Dainty real jewellery for the everyday

Jennie Kwon started her eponymous brand in her mid-30s, after having worked as a musician and a corporate lawyer.

Getting to fine jewellery in a “roundabout” way, Jennie Kwon designs dainty pieces for a discerning and independent consumer who isn’t too concerned about trends or traditions.

We spoke to the jeweller about her journey, her inspirations and her jewellery brand and found out what Jennie Kwon is all about.

“I started designing jewellery in my mid 30s. That’s when I had my twins. It was sort of a now or never moment. Either I switched course then or I got the feeling that I would be stuck for decades.

“I used the opportunity to explore different things. It was the era of blogs. And so while I was an attorney, I would look at maker blogs. It looked very romantic to me, just tinkering away, cutting fabric and things like that.

“I kind of daydreamed about finding something for myself in that sense.

“My parents were both very risk averse raising us and the thought of ever having my own thing was not really in the realm of possibility for me.

“But when I was on maternity leave, I took that time to try different things. I did ceramics, I did knitting, and I did metal smithing at a local community centre, and I found that designing just came very naturally to me.

“I needed to find something that would be a career for me and have the potential to bring in some income.

“The barrier to entry is pretty low with jewellery. You can just invest into it however much you want to invest into it. It just seemed kind of low stakes for me to try it and if it doesn't work out then, it's just my pride that would be hurt, not much else.

“So come 2013, I decided to put together a small collection of pieces. It was done on a dainty scale, I didn't have a tonne of capital to put into it. So you know the lighter the gold in weight and the daintier, the more affordable it was for me to actually play around.

“Because of blogs, Catbird in Brooklyn discovered my pieces. It’s still one of my biggest retailers. Within six months, I was at Barneys and Twist and some other reputable stores.

“It just kind of happened very quickly and very organically without any sort of PR or prior history of making jewellery.”

Taking her new jewellery brand seriously, Jennie thought about the scalability of her business from the start.

“I realised that sitting there, making stuff by hand would not be something that I could scale easily. I didn't want to create one-of-a-kind pieces. I wanted to create a line of jewellery that people could order.

“I basically just pounded the pavement here in downtown LA, in the jewellery district, and found someone who could make these pieces for me. It was trial and error because I really didn't have a mentor or even a background in design.

“It was about figuring out what sort of things can be worn as jewellery. Some things are cool in concept, but I wanted to create things you could wear every day, just a part of your uniform.

“There was definitely a bit of a learning curve. What’s a comfortable design to wear while still feeling kind of special?

“Dainty jewellery was actually not that much of a thing back then. When I started, it was not as common as now, and the stuff out there I found to be a little bit young, and very tiny. Little pieces that almost felt like a gateway to real jewellery. People would buy it to feel like they owned fine jewellery, but it didn't really feel super elevated or anything like that yet. And so being in my mid 30s, having had a career already, I kind of wanted to design things that felt a little more serious than that.”

Jennie started her brand designing what she found to be lacking in the jewellery market at the time. But Jennie Kwon, the brand, has evolved.

“When I first started designing, I designed for myself because I didn't really see anything that truly resonated with me and where I was in life. But I think now I just design pieces that I think are beautiful. I don't necessarily design with me in mind. I don't know if I have a muse either, I don't think I have a particular woman in mind, but I think our pieces definitely draw a particular crowd.

“I think we appeal to a person who values quality over trends, who isn't afraid to choose something that uniquely resonates with them versus being bound by tradition.

“I'm not saying that my pieces are not traditional. But I think our customers are generally less concerned about what, for example, an engagement ring should be. They’re more interested in whether they love it and whether it has a special meaning between them and their partner, what represents their love. 

“It’s not your typical luxury customer, more a person who saves up and wants to buy something that's really meaningful to them.”

Who Jennie designs for has evolved, and so has her inspiration.

“I think my inspiration now is a little different from my inspiration back when I started. I've been around for a little while now and I feel like we've established a look. There's a certain cohesiveness that runs through our brand, all the pieces kind of play off each other and oftentimes, one piece will inspire another piece.

“I love looking at different stones and in different shapes. I like things that are traditionally pretty, but also feel very unique and where you could feel the labour that went into it.

“It has to have that personal feel, it doesn't feel mass produced or anything like that.

“I look at the materials I'm working with, and I want to honour those materials as best as I can. If I have like a small stone, how can I feature that stone in the most beautiful way possible that's in line with my aesthetic.

“I veered off a little bit for a hot second, when I first started designing and tried to create more architectural thing. But I found that what resonated with my demographic the most were the really pretty, detailed pieces that we're now known for.”

What Jennie Kwon is known for are beautiful dainty pieces that exude quiet luxury, and if there is one design that represents the DNA of the brand well, Jennie believes it’s the cuff ring. “It's a multi-purpose piece. It's cool in design, but it's also a negative space absorber between a ring with a centre stone and a flat band. And it's like really satisfying to pair with other things because it fits so nicely with so many pieces.”

Another Jennie Kwon signature is the “milgrain detail. Many of our pieces do feature that texture on the bezels and on the perimeters of certain shapes.

“We never cast those into the mould. They’re literally stamped beat by beat by our stone setters, so even the smallest of our pieces takes a lot of labour to create.”

Jennie Kwon’s future is bright, with the jeweller wanting to “continue to create beautiful things that bring happiness to people.

“I like that intimate feel of what I do, and I don't want to change the character of our company, because I think that you can tell what a personal or intimate touch there is to each of our pieces.”