Derin Dündar - AIDI - Association of Intelligent Diamond International

Ursula Rickmers
by Derin Dündar
Dündar was born and raised in Istanbul, a city that bridges Asia and Europe. His father was an apparel merchant who had business in both continents. His mother worked in television. He graduated from a private English-language high school.

After high school, he moved to Italy to study Italian and attended Istituto Marangoni in Milan, focusing on fashion design and merchandising. He lived for a short time in Los Angeles, where he took business classes at Orange Coast College, but the high cost of living sent him back to Rome and, later, Istanbul.
Rather than finish college, Dündar at 23 created his first business, a fashion-merchandising company.
“The timing was strategic—Turkey’s textile exports were peaking, and I sensed an economic crisis on the horizon,” Dündar says. “I decided a head start in business was more valuable than completing my degree, a decision that despite its challenges proved formative for my future ventures.”
It was a “beautifully circuitous” path from voice-over to fashion merchandising to antique rugs to fine jewelry, Dündar says. But it’s a journey that shaped who Dündar is and helped set the foundation for his newest enterprise, Ursula Rickmers.
Dündar lives in Miami, but his brand’s fine jewelry is made at a workshop in Istanbul. He and his craftspeople create art deco–inspired rings with rare sapphires and gray or salt-and-pepper diamonds. He describes them as unique engagement rings for unconventional love stories.

Ursula Rickmers

Dündar was born and raised in Istanbul, a city that bridges Asia and Europe. His father was an apparel merchant who had business in both continents. His mother worked in television. He graduated from a private English-language high school.

Rather than finish college, Dündar at 23 created his first business, a fashion-merchandising company.

It was a “beautifully circuitous” path from voice-over to fashion merchandising to antique rugs to fine jewelry, Dündar says. But it’s a journey that shaped who Dündar is and helped set the foundation for his newest enterprise, Ursula Rickmers.

Dündar lives in Miami, but his brand’s fine jewelry is made at a workshop in Istanbul. He and his craftspeople create art deco–inspired rings with rare sapphires and gray or salt-and-pepper diamonds. He describes them as unique engagement rings for unconventional love stories.

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