Bohemme - Spanish Jewelry Line to Expand Into North American Market

Mark Gurdus Appointed as President of BOHEMME North America and Luxury Brand Group Retained

Spanish jewelry company, BOHEMME, is pleased to announce expansion into the North American markets and the appointment of Mark Gurdus as the President of BOHEMME North America, which took effect on November 4. 

In addition, BOHEMME North America has retained Southern California-based brand communications and public relations agency, Luxury Brand Group (LBG). LBG will provide public relations, celebrity placement, brand development and digital marketing services.

BOHEMME is based and manufactured in Cordoba, Spain and was founded in 2010 by Spanish designer, Antonio Espaliu. The brand has embarked on an international venture by opening retail stores throughout Europe, Canada, USA, the Caribbean Area, Latin America, UAE (Dubai), Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Malta and South Africa, and plans to continue expanding globally. BOHEMME has appointed Mark Gurdus to head the North American operations.

Mark Gurdus brings over 25 years of experience in both the fine jewelry and luxury watch industries, previously serving as the Vice President of Sales for five years at Jorg Gray 
Timepieces, a watch company based in Southern California. Prior to Jorg Gray Timepieces, Gurdus was the Vice President of Sales for over a decade at Oris Swiss Made Watches based in Basel, Switzerland. Gurdus attended University of Memphis, and resides in Rancho Santa Margarita, California with his wife. He has two adult children. 

“I am excited to spearhead the expansion of BOHEMME in the North American markets,” states, Mark Gurdus. “With Luxury Brand Group’s proven track record for increasing brand awareness, along with their expertise and close relationships in all facets of the luxury and jewelry markets, I’m confident that this partnership will provide BOHEMME the opportunity to further develop the brand and introduce our designs to the masses.”

BOHEMME embraces the world of creativity and transmits aesthetic and innovative designs
into their exquisite jewelry collections. Each jewelry piece is created with high quality materials, using 925 sterling silver, 18 karat gold, diamonds, and precious and semi-precious gemstones, resulting in unique and striking designs. BOHEMME is recognized worldwide as an affordable luxury, which transcends modern fashion, all while exemplifying their motto, “Free Spirit”, in each design. Retail price points range from $250-$5,000 USD.

Frank Proctor, President/CEO of Luxury Brand Group states, “We are looking forward to
working closely with Mark Gurdus and the BOHEMME brand. The BOHEMME collections are cutting-edge, on-trend and fashion-forward, yet come with an affordable price point, which is perfect for today’s price conscious consumer. As Mark brings a great depth of knowledge and experience in fine jewelry and watches, we are looking forward to partnering together to achieve exposure, and ultimately, sales goals in 2014!”

Interested in BOHEMME for your store?  look for them at industry trade shows and events in 2014.  For more information on BOHEMME, visit http://www.bohemme.es or call 855-345-3268. BOHEMME North America is based and distributed from Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

About BOHEMME BOHEMME is based in Cordoba, Spain and was founded by Antonio Espaliu in 2010, a Spanish designer with almost 30 years’ experience in the jewelry industry. The brand is available throughout the most exclusive boutique stores in Spain and continues its expansion with breakneck speed worldwide. BOHEMME has embarked on its new international venture with exceptional design, innovation and the excellence of products “Made in Spain”. BOHEMME is already available at multiple prestigious retailers throughout Europe, Canada, USA, the Caribbean Area, Latin America, UAE (Dubai), Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Malta and South Africa, and continues to expand.   http://www.bohemme.es

About Luxury Brand GroupEstablished in 2004, Luxury Brand Group (LBG) is a full service brand communications agency headquartered in Southern California with a showroom and offices in Los Angeles and satellite offices in New York City. LBG truly understands the fine jewelry industry and luxury consumer, and is respected for its results-oriented, hands-on approach to luxury marketing. The highly talented team has a proven track record of increasing awareness through innovative and compelling brand recognition programs. Agency CEO and president, Frank Proctor, has more than 20+ years experience in the fine jewelry and luxury industries. As the former VP of Marketing of Platinum Guild International (PGI), he and his team were key to platinum’s surge in popularity in North America over the last twenty years, growing the market by more than 2000% in just a 10-year span.   http://www.luxbrandgroup.com/

Martin Flyer Announces Expansion of Fashion Jewelry Division

Martin Flyer Launches New Fashion Jewelry Division.

New York, NY: Since 1945 Martin Flyer has been providing the jewelry industry with the highest quality of products backed by first –class service. Martin Flyer introduced their FlyerFIt® Bridal Brand to the industry 7 years ago and today FlyerFit® is one of the leading American Designer Bridal Brands. Martin Flyer has always been known for high quality, Classic Diamond Product. Today, Martin Flyer enters a new category in the jewelry industry and is proud to announce a new Fashion Jewelry Division to expand its distribution as well as its products into the American independent retailer.

“Martin Flyer is a very well-respected Brand in the jewelry industry and the perfect partner to represent the KGK Group in America.” states Sanjay Kothari, President of KGK Global.

"There is a demand in America for well-made and well serviced value based jewelry", states Joshua Kaufman, CEO of Martin Flyer. "The expansion of our Fashion Division and revolutionary in-store Marketing Program will allow Martin Flyer to continue to distinguish ourselves as a leader of branded diamond jewelry in America."

