MANUFACTURERS OF GUYANA’S GOLD
Generations of Golden Success
Harrinand “Ralph” Persaud, CEO and Marketing Director of King’s Jewellery World in Georgetown, holds a 17-ounce nugget of gold worth $86,000 at current retail prices.
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(PHOTO BY LARRY LUXNER)
he dazzling array of styles, including custom made selections, does not fail to impress when one pays a visit to King’s Jewellery
Their most popular piece, the World famous Cricket band is worn by cricketers such as Clive Lloyd, Chris Gayle, Roger Harper, Kevin Peterson, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Rohan Kanhai, Courtney Ambrose, Courtley Walsh, Keiran Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and fans all over the globe. New cricket band designs are added every month through the consistent creativity of the skilled jewellers at King’s in Quamina Street, Georgetown. This year the company plans to launch a stainless steel version with the aim of making it available online and in stores all over the world. The company’s Chief Financial and Marketing Officer, Harrinand Persaud, confesses to Invest Guyana that the key to the company’s success has been the ability to focus on creating new designs and upgrading their previous collections. The company is able to move forward because customers can always come back to find something new. However, the classical handmade filigree is still popular and King’s adds twists by making them in rose gold and accenting pieces with diamonds. Diamond engagement rings and wedding bands are big sellers at King’s as couples ensure they have the best start by investing in quality pieces.
Founders of the business - Looknauth & Ena Persaud (far left) Sons - Harrinand Ralph Persaud and wife Renata Persaud, Daughter in law Amanda Persaud and son Gowkaran Ravi Persaud, Daughter in law Anya Persaud and son Rohandev Ryan Persaud. Founded in 1970, in Alexander Village, Georgetown, by Looknauth Persaud, King’s started with one goldsmith and two apprentices. Today, the company has grown into an internationally recognized shopping hub – an advance that has been credited to Mr. Persaud’s entire family: Ena, Harrinand, Rohandev, Gowkaran, Renata, Anya and Amanda Persaud. New technology is definitely making it easier to increase King’s capacity and efficiency. Today they can deliver intricate designs that are made anywhere else in the world using CAD / CAM computer aided molds. Presently there are four graduate gemologists, accredited Jewellery professional and graduate Jewellery designer on site at Kings amongst the 100 plus other employees. Everyone working at King’s form a close family unit and most employees continue to work for years. The Manager of the workshop, Niranjan Sukhram, has been with the company for over 35 years.
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Persaud pointed out that King’s has not only met the requirements of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards for international quality, but was a trend-setter in the standardization process. The company now carries the Bureau’s mark of excellence since the introduction of the gold standard. The worldwide access to “imitation” pieces do present something of a challenge, but pointed out that local prices, for quality products, are competitive and in some cases even below international competitors. “If you look at some of our gold pieces and compare with let’s say Tiffany’s in New York, you would see that our gold pieces are priced according to their silver pieces, so we do make a good offer to our customers,” he said. Persaud highlighted that he would be delighted to one day see Guyana become more of the “Duty free Shopping” concept as that used in other Caribbean Countries. He said, “It would be a dream come true to become the dealer for Rolex and Omega as these are very respectable sought after