Jewellery designed by Corina Mihalia Larpin of Stèfére Jewellery is a manifestation of glam rock to the full. She has been living a happy life with great passion for her work in making clients, including an enviable number of Hollywood A-listers, unique and beautiful. Her success and perseverance has won her the Entrepreneurs Awards of 2018 Women of Hope Awards in Hong Kong.
Larpin aspired to create when she was young in her home country Romania where personal style was literally absent. “We only had Romanian style. Everyone dressed the same. I changed everything and made it in my own way,” Larpin told Hong Kong Jewellery.
Stèfére Jewellery was established by her good friend Stephanie Rehault in 2006. Two years later Larpin joined the French jewellery brand. In 2015, she became the owner of the brand when Rehault decided to delve into interior design.
Larpin has a flair for creating distinctive styles that answer the quests for personalised designs from different markets. “One collection cannot sell everywhere. I need to understand the market and the people wherever I go, to give them something that cannot be found from other designers,” she said. “In the United States we sell a lot of black diamonds, but not in Hong Kong where jewellery with white diamonds and delicate, chic design goes particularly well.
“The market in Hong Kong is very different from others. There are many high-profile customers in Hong Kong who are knowledgeable about jewellery. They know exactly what to buy,” she elaborated.
Larpin likes adorning herself in a generous amount of jewellery. She said: “I wear a lot of big pieces. I never wear just one. I think my clients are like me.” She describes her design style as “rock chic”, “personal” and “glam rock”.
Celebrity stars including Adele, Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Victoria Beckham are some of the followers of Stèfére Jewellery. “I am a big fan of those celebrities. I am honoured to see them wearing my jewellery. They are discerning jewellery lovers with access to all big brands and choices. When you have clients like them, it means you are having the best quality and design.”
She attaches great importance to the comfortability of wearing jewellery. “I have a lot of long finger rings that need to be worn comfortably. Like beautiful clothes, jewellery should have an amazing look and to be worn all day in comfort,” she said.
At present, Larpin works with different ateliers in Hong Kong, Italy and Taiwan depending on the specific techniques and craftsmanship required for her designs.
After gaining a firm foothold in Europe and the United States where Stèfére Jewellery is available at retail giants including Saks Fifth Avenue, Larpin has taken a bolder step since she took the reins of the brand two years ago to venture into Asia, with Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford being the window.
Her inspiring story travelling through the communist era in Romania and the glamourous world of high jewellery has inspired the people who voted for her in the Entrepreneur Award of 2018 Women of Hope Awards in recognition of influential women in Hong Kong who have made inroads into carving out their own successful businesses in the contemporary competitive
landscape.
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