One of the youngest memories I have of my families business is as a 5 year old boy going to visit my father at work and walking the corridors behind the businesses that resided in Cortana Mall here in Baton Rouge. It wasn’t a place most people even knew existed, but to a 5 year old, it was a top secret passageway that brought us into the back rooms of the family jewelry store. I grew up in the jew
elry business and for the longest time I tried to dispute the fact that this was what I was made for and destined to do. Growing up I was one of seven members of the 4th generation of my family that could potentially find their way into the family jewelry business. Throughout my entire adolescents I was the one that said I was going to break the mold and do something different with my life. I was not going to work in the jewelry industry, instead I would go to medical school or maybe become a Chef. I actually did become a chef and worked in that industry for almost 5 years. But life has a funny way of steering you towards what you are ultimately destined to do. In October of 2005, while in between restaurant jobs I decided to give the family business a shot. Christmas was around the corner, and I felt that it would be a good opportunity to save a little money and try something different in the process. To my amazement, I never felt more comfortable than I did when I went to work there. For years I witnessed my father and grandfather interact with people that began as clients but ultimately became friends and I knew I wanted to have that same type of relationship with my clients. I want my clients to feel like they are purchasing jewelry from an old friend. The way that I conduct business is no different from the way that I conduct my personal life. I am the guy that, if I do something I not only do it to the best of my ability, I also use the best “___” (insert product here) that my money can afford and I am never going to cut any corners (Pun intended). For my entire professional career I have always stood for one thing-QUALITY. That deep rooted standard for quality would be what pushed me to pursue my own dream a short 6 years later. In March of 2012, as the only member of the 4th generation to work there I made the difficult decision to leave the 68 year old family business to open my own jewelry business. The idea was simple, work exclusively by appointment to offer clients the personal attention that I knew I could give them. Never in my wildest dreams did I think success would come so quickly. I worked out a 515 square foot office for almost two and a half years. By February of 2014 it was time to take the next step in my business. Demand was greater than my current space would allow and I needed room to not only serve my clients better but also expand our product offerings. On November 1, 2014, with my now wife officially joining me in business, we opened our state of the art showroom on Jefferson Highway and have been changing the way our clients buy diamonds and create their own jewelry ever since. The most common question we get from almost everyone we have the opportunity to meet is, “Why is it called CUT?!” The answer is amazingly simple, “Cut” is the most important aspect of a diamond when it comes to picking the perfect one. No other of the four C’s control more value than the cut so why would you want to put your money anywhere else? Having top shelf clarity, color, or the biggest carat weight you can afford simply won’t give you the main reason why we love diamonds so much- brilliance. So when a jeweler starts talking more and more about how much a diamond weighs or how great the clarity is, remember that they are doing you the disservice by not talking about what is going to make that diamond sparkle. I invite you to the future of how you should be buying jewelry. We tailor every single experience to exactly what you need it to be and we want to properly educate you so that you can make the most informed decision possible. Whether we are designing a custom ring on our in house design software, CUTSketch, putting together an engagement ring from the hundreds of exclusive styles we have to choose from, or picking a piece from our select designers that we work with from all over the world, here at CUT the most important thing to remember is that we are here for and because of you. Without you we would not be able to do what we love, which is design and select the most important pieces of jewelry that you will ever purchase. Matthew Patton
