Over the past few years, we have grown from ground zero with no knowledge of this industry to the highest-rated jeweler in Charleston. We moved from finding different spots to meet with our customers– going to other coffee shops or our apartment community center- to shared office space. Now, we are upgrading to our beautiful Design Studio, where excited couples come in to design their custom rings.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I mentioned, there was a lot of trial and error. The biggest challenge has always been finding the right marketing company and team for our growth. Although we have a good direction for where we’re going, we don’t need a better way to find the customers looking for what we specialize in. The jewelry industry is all about trust, so when we first started, we had to show people we were trustworthy. If I didn’t have my mother-in-law, I would have had to pay a lot of suppliers up front, and it would have been much harder to get the business off the ground, but since she vouched for us, we were able to grow the business much quicker than we would have been able to.
As you know, we’re big fans of Charleston Engagement Rings. For our readers who might need to become more familiar with the brand, what can you tell them about it?
We specialize in working with couples in the Charleston area to custom design their own lab-grown diamond engagement ring. Though there are other players in Charleston, we are known for having the best service and highest quality while educating our customers to make the best decision on such a necessary purchase. According to our Google reviews, we are most proud of ourselves for being so new in our business yet still giving couples in Charleston the best experience out of all Charleston-based jewelers; we have only 5-star reviews and intend to keep it that way! What sets us apart is that we only work with lab-grown diamonds – we do not offer natural diamonds. This is because lab-grown and natural diamonds are 100% chemically, physically, and optically the same; they are just from different origins. With lab-grown diamonds, you can also get much more for your money. For example, you can get about twice the carat weight with a lab diamond versus a natural diamond of the same quality. We love being able to give this option to our customers because once they realize they’re the same thing, it’s an easy decision. Our business supports anti-human trafficking and pro-life causes, so we feel as though our morals do not align with natural diamond mining, which often exploits children and puts them in harm’s way.
How do you think about luck?
We feel very blessed to have found lab-grown diamonds because it seems like our sweet spot. As of 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) changed the definition of a diamond to include lab-grown diamonds. Since we started our business in 2020, we have been one of the first people in Charleston to offer lab-grown diamonds. People came to us specifically for lab-grown diamonds because we could jump in at the right time. We look forward to showing more couples that lab-grown diamonds are the way to go!
Pricing:
- You can get twice the carat weight for a lab versus a natural diamond for the same price. As of this writing, you can get a 3-carat F Color VS1 Clarity round cut diamond for the same price as a natural 1.4 Carat G Color VS2 Clarity round cut diamond – both just under $10,000. Our Design Sessions in our Design Studio are free and take an hour. By the time you finish one of our sessions, you will know exactly what your perfect custom ring will be, designed with our Expert Guides.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://charlestonrings.com
- Instagram: @charlestonrings
- Facebook: Charleston Engagement Rings
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@charlestonrings
