The sartorial scene is ever-changing. One moment huge, bold and clunky costume jewelry is the craze, then suddenly, minimal and tiny pieces come to take the center stage. Back in the start of the new millennium, a change from the large and daring pieces into more minute pieces opened opportunities for jewelry brands to introduce dainty little pieces to capture the market. One of these brands is a breakthrough label by Rosanne Karmes that offers wonderful, meaningful and playful pieces: Sydney Evan.
Sydney Evan is a brand that successfully made its way to the forefront of the jewelry scene, marking its pieces with signature style that fans and admirers would come to love.
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From a daughter and a son
You might be puzzled where the brand name “Sydney Evan” came from, as it isn’t even remotely similar to the name of the founder, Rosanne Karmes. Here’s a fun fact: while Rosanne was thinking of the best name for the brand she created in 2001, a friend suggested the two names of her kids. Sydney is her daughter’s name, which was also gotten from Rosanne’s father, Sy, and Evan is her son’s name.
While Rosanne established her own brand when she was already a mother, she has been exploring the jewelry world when she was in high school. Back then, she worked for Marvel Jewelry Company, a manufacturer of fine jewelry. At that job she was able to take on a lot of roles, making her well-versed in different sides of the business, including working at the bench and accounting. Because of all the knowledge she gained from that job, a time came when Rosanne was capable enough to start her own business. She first ventured in fashion, opening her own showroom and represented accessory and jewelry brands.
After many designers have successfully established their names through Rosanne’s representation, she became keen on filling the hole in the fine jewelry. Using her experience from Marvel, she started designing and and making jewelry using white gold and diamond charms. The first ever piece she finished was a horseshoe necklace, which officially started the collection of the brand, centered on good-luck and spiritual themes. The next few pieces from the brand included a beaded bracelet in red coral hue, added with evil eyes and hamsa details. For the next 17 years of the brand’s existence, it continued such theme that the world love—making it an internationally coveted brand with a unique aesthetic.
Setting trends with jewelry pieces
Sydney Evan is known for pioneering trends in the jewelry industry, even when many where not keen on them at first. The beaded bracelets trend, for example, got a few raised eyebrows when it was introduced by the brand. It wasn’t the norm to add diamond charms on stretchy bracelets with beads, and the brand took a bold decision to still launch it even when it was unheard of during that time. Eventually, the trend took off and now, Sydney Evan’s beaded bracelets can be seen in many boutiques and even well-known retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.
The spiritual charm trends became the focal marketing strategy of the brand, cementing it in the modern jewelry history as a trendsetter. But aside from that, Sydney Evan also came up with the script ‘love’ collection, an iconic line of jewelry that sparked another craze in the jewelry world. For more than 10 years, pieces from this collection spread like wildfire, making some of them best-sellers of the brand. And while the other collections of pieces in the brand did not set a trend like the others, each of them tells a great story and capture the spiritual and playful vibe that the brand aims for.
Inspiration, aesthetic and more
So what’s the secret behind the success of Sydney Evan?
First, it can be traced back to its founder’s great skill to design and create pieces that exude an ageless quality while being able to combine sentiment, spirituality, and personal expression in each jewelry piece. With that, people started to love and appreciate the brand’s pieces not only for their sparkly appearance, but more importantly because of their uniqueness and symbolism for good fortune, protection, love, family, and good luck.
Sydney Evans’ pieces are a total hit too because of their beautiful aesthetic that makes fans and loyal customers addicted to buying each of them. The size and design of the jewelry are perfect for layering and stacking, even more appealing to collect because of the meaning behind each item. The whimsical bracelets, statement pendants and beaded bracelets encapsulate the jewelry-infusion of arts and culture, which the brand’s founder get from all her travels, added to the Californian-chic vibe that is natural to her.
With such aesthetic and take on design, no doubt Sydney Evans is a favorite among famous celebrities in Hollywood, including Rihanna, Emma Roberts, Miley Cyrus, Gabrielle Union, Kim Kardashian, Emma Stone, P!NK, and so much more. One of its pieces has also graced the cover of the British Vogue, when the brand was asked to make a custom diamond script necklace for Kate Moss to wear for the magazine cover. But the charm of the brand isn’t only a hit among A-listers—it has gained an international following of loyal customers that are often on the lookout for new pieces from the label.
