Today we’d like to introduce you to Elvira Arslanova.
Elvira, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Born and raised in Russia, I grew up around the Ural Mountains. I am hence quite connected to gemstones and their mystical auras. Known as the world gemstone kingdom, I recall traveling with my parents to the outskirts of the city in the mountains area and stumbling upon colorful stones that shimmered under the clear water at the riverbed. Having visited the JCK Las Vegas Gemstone and Jewelry show in 2013 as a consumer, I was completely unaware of how this enriching event might very literally change my life. At the JCK I happened to meet, Krishna, a man who’s growing gemstone wholesale business functioned out of Los Angeles with a little over 29 years of experience. I would say, I’m quite intuitive and can easily read a person within minutes. Now after 4 years knowing Krishna I can tell same words as I was thinking in my first meeting with him: ” I never met more trustful and responsible person as him”. Supplying gems and jewelry to wholesale businesses, US jewelry stores and designers alike our parent company was at the time well-seasoned move to the online platform. Realizing Krishna’s desire to venture into the online space and together with my “head full of ideas” we created JupiterGem.com, an online store for jewelers and customers to discover spectacular natural gems with a unique collection of well-crafted jewelry.
With no background in website development and what seemed to be a promising future for the jewelry industry, (as you know more than 200 jewelry stores closed during the last year in USA alone), I trod into what seemed to be the unknown. We all know when you truly want something, the universe conspires towards helping you achieve it and from humble beginnings Jupiter Gem slowly began to take shape. To my good luck I met an IT developer who’s experience with websites led me to believe creating an online portal was a piece of cake. With Krishna’s approval, January 2013 marked the start of our online venture. Now, thinking back, I can tell you that I was naïve to believe I could build a website within a day. Well in all honestly it takes a team and the efforts of a minimum 5-10 people working on it consistently. A photographer, an IT developer, a blogger, an SEO team, and a team for content management are key to having a growing website. Yes, I’m a big dreamer and believe I can also be a world changer! I distinctly remember one day in 2013 when I was flying into LA with the bright, crystal clear sky and the loveliest weather. I was looking down the planet I could not help but imagine people from Europe, UK, Canada, US and all across the world purchasing our gemstones. I saw them with the smile on their face.
They were very happy! Today, this is exactly what we do. Serving customers from UK, Austria, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Germany, Belgium to name a few, and of course USA, we aim to offer each customer an unmatched personalized experience. Catering to their needs, with gemstones that match their lifestyle, we try our best to offer a unique and tailored shopping experience. The most rewarding is when you wake up to find a couple of orders on your Gmail account or reviews sent to you by email with words like “Elvira, I think you are the most precious gemstone in your company”. That is undoubtedly a moment of humility when one truly understands the meaning of life!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road hasn’t always been smooth, but it has been stable as our personalities, both Krishna and me. We both clearly understood at the beginning, that success wasn’t a day’s job, but rather one that with the right seed would prove worthwhile. I remember during the first year we would often go hiking in Griffith park and talk about how we could sell at least one gemstone a month. Now, those memories make me smile. Our business is very specific in terms of quality and what can be displayed online. Could you imagine just how many varieties of colored gems the earth has mined? With a professional art background, from the ages of 6 to 16, although most of my work hangs upon the walls in my parent’s home, I was always drawn to color. The myriad of color shades and blends much like a gemstone is always alive. Once a gemstone touches the skin, and you slowly rock and tilt the gem you can see the whole universe within. So, if we talk about struggles along the way – our first one WAS and IS to make the gemstone appear as it truly is in terms of color on the picture or video for a customer. This means when customer looks at the picture he should understand quality, color and the most importantly be able to trust it is the same. It took a lot of time for us to be able to capture a gemstone in its true form and we are still learning. Sometimes when customers come to our office by appointment and ask: “Can I make photo and send it to my husband/ wife?”. We answer: ‘Sure, please do it”. Although needless to say after several shots the person understands it is quite impossible to match the beauty of the gem with a 2-dimensional picture. The other challenge was establishing a trustworthy and smart team. It took me years to find the right people from locations across the world. Now we have individuals from US, India, Ukraine and Russia who help us consistently over the years to keep the website updated and the road smooth 🙂
Please tell us about JupiterGem.com.
Jupiter Gem specializes in exceptional quality colored stones like Sapphires, Rubies, Emeralds, Alexandrites, Tourmalines, Tsavorites and many more. Log on to our website to see the massive, unmatched collection of colorful stones we stock in our inventory. Another popular favorite from our collection over the last three years is the Padparadscha Sapphire. With the growing trend to create a custom engagement ring studded with Padparadscha sapphire, people seem to be falling in love with this extremely difficult to pronounce gem. Bursting with color of the perfect sunset, together with a lotus flower, we seem to have an enquiry if not a purchase every day for this spectacular gemstone. We also specialize in fine jewelry with colorful gemstones and diamonds. With a huge selection of colorful rings crafted in precious metal, we custom create rings in Platinum, White Gold, Yellow Gold or Rose gold. Krishna and I are both proud of our history as a wholesale business and with Jupiter Gem. A company that began over 30 years ago, from nothing it is great to see how the company is growing every day. Following in our founder’s footsteps to provide impeccable quality gems with honesty and responsibility, we continue the tradition. You can read all about our esteemed founders on the website.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Random question answer: I just love LA, and that’s all there is to it. Having spent 2008-09 in Great Britain and Scotland after which I travelled around Europe and Asia for three years visiting gems and jewelry exhibitions, LA has very simply won my heart.
Contact Info:
- Address: 510 West 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014
- Website: www.jupitergem.com
- Phone: +1 323 844 3675
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jupitergemstones
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jupitergem
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jupitergem
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jupitergem-los-angeles
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
