Upon a recent trip to California I had the opportunity to visit designer Simon G at his Glendale manufacturing facility. He was extremely generous with his time as he shared his passion for designing and creating exquisite pieces of fine bridal and high fashion jewelry.
His state of the art studio is outfitted with the latest in jewelry manufacturing tools and technologies. Technicians specialize in a particular skill set to maximize their ability and to create uniform consistency. For example, one stone setter is tasked with setting only the center stone while another is tasked with setting the smaller enhancing complimentary stones to complete the piece. The result is a finished piece of jewelry which gets the “best of the love” of both craftsmen. All of this being created and manufactured in their American studio with old world craftsmen. In Simon’s words, “Old world production standards complemented by modern technologies”.
Simon himself is a skilled goldsmith, with over forty (40) years of experience, who oversees the perfection and production of his designs. He came to New York in 1967 at the age of twelve (12) to escape the war in Lebanon. He knew that he wanted to work with his hands but had no money to afford a formal education. With the encouragement of his family he started to learn the jewelry trade. And learn it he did, under the tutelage of New York craftsmen.
Traditionally the New York jewelry district closes in July for two weeks due to the heat and to accommodate vacations. Simon took this opportunity to learn and travel and in 1976 he traveled to California to gain exposure to the west coast market. Upon returning to New York and with the blessings of his mentors he moved to California in 1977 to expand his career as a jewelry designer. In 1981 he ”… opened his first studio in a 150 square feet and began to distribute his design and hence his brand to retailers”. He grew his studio size and employee base slowly as he developed a following, and; clients started to approach him for design and custom work as his name and designs gained prominence. Simon stated that, “My breakout finally came in 1992 at the Atlanta jewelry show.” However, it was not until 2005 that he relocated from the Los Angeles jewelry district to his current 11,000 square ft. state of the art studio. This location houses all their corporate administrative functions, production & manufacturing facilities and 65 employees.
Simon travels the world and gains his design inspiration from listening to consumers and observing the natural beauty which surrounds him. His drive is to set trends – not follow them –and he gains many of his inspiration from Italy and what is worn in the annual awards shows. His goal is to stay “fresh” with new creations and to that end he releases offerings twice a year, to coordinate with fashion shows in the Fall and Spring. He continues to do the design creation assisted by a colleague of 28 years. To this day, every design, which comes out of the studio, is ultimately approved by the “eye of the master”. All of Simon’s jewelry creations are hand assembled with care, pride, detail and a love toward perfection. His employees are treated as family, and many of them are. They don’t want to disappoint their Patriarch or their end consumer, whom they continually seek to impress.
Speaking of impressing why not stop into Impress Jewelry Creations and view our Simon G collection. Dan Leonhardt our senior goldsmith feels “Simon G offers some of the best design, crafted and assembled jewelry” he has seen over his 38 year work history. But don’t take our word for it come in and see for yourself the stunning beauty of this fine jewelry from the hands of the Master – Simon G. at Impress Jewelry Creations.