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Brand News: Gumuchian Makes Headlines In Europe; House Of Solid Gold Creates 24K Mountain Bike December 23, 2013 (0 comments)
Gumuchian Makes Headlines In Europe
New York, NY—Gumuchian recently was featured in an article about Armenian jewelers in the French magazine Le Point, a popular consumer news magazine in France.
Matriarch Anita Gumuchian, of Armenian descent, set up shop more than 30 years ago, with a niche of jewelry created “by women, for women” in Manhattan and Antwerp. Her daughters and granddaughters have worked alongside her to make the company a success.
Recently, the next generation of Gumuchian women joined the family business team from Europe. Tatiana and Larissa, nieces of New York-based Myriam and Patricia Gumuchian, are currently traveling in Europe introducing the collection to retailers and opening up doors on the continent.
Gumuchian was included in a French magazine's article about Armenian jewelers' craftsmanship, above. A closeup of the inset featuring the company is below:
House of Solid Gold Creates 24K Gold Mountain Bike
Los Angeles, CA—Extreme meets extreme: The House of Solid Gold has created a mountain bike out of 24k gold (top of page).
Hugh Power, House of Solid Gold’s founder, has been designing and creating outrageous objects of art for 30 years, with such items as the world’s most expensive reading glasses to his credit. Dan Bull, founder of Human-Powered Inc., an international ultra-athlete and extreme-sport promoter, worked with Power to create a bespoke extreme mountain bike, called a "fat bike,” which gained popularity in the Bull-founded “Iditabike” winter race in Alaska.
The “Beverly Hills Edition” gold fat bike is handcrafted in the USA and overlaid with pure 24k gold. Each part that could be was electroplated with 24k pure gold, down to the screws and washers holding the bike together, in more than 750 man-hours of work, says Power. For additional accent, more than 600 black diamonds (6.0 ctw) and 500 golden sapphires (4.5 ctw) are pavé set on the frame in a custom House of Solid Gold logo. The bike is road-worthy and can be ridden on the beach or in the snow as intended for its sport.
The House of Solid Gold will create 13 of the bikes, each one totally customized to the buyer’s specifications. The handlebar grips on the first bike are made of chocolate brown saddle cowhide leather, and the one-of-a-kind customized seat is covered in chocolate brown alligator. The one-of-a-kind attached water bottle is covered in gold and accented with chocolate brown stingray. Finally, the bike is laser engraved with the artist’s signature, dated and numbered as the first of 13, is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity, and will be delivered and unpacked for the customer via white-glove service.
80% or more of the proceeds from the sale of this bicycle will go to TheWayToHappiness.org, an organization Power recently announced close affiliation with. A charitable contribution of one million dollars to the group will net the donor ownership of the bicycle.
Any part of the bike's mechanisms that could be plated with gold was, including the chains, spokes, and gears shown here.