Member Success Stories: Ames Silversmithing

In 1976, Gary Youngberg took a chance. After spending two years teaching himself to make jewelry in his spare time, working mostly with silver, he left the college program where he was studying, took his last $1500 in savings and launched Ames Silversmithing in Ames, Iowa with his fiancee Karen.

More than 40 years and two major expansions later, Ames Silversmithing is known for  for their one-of-a-kind jewelry creations, crafted from gold, platinum, diamonds, precious stones and, of course, silver.

"There are very few stores in the country that you could walk into and see five or six people that design and make jewelry, right there in front of you," says Youngberg,  noting that he and his team make jewelry both for the case and for the customer.

"Most of the time when someone walks into a jewelry store, maybe the owner does a little ring sizing, or something like that - [but] when you go to a mall store [for jewelry repairs], a lot of that work is jobbed out to somebody else. So we're particularly unique in that the customer can come in and talk to the person who's actually going to work on their piece."

Ames Silversmithing is a Lifetime member of Polygon and has been active on the network since 1996. 

“Gone are the days where if you had a diamond call, you'd call two suppliers; now, you put it out there and you've got responses from multiple dealers. So that has been a huge benefit.”

Gary Youngberg,
Owner Ames Silversmithing

Member Since 1996
Polygon ID: 48189

SOURCING DIAMONDS & COLORED STONES MORE EFFICIENTLY

As a business based on custom design and on-the-spot jewelry making, Ames Silversmithing needs to source diamonds and colored stones regularly. They use Polygon’s databases to find the stones they need and compare offers from multiple dealers.

"There's a broad range of things that Poly does for me. First, the database of loose diamonds and colored stones is fantastic.”

In addition to the databases, the buying channels are helpful for specific calls or requests.

“We've always got that that we can reference if we're looking for something. Gone are the days where if you had a diamond call, you'd call two suppliers; now, you put it out there and you've got responses from multiple dealers. So that has been a huge benefit.”

GAINING BUSINESS INSIGHTS FROM MEMBER DISCUSSIONS

Youngberg is an active participant in Polygon’s member forums, and uses the forums to share ideas and learn from others’ experiences and opinions. For him, these discussions make the industry a better place, through a dynamic of open-mindedness, exchange and camraderie.

"I'm a big believer in conversing [on Polygon]. In a lot of business discussions, I have my way of seeing things, and other people have theirs. The beauty of Polygon is that the range of opinions is tremendous.”

ATTENDING MEMBER EVENTS TO SOLIDIFY RELATIONSHIPS

Polygon Conclaves and other member events give members the opportunity of extending their online interactions into the real-world, and growing their potential for business interactions.

“I went to the [Polygon Member Conclave] in Chicago and I enjoyed that a lot. Putting a face [to a member's name] makes a lot of difference, instead of sitting behind a keyboard all the time."