PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA CARSON
Sometimes you get to know a little bit about someone simply by the things she chooses to put on. “Jewelry is your armor for the day and a daily reminder where you’ve been and where you’re going,” believes Monica Rich Kosann, head of the global fine-jewelry brand bearing her name. The designer, who’s lived locally for years with her husband and raised two daughters in the area, quips that if you flipped through her charm bracelet, you’d know her life’s story. Her unique, timeless designs are worn by stay-at-home moms as well as A-list celebs, but one thing is constant: Whether they’re wearing it to a movie premiere, to the office or while making a meal for the family, they all love the meaning behind the jewelry. As Kosann celebrates her own 20-year business anniversary, we connected about everything from what it’s like to work with her spouse to her exciting collaboration with tennis legend Chris Evert.
Q: You started your career as a photographer. Tell us about that stage in your life and who/what were your subjects?
A: I have been photographing families and doing portraits for as long as I can remember. This goes all the way back to when my daughters were little. It continued for a long time and, truthfully, I still do it! My inspiration was the photographers of the 1900s because they were the first people to chronicle everyday life and make it feel soulful. I wanted this in my work and loved documenting clients’ lives. My goal was to be an observer, yet capture their essence and tell part of their story. I began taking my clients’ photos and putting them into vintage items like lockets, powder compacts and cigarette cases, rendering them heirlooms within heirlooms. They loved that their personal stories were carried inside these textural, beautiful pieces. People kept requesting them and, not long after, I secured Bergdorf Goodman as my first big client.
Q: You are the queen of iconic lockets. How did these find a place in your inventory?
All the lockets being made at that time weren’t very interesting and skewed toward an older demographic. I thought, “Why aren’t people making lockets that are cool and speak to all generations?” And that was all it took for me to start designing my own. Lockets are the sexiest piece of jewelry a woman can wear because they tell her stories and hold her secrets. My lockets really spoke to people and became gateways to storytelling, and inspired women to commemorate their life journeys in a tangible way.
I also felt at this time that most jewelry out there wasn’t personal. Because I’d always loved the lockets, chunky medallions and charm bracelets that Liz Taylor and Jackie O wore, I started playing around designing my own charms, medallions, necklaces and bracelets. Yes, these pieces had to be pretty, but I also wanted them to say something about a woman and be meaningful. This philosophy holds strong today, and 99 percent of MRK jewelry is about making a woman feel courageous, strong and confident.
Q: Where was your first office, and what were the challenges of starting a jewelry business from scratch?
My first office was above my garage, and I wore many hats, as does any entrepreneur. Ignorance can be bliss and, like any business, it was a slow evolution. My husband and I felt there was a need for our designs, and as our client demand for more personalized jewelry emerged, we just kept moving forward. It’s been a journey, and it’s taught us so much along the way.
Q: You work closely with your husband, Rod. Is it fun to work with your spouse?
Our company is like a family, and being at work is like being in our family’s house. We have over 30 employees and most of them have been with us from the beginning. I can also recognize the things I’m good at, including creative and design, which is why I’m CCO. Whereas my husband is CEO, a perfect fit for him. We both stay in our lanes and since we eat, sleep and breathe this company, we are blessed to be in it together.
Q: Tell us about your design process.
If I see something beautiful, I might take inspiration from it, but I always start with the meaning and the design comes out of that. For example, at the Paris flea markets, I saw some beautiful deco pottery with sinewy, ethereal fish. I thought about how fish represent perseverance because they swim forward, often upstream and against obstacles—yet they always keep going. Later, when we designed our perseverance collection, I referenced these fish, but the meaning was the precursor. I also love designing compasses because the compass’s primary job is to guide you and keep you on course. Even with our sundial medallion, the messaging is about being in the moment, but also that time is precious. I love that meaning and design can be equally important.
Q: Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
We are a happy brand, and our pieces make people happy. Part of this joy comes with helping women honor every stage of life, and we do it by creating timeless designs that appeal to all generations. I love making things that my daughters want to borrow, and while they may style them differently than I do, we all love to wear the same things. My family, books, old movies, poetry, flea markets, museums, architecture and art—all these things feed my creative energy. I’m a first-generation American and traveling was always a big part of my life growing up, so visiting other places continues to stimulate me.
Q: Personalizing MRK Jewelry is part of what sets you apart from other designers. Explain the different ways people can customize their own pieces.
