An entrepreneur and investor, Roy Sebag has founded a disruptive start-up company named Menē along with co-founder Dianna Widmaier Picasso who is an art historian and also the granddaughter of one of the most renowned artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso.
Menē (mey-nay) derives from the ancient Mesopotamian unit of measurement. The Menē unit reflected 567 grams of pure gold and was one of the earliest written words for money.
Menē is crafting pure 24k karat gold and 24k platinum jewelry. Dianna Picasso is the Chief Artistic Officer of the company working along side Creative Director Sunjoo Moon who is a multifaceted designer. By combining their respective fields of art and design they have created a stunning collection of timeless pieces. The business concept of Menē is to restore the ancient tradition of jewelry as a store of enduring value.
All of the jewelry is crafted from 24k pure gold bullion that has been ethically sourced from mines located in Nevada USA and Ontario Canada. The jewelry manufacturing facility is based in New Jersey with specialized proprietary equipment imported from Italy. I am of the understanding the facility employs a little over 20 skilled workers including old-timer artisan jewelers who hand craft and finish some of the most bespoke pieces.
The collection is offered in polished or brushed finishes. When jewelry is completed it is transported to a vaulted fulfillment center that Menē built in a joint venture with The Brinks Company. It is from this facility located in the Newark Airport complex that Menē ships to over 90 countries around the world.
Super model Anja Rubik and Andres Velecoso are the models representing Menē in marketing campaigns.
Photographer: Paola Kudacki
The Disruptive Business Model
This is how Menē’s pricing model is innovative and disruptive to the current jewelry industry in the West. When looking at Menē’s online store each piece of jewelry has the precise weight displayed in grams along with the current value of that weight denomination. The value changes daily in conjunction with the price of gold and platinum on the global markets. As a customer you are paying the price of what that precious metal content is actually worth which makes that piece of jewelry a store of intrinsic value.
In addition to paying for your precious metal content there is a Menē fee displayed for each piece of jewelry. The Menē fee is for the design and crafting of the jewelry, operation expenses and a meager profit. The Menē pricing model is extremely fair and clearly transparent which is why I am excited about this company and decided to write this.
The Menē fee equates to about 20% of the overall price so roughly 80% of your money is going towards the intrinsic value of your precious metal. Menē’s fair pricing methodology allows customers to own bullion grade gold & platinum jewelry as wearable savings.
The company offers the “Menē Guarantee” which allows customers to exchange or sell any piece of Menē at the current daily metal price minus a 10% fee. Potentially a customer could wear and enjoy a piece of Menē for years and eventually sell it back to Menē for a profit if the precious metal value has gone up over that time period. The platform keeps track of your purchases so at any time you can easily logon to your Menē account and view the performance of each piece of jewelry in your collection.
Photographer: Paola Kudacki
The West versus the East
Jewelry retailers in the West have made it confusing to the consumer to understand value or more so the lack thereof. Retailers offer a choice of 10k, 14k or 18k. Most consumers are unaware that 10 karat is only 42% gold, 14 karat is 58% while 18 karat is 75% gold with the remaining content being worthless alloys. Most often retailers don’t display the weight of the jewelry either. This has enabled the western jewelry sector to be able to get away with charging absurd prices. Jewelry has digressed into the same category of over-priced fashion no different than a designer handbag.
Most customers in the East when shopping for jewelry would ask these three questions when buying jewelry. How many karats? (With the expectation of hearing 21k, 22k or 24k) How much does it weigh? What is today’s price of gold in the global markets? After hearing the answers to these questions the customer will be calculating to see what the physical gold content’s value is worth in order to see if the jewelers overall price is fair. The East understands the importance of owning gold as a store of wealth so it only makes sense to pay a price reflecting close to what the precious metals content is worth. Menē is bringing this ethos to the West.
The Platinum Price Comparison
Below is a screenshot of a Menē 24k platinum ring that I purchased. At the time of my purchase I paid $562.87USD for the value of the platinum, plus the Menē fee for a total of $690.07 USD which is equivalent to $856 CAD. I visited a popular jewelry chain in Canada to price compare and they provided a price of $1850 CAD, more than double. I tried to compare my ring online to Tiffany’s but couldn’t locate an exact style match however a comparable band width ring was priced at $2900 CAD, more than triple the price I paid.
Menē is offering a luxurious crafted product without the luxury price tag.
Part of Menē’s marketing plan is to open thirty “display stores” in locations such as Toronto, New York, Hong Kong and other major cities around the world. These innovative stores will have the Menē collection on display with both the precious metals price and the Menē fee digitally displayed beside each piece of jewelry. These display stores will allow potential customers to see the physical collection offerings and also gain an awareness of what Menē represents.
Menē also has unique gift offerings you can purchase such as gold dice and a guitar pick that are stunning. I happened to notice this picture of what I have to say are the coolest looking buttons I have ever seen. The creative team has already designed over 1500 different sku’s that I am expecting will be added to the collection over time.
Why it is wise to own gold
Gold has been money for over 5000 years. With the monetary system we live in, all government issued currencies experience an erosion of purchasing power over time causing inflation. When you use gold to measure the cost of assets like housing, vehicles or even a Big Mac for that matter the price is usually roughly the same as decades ago. Math clearly shows that gold holds its purchasing power over time avoiding inflation and that is why gold is often referred to as “wealth preservation”. The price of a Big Mac is actually cheaper today than it was 30 years ago, when measured in gold.
Based on centuries of history and math proves that it is wise to preserve some of your savings in 24k gold and Menē has created a fun, fair and fashionable way to do so. I personally think owning a piece of Menē with Dianna Picasso’s design influence is comparable to wearable savings that is also a piece of art.
Menē’s beautifully crafted 24k timeless designs by Dianna Picasso, Sunjoo Moon & team wrapped in a fair pricing model that offers 100% transparency is innovative. Re-introducing the West to the ancient tradition of enduring value the same as jewelry is still bought & sold in the East is disruptive, wearable savings. I have a feeling Menē is going to make Tiffany's head spin.
Currently to sign up to Menē is by invitation only. I have included an invitation link below that you can use. It takes just a minute to sign up with only basic information requested. Buying a piece of Menē to me is like exchanging some of your savings in government issued currency to savings in piece of gold or platinum. Paying roughly a 20% fee to be able to wear & enjoy those gold or platinum savings with an option to sell it back to Menē is priceless.
Invitation Link:
http://Mene.com/invite/jkVWOj
A friend of mine who shares the same passion as I do for Menē inspired me to write my first piece on Steemit. I hope you enjoyed it GMH.
