Luxury: Blending Ethics and E-Commerce at deFaura.com

Up until very recently, the luxury industry as a whole was considered a laggard with regards to the Internet. Few brands seemed willing to venture beyond the typical corporate website or occasional marketing effort. While fashion brands eventually came around, many sectors of the luxury industry including fine jewelers have been especially wary of the Internet for anything more than marketing purposes.

Perhaps it is the spectacular success of pioneers such as Net-a-Porter or the gradual realization that a growing number of high net-worth consumers are increasingly turning to the convenience of the Internet for everything from news to shopping to social networking but there appears to be an important shift taking place. First, Cartier launched a Japanese e-commerce site for its timepieces in 2008 and soon after Boucheron launched a website offering various elements of its boutique collections for sale online to coincide with its 150th anniversary.

Smaller brands are entering the fray as well. One such venture is deFaura.com, an e-commerce site which has partnered with American fine jeweler David Webb to offer the brand's jewelry and watches online while pursuing an environmental mission. While David Webb jewelry had been an early partner of online style emporium Vivre.com where customers could find a limited selection of David Webb pieces, this is the first time the fine jeweler's entire array of jewelry and watches is made available for purchase online. Moreover, the company has chosen to pursue commerce and ethics in tandem. The President and CEO of deFaura.com, Javier Dominguez, graciously accepted to submit to The Luxe Chronicles' questions.

1. What is deFaura.com?

We're a new, small, and ambitious company with an altruistic vision and a deep commitment to client service. We're a commercial enterprise that has partnered with American fine jeweler David Webb to offer David Webb fine jewelry and watches online. But we also feel strongly about environmental issues and children's issues and have decided to incorporate those values into our mission. At deFaura.com, we believe you can successfully pursue a commercial venture while improving the world around you.

2. How did the idea for deFaura.com come about?

David Webb is a brand that has always stood for bold innovation both in terms of design and materials. Back in the 1950's and 60's, it led the way aesthetically for American fine jewelers. The brand felt it was time to innovate again, this time by embracing the Internet as a way of reaching new markets. The time was ripe to put Webb on the web so-to-speak.

4. What is deFaura.com's relationship with David Webb?

We are an independent company that has formed a partnership with David Webb. In a way, you could say that we have a familial relationship as well since one of our executives belongs to the family who owns David Webb. This relationship allows us complete access not only to their inventory but to the full array of client services.

David Webb is such an iconic American brand, everyone seems to have a favorite piece whether it is Diana Vreeland's zebra bangle or the Duchess of Windsor's beloved frog ensemble. Currently, David Webb has a flagship store and Madison Avenue in New York City and a boutique in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills but no stores in Europe, the Middle East or Asia where there is demand for the Webb aesthetic. Now through deFaura.com, those clients can more easily gain access to David Webb fine jewelry. We hold a truly privileged position because we have access to the entire David Webb inventory. Even pieces not displayed on our website can be obtained or specially ordered for you.

3. How does the site work?

First, we sell David Webb watches and jewelry in a straightforward manner. You see it in our website, you can order and pay for it. We will deliver it straight to you. Plain and simple.

Second, we can fulfill special orders. For instance, if you have a specific piece of David Webb jewelry in mind but can't find it on the site, we can have it made for you.

Third, we plan to introduce a monthly online auction of authenticated David Webb pieces. There is a strong demand for estate David Webb jewelry and we intend to be the preferred venue for it. Our privileged relationship with David Webb allows us to offer authentication services. All pieces offered at auction will come with a letter of authentication signed by an officer from David Webb, Inc. For those clients selling their jewelry in the auction, we will offer repair and polishing services. These services are essential to estate jewelry sales and the auction process in that they offer buyers peace of mind. A customer can confidently bid on the piece they covet knowing that it is pre-authenticated. They know they're getting the value and history for which David Webb is renowned.

5. Do you plan to expand your product category to include more than fine jewelry?

We started with our entry level watches and eventually added the more important time pieces. Eventually we added fine jewelry such as rings and bracelets. We will gradually add earrings and necklaces. As for expanding our product range beyond fine jewelry, we are taking things slowly. This is very exciting for us but we have our feet planted firmly on the ground.

6. There are many within the luxury industry who feel that outside fashion, high end luxury does not belong on the Internet. You obviously don't adhere to this viewpoint. Why?

I see the Internet as the means to expand our reach globally. I believe the way in which you use the Internet will help define your brand. We have approached this in an elegant and minimalist way. Our website is clean, simple and open. It provides an elegant environment or interface in which to explore David Webb's unique designs.

