A look inside the newest Philip Rickard boutique
By Nadine Kam
Nadine Kam photos
Philip Rickard has opened a new store at Ala Moana Center on the third level just outside Nordstrom. The jeweler was there with his marketing rep Liz Lerner to greet guests and talk about his jewelry.
Philip Rickard opened its doors with a blessing on the third level of Ala Moana Center’s new expansion Thursday, Aug. 14, close to the Nordstrom entrance.
Those who attended had the opportunity to see jewelers at work engraving bracelets and finishing pendants from behind a glassed room. There will always be jewelers there to work on custom pieces for buyers. Much of the Hawaiian jewelry orders are customized due to the personalization aspect of adding names, initials and sizing the pieces.
One showcase is devoted to designs created for Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. fashion shows.
One of Philip’s most famous customers is Gwen Stefani who, he said, always admired Hawaiian jewelry when she traveled to Hawaii as a young girl, but could never afford it. Of course, times change and when she was able to place her first order with Rickard, she bought seven bracelets.
Since then, he’s sat down with her to design pieces for her fashion shows and describes her as being a person “on fire.”
“You can feel the energy around her, and she’s so creative,” he said. One of the things she had asked for were large bangles that the company had never offered. Since then, he’s found there’s a lot of demand for large pieces.
If you have any doubts about the labor that goes into this jewelry, you can watch work being done on the premises. Here, a large bangle is being engraved.
It was fun to try on other pieces, feel the weight of the gold and see the artistry behind the engraving. I was like, “I want to try that!” I did take a jewelry making class once, and enjoyed creating designs in wax involved in lost-wax casting, but I couldn’t take the heat involved in working with metal. Every time it came to polishing rings, the pieces would get so hot I couldn’t stand it and they would go flying out of my hand and pinging around the room. They probably could have taken someone’s eye out, so it’s safer that I just look and admire, and that means I have great respect and admiration for jewelers. Anyone creative, really.
Philip Rickard will be among a handful of Hawaii luxury companies featured during a September installment of E! News Extra.
Philip Rickard photo
These bracelets were created by Hawaii jeweler Philip Rickard for Gwen Stefani’s Spring 2008 L.A.M.B. runway show during the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week.
