The boutique high-end jewelry line FoundRae has quickly become an obsession for the upscale “quiet luxury” set — and celebs such as Taylor Swift and Kaia Gerber — distinguishing itself with customizable pieces sold as something one buys for oneself.
While Cartier love bracelets and Tiffany diamonds have long been marketed as gifts a man gives a woman, FoundRae creator Beth Hutchens, 52, got a significant foothold in the more than $200 billion jewelry industry by focusing on what was a minority when she started the brand: Women buying themselves gifts.
When she launched the company on Lispenard Street downtown nearly a decade ago, only about 5% of jewelry sales were to the people who intended to wear the items, she told The Post, but Hutchens was steadfast in her vision.
“I thought, okay, well, I guess I’m going for a very small slice of the pie,” she said. Now, “it’s a growing trend, women buying their own jewelry.”
So much so that FoundRae just opened its second Manhattan store — on Madison Avenue between 66th and 67th, no less — and it also has stores in Miami and Los Angeles.
From the beginning, Hutchens has aimed to create designs that feel personal, rather than perfunctory markers of luxury.
“The entire collection [when I started] was really conceived to be tools of self-discovery and self-expression,” said Hutchens. “I really wanted each piece to be able to be put together in a way the piece that you’re wearing really expresses your story.”
FoundRae’s offerings include various charms — such as the $1,650 “Strength mini medallion” in 18k gold with an image of a lion holding a tiny diamond in its mouth or the $2,9000 “Spark love baby medallion” with a starburst and nine tiny diamonds. They can be mixed, matched and affixed to a variety of chains, such as a $13,500 oval link or $3,950 sister hook, both in 18k yellow gold, to create unique, meaningful pieces.
Hutchens was also prescient when it came to another current fashion trend: quiet luxury, which the brand has been associated with.
FoundRae pieces aren’t blingy or easily recognizable by the masses; they’re relatively understated with intricately designed pendants that are meant to be “modern heirlooms.”
“It’s not the weight of the gold that we think that you’re really passing down to the next generation,” Hutchens said. “It’s the story behind it.”
She grew up in Brownsville, Texas, and moved to New York to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology at age 18. The city has been key to her — and FoundRae’s — success.
“I will never live anywhere else,” said Hutchens, who calls Brooklyn home. “It gives people opportunities that you could not have anywhere else … the density of population that New York allows people to just get so specialized in their field.”
Having access to the jewelry district — especially early on as Hutchens was putting designs together — was critical since it allowed her to make sure the finished product was turning out the way she had intended.
FoundRae is something of a second act for Hutchens, who helped launch Rebecca Taylor’s eponymous clothing line in 1996 and served as its CEO for 18 years.
When she started FoundRae, she made another counterintuitive bet on brick-and-mortar business and insisted on having a storefront, albeit a small one, on Lispenard Street.
The vast majority of the company’s sales are made not online but in its brick-and-mortar stores, where customers can try on pieces and learn about them before buying.
While Hutchens does not disclose financials, the company is clearly on the rise.
In addition to its own stores, the jewelry is available at high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Net-a-Porter, and GOOP. And, Hutchens recently hired Ruth Sommers, former CEO at David Yurman, to be her CEO.
The growing brand has moved far beyond its origins.
“When I first opened up the store [on Lispenard] my friends would make joke … you opened right next to Gucci. And they meant the fake Gucci bags that are being sold on the corner,” Hutchens recalled.
Today, FoundRae’s uptown location is right near Chanel, Loro Piana and other designer shops.
“Now when I say Gucci is our neighbor, it really is Gucci,” Hutchens said with a laugh.
This story is part of NYNext, a new editorial series that highlights New York City innovation across industries, as well as the personalities leading the way.