I’m in the business of connecting people, and I get very personal with our customers. Our locket bar, for example, allows clients to fill their lockets in store or at home. When we help them in-store and start accessing someone’s camera roll, we get to know a lot about these people—I’m very inspired by them and love hearing their stories. One woman told me that our “Carpe Diem” necklace helped her through a medical ordeal with her son. Another shared that one of my lockets was a gift from her husband just after they started dating. People have stories they want to share and there’s a real synergy there because, as much as our business is about beautiful jewelry, it’s also about personal connection. Other ways to customize include our design-your-own chains, which allow a woman to keep adding and collecting charms as her life journeys evolve. It’s the same with our charm bracelets, and a jumble of necklaces can be full of special moments and inspirations in a woman’s life. Creating one-of-a-kind custom pieces is also something I love to do. It starts with the gemstone, then design sketches from there—but the final product ends up being about what my customer loves and wants to commemorate.
Q: So many companies talk about sustainability practices these days. Do you have any you’d like to share?
We’re very proud to be a Certified B Corporation and are one of the few luxury jewelry companies to hold this title. To achieve this, we went through a rigorous process that ensured we met the highest standards of social and environmental impact in the areas of governance, workers, customers, environment and community. In everyday speak, everything we do is with intention and held to these standards: Where we source our gold and gemstones, the factories we use, recycling precious metals in the supply chain, our packaging, how we treat our employees and even what kind of paper towels we use in the office. We’ll keep renewing this certification every three years because it aligns with our company’s ethos of 360-degree quality and transparency that has defined MRK all along.
Q: What is your personal favorite piece of jewelry and why?
I could never pick just one! At the moment, it’s my “Finn” locket and charm bracelet—the latter I started over 15 years ago and is still evolving! The locket has Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Less Traveled” inside. It keeps me on course, and I love the idea that lockets don’t have to just contain photos. I wear two of our fish “Perseverance” rings on the same finger because I love this reference, and for the past year and a half, I’ve been wearing our “Points North” cuff. Inspired by the architects of the 1920s and ’30s who tried to make things that were solid and strong inside with a beautiful, simple exterior, this cuff is born of the idea of lightness amongst strength. Alongside my gold cuff are two tennis bracelets, a “Carpe Diem” and “Strength” bracelet, and a celestial one with moon and stars.
Q: In this issue we celebrate philanthropy with our annual Light a Fire feature. Tell us about MONICA CARES.
We launched our MONICA CARES giving initiative in 2015. Since then, we’ve supported various charitable causes as diverse as Blessings in a Backpack, Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, North Shore Animal League, Women in Need, Girls Who Code and Embrace Race. We also donate 50 percent of all proceeds in perpetuity from our Pink Sapphire Tennis Bracelet to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a cause close to our friend Chris Evert. A few years ago, we introduced Volunteer Days, where our full-time employees can choose to either spend a paid workday volunteering within the community, or have MRK make a contribution equivalent to their daily salary to their named charity.
Q: Where can our readers find MRK locally?
Some retailers that carry our brand in Fairfield County include David Harvey Jewelers in Darien, Nagi Jewelers in Stamford, Manfredi Jewels in New Canaan, Mitchells in Westport and Richards in Greenwich.
THE PERFECT MATCH:
Chris Evert stakes her claim on the tennis bracelet
From the moment I spoke to Chris over Zoom, I believed we were going to work together,” remembers Kosann of her first chat with the tennis icon. The designer recalls Evert explaining how during a 1978 US Open match, her diamond line bracelet broke. “Chris said she stopped play to find her bracelet, and when I asked her the things she remembers most about that day, she referenced the green of the court, the white lines and how profusely she was sweating.” Out of this imagery was born the MRK/CE tennis bracelet.
Evert always brought femininity to the court—in her outfits, her jewelry, a ribbon tied in her hair. For days after the tennis star’s bracelet broke, the press kept hounding her about what had happened, what the bracelet looked like, what stones were in it, and thus the phrase “tennis bracelet” was coined. “Chris is the woman who created this iconic piece of jewelry, but she has never had any input in this multimillion dollar business,” explains Kosann.
After they brainstormed, Kosann and Evert decided each piece in the collection would contain one emerald to symbolize the green court, a diamond “drop” of perspiration and each bracelet would be dually signed. “This is a way to tell the tennis bracelet story, and I feel very proud to be doing this with Chris,” says Kosann. “Now she finally has the input she deserves.”
Kosann loves the storytelling aspect of this collaboration: that Evert inspired the OG tennis bracelet, that she’s such an empowering figure and that she’s overcome so much in her recent battle with cancer. “It’s been such a fun journey,” she says. “I loved the idea of designing this piece with her and finally allowing her some stylistic input.”
