Gumuchian Celebrates 40 Years of Empowered Women Designing Luxury Jewels For Women

Gumuchian Celebrates 40 Years of Empowered Women Designing Luxury Jewels For Women - Forbes

Posted: 27 May 2019 06:43 PM PDT

Myriam and Patricia Gumuchian stand in festive solidarity with their mother, Anita (center), as they celebrate Gumuchian's 40th anniversary in the women's luxury jewelry business. The pathfinding jewelry designer and matriarch founded Gumuchian in New York City in 1979, nine years before the Female Business Fairness Act was signed into federal law. This legislation provided a basis for policies, programs, and public/private sector initiatives supporting women's business start-ups and business expansions.

Photo courtesy Gumuchian

Founding and operating a successful jewelry business requires design ingenuity, bravery and savoir-faire. Anita Gumuchian, who founded the luxury jewelry company Gumuchian in midtown Manhattan in 1979, embodied all of those qualities in a time when the jewelry industry was male-dominated, and when women business owners were routinely denied bank loans unless a male co-signed the document. What's more, by 1979, New York's decade-span of near-bankruptcy, high crime rates and social unrest had driven nearly a million people out of the city. Nevertheless, Gumuchian's luxurious, innovative designs have powered its expansion and longevity over the last 40 years and the brand still creates all its jewels by hand in New York City. While Anita trained her daughters Myriam and Patricia before they took over the business, the Gumuchians' male ancestors were diamond cutters and diamond traders in Turkey and Belgium. At the time Anita founded Gumuchian, her husband André specialized in fancy colored diamonds and high-grade colorless diamonds. His and Anita's son, also named André, now runs a business in Antwerp from which Gumuchian sources its diamonds.

Gumuchian expands the family's four generations-long tradition of jewelry artistry by launching its first collection of 18-karat gold and diamond hair jewels in May, 2019 at the international, design-driven jewelry show COUTURE. As butterflies universally symbolize metamorphosis, this limited edition, diamond butterfly hair clip embodies vibrant aspects of the brand's creative philosophy and business evolution.

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From May 29th until June 3rd, Gumuchian will be showing at the international, design-driven jewelry show COUTURE, where it will be debuting one-of-a-kind pieces, showing newly created offerings for existing ranges and introducing a capsule collection of romantic, 18-karat gold and diamond-studded hair jewels. These include diamond butterfly hair clips replete with 18-karat gold interior spring mechanisms and 18-karat gold and diamond flower barrettes in various silhouettes. "Hair jewelry has been worn by men and women since the Neolithic era and diamond-set barrettes and hair clips have been fashionable for over two centuries," say Patricia and Myriam Gumuchian, who apprenticed under their mother and now run the business that she founded and still consults for. "While hair ornaments are trending in 2019," they continue, "Our articulated, 18-karat diamond hair jewels build upon our mother's legacy of chic and timeless jewelry designed by women, for women."

The ultra-feminine design of Gumuchian's "Corset Bracelet" makes a sexy, sculptural and classic jewel that's as suitable for gala occasions as it is for daytime wear.

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As of 2019, Gumuchian produces 12 different collections in 18-karat gold, platinum, diamonds, pearls and colored stones, and is renowned for classic, romantic and heirloom quality creations. Loyally collected for the timeless styling, technical finesse and sheer beauty of its jewels, Gumuchian pieces are sold at such upmarket retailers as Belle Cose in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Blakeman's Fine Jewelry in Rogers, Arkansas, and Frasca Jewelers in Palm Desert, CA. The brand also produces two philanthropic collections, "B" and "Tiny Hearts." Exclusively available at the New York-based retailer Bloomingdales, the "Tiny Hearts" collection embodies an understatedly elegant heart motif in its rings, pendants and bracelets.

Gumuchian's trio of "Marbella" bands is illuminated by vibrant colored sapphires and sparkling diamonds.

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Manufactured in 18K gold, with and without diamonds, the collection also comprises one necklace, which is a variation on one of Gumuchian's signature pieces,the station wrap necklace. The "Tiny Hearts" version sparkles with tiny diamonds throughout its design.

Designed in New York by women for women, Gumuchian's 18-karat gold "Tiny Hearts" collection is exclusively available at Bloomingdale's. Gumuchian donates a portion of sales from this range to the Babies Heart Fund, which benefits the Pediatric Cardiology division at New York City's Columbia University Medical Center.

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Honoring the Babies Heart Fund within the Pediatric Cardiology Department at New York City's Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Gumuchian donates a portion of sales to this non-profit, which works to advance treatment of pediatric and congenital heart disease through innovative research, quality patient care, family support, and excellence in medical education at Columbia University Medical Center.

