Creating the Russian national brands is among the tasks set by the Russian Jewellers Guild for themselves. Probably, it is no mere chance that Gagik Gevorkyan, the Guild’s leader, was the initiator of establishing the first family jewellery brand in Russia dubbed GEVORKYAN. The brand philosophy is to translate the best ideas and traditions that contribute to the strengthening of a family, bringing up of a new generation on the values of love and mutual respect. Fyodor Poludennyi, this Brand Director, tells about it in his interview to Rough&Polished.
One of the major jewellery manufacturers in Russia recently has told in his interview to R&P about the need to establish a national world-level jewellery brand. Do you share this opinion?
There have been talks about this for several years already. The implementation of this idea encounters many difficulties. Yes, it would be good to establish it, but this requires a certain ‘affinity group’, rather substantial financing and the experts of the appropriate level.
In this context, what can you tell about the GEVORKYAN brand? What is its place on the market, its peculiar features?
The GEVORKYAN brand is the first family one on the Russian market. Gagik G. Gevorkyan, its founder, is the Chairman of the ‘Russian Jewellers Guild’ Association and the president of the Jewellery House ‘Estet’. The brand is becoming more famous in the Russian market, numerous presentations of the brand were made in many regions and it gained recognition and many awards at the major jewellery exhibitions. The brand received many positive responses from the jewellery community and all the connoisseurs of fine luxury. So, the GEVORKYAN brand is among the leading premium jewellery brands. It includes 19 subject jewellery collections that satisfy various customer preferences.
The GEVORKYAN mission is to translate all the best ideas and traditions that contribute to the strengthening of a family, bringing up of a new generation on the values of love and mutual respect, as well as on understanding the aesthetics of the beauty. This is the jewellery that would remain in the family and be passed on from generation to generation. The demand dynamics for the GEVORKYAN brand jewellery is positive and indicative not only in Moscow – we also see the demand growth by over 50 percent in the first six months of this year as compared with the previous year.
What is among the responsibilities of the Brand Director?
First of all, my responsibilities include the study of the market to be able to promote those brand collections on the market that would be really in demand at a certain period of time. Among the most important parts of my job as a brand director is the presentation of the brand in the retail chains, at the exhibitions and other events. This requires the brand philosophy and attributes to be developed first. For example, the GEVORKYAN brand gem is amethyst. It can make all the people to be your friends, create harmony in the family filling it with affection, love and devotion. The main colour of the GEVORKYAN brand is violet - really precious, aesthetic and placatory, granting inner peace and harmony. The colour is also used to maintain the colour image of the brand. Its presentation accessories – packings, display platforms – are part of its corporate style and create the consumers’ perception of the brand.
What is your opinion on the success of the Russian designers at the International Jewellery Design Excellence Award Exhibition in Hong Kong?
The matter is that some Russian companies and jewelers took part many times in various international contests without taking part in the shows themselves. Normally, the contests are held at the time of exhibitions. The preliminary selection was made and the jewellery selected was submitted to the jury in Hong Kong at the final stage of the contest. In 2013, our jewellery piece ‘Secret of a Swan’ took premier place for the ‘Design Excellence’, a high award at this contest. Every year, the Russian designers participate in this exhibition and they have won the top awards over the last several years. In 2011 and 2013, Russian jeweller Ilgiz Fazulzyanov of ‘Almaz-Holding’ gained the Grand Prix of this contest.
What is your take on the achievements of the Chinese jewellery designers?
I know at least one Chinese designer whose works deserve high praise, his name is Tao Ma. He works in modern style and his pieces are very creative. No wonder that his works of art gained honorary rewards and diplomas. On the whole, the Chinese designers mainly follow the novelties created by the European and US designers. Lately, the jewellery industry in China - including the premium segment - has been booming, however, so far the Chinese designers have not proved themselves to be very prominent at the international exhibitions and contests.
Why did you decide to display the GEVORKYAN brand on the Asian market, particularly, at the Hong Kong Exhibition?
From the point of view of the jewellery art, the premium brands are most significant in the positioning on the international markets. They can catch the eyes and draw the attention of the players, and the Russian design, in our opinion, can find loyal customers in the Asian markets. The awards gained by the Russian jewellery at international exhibitions speak in favour of this, as well as purchasing of Russian designed and made jewellery by Chinese tourists. We made a review and came to the conclusion that from the point of view of art and quality, the GEVORKYAN brand jewellery was highly competitive with the jewellery made abroad. That is why our aim is to be among the most renowned brands of Europe, America and other parts of the world to make our own contribution to the development of the global jewellery art.
Galina Semyonova, Rough&Polished
