GC:LUXURY PANAYIOTIS MELLEKKIS MELEKKIS JEWELLERY
Q Game Changers: Your father Georgios and mother Eva opened the first store over 40 years ago. What motivated them to do this? The Melekkis story started with my grandfather Alexandros, who was working 3 jobs to support his family, including the selling of watches in Famagusta. In 1977 he sent my father Georgios to study in Horology in Switzerland - and upon his return he and my mother Eva began the first family business together in Dherynia. The combination of Eva’s artistic talents and Georgios’ niche skills enabled them to begin the Melekkis brand by providing unique custom made jewellery. Q Was there pressure on you to follow the family business? From a very young age I was working alongside my family in the family business. It was a natural evolution - I was also very keen to learn more about precious stones, diamonds and wanted to explore and study jewellery design. At 20 years old I left for Florence,Italy where I began and completed my degree in jewellery design and gemology at the Gemological Institute of America. Q What is the training to become a professional jeweler? Following my studies in Florence, I believe that studying gemology and jewellery design truly assisted me in improving as a professional jeweller. The issue is that many people don’t fully understand that there is actually a substantial amount of knowledge needed behind jewellery, jewellery making and being able to advise on the right stones, diamonds, gold quality etc. When our clients visit our stores, we are able to provide thorough advice and information which I believe is not readily available in most Cyprus stores. Q You have one of the largest stores in Europe, does this also mean it is hard to keep up the unparalleled quality? Quality is always our priority and this is why we have been able to grow and expand as a business. Our attention to detail, and focus on top quality products has ensured that we have kept and maintained a large
client base that is ever growing. Our largest store in Paralimni has returning worldwide customers for over 40 years. The launch of our online store www.melekkis.eu has also assisted with servicing our clients. Q With three stores in Cyprus, do people from different regions have a particular style? Of course. For example, the Limassol store requests are mainly for yellow gold pieces, and precious stone designs with Ruby, Sapphires and Emeralds, those of which are of a vintage style. The Paralimni store sees more modern requests from clients, including rose gold designs and large pieces with stones such as Opal, Alexandrite and London Blue Topaz.
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