The Right (Hand) Stuff

Diamond Promotion Service chooses GIA graduate’s weekend rendering for its latest campaign

By Tara J. McKenna

Rowena Maloco isn’t your average jewelry designer. In fact, she concedes that up until recently, she didn’t give designing much thought. Her day job couldn’t be further from the artistic world of paintbrushes and watercolors.

An account executive for diamond wholesaler and jewelry manufacturer Eugene Biro, Maloco works on merchandising, marketing and sales from the company’s New York office and at trade shows. She graduated from GIA’s Graduate Gemologist program in 1999, and only casually decided to take the Institute’s Design course for the fun of it.

All of which is why Maloco was especially surprised when the first ring she ever designed was chosen by the Diamond Promotion Service (DPS) for its Right Hand Ring campaign.

Maloco’s creation, a 14-karat white gold ring set with a princess-cut center stone surrounded by four marquis and 12 round brilliant diamonds, bears a slight resemblance to signet rings or Celtic knot work and is aimed at DPS’ newest target market – the “modern” woman who is confident enough to buy diamond rings for her right hand.

Maloco’s design is one of five signature pieces offered exclusively to members of the Continental Buying Group (CBG), an independent buying organization of 77 members with 320 retail jewelry outlets across the United States.

“I was very proud of myself when my design was chosen,” Maloco said. “I never thought I could create a design that someone else would choose.”

Right Place, Right Time
Maloco first heard of the DPS/CBG Right Hand Ring project when an entry form crossed her desk in Eugene Biro’s Marketing department late last year.

“DPS was talking about it with all the CBG manufacturers, and we wanted to be part of it, but we didn’t have anyone who could do it right away,” she said.

Maloco, who felt she had some experience at design from the GIA course she had taken, went home for the weekend and started on some renderings. It was the first time she had picked up a paintbrush since she was in school. She stuck to the parameters set by DPS, which said it couldn’t resemble a traditional engagement ring, a wedding band or a three-stone anniversary ring, and created a design by the end of the weekend. She brought the rendering into work on Monday morning.

“Rowena is a very responsible, very dependable, highly motivated and creative employee,” said Anne Jones-Fox, vice president of Eugene Biro’s Jewelry Division and Maloco’s direct supervisor. “She is willing to go the extra mile to do what needs to be done, to do it with professionalism and to give it her best effort.”

Her best effort was submitted by her company as one of the 25 designs entered in the contest. They were informed that her design was one of the five chosen as a signature piece for the program by the end of the week. Other winners of the contest included designs from Design Works, Leo Schachter Diamonds, M. Fabrikant & Sons and Waldman Diamonds.

“There are a lot of factors that go into the DPS committee’s final decision, but Rowena’s design was one of the major factors that made them choose us,” Jones-Fox said. “We’ve been selected for DPS projects before, but for us to be selected as one of five, out of 25 vendors, is really something to be proud of.”

Branching Out
Maloco’s confidence in her design abilities has grown tremendously since being made part of the DPS/CBG Right Hand Ring program. Now that her first piece will be put on the countertops of participating CBG retailers, Maloco wants to use her artistic talents at Maharlika Diamond, a high-end jewelry manufacturing company she recently started.

“I wasn’t really into designing before the DPS competition, but being one of the winners will motivate me to design more pieces,” she said. “Now I’m going to start designing for my own company.”

But Maloco has no plans to quit her day job. It will take her years to create an entire line of her own designs to sell, she said, and she enjoys what she’s doing now too much to give it up anytime soon.

“One of the reasons I enjoy my job at Eugene Biro is because I get to go to the trade shows and work with the highest level of people in the industry,” Maloco said. “I would like to be important one day – I’ve always wanted to be recognized for my work and make a difference in the jewelry industry.”