All About Jose Hess Jewelry Designs

Jose Hess is a formidable name in the diamond jewelry business. Before becoming a renowned jewelry designer, he worked in his family’s bakery and restaurant. Even when he finally did find employment with a jewelry factory, his first position put him behind a broom handle rather than a workbench.

Over time, he worked his way up to apprentice. He learned to make plate, draw wire and melt gold. He learned how to hand-make settings. While in the beginning Hess saw these processes as drudgery, his point of view changed once he associated the creativity required to make beautiful jewelry with the hands-on aspects of manufacturing the pieces.

After a number of years of informal study, apprenticeship and formal schooling, he went to work for David Webb. It was there that he fine-tuned his training and made a break from standard jewelry design. Starting his own jewelry company at last, Hess’ designs initially did not receive much credit from retailers. In spite of winning numerous awards, retailers were hesitant to use the name of a fairly new designer.

Branding would become the major focus of the artisan’s initial foray into being an independent jewelry designer. Getting out his firm name in the trade publications as well as consumer magazines was an important step for this new designer. Taking inspiration from De Beers’ jewelry advertisements, the designer modeled his ads to mimic their presentations.

The loyal consumer will notice that Hess’ design philosophy has changed over the course of the years. Although always interested in working with diamonds, his earlier pieces were big, held plenty of diamonds and were therefore largely unaffordable for a wide range of consumers. Stones were large and pieces were usually more suitable for occasional wear.

Over the course of time, the jewelry became smaller and the quantity of diamonds decreased. Hess’ pieces now became anytime jewelry, which was suitable for formal as well as casual occasions and everything in between. Occasionally, the artisan uses pearls or colored gems. By and large, he does stay faithful to diamonds.

Hess notes that consumers have become a lot more selective when purchasing diamond jewelry. Impulse buying is down but informed purchases and the search for attractive designs are on the rise. As a designer, Hess works hard to keep his design styles in step with the tastes of the buying public. His focus on quality and customer service has served this designer well. His has won numerous prizes and accolades over the years.

His expertise has also been noted by a variety of trade organizations. He was chosen as the first American president of the CIBJO (Confederation Internationale De La Bijouterie, Joaillerie, Orfevrerie, Des Diamants, Perles Et Pierres).

At Peter Suchy Jewelers, we are experts at vintage and estate jewelry so we hope you’ll visit our showroom in Stamford Connecticut.

Or, if you enjoy buying vintage and estate jewelry online, hop on over to our eBay store where you’ll find we are a top-rated PowerSeller with over 5,000 transactions to date and 100 percent positive feedback from our clients.

Please do like our Facebook page and don’t forget to add us to your circles on Google+!