High fashion jewelry isn’t usually accessible to all of us.
It’s reserved for royalty and Hollywood’s elite.
But Swarovski has found a way to make their crystals available to just about every budget.
Touchstone Crystal is a network marketing company that sells sparkly jewelry like fine crystals and gems.
For all the women (and men, not judging) out there who love their glitter and sparkles, this MLM has more glitter than RuPaul’s dressing room.
Their website lures people in with the phrase “Glittering Opportunity with a Sparkling Heritage.” Oh, and they don’t have distributors… they have “Glambassadors.”
As part of the Swarovski brand, as you’ve probably guessed, they’ve made a killing.
FAQ
1. What does Touchstone Crystal sell? Chic jewelry pieces that have the signature sparkle of Swarovski crystal. Each piece is made completely by hand. Each stone is hand-set, and most surfaces are hand-polished. Fine metal jewelry is made from a brass or white metal base, plated in rhodium, palladium, gold, or antiqued silver or bronze.
2. What are Touchstone Crystal’s most popular products? The birthstone collection is a sure hit. It’s an affordable way to collect meaningful jewelry with your birthstone. There’s also a bridal collection, designed specifically for fancy occasions like weddings, where you want to shine as much as your jewelry.
3. How much does it cost to join Touchstone Crystal? To become a Touchstone Crystal consultant, you’ll need to choose one of two Business Starter Kits. The Basic Starter Kit costs $139 and includes over $600 in jewelry and business supplies. The Enhanced Starter Kit costs $299 and includes almost $900 in jewelry and business supplies. Your personalized website costs $9.95 a month.
4. Is Touchstone Crystal a scam? No, Touchstone Crystal is a real business created to make Swarovski crystals available to everyday American women. Two of the company’s products, the Wrap-Star Bracelet and Ice Bracelet, were included in the gift bag distributed ta the Emmy’s Giving Suite in 2018. The Tri-Wrap Bracelet and White Ice Bracelet were included in the official Celebrity Gift Bags at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. The company has been featured in Bridal Guide Magazine, Life & Style Weekly Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, and In Touch Weekly Magazine. Their jewelry has been worn by Today Show’s Dylan Dryer and blogger and comedian Carey Reilly. It’s also been strutted in the 2011 Academy Awards by Natalie Portman and by Jennifer Lopez in one of her music videos.
5. What is Touchstone Crystal’s BBB rating? NR, not rated.
6. How long has Touchstone Crystal been in business? Swarovski, the parent company, was founded way back in 1891. In 1977, the company entered the fashion-jewelry market in the United States. In 2009, it launched Touchstone Crystal, making Swarovski’s jewelry line available for the direct selling market.
7. What is Touchstone Crystal’s revenue? In 2016, Swarovski Group’s revenue was EUR 3.36 billion. Their crystal business netted EUR 2.6 billion. There’s no information about revenue specific to Touchstone Crystal.
8. How many Touchstone Crystal distributors are there? No numbers have been shared online.
9. What lawsuits have been filed? There are no lawsuits mentioned online.
10. Comparable companies: Stella & Dot, Origami Owl, Paparazzi Accessories
So should you get involved?
Product-wise, this company seems solid. But as far as income opportunities go, there are still better options out there…
Click here for my #1 recommendation
Either way, here’s the full review on Touchstone Crystal.
Overview
Swarovski is the leading producer of fine crystals from Austria, founded back in 1895. In 1977, they entered the fashion jewelry market in the United States while fashion designers and style fiends rejoiced and have been covering their designs ever since. [1]
They’re massive — in 2011 they hit $4 billion in annual sales.
Touchstone Crystals brought a little piece of Swarovski Crystals to the direct selling world, all thanks to Swarovski’s North American president, Dan Cohen, who is also the great-great-grandson of the founder of Swarovski. The guy clearly knows selling crystals like the back of his hand. [2]
The company’s Managing Director, Liz DiPaolo, was brought in to launch and run the direct selling component. She’s a 25-year industry vet with experience in direct selling, sales, and operations.
Touchstone Crystal has been getting some serious buzz, especially in the past year.
The company designed and launched its first jewelry collection for in-home parties in 2010. Their collection is unique to Touchstone Crystal, so you can’t go buy it from a regular Swarovski vender.
Here’s the thing: this is yet another MLM still trying to sell their product through in-home parties. While this might work well for a select few, for the most part, it’s a tough sell.
Women have jobs and lives nowadays, they aren’t desperate housewives sitting around bored all day watching soap operas. How many women do you know that have time to spend a day at a jewelry party to listen to their friend’s sales pitch? How many actually want to?
That’s the problem with these MLMs who can’t keep up with the times. But, I digress. Let’s check out the products and compensation.
Products
Remember, supposedly this isn’t just some cheap costume jewelry you’d find at Forever 21 marked up to $100 instead of $10. This is jewelry designed and manufactured by Swarovski… so at least you know you’re getting quality.
However, if you actually look at their products, they’re definitely not up to par with what you’d see in a Swarovski store. They are, in fact, costume jewelry, although prices aren’t insane. They’ve even got an under $50 category.
That being said, a lot of this stuff, especially when it’s not on a hot model in perfect lighting and retouched in Photoshop, looks like it should be priced closer to $10.
Think slightly better than Origami Owl and Paparazzi Accessories… but not much. Stella & Dot seems to be a little more fashionable when it comes to styles and designs.
Touchstone sells necklaces, statement pieces, rings, bracelets, earrings, and even bridal jewelry.
They’ve also got pieces that incorporate pearls, birthstones, sterling silver, and even “gold” (gold-ion plating). A “gold” necklace with massive, cheap rhinestone jewels costs $150. A long necklace featuring crystal pearls costs $140.
All in all, they’ve got almost 500 different products to choose from at a huge range of prices (between $30-150). [3]
Don’t get me wrong, there are some nice pieces. But it’s nothing you couldn’t go pick up at the mall (and for less money, if you know how to score deals).
Compensation Plan
If you really want to figure out how much money you’d make with Touchstone, you have to be honest with yourself in regards to how many parties you could really host as a “Glambassador.”
How many times are you willing to ask the same friends to come to your necklace parties on their day off and listen to you try to sell them stuff?
The company recommends holding one party a week. Even if you can double that and hold two parties a week, based on their commission rate and average party sales, you’d be netting an unimpressive $1,400 a month. [4]
That’s barely above minimum wage — except that if you go work for McDonald’s, at least you’ll still have friends when it’s over.
Plus, two parties a week isn’t really feasible. One is hard enough: A lot goes into convincing large groups of people to give up their weekend to hold these parties and buy your stuff because, again, they usually aren’t interested.
So most people aren’t even making that much. Or anything at all, for that matter.
But, anyway, if you’re still interested, here’s what their compensation looks like…
- 25-40% commission on sales. Pretty standard.
- Free jewelry for hosting (up to 30% of sales). Also standard.
- 9% on your direct recruits’ sales. Not bad. [5]
You can join for $139 if you want their basic starter kit and $299 for the enhanced starter kit. Pretty spendy, but you do get a lot of jewelry, catalogs, and training materials.
Recap
If you happen to like their jewelry, and if think your friends will too (even after the 10th time they’ve attended one of your glam parties), this could be a fun side gig.
Their compensation plan is pretty good, and the company is transparent and well-run.
But the reality of these kinds of MLMs is that most of their distributors don’t make money — even if they are called “Glambassadors” — because this model just doesn’t work anymore.
I’m not a Touchstone Crystal hater at all. But when it comes to making money, I think your time could be better spent elsewhere.
Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.
After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:
