05/01/2026
I am pleasantly surprised that I have so many followers 8 years after I retired from the wonderful jewelry company I created but after designing over 30,000 rings over a wonderful 35 years period I was ready for a change!
You have no idea what a great labor of love that was for me. It was not work at all!
I came as a child with my wonderful parents in 1961 to America, the greatest country on earth, after the Cuban communist revolution came and impoverished our country and America has been so wonderful to my family and me. I think that I love this country more than many native born Americans.
I initially graduated Engineering school and was hired by IBM when it was the best company in the world. After a few years I left IBM and started my own computer company that gave me the means to find my avocation.
I was good in math and science but it was not my avocation!
I was living in Monte Carlo with magnificent exhibitions and parties by the most famous jewelers in the world. I always was interested in design but had to postpone the idea until after I had the means to venture into other things that I had a passion for!
I did not want to sell the very expensive jewelry these famous luxury jewelers were offering but I wanted to create something real in 18k gold and i fell in love with enamel! And eventually brought European enamelers to train us.
My first week in business in NYC I opened accounts at Bloomingdale’s, Fortunoffs and Saks Fifth ave. On my first catalog that my jewelry appeared a few months after I started we sold $500,000 of one design in that one catalog. And my dreams started! It all fell on my lap!
I thank God every day that so many ladies and their loved ones liked my jewelry enough to buy them. For over 15 years we were considered among the top 10 best selling collections in the country by jewelry stores. Number one and two being Tiffany and Mikimoto which at that time sold to independent jewelers.
And the interesting thing is that I had no salesmen. I was the first jewelry company that used advertising in consumer magazines like Town and Country and In Style to actually sell jewelry. Up to that point luxury jewelers advertised million dollar necklaces for image! But in my case, Ladies ripped the page and went to their favorite jeweler because they wanted to buy my rings.
Needless to say it was one of the most wonderful rides any designer can go through.
Many of my retail jewelry owners tell me it was the most effective advertising jewelry campaign up to that point. When I did shows in jewelry stores ladies showed up with dozens of my rings wanting matching bracelets and earrings!
When magazines started faltering, my business started to slow down. Now sometimes I think I should restarted in the internet but I am enjoying life so much that is is difficult to decide!
I have travelled to 208 countries and counting according to this travel club I belong to and enjoy yearly visits to Paris, the South of France, Barcelona, Rio, Bangkok and many other favorite places with an occasional new one added.
Thank you for being a fan of my jewelry!
I recommend to everyone to find their passion and start a business using those great talents we all have that can lead us to a marvelous life in America!
Here’s to the Good Life!
And thanks again for being a fan. I also have another website call www.hidalgostudios.com where I have recreated some sculptures and paintings of many of my original animal jewelry designs.
I thank God every day that I still have a wonderful creative mind!
Best wishes
Silvio Hidalgo
