Went digging through the archives and came across this booklet from 1856, “Jewelry and The Precious Stones.”
In it, I learned that ‘carat’ is possibly a derivation of the Italian verb caratáre, signifying to weigh with great care, to scrutinize. 💎
The carat was formerly exactly equivalent to four grains.
I also learned that there is no complete history to the knowledge of the jeweler’s vocation.
What the Ancients Left Behind, and What Survived
From the book:
“Apelles, the celebrated painter, wrote ‘A History of Art,’ which has unfortunately perished. There can be little doubt that this contained in a consecutive form the information we might desire on this subject.”
“It would seem that the jeweler’s vocation originally was not a distinct one, but was merged in the general profession of the artist.”
“So far as we can gather, Egypt was the single source from which the knowledge of this art, as well as of others, spread into the other ancient nations.”
There is so much to learn about the history of the profession and I’m loving every second of it! 📚
The Craft Was Always Second to the Story
Here’s what hit me:
The jeweler was an artist first. The craft came second to the story, the vision and the meaning.
And that’s still true today.
When someone buys a fully-encircled deep sea blue sapphire ring, they’re not buying specifications. They’re buying the moment they imagine wearing it to their anniversary dinner. The story they’ll tell when someone asks, “Where’d you get that?”
Your Inbox Is a Goldsmith’s Canvas
The interesting thing is email gives you the same canvas those ancient goldsmiths had.
You get to merge the vocation with the artistry. To write like someone who sees beyond carat weight and metal type, and into who your customer becomes when they wear your pieces.
That’s the caratáre—the scrutiny, the care, the intentionality, applied to how you communicate. 💌
When emails feel like they’re written by someone who genuinely loves the piece and understands the people who wear it, something shifts.
This is the foundation Inbox Gems is built on: jewelry email campaigns that honor both the craft and the emotional truth of why people buy.
Curious to Know Where Your Jewelry
Brand Stacks Up When it Comes to Email?
You'll get your
Inbox
Gem Grade™ (IGG) - a
proprietary rating system based
on the classic AGS diamond cut scale. 💎
You'll also discover crucial custom action points
that can help you uplevel
your email results immediately.
To emails as enchanting as your pieces,
Andrew Martinsen
Founder, Inbox Gems
