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Jewelry by Judith Ripka - A Synonym for Love
Sep 6, 1996 1:09 PM
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by Amber Michelle
When fine jewelry designer Judith Ripka started her business
26 years ago on Long Island she sold her creations out of her home.
Now she has four stores bearing her name, several leased departments
around the country and plans to open three more stores over the next
two years.
Ripka began her business with a collection of 16 pieces that
are the basis of her unique "system jewelry" concept. While all the
18 karat gold matte finish pieces in the assortment can be worn
together, the system goes one step further- the jewelry is
interchangeable. Many of the pieces come apart and can be mixed with
other components from the selection. Enhancers in assorted sizes clip
on or off of simple chains or multi strand pearls to dress a look up
or down. Drops may be attached to button earrings and necklaces may
be worn long, short or as bracelets. Women are free to create their
own personal style by mixing and matching the elements in a way that
suits their individual tastes. Most of the jewelry is designed with
a matte finish because Ripka believes that its easier to wear more
pieces together that way."I keep my designs in parameters that will
work with any clothes," explains Ripka a De Beers award winner. "When
I started designing I wanted the jewelry to go from day to evening; it
can be worn with a Gap t-shirt or an Armani suit."
The versatility provided by the system caught the attention
of the Long Island women who were Ripka's customers and her reputation
spread mostly through word-of-mouth.
"I sold a lot of jewelry and people got to know my look.
Judith Ripka became a brand name. I helped to brand it by taking out
full-page ads in the Long Island New York Times. A lot of people who
lived in Manhattan saw the ad in the Hamptons and we started coming
into the city to see those clients," explains Ripka whose first foray
into jewelry design came while she was with the May Company. She
became friendly with modelmaker and jeweler Pierre Monch. When he had
spare time he would train her in the craft.
As the Judith Ripka name gained recognition, her business
outgrew her home so she moved into a small office in the jewelry
district and began doing trunk shows with jewelers around the country.
Additionally she opened a leased department in a Long Island store.
Ripka kept her complete line in the shop as a sample only and
customers ordered from the samples.
About eight years ago Ripka, encouraged by her husband,
decided to take the next step in the development of her business. She
opened her own store in Manhassat, Long Island followed by another in
Aspen, Colorado and Madison Avenue in New York. Most recently a store
opened in the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey. The leased
departments are carefully placed and are exclusive locations to an
area.
Ripka has found that being a retailer has helped her as a
designer, "I like to keep in touch with the people who buy my jewelry.
Being in the stores I pick up information from clients that I can
use."
Service is a crucial element to the success of Judith Ripka
Jewellery. All 35 sales associates have gone through extensive one-
on-one training with several staff members each working in a different
aspect of the company. Sales associates are taught about diamonds,
color stones, the process of jewelry making and taking special orders
and how to help customers select the pieces that work well together
and are right for their individual style.
"The key is to teach the customers. Our staff has to be well
informed so that they can explain the system concept and so that they
know what pieces complement each other the best. The staff also
teaches women how to wear jewelry for their personality. If the staff
has knowledge the customers can trust them," observes the designer.
Collected by many women Ripka adds extra variety to her line
by creating her designs in three colors of gold: Celadon, melon and
white. She recently began working in platinum as well.
"The color golds add excitement to the jewelry and it gives
people who collect my pieces something new. Platinum is picking up
tremendously, it's new but it's a classic," says Ripka who notes that
the celadon is the most popular of the three color golds.
In addition to traditional materials, such as diamonds which
Ripka sprinkles on many of her designs to add punch, she also works
with more unusual media such as leather, wood and lava. When she
first started designing Ripka frequently used antique intaglios in her
pieces. She later began working with intaglios that have been hand-
carved from color stones or from lava. The pendants then clip onto
wooden beads, leather, pearls or gold chains depending on the mood a
woman wants to create.
"My jewelry looks like someone cares about it. We pay special
attention to all the details," notes Ripka who employs 16 people in
her factory and introduces three new collections each year. "We save
all our molds so any piece is available. A woman may have bought a
piece in 1981 but she can come into the store today and still buy a
piece that will work with it,"
One of the biggest changes in the jewelry business that Ripka
has noticed over the last few years is the increasing number of self-
purchases by women. She finds that about 80 percent of her creations
are bought by women. Her designs hold appeal for women from 25 to
75, but the bulk of her clients are between about 35 and 60, and many
are independent, career-oriented women with high disposable incomes.
The exception to the rule is Valentine's Day and Mother's Day when men
purchase.
Ripka has also discovered that men and women have a different
understanding of what jewelry is all about, "Men have to be educated.
They want to see a big stone. Women are more concerned with the
design and how a piece goes with their wardrobe and how much it will
be worn. Men need that explained to them before they buy my jewelry."
According to Ripka consumers are also paying more attention to
designer jewelry now than in the past; due in part to the higher
quality of the name brand pieces and due in part to the extra care
that goes into the design.
"I put extra care and effort into all my designs. No piece
goes out until I've gone over it a number of times. I'll keep redoing
a piece until I'm pleased with it," says Ripka who offers an extensive
redesign service to her customers.
Although Ripka admits that she started her business because
designing jewelry was something she loved to do, she has seen her own
point-of-view change as her business has grown. Much of her time is
now spent developing new ways to market her product and grow her
company.
"Nowadays before I think of design, I think about what I'm
going to do to bring the business to the next decade. I have to be on
top of the game and not just in design. A lot of designers end up
becoming business people," comments Ripka.
To attract new customers Ripka plans to launch a collection of
sterling silver set with diamonds. The price point on the collection
will be lower to accommodate the pocketbooks of those who can't afford
designs in 18 karat gold.
"As we move into the twenty-first century people will be more
concerned with jewelry. It makes people happy to look at jewelry all
the time. Jewelry is a synonym for love. Women are finding out that
they are allowed to love themselves and that's another reason more
women are buying jewelry," concludes Ripka.
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Tags:
Collections, Consumers, De Beers, Jewelry
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