Rocking the Fashion World

Kara Ross, who pivoted from fine-jewelry design towards fashion jewelry and handbags, showed off her latest collection in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Image: Teresa Novellino

Kara Ross, whose eponymous company is known for its exotic handbags and cutting-edge jewelry, didn't intend to become a fashion entrepreneur.

Ross was trained as a certified gemologist, and using her skills at identifying and grading the most precious types of rocks—diamonds and colored gemstones—she went on to specialize in fine-jewelry design.

But in 2007, she designed and supplied some fashion jewelry for a New York Fashion Week runway show—designers rarely send fine jewelry down the catwalk—and after the cameras stopped flashing, she assumed that would be that. Instead, she found that consumers were clamoring for the pieces, which were quite different from the pricier collections she was known for.

“We did J. Mendel’s runway show and made jewelry for the runway that was all made of brass (with gold plating),” Ross told Portfolio.com Monday during a presentation at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. “Then that fashion line just sort of grew organically, and we made $1 million that first year.”

While neither Ross nor other jewelers could have known it, her subsequent pivot from jewelry made exclusively out of gold, platinum, diamonds, and gemstones into first fashion jewelry and then handbags came at just the right time, economically speaking. When the recession hit in earnest in 2008, even luxury consumers eschewed fine jewelry, the ultimate luxury. In the years that followed, the only category that held on was bridal jewelry, considered relatively recession-proof since consumers continued to buy engagement rings and wedding bands, marrying despite the economy.

Throughout the recession, gold prices were at record highs, and still are—a reality that prompted many other fine-jewelry designers to look to sterling silver and other alternative materials as options.

Ross, having made the move to more affordably priced jewelry earlier than the others, is still at it five years later. Her line includes gold-plated brass jewelry that ranges in retail price from $100 to $350, making it palatable for fashion types on a budget. She also has a fine-jewelry line featuring sterling silver, 18-karat gold, and mother-of-pearl that ranges in price from $300 to $3,500.

This versatility makes her a good fit for a jewelry industry in which higher-end and lower-end price-point niches remain key. Her handbags, which feature exotic skins, boast gemstone clasps, a feature that has become the gemologist-fashion designer's trademark.