As a luxury real estate marketer, it’s important to understand how a luxury brand is born and developed. This is an example of the challenges in developing China’s first luxury jewelry brand, Qeelin.

Founder Dennis Chan knew he couldn’t launch Qeelin in China. The Chinese market would perceive it as a local brand regardless of the quality of the product. He knew that the Chinese market would accept the brand if it was successful in other countries.

The brand was launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Maggie Cheung, who won the Best Actress award, wore the jewelry. Because she was the first Asian actress to receive this honor, she received worldwide coverage. And also the jewels!

The first sale was made in Paris. They chose Paris as their first point of sale because the world of jewelry in Paris demands the best. That challenged the partners to fight and reach their potential.

The results:

“We are currently perceived as an international luxury brand originating from China, and we have a good portion of our customers from mainland China.”

Qeelin’s target market is women who love fine jewelry (the highest quality) from luxury brands. They have a discerning eye and look for pieces made by hand with special stones. They do not follow trends; they follow what they consider to be the best.

The style of the designs reflects the Chinese heritage of Chan. One of the highlights is the Qin Qin (kiss-kiss, in Mandarin) goldfish pendant with magnets embedded inside the gold lips. Chan explains, “Design has the ability to surprise and give our clients a little bit of excitement through the unexpected.”

As you launch and build your own personal brand as a luxury real estate marketer, it’s important to understand your target market, i.e. their demographics. It is also important to understand his psychological preferences, his psychographics. By offering something unexpected, like a remarkable closing gift, you too can surprise and excite your customers and generate word-of-mouth publicity.