MEET THE DESIGNER

SHINING BRIGHT

ADRIAN SCHULZ IS EXCITED.

The multi-award-winning third-generation master jeweller is about to fl ex some serious design muscle, with the opening of his second Diamonds of Distinction store on the Sunshine Coast.

The new destination, smack bang in the middle of Noosa’s Hastings Street, will showcase more of what Adrian and his team are renowned for – unique, custom-made pieces featuring unusual stone cuts that you won’t fi nd anywhere else – at the Buderim store he established six years ago. But it’s also going to give Adrian the chance to let his creative genius shine.

“There will be a focus on premium pieces – outstanding designs that we haven’t really been able to showcase enough of, because we’ve been so busy for so long with custom orders, and just haven’t had the time to make anything,” says Adrian. “We’ve got an incredible collection of loose stones, so we’re going to get those into some cool pieces.”

An expansion has always been part of Adrian’s plan since the opening of Diamonds of Distinction at Buderim. The planets have now aligned, and the timing could not be better.

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Business, according to Adrian, has been booming, following a period of uncertainty for many retailers.

“I thought, it’s now or never. With things opening up again, it’s as good a time as any. There was a massive shift in recent years, with more people just appreciating locally made [products].

“The fact we do make everything in-house is defi nitely a benefi t. I think there were a lot of questions, more than I’ve ever heard before, about where we source our materials, and that kind of thing. We can answer ‘Australia’ for everything that we can get here. None of our supply chains were really interrupted, in terms of gold and gemstones, because we deal with local people and local products.

“Also, I think there’s been a huge increase in people getting custom-made things done for themselves. They say, ‘I’ve always wanted a special piece of jewellery made, so make me one please.’”

Diamonds of Distinction has also been focussing on increasing its productivity in recent years, to allow more of its highly sought-after one-off pieces to meet the market. As well as preparing to open the Noosa store, Adrian has expanded and overhauled the Buderim store’s workshop to add extra space. A new apprentice has joined the team of six staff there – a team Adrian praises as an integral part of the business’s success – and this number is at least set to double with the opening of the new store’s doors. The Noosa store will also have its own fully equipped and comprehensive workshop.

Adrian is adamant that interest in the manufacturing jewellery industry is alive and well, albeit a more niche profession now than it was in times past. He’s also dedicated to supporting that industry.

“The amount of young people looking for apprenticeships

“As well as preparing to open the Noosa store, Adrian has expanded and overhauled the Buderim store’s workshop. ”

[in the jewellery trade] I don’t think has dwindled at all,” he says. “But the amount of people able to get into an apprenticeship these days compared to when I did mine in the ’90s has defi nitely gone down. But it’s still there, so that’s where you keep some hope, and try to keep a bit of pressure on our industry groups and our governments to keep those things going. We don’t want to lose the industry. We’re very invested in that and feel pretty strongly about it.”

The business’s expansion and success is unsurprising, given the passion and the expertise behind its founder. As one of only a handful of accredited master jewellers in Australia, Adrian brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to a craft that is in his blood.

His birthplace is the jewellery and gem-cutting epicentre of the world, Idar-Oberstein in Germany, where his father and grandfather were both master goldsmiths. When Adrian was nine, the family moved to the legendary opal mining town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, where Adrian grew up watching over his father’s shoulder while he worked his magic at the workshop bench.

Merging the expert teachings of his father and grandfather with his own creative fl air, as well as serving an already lengthy career in the industry himself, Adrian has earnt his reputation as one of the region’s foremost manufacturing jewellers. He’s also got an in-depth knowledge of stone and design trends.

Diamonds, he says, remain one of the most sought-after gems for custom-made pieces, although there are others that continue to feature in the most-wanted line-up. Spinels and multi-coloured sapphires are popular at the moment, and opals still make starring appearances. Argyle pink diamonds “are pretty much selling themselves”, with the closure of the Rio Tinto Argyle diamond mine now making them more desirable than ever. But it’s not just the colour of the stone, he explains, that makes a piece stand out in a crowd.

“We have got a lot of unusual cuts, and nicer individual stones rather than ranges and ranges of the same type of stone,” says Adrian.

“For someone small and independent like us, there’s no point even trying to compete with the chain stores that do those products, so we focus on people that are not looking for that. And then everybody’s happy.”

With the Noosa store promising to expand Adrian’s design prowess even further, he has no intention of stopping there. He’s talking confi dently of opening a third store in the next fi ve years, possibly in Brisbane or Sydney.

“But the focus is also on just increasing the overall productivity of the operation,” he says. “So we’re hoping to take on a lot more apprenticeships, hoping to train a lot more people, and just keep those skills going in the industry.”