Martin Flyer has named Knud Hostrup previously from PANDORA as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the company and named Richie Freilich Vice President of Customer Relations.

About Martin Flyer
Martin Flyer began in the Bowery district of New York City more than 65 years ago and has become one of the most recognizable names in the fine jewelry industry known for Quality and Service. In 2009 the company merged with a prestigious DTC sight holder, The KGK Group, utilizing their resources and global market strength. A name synonymous with timeless, elegant designs, Martin Flyer continues to offer a broad range of bridal and fashion jewelry— made available in all precious metals — with its Classic Martin Flyer and FlyerFit® collections. Martin Flyer’s headquarters are still located in Manhattan which includes a high quality production facility. Martin Flyer remains a sound institution in the jewelry industry, able to meet the growing needs of its customers from the design to the manufacturing stages. For more information, please visit:www.MartinFlyer.com.

Lapponia's "Art of Expression"

Lapponia Jewelry is undergoing a global renaissance. Today's strong women want to express themselves with our beautiful designs. Lapponia Jewelry is inspired by the rugged nature of northern Finland. This close bond with the nature of the north is brought to life in our new brand experience, the Art of Expression video, and our overall marketing strategy, The Silent Language of Nature.

View the Multimedia News Release:

The Lapponia brand video combines stunning images of northern nature with another source of Finnish pride, the internationally renowned musical talent of the band Apocalyptica and their song Sacra. The video tells the story of Lapponia's origins, presenting the artists' source of inspiration for those who have never had the opportunity to experience the exotic beauty of northern Finland.

Lapponia's artistic nature is also highlighted throughout our other marketing activities. During the filming of the brand video, world-famous photographer Arno Rafael Minkkinen, currently a professor of visual arts at the University of Boston, began work on a set of beautiful art photos based on Lapponia's 'silent language' marketing concept. This cooperation resulted in a collection of pictures that visualizes Lapponia's message in a truly beautiful way. In terms of communication, the campaign clearly differs from the way other luxury brands express themselves. And when it comes to timing, the campaign launch couldn't be happening at a better time, with Helsinki serving as World Design Capital for 2012.

About Lapponia
Lapponia's story began when the company's visionary founder Pekka Anttila asked sculptor and jewelry designer Björn Weckström, who he met while training to be a goldsmith, to design the first pieces of what was, at the time, very unique jewelry. The roots of Lapponia design are in Finnish Lapland. On trips to Lapland, Weckström got inspired by the exceptional shape and surface of the gold nuggets found in rivers there. It was this inspiration that led him to design the Flowering Wall, which received a Grand Prix award at the 1965 International Jewelry Contest in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, Lapponia has been an international success. Later Björn Weckström became fascinated by silver and created a series of jewelry in which silver portrays Finland's snowy fields and icy lakes. The exceptional treatment of the surface became the label of Lapponia's distinguished design.

The unique design and the exotic arctic nature began to generate more and more international interest. Lapponia grew into a brand that knew no boundaries. It was loved by royalty and stars alike, from the shahzadi of Persia to Yoko Ono. Following this success, in the 1970s Lapponia's jewelry was being designed by several international jewelry artists.

Lapponia's mystical designs still captivate people across the world. Today, Lapponia has six visionary artists who draw inspiration from the nature of Lapland to fulfill Lapponia's mission of creating revolutionary pieces of jewelry in the otherwise conservative world of jewels. This jewelry is worn by charismatic women who are not afraid to stand out from the crowd.

Jewelry Television Launches New Website

Jewelry shopping network develops new site to make shopping experience even easier

Jewelry Television® (JTV), the largest broadcast shopping network focused exclusively on the sale of fine jewelry and gemstones, announced the launch of a new website design at http://www.jtv.com. The new site will make Jewelry Television’s already user-friendly shopping experience even easier for customers.

The new website, completed in-house by JTV’s e-commerce team, features a wider format that allows for large, high-resolution images and videos of jewelry and gemstones, enhanced graphics which are visually appealing, and clearly-labeled tabs for improved navigation. Pages of the site work intuitively and consistently, while new search capabilities allow online jewelry shoppers a way to more quickly and easily find what they are seeking.

“We are committed to providing an exceptional customer experience,” said Craig Shields, vice president of e-commerce at Jewelry Television. “The new website was designed to be informative and very simple for our customers to navigate.”

Mobile users have the option of a fully mobile enhanced web experience will all the functions and features of the full site, from the convenience of their mobile devices.

“The user-friendly website also allows our customers to leave reviews on their purchase or read unbiased reviews before they make the purchase,” he said. “We hope that our customers will enjoy browsing the new site and that it will enhance their experience with JTV.”

About Jewelry Television®
Jewelry Television® (JTV) is the only broadcast shopping network that focuses exclusively on the sale of fine jewelry and gemstones. The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to over 80 million unique households in the U.S. Jewelry Television® was recently ranked the 14th largest retailer of fine jewelry in the U.S. by National Jeweler. JTV.com is the fifth largest jewelry destination on the internet according to Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide for 2010. For more information, visit JTV.com.

Source:  Press Release via Jewelry Television