Finesse Jewellery ‘Steeped in History'
| Finesse UK Ltd was formed by the Koeppen family in 1997, created from the 40 years experience of the Managing Director of Grossé / Christian Dior Jewellery UK, Otto Koeppen & his family. Otto trained as a goldsmith in the late 1950s in Pforzheim, Germany (the jewellery crafting capital of the World), his adventures as a young man led him to the UK where he joined the then fledgling company spending years on the road visiting jewellers, department stores & boutiques across the country struggling to convince them that Christian Dior was going to become the biggest fashion brand the world had ever seen - few people believed him and opted for the fantastic product it created in unbranded form so they could pass it off as their own! |
Otto Koeppen
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Christian Dior & The Grossé Family |
With much hard work however the brand soon attracted an enormous following of fashionistas & celebrities alike, everyone adored the label & the man behind it, the brand was catapulted to heights never before seen in fashion (or since for that matter!). The Dior label extended its reach across the globe as its fashion label grew from hats & clothes to perfume & cosmetics to jewellery & handbags. The sky was the limit for this super-brand.
With such huge success it soon became obvious to The House of Dior that it needed to control & protect its brand name, to ensure it retained its exclusivity in the fashion world. So slowly but surely the brand was managed down in its licensing offer & market presence, securing it as the luxury leader it is today. In the late 1990s it was decided that the company’s branded jewellery offer would be made exclusive to a handful of top end retailers & primarily sold in Dior’s own boutiques; the collection suddenly went very haute couture & became very expensive – all these actions certainly protected the Dior brand but also left a nation of fashion-hungry jewellery lovers behind…
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…seeing the future of Dior jewellery was limited, Otto with the help of his wife Shauna & their son Alex developed a new line to quench the growing thirst of the Dior & Grossé market. Both had worked with Otto for a number of years; Shauna (a former catwalk model) assisted with buying trends, fashion styles & shopping expertise, while Alex from a young age worked with his parents & Sister during school holidays in the offices in London & factory in Dorking learning the business from the ground up. The first season collection started with huge acclaim and that was just the start….. |
Otto, Alex and Shauna
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