Designing handmade, one-of-a-kind jewelry – a tradition at Bijoux

Posted 7/27/17

John Coyne (left), an antique specialist, and the owners of Bijoux Fine Jewelry store with Zara (center) and Marty Khatchadrian. (Photo by Sue Ann Rybak) by Sue Ann Rybak Marty and Zara Khatchadrian, …

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Designing handmade, one-of-a-kind jewelry – a tradition at Bijoux

Posted

John Coyne (left), an antique specialist, and the owners of Bijoux Fine Jewelry store with Zara (center) and Marty Khatchadrian. (Photo by Sue Ann Rybak)

by Sue Ann Rybak

Marty and Zara Khatchadrian, the new owners of Bijoux Fine Jewelry store, 8615 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill, the former site of Randolph’s Fine Jewelry, grew up watching their father, Arthur Khatchadrian, design and handcraft jewelry at AK Jewelry, a wholesale jewelry business located in the Jewelry Trades Building, 740 Sansom St. in Center City.

“We used to be a big-time manufacturer on the East Coast,” Arthur Khatchadrian said. “We did work for Tiffany, Cartier, Harry Winston, Craig Drake and all the major jewelry companies. We used to cater to over 600 jewelry stores. We didn’t do all their work, but we used to do their house jobs or their custom-made pieces.”

Arthur, 58, who is retired, passed his love for designing handcrafted jewelry down to his children.

“My children used to sit on my lap and watch everything I did,” he said. “Both Marty and Zara grew up working in the store.”

Marty, 26, said almost every day after school he would watch his father sit at his bench in his workshop and create one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry.

“My father was a master jeweler,” he said. “He didn’t want me to ‘just be a jeweler.’ He wanted me to become educated and skilled in all the aspects of jewelry making – including design, wax carving, hand building, setting, soldering and engraving.”

Marty said it’s difficult today to find a store that does everything on site. He said most jewelry stores have mass-manufactured jewelry or send their jewelry out to be repaired.

Unfortunately, thanks to technology, most rings are designed using CAD (computer-aided design) software.

Zara, 28, said at Bijoux customers won’t get a “cookie cutter designed” piece of jewelry. She said it’s like comparing store bought cookies to homemade cookies from scratch.

She added if customers bring in a photo of a ring they see in a magazine, they can almost always design a similar ring, while giving it Bijoux’s unique flair.

“Marty and I help with the designing of our pieces by giving them a modern twist,” she said. “We have learned over the years that timeless pieces are, of course, the best sellers. Adding different finishes or a slightly different style stone can really change the look of a piece. We love to keep everything simple and timeless, but just a small change can really make a big difference with jewelry.”

Zara added that the company had the honor of manufacturing jewelry for several of the late Craig Drake’s designs.

“He had some magnificent pieces that were truly, very unique,” she added.

Zara’s father said, when designing the store, his children Zara and Marty tried to maintain the character of the building while creating an elegantly designed store.

“The store’s cases are from the late 1800s,” he said. “They were refinished and shatter proof glass and lights were installed.”

Besides the antique jewelry cases, several large, magnificent crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling creating an elegant and luxurious atmosphere.

“We wanted to merge the new and old gracefully together,” Arthur said.

Marty added that the store’s focus is on selling elegant jewelry for every price range.

“We have jewelry that ranges from $20 to $200,000,” he said. “Anyone can open a jewelry store and charge a ridiculous amount of money and get over on their customers. We want to educate people about jewelry. It’s not about money. It’s about helping customers find something elegant within their price range. It’s about forming relationships.”

He added that Bijoux is a family-owned business that hopefully will be in Chestnut Hill for generations to come.

Bijoux is open Tuesday-Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 215-248-4225 or email bijouxjewelry86@gmail.com.

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