Merrill Gaisano carries on a bejeweled legacy

At 28, Merrill is as delicately pretty as one of her jewelry pieces. Part of the third generation of Gaisanos from Cebu who founded the Metro Gaisano Group of Retail Stores, the Gemological Institute of America graduate manages three jewelry brands.

It seems like fate that Merrill Gaisano’s middle name is Tiffany, because, as part of the third generation of Gaisanos from Cebu who founded the Metro Gaisano Group of Retail Stores, Merrill manages three jewelry brands.

The most affordable, Smythe & Co., offers silver and stainless-steel baubles priced from P200 to P1,000.

The midrange brand, MyGold, carries reasonably priced bijoux in independent boutiques located in SM Malls.

The high-end brand, Metro Jewelry — which will be rebranded as Royal Gems next year — offers a complete range of fine jewelry in Metro Department Stores within Ayala Malls.

“What we’re proud of is that our assortment is very complete and varied, from diamonds to South Sea pearls,” Gaisano says. “We have a wide variety of styles, from the young to not so young, from daily wear to night.”

At 28, Merrill is as delicately pretty as one of her jewelry pieces. A business-management graduate of the Ateneo who then studied at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), she points out that she might design a capsule collection once a year for fun, “but right now we’re concentrating on the retail side.”

Metro Jewelry’s strength lies in its carefully curated pieces, which are manufactured internationally and range from the quotidian to the spectacular — from 14-karat Italian gold pieces to Bulgari-inspired colored cabochons to treasures like a necklace dripping with four million worth of diamonds.

We’re in the midst of the company’s by-invitation-only private sale at Metro Jewelry’s 120-square-meter store in Market! Market! and sales are brisk, with hundreds of customers taking advantage of discounts amounting to as much as 50-percent off.

Merrill, who invited 800 of Metro Jewelry’s top clients and friends, says they frequently sell out at these private sales, which are held twice a year — during the Christmas season and Valentine’s. 

“We have famous clients who don’t want to come to the private sale; they request for a private viewing prior to the private sale,” she reveals, not naming any names, but only that these clients are businesspeople and not celebrities.

The public gets a sale of its own, with additional discounts until Dec. 30. You might want to watch out for trendier designs like long strands of beaten gold, pearls or diamonds. Merrill says bangles and the tricolor trend are back, while pearls are always in fashion.

“We source our pearls directly from farms in the Philippines, Japan, Australia and Tahiti,” she says. “The Philippines are the golden pearls, white from Australia. Filipinos are very well-versed in pearl qualities and prices so we have to be very, very competitive; our designs have to be very unique from other competitors’.”

And they are. Metro’s latest collection of golden pearls in lacy settings is particularly stunning; the bangles and necklaces would gild any outfit beautifully.

Though most of their jewelry pieces are manufactured internationally, the company does buy GIA-certified raw diamonds in the most brilliant “hearts and arrows” cut, which it can set into engagement rings for couples in a design of their choice. “Usually the moms of the guys pick the stone for the engagement rings, and then they pick the setting,” Merrill observes with a laugh. “What’s nice is that they have a laser inscription on the stones so they can’t be exchanged.”

She also notices that more women buy jewelry than men, and usually to pamper themselves. “Eighty to 90 percent of our clients are female, and during Valentine’s they buy gifts for themselves. Even Mother’s Day. They say, ‘Oh, thank you to my husband,’” she laughs. “Because they’re the ones who want to wear so they choose it themselves.”

The millennial market for fine jewelry is growing, thanks to social media: “They know more about fine jewelry and they’re more conscious about dressing up,” Merrill observes, saying that popular starter pieces for millennials include Italian gold and pearls, which are flexible enough to wear from day to night, as well as being more affordable, with pearl studs ranging from P8,000 up, less 40 percent on sale. (“You can get up to 50-percent off if you pay in cash,” she notes with a smile.) Semiprecious stones like white topaz are also an alternative to diamonds, with similar brilliance but at a much more affordable price.

What’s ironic is that Merrill wasn’t even that interested in jewelry as a child. She just joined the family business three years ago. “Right after I graduated I had a short training at the family pawnshop, Prime Asia,” she says. “That’s when the family saw the opportunity to grow the fine-jewelry business.”

Gaisano’s grandparents Victor and Sally Gaisano started the department store business along with their kids — Merrill’s dad Jack and his three other siblings. Soon their spouses joined the business as well, and it was Merrill’s mom, Vivian, who got assigned to the jewelry department. That’s how it all started.

“In the beginning they only offered religious gold-plated jewelry to cater to the religious locals in Cebu and near the store, which was Sto. Niño church,” Merrill recalls. “Thirty years later, it grew along with the Metro stores and now, Metro Jewelry has not only expanded its jewelry lines but is also present in malls.”

The third child and youngest daughter of four siblings, Merrill was the one deployed into the jewelry business as well. Eldest sister Abigail is helping in the family’s cosmetics business; older sister Jessica is helping in her husband’s family business; and youngest brother Justin is helping on the real estate side. “After I studied, that’s when I realized, oh, it’s interesting.”

When she’s not working, Merrill says she’s a social-media addict glued to Instagram, Pinterest and Flipboard.

She “semi-designed” an amethyst collection for Metro, doing sketches that a designer continued to completion. “I love purple and green emeralds. This was inspired by Bulgari, the way they combine colors, the cabochon cut and the workmanship is very nice. The manufacturer used to work for Bulgari as well, so I said, ‘We should do some collections!’”

Personally, she likes to encourage customers to buy something they like and feel beautiful wearing, “something they can wear a lot of times, not just major events.”

She herself prefers statement pieces like the earrings she chooses to put on for a photo shoot, which she describes as a “clustered set of diamonds, illusion, with cascading teardrops — something that stands out; something iconic or different.” Like most women, she changes styles depending on her mood. If she’s feeling romantic, she chooses more elaborate, Victorian styles, while for daily wear she prefers a more minimalist approach.

She shows me some Tiffany-inspired pieces with padlock charms on them, so I kid her about her middle name, Tiffany, saying it must be fate.

“Too bad I can’t name the store Tiffany,” she says with an infectious laugh.

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Metro Jewelry, located in Metro Department Stores in Ayala Malls, is having a public sale until Dec. 30.

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