For nearly three decades, the Jacobs Jewellery name has been tied to family, craft and gold. But for the revived Guyanese jewellery business, the next stage of growth is being built on something more formal: national certification.
The company, which started in 1997 as a family business, has grown from a small operation into a more established jewellery enterprise since its return to the market in December 2018. Today, Jacobs Jewellery is using certification from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to strengthen customer confidence, improve quality assurance and position itself for wider growth in Guyana’s jewellery sector.
For the company, quality is not just a selling point. It is central to trust. Through the GNBS Product Certification Scheme, Jacobs Jewellery now produces gold jewellery that conforms to the National Standard GYS 50:2022, Specification for Gold Articles. The standard provides independent assurance that the company’s gold products meet recognised requirements for quality, karat and labelling.
General Manager Dellon Caesar said the decision to pursue certification in 2025 was driven largely by the company’s desire to give customers greater confidence when purchasing gold jewellery.
“When someone purchases gold jewellery, they should be confident that the product they are receiving is genuinely of the quality and karat being represented to them,” Caesar said.
That confidence matters in an industry where customers often make purchases based on trust, reputation and the assurance that what they are buying is exactly what it is said to be.
Caesar said Jacobs Jewellery wanted an independent and credible body to verify that the standards it was applying internally met the national requirements. For the company, the GNBS provided that third-party assurance.
After demonstrating its readiness, Jacobs Jewellery received its GNBS certificate in December 2025 for conformity to GYS 50:2022.
The standard covers the manufacture, alloying and testing of gold articles made from several karat levels, including 23, 22, 20, 18, 15, 14, 12, 10 and 9 karat gold. It also addresses solders used in manufacturing, methods for assaying gold, and marking and labelling requirements.
For Jacobs Jewellery, reaching that point required preparation, investment and a review of its processes.
Caesar described certification as “a massive achievement” for the company, noting that the process required proper systems, certified weighing scales, equipment for melting and processing gold, and the correct use of alloys to achieve required karat standards.
The company’s products also went through testing and verification to ensure that jewellery already being manufactured met the required specifications.
Beyond the certificate itself, Caesar said the achievement has given the business greater confidence and customers greater peace of mind.
“From a small family operation to an established and certified Guyanese jewellery business, the growth has been tremendous,” he said.
Jacobs Jewellery also uses GNBS testing capabilities to test its alloyed gold, adding another layer of verification to its production process.
Since becoming certified, the company has noticed a change in customer behaviour. More customers are asking questions about karat, purity and product quality. Caesar said customers also take greater confidence from seeing the GNBS certificate, which has helped with retention and referrals.
For a business that serves Guyanese consumers, members of the diaspora and visitors to Guyana, independent certification is becoming an important part of its identity. Caesar said certification shows that the company is willing to subject its products and processes to independent testing and nationally recognised standards.
He believes that approach should extend beyond Jacobs Jewellery.
“This should be bigger than any individual business. As an industry and as a country, we should strive towards a common national standard for the quality of jewellery produced and sold in Guyana,” Caesar said.
Looking ahead, Jacobs Jewellery plans to expand beyond its Kitty, Georgetown location to other parts of Guyana. The company also intends to continue improving its products, manufacturing capabilities and customer experience.
