Every piece of jewelry made by Aryeh Rephun leads to another. A friend orders a piece from Rephun for his wife and gets dozens of compliments. He is bombarded with requests for the name of the company that made the fabulous jewelry. That’s how Aryeh & Co. has grown rapidly since beginning in 2018.
Rephun makes bespoke custom jewelry and has his own collection of finished jewelry pieces; you might find that he has already made just what you’re looking for. If you want a custom piece of jewelry, you can show Rephun a photo and he will produce a final design. Or give him an idea of what you’re looking for and his design team creates a CAD model (Computer Aided 3D Rendering) of your design as well as a physical sample to help you fully envision your piece.
Rephun makes only 14k, 18k and platinum jewelry with designer quality diamonds and precious gems. He always considers a client’s budget in the jewelry design and choice of stones and charges less than a retail store. The final product is one that Rephun and the client make together — so they’re always happy.
“I’m with my client throughout the process,” said Rephun. “If something needs to be changed or fixed, they come to me directly. That kind of relationship is so important when someone is spending money but doesn’t know how to judge quality or how the process of creating a piece of jewelry really works. My clients know they can fully trust me.”
Rephun developed his eye for quality stones and design from working in a friend’s family jewelry business in college and after graduating. He learned how to examine and analyze the quality of loose diamonds and high-end jewelry pieces. Rephun decided he loved the jewelry business and would make it his life’s work. “I was taken in by the different details that go into creating a piece of fine jewelry — not just the design itself, but the natural beauty of diamonds and gemstones, and the level of skill and craftsmanship that goes into producing a high-end piece of jewelry,” he said.
After several years learning all about jewelry, he started Aryeh & Co. to provide what he called a concierge experience for private clients looking for a classic item or a custom designed piece. “I reached out to my network of friends and family for my first clients, and word-of-mouth rapidly grew the business,” he said. “I made an engagement ring for a friend. He showed his mom and she wanted to get something for herself. Then her friends called me. Referrals are still the core of the business.”
Most of Rephun’s clients are husbands who want a gift for their wives, or young men buying engagement rings and wedding bands. Women are finding him on social media and ordering for themselves or showing the photos to their husbands.
Marc Strum came to Aryeh & Co. for jewelry when he was ready to get engaged. He bought a necklace, bracelet, engagement ring and wedding bands. “Aryeh knows the business; he’s very knowledgeable,” said Strum. “I talked to other people and they’d say, ‘This is the ring, this is the price.’ Aryeh took the time to explain everything to me and what I was paying for. I had the comfort and security of knowing more about the jewelry and the process than with anyone else I talked to.”
Strum said his fiancée gave him a lot of latitude in designing the jewelry. She told him a little about what she liked and the kind of stone she wanted, and then left it up to him. “I had an initial idea but Aryeh had the vision to bring it to life in an elegant style,” he said.
Strum said his fiancée was stunned when she saw the jewelry, especially the necklace. “She wears it every day and gets loads of compliments,” he said. “Everyone asks where she got it and she tells them Aryeh & Co.”
View Aryeh & Co’s work at aryehandco.com, www.instagram.com/aryehandco, and www.facebook.com/aryehandco. To contact Ruphun, call (91) /810-6940 or email [email protected].
Bracha Schwartz is special sections editor at The Jewish Link.
