Charles Krypell

It's not surprising that Charles Krypell was a sculptor before he became an internationally renowned jewelry designer. Looking at his exquisite, perfectly balanced jewelry, It's clear that one artistic craft flows seamlessly into the other. A native New Yorker, Charles has created timeless jewelry for the sophisticated collector for three decades. He first realized his calling as a jeweler while attending the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Trained as a sculptor, he enjoyed working in three-dimensional media, including stone. Charles soon realized, however, that it could take 30 years to master the craft of sculpture and become a success. Once he discovered jewelry, he realized the smaller scale allowed him to design timeless pieces immediately.

Constantly pushing the boundaries of design, Charles utilizes his sculptor's eye, ample artistic talent, and keen insight into human nature to fashion one of the world's premier jewelry lines. "A woman needs to be animated," exclaims Charles. "She needs to wave her hands, live life to the fullest." With this vision inspiring his work, Charles designs jewelry meant to be enjoyed from multiple approaches and dimensions, just like a piece of sculpture. "I want my clients to enjoy the piece at every single angle," he explains. For example, the details on the pink diamond ring (shown on the homepage) encompass both the top and underside of the ring to create perfect flow, movement and balance. Charles focuses not only on the all-around design of the metal, but also on how it embraces the stone.

Just as he transfers his sculptural abilities to jewelry, Charles also applies his artistic philosophy to his designs. A simile best captures his attitude: the sculptor is to the art collector as the jewelry designer is to the discerning wearer. Charles is not interested in gratifying customers per se, but in cultivating collectors.

"Designers can fly by night, getting lucky," he explains, "but a collector realizes the beauty and themes of the pieces that the designer creates and understands that it's not only about owning a piece, but about owning an ensemble." With this unique philosophy, Charles believes in the evolution rather than a revolution of style.

"A client who has purchased from me 30 years ago is still purchasing from me today," he says. "Each piece relates to those I've created in the past."

A Charles Krypell creation is always a Charles Krypell, linked over time by sensuous design, elegant three-dimensionality and, of course, a deep understanding of human romance and desire. Charles stresses that it's not simply enough to make a sale by having the man bring home a piece, offer it to the woman, and allow the woman to simply accept it. Instead, he designs pieces to reach deep inside the human heart. The ultimate for Charles is that women desire his jewelry. "The person who gives the gift," Charles says, "will then be seen as the champion and complete the circle. That's what I try to accomplish, satisfying the moment." Working on his own, Charles launched his first collection in 1976, to immediate acclaim. Now, an astute businessman with several talented employees and a reputation for unsurpassed quality and customer service, Charles Krypell is known the world over by fine jewelers. He continues to challenge himself to reach the height of beauty and distinction. Currently, his line includes these exceptional collections: Precious Pastels, Pastel, Sterling, Gold, Sweethearts and of course, the signature Krypell Baguette Collection.

The heart of Charles Krypell is the Precious Pastels Collection. To craft the exquisite pieces in Precious Pastels, Charles utilizes the best stones that come from the earth, including pink, yellow, blue and white diamonds, in platinum and 18-karat gold. He tailors Precious Pastels to the most discriminating collectors who wish to buy pieces and build a collection. Similarly, the Pastel Collection uses the best and most vibrant materials the earth has to offer: rubellite, morganite, peridot, aquamarine and green tourmaline, among others. Charles describes this collection as "very bright, beautiful, and conventional." One of the highlights in the Pastel collection is a fabulous reversible pendant, offering two looks at once with the colors forward or backward, peridot and diamonds on one side and encrusted diamonds on the other. The Pastel Collection, Charles believes, caters to versatility—it's about giving women opportunities to purchase a piece and then become collectors by mixing and matching coordinating pieces. This "evolution rather than revolution" method works because Charles remains disciplined in his use of colored stones. He even vaults his gems for the future in anticipation that a woman who purchased a peridot pendant years ago will want the same color peridot earrings today.