LONDON — Monica Vinader, founder and co-owner of the jewelry brand that bears her name, has opened a flagship store in London and is looking toward international expansion, including the U.S.
A native of San Sebastian, Spain, who is now based in Norfolk, England, Vinader has built a flourishing business online, in her own London shops, and within retailers such as Harrods and Liberty, based on colorful, expensive-looking jewelry — with democratic price tags.
Her stackable friendship bracelets — which range in price from 75 pounds, or $118, to 2,500 pounds, or $3,925, depending on their level of bling — have long been bestsellers at Harrods, while her gold vermeil jewelry set with pastel stones — rose or lemon quartz, aquamarine, moonstone, amethyst, and labradorite has become a signature.
Related Galleries
Celebrity devotees include Kate Winslet, Claudia Schiffer, the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Eugenie, Gisele Bundchen, Rita Ora and Emma Watson.
“Wearability is everything — jewelry has to fit into your everyday life. I want to make things I can wear all the time, and I want them to last, to be an everyday joy,” Vinader said during a walk-through of her new 2,200-square-foot flagship in Duke of York Square on the King’s Road in Chelsea.
The new space has floor-to-ceiling glass walls, resin floors made to look like cement, topiary creations straight from Norfolk, a vintage sputnik chandelier, as well as bubble-shaped ones imported from New York.
The gold edged counters have an Art Deco feel, while the mid-century modern furniture – such as a green velvet sofa and bright red armchair — pops in primary colors.
In addition to stocking Vinader’s myriad collections, the space also features a jeweler’s bench, where customers can have their Vinader designs personalized free of charge. The shop is also home to Vinader’s debut collection of jewelry with precious colored gemstones, the Baja Precious Collection.
That collection, with its geometric, Deco feel, features rubies, emeralds and blue sapphires. Vinader eschews ready-cut stones and instead draws the shapes of the stones and has them hand cut and set.
“I am stone-obsessed! The thought of stones gets me out of bed in the morning,” said Vinader.
Despite the precious stones, Vinader has managed to keep a lid on prices, with ruby stud and pave diamond earrings priced at 450 pounds, or $707, and an emerald necklace costing 750 pounds, or $1,178.
Vinader works with silver and with gold vermeil, silver coated in a thin layer of gold, and uses the latter as a base for her diamonds, precious and semi-precious stones.
Vinader’s prices can go as high as 3,900 pounds, or $6,110, for a diamond necklace, but the sweet spot, she said, is 150-200 pounds, or $236-$315, with customers vacuuming up friendship bracelets, stacking rings, and pendants meant to be layered.
The designer started her business in 2005, having studied fine art at university, and later worked for the jeweler Robert Tateossian. After taking time out to run a high-end fly-fishing and sporting lodges business with her husband, Vinader returned to the world of gemstones, and now co-owns and runs the jeweler with her sister Gabriela Vinader.
As their business has grown, the sisters have taken on venture capital and private equity investment and the chief outside investor is the U.K.-based Beringea LLC, a private equity firm. Business doubled last year and remains healthy, although Vinader declined to give a sales volume.
The business is mainly retail: In addition to three London standalone stores, the company has counters at Harrods, Liberty, and Selfridges. Net-a-Porter.com is its biggest online account.
Next up is a shop-in-shop in Dubai that will open next month inside Boutique1, while a unit at the IFC mall in Hong Kong opened in early November. A new boutique at Selfridges with an engraving service will open on January 5.
In 2015, the plan is to push into the U.S. via the brand’s Web site, and then look into wholesaling the collection with “key partners” next year, Vinader said.
Vinader added that her aim is to remain customer-focused – she employs three full-time engravers at the company’s Norkfolk headquarters to service online customers, also for free – and to keep infusing her offer with freshness and variety.
Vinader noted that this year alone she offered up to 400 new skus.