MANILA, Philippines – ‘When it rains, everybody gets wet. In times like these, we try to have a bigger umbrella.”

So said Philip Grima, Roberto Coin’s sales director for Asia and the Pacific, referring to how his company, a luxury jewelry brand based in Vicenza, Italy, and represented locally by Rustan’s, deals with the economic downturn.

Grima, a British national based in Roberto Coin’s regional office in Bangkok, was in Manila recently to oversee the launch of several lines under the brand’s collections, including the Fantasia, Appassionata, Barocco and Cento series.

He also graced a private sale of Roberto Coin’s more exquisite items, particularly the Cento collection. Dubbed as the “ultimate 100-facet diamond,” the collection, said Grima, has been a resounding hit the world over for its unique cut and brilliance.

Interestingly, the more expensive Coin items are doing better than expected in the Philippines.

“Due perhaps to your Spanish and American heritage, the Philippines is culturally and historically different from other countries in Asia,” he said. “There’s a readiness in the market to accept bolder, bigger and more important items.”

Although the company founded by Roberto Coin has been in the jewelry business since 1977, it was only in 1996 it decided to become a brand.

In keeping with its mission to produce only the finest jewelry, the company, which still takes its directions from Coin himself, doesn’t use gold below 18 karats. Some of its pieces in the Cento series use platinum.

“We approach the market the way we’ve done in the past,” said Grima. “It’s quite common for most businesses to hold back during bleak periods. We believe otherwise by showing our best face to the market by continuously creating new things to keep people excited.”

The company, Grima admitted, “suffered” much, like everybody else. But by investing in and creating new concepts, it has been able to mitigate the recession’s effects. The Capri Plus series illustrates this point.

Dubbed as a concept collection, the Capri Plus is noted for its simplicity and the fact that it comes in a combination of materials with varying price points. It, thus, offers consumers options depending on the look they want and their budgets.

Good or bad times, there will always be a market for luxury products. Whereas rich people tend to splurge on anything and everything they fancy during boom times, they tend to become more conservative and selective during tough times.

The strong sales of Roberto Coin’s Cento diamonds seem to bolster this fact. People are looking for investment pieces they feel will appreciate in value over time.

“We’d like to believe that we’ve always offered items that give our patrons value for their money,” said Grima. “We’re not about to take advantage of them just because times are less than ideal. Offering them good value for their money has always been a priority. Being cheap has never been our success.”

The bulk of Roberto Coin’s business, close to 50 percent, is in the United States, where the brand was introduced 14 years ago. It’s also making considerable gains in Russia and the former Eastern Bloc countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic.

“Our success in Eastern Europe is due both to pent-up demand and the fact that the market has reached a degree of maturity to appreciate such products.”

Its presence in Asia, between 10-15 percent of its total business, has remained stagnant. But Grima hopes to see some improvements once the region emerges from the doldrums.