If you can put a tasteful ad in the pages of a magazine or in the New York Times, I don’t see why the Internet would be so different. The Internet won’t diminish the value of a brand if you use it in a way that is right for your brand and your business. Besides, the Internet is the way of the future. I don't think luxury brands can escape it.

7. deFaura.com has an environmental mission as well. Can you tell us about it?

We want to do two things. First, our aim is to have a low environmental negative impact. For instance, we're looking for a better hosting company for our website. We have found a company that offers green hosting: they get all their energy from solar panels and have a facility that is energy efficient. We're looking forward to migrating our site to their servers in the near future. It's a gradual process.

Second, we want to put something back into our environment so we're pledging 10% of our net benefits to environmental causes. We are passionate about the concept of sustainable development. We're currently in conversation with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York and World Wildlife Fund in Washington D.C. We're also looking closely at ANIA, a Peruvian non-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting children and their environment.

We're also interested is the use of new materials. We're currently working with David Webb's creative director and craftsmen to develop a line of jewelry that will use material from non-timber forest products. We're very excited about this. The craftsmen at David Webb have already started making models. You might say that we're bringing the forest of South America to the jungle of New York. The prototypes are simply amazing.

Eventually, we want to partner with organizations that promote the sustainable use of non-timber forest products. That will be tied with the new line we are trying to develop. We're also in the process of developing a deFaura line of watches that have this concept in mind. We’ve been scouting for a watchmaker in Switzerland that is carbon neutral and uses sustainable packaging and the like. This is the direction in which we want to go.

8. Everyone is now talking about "ethical luxury" and "sustainable luxury". Do you think there is substance to this or do you think this is just one more trend?

I do not believe this is a trend without substance. Not at all. I firmly believe that the luxury industry has the potential to show the way forward.

Products that last longer are better for the environment (provided of course they are produced in a sustainable way). The quality of a finely crafted luxury product whether a fine piece of furniture or a gold and enamel necklace will last not only for this generation to enjoy but generations to come as well. That means less material in the landfills and less negative impact on the environment. Movements such as these need strong leaders. The luxury industry has the opportunity to be at the forefront of this movement.

9. There has been a great deal of consolidation within the luxury industry over the course of the last 15 years. How does a small start-up such as deFaura.com compete in this kind of environment?

Our partnership with David Webb is a strategic one. David Webb is a company still run by the family that helped found it over sixty years ago. The core values of the brand have not changed since the day David Webb first opened for business. Decisions are made here not in accordance with shareholders' demands but rather in accordance with the brand's traditions and values: create exceptional pieces of jewelry that incorporate the artistry and exceptional quality that have made the brand's reputation. deFaura.com shares the same values.

The only way to compete in the current environment is by offering the finest quality products with unparalleled service, showing that we really care for the environment, and giving back to our community (at the local and global level). It comes down to acting like a responsible global corporate citizen.

10. We live in very tumultuous times. How does luxury as an industry remain relevant in the midst of a recession?

These times are indeed very difficult. It hasn’t been an easy start for us. But, we're confident that we can survive now and strive later on. In the case of jewelry, fine pieces made of gold and precious stones constitute a wearable investment. The value of David Webb pieces is strong even in the current market and they tend to maintain their value over time. For instance, during the Sotheby’s auction in December 2008, David Webb pieces went for extraordinary prices and the audience would break out into spontaneous applause at the end of each sale. David Webb pieces elicit an emotional response. Not many luxury brands can credibly claim to do that these days.

11. Thank you for submitting to our questions. Best of luck to you.

My pleasure.

For more information about deFaura.com or David Webb, click on the links to be redirected to their websites.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Javier Dominguez]

Hi:
Thank you for your kind words.
David Webb is reorganizing. It's not in liquidation. They have their stores open, and so we have our website open. In that regard, nothing has changed.
Regarding your third point, I have to apologize for my ignorance. Why would the use of the word "brand" be in any way offensive? (Please bear in mind that even though I have an American education, English is not my first language.)
Thanks for your comments.

Javier

[AG, USA]

To Defaura:

First:

Let me congratulate you on your worthy mission statement. Well done.

Second:

Keeping in mind that David Webb, Inc has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy recently, how does that affect your association with them (other than by marriage)?

Third:

I find the use of the word “brand” when referring to David Webb’s jewelry offensive. Why do you call it such? Please explain as I truly want to know.

Fourth: I wish you well in your business ventures. I can not honestly agree with it for David’s pieces and his vision, but wish you well non- the- less.