This 18-karat gold and diamond honeycomb cuff is from Gumuchian's philanthropic "B" collection. Gumuchian donates a portion of sales from this range to the University of Minnesota's Bee Squad, which helps beekeepers and the Twin Cities community promote the conservation, health, and diversity of bee pollinators through research, education, and beekeeping training.

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Inspired by the naturally elegant architecture of beehives and the delicious honey that they produce, Gumuchian's 18-karat gold and diamond "B" collection includes a full range of rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets that support survival of the honeybee, which, as Myriam and Patricia Gumuchian observe, "directly or indirectly pollinates one in every three bites of food consumed in the U.S. Bees are critical to the human family!" Fittingly, Gumuchian donates a share of profits from "B" sales to the University of Minnesota's Bee Squad non-profit research program, which helps beekeepers and the community in the Twin Cities promote the conservation, health, and diversity of bee pollinators through research, education, training and mentorship programs.

Inspired by the organic shape and spicy fragrance of nutmeg spice, this 18-karat gold and diamond ring embraces the finger while revealing a hint of skin.

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According to Jenny Luker, president of the U.S. division of Platinum Guild International and president of the Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) , "Gumuchian is a distinguished, successful and long-lived luxury brand because of the forward-thinking people behind it. Anita, and her daughters Patricia and Myriam, are each equally talented, innovative, empowered and empowering designers and businesswomen." While Gumuchian received the WJA Award for Excellence in Design in the 1990's, the non-profit organization, which fosters professional advancement of women in the jewelry and watch industries, also recognized Gumuchian's mentorship of young women designers in 2015 by awarding it the WJA Hall of Fame Corporate Award in that year. As Luker explains, "This is annually given to companies that demonstrate ongoing, substantial support of women in the jewelry industry." Additional evidence suggesting that the Gumuchian sisters are jewelry business heroines includes the fact that Myriam is only the second woman to serve as President of New York's exclusive 24KARAT Club since its founding in 1902.

The silhouette of these 18-karat gold earrings from the "Secret Garden" collection is graced with diamonds

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By producing all its jewels by hand in midtown Manhattan rather than in less expensive Thailand, China or India, Gumuchian grapples with higher overheads that many New York-based designers avoid by manufacturing overseas. The brand's philanthropic jewelry collections and commitment to Manhattan have been recognized by the City of New York, which awarded Gumuchian its highly coveted "Made in New York" distinction, which has only been granted to one other Manhattan-based jewelry company. As Maria Frasca, owner of the high-end Palm Desert, CA. jewelry and watch boutique Frasca Jewelers explains, "Like all heritage jewelry brands, Gumuchian produces attractive, flattering and chic designs, and is valued for superb artisanship. But it also means a great deal to our customers," she adds, "that Gumuchian jewels are entirely made in New York City by master jewelers."

Replete with hidden clasps that allow the necklace to be reconfigured in differently shaped silhouettes, this convertible necklace from the "Carousel" collection can also be combined with another necklace to create a belt.

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The ergonomic ingenuity of Gumuchian's various collections has also endeared the brand to women of all ages. For instance, the "Carousel" collection features 18-karat gold and diamond necklaces with hidden clasps that allow the jewels to be worn long or short, doubled up, or in a "Y" shape, and these necklaces comprise a detachable bracelet, as well. The "Secret Garden" collection in 18-karat gold and platinum rocks with either diamonds or precious gemstones, and is characterized by airy, almost abstract, diamond-set floral silhouettes. The necklaces, bracelets and earrings feature pleasingly shaped negative spaces that make "Secret Garden" pieces remarkably lightweight and easy to wear, while also revealing subtle hints of skin.

While the open, trellis-like design of Gumuchian's "Secret Garden" collection sparkles with diamonds, its negative spaces that reveal the skin make for lightweight, subtly dazzling jewels.

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In honor of its 40^th anniversary, Gumuchian will be presenting special events with select retail partners around the U.S. The first fiesta will be a two-week pop-up in the Belle Cose At Home boutique in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from June 15 - June 30^th. Each customer who purchases Gumuchian jewelry at this pop-up will have their name entered into a raffle for the chance to win a Gumuchian "Secret Garden" diamond necklace.

"Black Tie" 18-karat white gold and diamond earrings illuminate the wearer with dazzling flashes of diamond light.

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As Diane and Rachel Frassanito, co-owners of Frassanito Jewelers https://www.frassanitojewelers.com/ in Huntington, New York, put it, "Gumuchian and Frassanito are both women-owned; women-operated jewelry businesses, so we understand what a satisfying victory it is for women to grow a successful luxury jewelry company over several decades. Gumuchian's 40th anniversary is testament to Gumuchian's commitment to designing and creating incomparably luxurious and classic jewels."