Fine jewels in a vending machine?

Across fashion, technology, jewellery – any industry, really – we talk a lot about disrupters. These are business or individuals going against the grain to introduce new ideas that are radical, and often game changing. This week, I met one of those rare people in New York jeweller Marla Aaron.

With a background in advertising and marketing, Marla has come into the jewellery industry with a solid idea of how to make some noise about her brand, which specialises in composable jewels that allow her clients to build up different looks by selecting from a wide range of chains and interconnecting locks, often decorated with diamonds or even opal inlay. Yet, it was a trip to Japan that really got her fired up about doing something that pushes the boundaries of jewellery retail. In particular, it was the Janpanese’s love of vending machines that caught her eye – and not the variety stuffed with Mars bars. “I couldn’t believe they were selling all these things in vending machines,” Marla exclaims.

The items popping out of Japanese vending machines are indeed diverse. There are more than 5.5 million vending machines in Japan, according to its national tourism board, and they sell a smorgasboard of weird and wonderful items round the clock, such as flying fish soup (with bottles enclosing entire fishes), umbrellas, eggs, hamburgers, socks, even puppies. Yep, real, live puppies.

“So why not fine jewellery?”, thought Marla. Keen to create an interactive experience, she had a vending machine built with a large screen that could play video that introduces passers-by to the brand and to the vending machine concept. If they liked what they saw, a few button punches and the insertion of a payment card will release one of the jewels inside, which range in price from $100 to $1,600 (£75 to £1,200). Instant retail gratification.

The Marla Aaron vending machine started out as an installation in the Brooklyn Museum in New York, but it has now been moved to a more permanent home in the city’s The William Vale Hotel. Much more than just a fun bit of marketing, it’s actually being used as an alternative sales point. “I get so excited whenever I see that something has been sold through the vending machine,” says Marla, who goes on to tell a story of a last-minute triple purchase made by a husband for his wife on Christmas Eve.

The project has also caused some disbelief. Marla admits to hiding nearby when the vending machine was first installed to gauge people’s reactions, and not all of them were good. One particular group, quite loudly, questioned her sanity. “They were saying ‘who puts fine jewellery in a vending machine?’,” laughs Marla. “At which point, I stepped out and said, ‘I do’.” The group didn’t hang around to discuss it.

But Marla loves the strong reactions she has had to the vending machines, even the negative ones, as it means people are noticing what she’s doing, and interacting with it. And when questioned as to whether she’ll do more fine jewellery vending machines, the answer is simple. “Absolutely.”