Colour, glamour and style – Stone ‘N’ String has a flair for it all. In a three-decade journey to introduce elegant chic to Sri Lanka, the fashion jeweller has excelled beyond design to offer complete customer satisfaction.
Words Keshini de Silva | Photographs Vishwathan Tharmakulasingam
Walk through the doors and be dazzled by vivid designs both ancient and modern, embellished with precious stones or diamanté. With its delicate jewellery and charismatic staff, Stone ‘N’ String has long been a paradise for women with a penchant for the classic or contemporary. Pearls, coral, precious and semi-precious stones – they work with them all.
From humble beginnings, their pioneering presence has gone global. But despite the breadth of their reach these days, each individual customer is still treated like royalty, whatever they’re looking for.
“Collections change based on the season: Valentine’s Day, Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Christmas, Ramadan. For us it’s important that we cater to your need,” says Mohideen Saheed, founder of Stone ‘N’ String.
Whether it’s everyday gold, something with a little attitude or an opulent piece to complement your wedding dress, a huge number of pieces are displayed across the store for you to glide through. Staff will lead you through rooms dedicated to each requirement, budgetary or otherwise, so you just need to express your desire. The store has something for everyone, offering the Divo collection for men, classic watches, rustic bracelets, cufflinks and tiepins. Delicate coral creations are something of a Stone ‘N’ String speciality.
Leveraging decades of experience, Stone ‘N’ String promises quality. Undertaking the mammoth task of creating jewellery for the 2013 movie SriSiddharthaGautama, the pieces you see on screen are testament to their eye for detail and elegance. A few exquisite pieces used on set have been showcased on the second floor of the store, amidst the glamorous wedding collection. A history wall also displays an image of Miss Sri Lanka crowned with a sparkling creation from the store.
The Stone ‘N’ String portfolio has over time expanded to include corporate and personalised gifts such as monograms for cufflinks and jewellery, and even writing in greeting cards with genuine gold. Meanwhile, silverware is another avenue that they excel at, with pristine designs that complement any occasion and make great gifts.
Sri Lanka is known for its sapphire deposits, but for centuries it was the Island’s cinnamon, rather than precious stones, that the world lusted after. Rich in medicinal properties, cinnamon is usually mixed with honey and consumed for relief from the common cold. But Stone ‘N’ String has explored the preventive and skin care properties of this ancient spice, with a collection of cinnamon drink and table packs, chewy cinnamon packs and the new product, Experiment, an all natural exfoliating scrub. To showcase Sri Lankan cinnamon as a lifestyle brand the outlet has a ‘cinnamon bar’, which serves a refreshing range of cinnamon and honey-infused mocktails that set you in the mood for a relaxed shopping experience.
“Cinnamon is a great lifestyle product, but Sri Lanka has not realised this potential beyond bulk export. So the Cinnamon Bar is our way of showcasing the spice’s value,” explains Saheed.
A brand with a growing and unconventional presence, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, Stone ‘N’ String added inspiration to its offering this year through a project launched to enrich the lives of customers. Amidst the glimmering cabinets the walls are adorned with motivational quotations from world leaders, athletes and social figures and a cabinet near the checkout counter displays the store’s newly launched membership cards, each of which is inscribed with a quote.
The founder hopes everyone who visits the store will be inspired to pick one up and gift it to a loved one. “We are a progressive brand that does things differently. This year we wanted to do something that adds value to the lives of our customers. So we decided to display messages that will motivate them in our calendar, membership cards and across the store,” he said.
This is just one of several forward-looking plans to better the customer experience and provide benefits for long-term customers. At Stone ‘N’ String, loyalty is treasured.
275 R A De Mel Mawatha,
Colombo 3
Tel: (+94 11) 230 1555
stone-n-string.com
