Every Piece a Story

By Leslie Garisto Pfaff

THE WORK OF JEWELRY DESIGNER MONICA RICH KOSANN LETS WEARERS SHOWCASE THE NARRATIVES THAT SHAPE—AND EMPOWER—THEIR LIVES.

Monica Rich Kosann is a storyteller by nature. Before she launched her line of fine jewelry in 2004, she was a celebrity portrait photographer whose work was informed by the idea that every portrait should tell a unique story about its subject. Now that philosophy guides her jewelry designs, each of which serves as a vehicle through which the wearer can tell her own very personal story.

Her earliest pieces, though, weren’t jewelry at all but vintage-style powder compacts and cigarette cases intended to hold photos or other personal mementos. The collection grew out of her portrait photography as well as her passion for combing flea markets and antique shops worldwide for decorative objets—like those compacts and cases—dating back to the early 20th century. She was inspired to use some of them as client gifts, in which she’d include one of her black-and-white portraits, and when those clients started clamoring for more, she suspected she was on to something. She began having them manufactured from the original molds in Italy, and Bergdorf Goodman picked up the line. “I used to call them ‘little tokens of love’ because they were so sentimental, personal and meaningful,” she says.

Following that line of thought, it occurred to Rich Kosann that the quintessential love token might actually be the locket, worn close to the heart, with its contents known only to the person wearing it. But the only lockets she could find in jewelry stores were a shade too grandmotherly for her taste. “I’ve always thought that a locket is the sexiest piece of jewelry a woman can wear,” she says, “because it holds her secrets.” She proceeded to add lockets to her line, designing pieces that would appeal to women of all ages.

She also loved the way a locket allowed the wearer to tell her story—an idea that animated her growing collection. She added medallions and charms designed to speak volumes—to the woman who wore them and those around her. She was less interested in charms that described what the wearer did—a camera for a photographer or an ice skate for a skater, for example—than in those that expressed how the wearer felt. “I wanted pieces that addressed women’s grander themes:

adventure, perseverance, strength,” she says. Thus the images she used in her designs—compasses, globes, sundials, starbursts—symbolized those themes.

That idea of expressing grander themes has resonated among Rich Kosann’s thousands of fans and followers. Among her most popular pieces are rings, charms and medallions engraved with what she calls “messages of inspiration and aspiration”: “Carpe diem” (Latin for “seize the day”), “Never fear,” and a favorite of customers and the designer as well, “You had the power all along, my dear”—the words spoken by Glinda the Good Witch to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, a particularly appropriate phrase for a designer who wants to help women tell their stories in an empowering way.

Rich Kosann wears Glinda’s words around her neck virtually every day, and it’s a lesson she has imparted to her two daughters, now in their early 30s. “I always wanted my kids to feel strong and empowered, and I tried to lead by example,” she says.

Her jewelry is empowering in another way: technologically. Either in the store or online, customers can use her website’s “locket bar” to upload an image, a meme or a saying and then have it sized and printed out to fit exactly the locket it’s intended for. Also on the website: the Design Your Own Experience, which allows buyers to build their own charm necklaces using 3-D animation.

Today that technology can be enjoyed by men and women alike. Earlier this year, Rich Kosann launched her first men’s line, and in fact, she notes, women have been gifting men with her lockets all along. “Why shouldn’t a man wear a locket?” she asks rhetorically. “It’s super empowering, and it’s a very emotional thing.” Also empowering is the fact that all her pieces—in silver or gold and with luxurious touches such as gemstones and faceted rock crystals—are available at a wide variety of prices. “Our pieces bring joy to people,” the designer says. “We’re just a very happy brand.”

Clockwise from top left: Water Opal Midi Crescent Moon Necklace in 18K gold with diamonds, $3,475; 18K gold Six Image Diamond Border Locket, $27,000; The Dorothy Medallion in 18K gold, $1,930; 18” Design Your Own Charm Chain Necklace in 18K gold with 2 Charm Stations, $2,400; Large “Carpe Diem” Charm in 18K gold, $2,450; 18K gold “Dream” Moon Charm with diamonds, $3,900; Marilyn Link Bracelet in 18K gold, $11,250.