Articles and News
Brand News: Ritani’s New CEO, Next-Gen At Rahaminov, Oscar Heyman’s New Book, More February 02, 2017 (0 comments)
Ritani Names Deborah Fine as New CEO
New York, NY—Ritani has announced a major change in leadership. Deborah Fine, a veteran omnichannel retail, lifestyle, and media executive, will lead the brand as its new chief executive officer. She replaces former CEO Brian Watkins, who has left the company.
Fine has two decades of experience leading lifestyle businesses to record growth and profit through all stages of the enterprise lifecycle. She begins immediately and will split her time between Ritani’s Seattle and New York operation centers.
Fine’s diverse career transcends several industries, including consumer retail, fashion, and beauty, lifestyle and media. She was previously the CEO of Direct Brands, the largest member-based retailer of media products in the U.S., President of iVillage, an NBC Universal company that was the first and largest media company dedicated to women online, CEO of Victoria’s Secret PINK, founder and president of Avon Mark Cosmetics, vice president and publisher of Glamour and publisher of Brides magazines, driving them to become Condé Nast’s most profitable and largest unit volume publications.
“Deborah has demonstrated an impressive track record of leading best in class retail and media businesses and delivering significant results. Her experience and vision will help propel the growth strategy of the Ritani brand, as it seeks to gain market share in the omnichannel fine jewelry market,” said Henrique de Castro, head of Cantor Ventures, an investor in Ritani.
“I’m excited to join Ritani and lead the business in its next stage of development,” said Fine. “Ritani was the first to launch a true ‘clicks and bricks’ model in the category and this fresh approach to engagement ring and jewelry shopping has resonated positively with customers, helping over 10,000 couples a year globally say ‘I do.’ Ritani’s legacy of craftsmanship, business model innovation, and the ability for consumers to design their own merchandise are strong pillars for growth. I look forward to working with the team here to continue to innovate and increase our market share across all relevant categories.”
Ritani offers an omnichannel shopping experience with a network of over 250 independent retailers; including its exclusive “Free In-Store Preview” option for bridal and fine jewelry shoppers and in-store tools and apps that merge the offline and online worlds.
Next-Gen Influence Shapes New Direction At Rahaminov
Los Angeles, CA—Rahaminov Diamonds debuted a new collection of modernized classics at the recent Centurion Show in Scottsdale, AZ. Comprised of chokers, stackable bangles, wearable hoops, and on-trend, minimized stud earrings, the new pieces are in line with the brand’s high quality diamonds and meticulous craftsmanship but exude a younger, more modern and edgy appeal than the brand’s staple pieces.
Second-generation designer Nicol Goldfiner Barlev explains, “the new pieces are still within the essence of Rahaminov, but designed with a younger clientele in mind. She is someone who understands the value and appreciates the craftsmanship, but wants to build her own collection with something slightly different from her mother’s jewelry.”
Goldfiner Barlev understands this new client from a personal perspective. Working side by side with her mother, company co-founder Tamara Rahaminov Goldfiner, the two partner on developing and designing the brand’s latest offerings. In the two years since Goldfiner Barlev joined the family business, her intuition and influence are now clear with this new collection.
Meanwhile, her sister Melanie Goldfiner focuses on the brand’s sales and marketing, which also will be given a fresh update with a new advertising campaign to be shot this spring and slated to debut at the JCK Show in Las Vegas.
“We recognize the need to evolve the collection to meet the desires of a new generation of consumers, while still remaining true to our brand,” says Melanie Goldfiner.
At the Centurion Show last weekend, the family dedication to the brand were front and center in the Rahaminov salon, with a mother-daughter retrospective-type presentation. The latest collection offerings evolved from a strong prior year, which included the successful launch of both the brand’s new Movál collection and a new retailer marketing program.
“2016 was a stellar year for our brand,” says co-founder Amir Goldfiner. “We look to build on the success of Centurion with a sneak peek of the more design-focused collection to be fully presented in June.”
Two generations' perspectives influence designs at Rahaminov.
Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston, Publishes Book Chronicling Oscar Heyman History
Boston, MA—The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) announces the publication of Oscar Heyman: The Jewelers’ Jeweler, the first illustrated history of Oscar Heyman & Brothers, a firm that has designed meticulously crafted pieces for some of America’s most elite jewelry houses since 1912. The brand’s extensive clientele list includes Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, Shreve, Crump, & Low, and Black, Starr & Frost. Enhanced with new photography of vintage and contemporary pieces, as well as design drawings from the firm’s archives that are works of art in their own right, the book reveals Oscar Heyman’s important role in the story of American high jewelry. Some images are shown below:
“For more than a century, Oscar Heyman & Brothers, known as ‘the jewelers’ jeweler,’ has maintained a national reputation for outstanding ornaments set with superior gemstones,” said Markowitz. “Until recently, the Oscar Heyman name was unknown outside the jewelry world, as the company preferred anonymity and discretion, but today the brand is synonymous with dazzling, high-style jewels. I’m pleased to highlight its prosperous history with the release of this new publication.”
Third-generation Oscar Heyman was founded by brothers Oscar and Nathan Heyman, who apprenticed at a workshop that produced high-style ornaments for the Russian court jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé. With rising tensions in Eastern Europe, the brothers escaped to New York City and within a few years established their own firm. Eventually, the other Heyman brothers joined the growing business, which remains entirely autonomous—maintaining in-house production of jewelry from inception through completion—to this day.
“It’s inspiring to see how far Oscar Heyman has come since my grandfather and great uncles started the business in 1912 and how it thrives today,” said Tom Heyman, partner at Oscar Heyman. “With this book from the MFA, readers will come to appreciate our rich history and unique combination of engineering capabilities, technical skill and artistic style, which enable us to continue to create one-of-a-kind pieces. We want to thank authors Yvonne Markowitz and Elizabeth Hamilton for their dedication and passion to the art of jewelry. We applaud them for profiling the distinct art of fine jewelry craftsmanship.”
Available April 1 in the MFA Shops, retail bookstores, and online, Oscar Heyman: The Jewelers’ Jeweler was authored by Yvonne J. Markowitz, Rita J. Kaplan, and Susan B. Kaplan, Curator Emerita of Jewelry at the MFA, and Elizabeth Hamilton, an independent writer and researcher and a graduate of Parsons the New School for Design/Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The book is one of several jewelry titles produced by MFA Publications.
Cohen Tapped To Lead Alpina Frederique Constant USA
New York, NY—Jeffrey Cohen has been named president of Alpina Frederique Constant USA Inc. He will continue in his role as president of Citizen Watch America, which operates the Citizen and Bulova brands in addition to its acquisition of the Alpina and Frederique Constant brands. Citizen Watch America and Alpina Frederique Constant USA will continue to be operated as separate companies.
Cohen's expanded role will leverage his expertise with 35 years of industry-leading experience across the brands; with each brand continuing to build on its individual DNA and identities. Cohen's leadership will enable internal knowledge sharing and further strengthen functional expertise and facilitate best practices.
2017 will be an important year for Alpina Frederique Constant USA; with this integration into the Citizen Watch America organization, the Frederique Constant and Alpina Watches brands will greatly benefit from the sales distribution, marketing power and operational capabilities of the Citizen Group.
In addition, Fernando Sanchez has been appointed as managing director of Alpina Frederique Constant USA Inc.