As Adel Chefridi passes his 25th anniversary in business, the designer is honoring his eponymous brand’s past and adding sparkle for its future.
Tunisian-born Chefridi founded his business in 1999 and continues to expand his jewelry designs. Five years ago, he opened a flagship store in Rhinebeck, N.Y., and he says having a retail experience and design studio under one roof has been a major factor in the brand’s growth and customer relations.
“It allows us to see the full circle from ideas or drawings to an expression on the face of someone trying on a piece of jewelry. That journey from essence to discovery is the heart of the matter for me,” Chefridi says.
Adel Chefridi has won awards for his flagship store, which also houses his main design studio, in the Hudson Valley north of New York City.
His guiding principles have always been to make jewelry that offers connection and emotional resonance and to create beauty that speaks to the people who wear and collect his jewelry.
“I feel more maturity around the brand message—a still deeper understanding of our audience and our own trajectory—yet something remains exactly the same,” says Chefridi. “The core idea behind our story is to revive the role of the heart as the center of our being, using beauty and the sense of harmony as our guiding light to sense our way forward.”
There have been ups and downs running a business for more than two decades, but most of the time it has been a pleasure, says Chefridi.
“It’s hard sometimes to get my head out of the little daily details, but when I do manage to zoom out, I feel pretty lucky to be able to be working in such a creative environment with such a wonderful team and great clients,” he says. “Creativity must be the most rewarding human quality. It’s exciting, it’s risky, and it always feels fresh and alive.”
Engagement and wedding jewelry has been an area of growth for the brand in recent years, Chefridi says.
Opening a brick-and-mortar location was one of his best decisions, Chefridi adds. The store, inside a building that still says “Rhinebeck Hardware Company” on the exterior, has old pine floors, exposed brick, and a tin ceiling. A signature design in Adel Chefridi jewelry—four dots arranged like the four cardinal directions on a compass (which symbolizes balance and harmony)—is painted on the store’s walls, uniting what people see in the cases with the interior decor.
This integration has helped strengthen relationships with clients while supporting the brand’s network of stockists and trade partners by elevating awareness and demand.
Chefridi’s advice for young designers and newcomers to the jewelry industry? Listen to your head, but trust your heart.
“The very thing that makes us feel most insecure might be the place with the biggest potential for something transformative,” he says. “Hold on to what makes you different, even if it makes you feel smaller. It might be your biggest capital.”
Top: Adel Chefridi at the Zaghouan Aqueduct in Carthage, Tunisia, close to where he grew up