The history of Bostonian and the passion that is still alive today is beautifully described by Jennifer Heebner in JCK Magazine. The article focused on family run and custom designed jewelry houses; below is a portion that highlights Bostonian Jewelers.
“Thirty years ago, Hagop Matossian opened Hagop Settings, a jewelry repair shop, in Boston. His specialty was creating one-of-a-kind pieces, including diamond engagement ring mountings to accommodate oversize center stones, for stores that didn’t have in-house design capabilities. But nine years ago, two major events drastically shifted the course of the business. First, Matossian’s wife and now creative director, Alexandria, joined Hagop and his brother Barkev in the shop, abandoning her own one-woman custom business on the lower level of the same complex, and brought with her an unstoppable drive to take on more challenging custom jobs. Also, Hagop’s father, a longtime goldsmith who owned his own retail store, imparted some advice his sons couldn’t ignore. “He said, ‘You’re getting older, and you won’t be able to work with your hands your whole life, so open a retail store,’ Matossian recalls. Armed with his wife’s enthusiasm and his father’s wisdom, Hagop opened Bostonian Jewelers as a retail store, while Barkev continued to run Hagop Settings to accommodate the volume of wholesale repair jobs they’d developed. On the retail side, aiming to expand their restoration work, Hagop and Alexandria (ahead of their time in 1999) checked out the capabilities of a CAD/CAM. They instantly knew the technology could revolutionize the manufacturing of jewelry. Still, notes Alexandria, Hagop didn’t immediately take the bait. “I pestered him for three years to buy Matrix,” she says. Once the purchase was made, the payoff was immediate. Handmade jewelry models in platinum were no longer necessary since digital models were stored in Matrix. That move alone freed up thousands of dollars, eliminating dozens of platinum models that sat in a safe for future use. Also gone were the stacks of stinky, wet silicone rubber molds, waiting “in limbo” to be employed to make more models. The technology also broke the rules for jewelry fabrication, streamlining efficiency and profitability. For instance, when making a ring that will weigh 12 grams of metal, jewelers must start with double the material to account for shaping, fabrication, and waste; the latter is now eliminated, thanks to CAD/CAM design. “With rapid prototype casting, you can go from print to wax with no waste,” says Hagop. And Alexandria is making more than just diamond engagement rings. Business in bridal necklaces, cuff-links, and similar items has risen drastically since the changeover. “I am a lot busier,” she says. For example, she made a pair of 18k gold cufflinks with green quartz as a birthday present from a woman to her fiancé. Alexandria recalls another commission fondly because of the customer’s instructions: There were none. “He told me to make anything I wanted,” she remembers. His only stipulation was to consider one aspect of the female recipient: She worked with her hands. The end piece was a five-gram platinum band featuring vine motifs and a half-carat, bezel-set diamond center stone provided by the client. With business brisk, Bostonian Jewelers got a facelift last year. Stainless steel and glass accents now give the store a contemporary look. “It’s yummy,” enthuses Alexandria. All jobs are completed onsite in the 2,000-square-foot space, which is a 60–40 split between showroom and workshop. Bostonian’s custom capabilities are so stream\lined, efficient, and profitable that the company even makes its own wedding bands—plain metal ones that most shops tend to order. “In 10 minutes, we can make a simple band in CAD/CAM for 30 percent less than the cost of ordering one from a vendor,” says Hagop. Other benefits? Cherry-picking custom components across a variety of jobs, clean casts (no investment mess), and no torching necessary. “This is the difference between the old school and the new,” says Alexandria. “You can really push the envelope of design."We are very proud to be featured in such an amazing publication. To view the full article please go to : http://www.jckonline.com/2010/05/25/you-ve-got-it-made
