Launching RE’VOLVE
Jewelry designer Joseph Koll, who recently opened a store in Destrehan, says he’s launching an idea that’s going to revolutionize the market.
“We really feel we have something here,” Koll said. “It’s been something on hold the last three years because of the economy, but we feel now is a good time to launch the project.”
Called RE’VOLVE, this diamond-studded brand will feature pendants that Koll says is the place where high-end sparkles meet technology in mesmerizing, shimmering appeal. The company by the same name was formed in 1998 to make the jewelry-in-motion concept a reality.
The project is his high-end goal while he’s also selling a Raindrop Recovery Pendant for $29.95. Every $5 from a sale will support Louisiana flood relief efforts.
“We are now a new business in St. Charles Parish and we want to start by giving back to the community,” Koll said.
Additionally, the master jeweler is bringing work to the parish in connection with his RE’VOLVE brand.
“The beauty of diamond jewelry, for example, is dependent upon light,” he said. “A diamond breaks up the beams of light that enter it and reflects them back in every color of the rainbow. The slightest movement of a diamond alters this reflected rainbow or light so there is an infinite variety to its beauty.”
A diamond weighing up to 5 grams can be placed on Koll’s patented micro-motor that runs on a watch battery, which he says is the first of its kind in the world and a major new option in the industry.
This is when the magic begins, he said, making it possible to make the stone disappear and reappear.
Koll equates the concept to developing the fourth dimension in jewelry – motion.
He has 100 micromotors in hand now to begin work on pieces.
“We’re going to open some people’s eyes,” Koll said.
Koll is already marketing designs at his new Destrehan jewelry store at 100 Alpha Drive, Suite 106, next to Destrehan Plantation, which also includes hundreds of manufacturers offering competitively priced jewelry with next-day delivery. This new store will be open 2 to 7 p.m. weekdays with convenient hours for people to stop by on the way home from work.
“The brand is the key that will be developed and distributed out of this store,” he said.
The RE’VOLVE launch is planned in spring with pieces that will range from $10,000 with a carat diamond on up. Koll intends to make the RE’VOLVE brand on par with legends like
Rolex on national and international markets.
“We plan on selling hundreds of thousands of units,” Koll said.
Making it happen is requiring a considerable investment on Koll’s part, but he’s convinced the concept will sell so it’s a gamble he’s willing to take – even eager to make.
He’s investing in technology like CAD software and 3-D printers to make his prototypes and then in master models to bring them into production large enough to sell on shopping channels like QVC.
Koll estimated he needs at least 10,000 units in hand to even approach this market, but he’s sure they will sell.
As a second-generation jeweler he brings extensive experience to fortify his leap into this market and his backing by family in his business extending their experience to third and fourth generations. Koll’s clients have included major retailers throughout the Southeast region of the U.S., the former Service Merchandise store chain and Wal-Mart stores.
Now, he’s devoting all his time to developing the RE’VOLVE jewelry line.
The process has been a collaborative effort involving designers, draftsman, jewelers, graphic animators, physics engineers, micro-engineers, and business planners, according to Koll.
RE’VOLVE’s search for a manufacturer to turn its design into a marketable product has led it to the watchmaking capital of the world – Switzerland.
They helped develop a motor capable of running on small watch battery for 175 hours continuously that can hold up to 5 grams of weight.
“It’s quite the statement to say we have the smallest, most energy efficient motor in the world,” Koll said. “And it’s powerful, too.”
This was a critical move for Koll, who said his father dreamed of this concept but lacked the technology to make it happen.
A design was in hand by 2004 and test marketed a year later in Basil, Switzerland with great reviews from buyers and press. Just a few months later, Hurricane Katrina disrupted RE’VOLVE’s manufacturing and administrative office on Canal Street. Operations resumed in 2006, shows lined up to generate interest in the product with positive reviews and the RE’VOLVE patent finalized by 2009.
“From our patent research as far back as the 1870s, jewelers have been trying to engineer a way to make jewelry rotate,” he said. “The fundamental premise behind the idea was that jewelry at rest can be beautiful, but jewelry in motion can be spectacular.”
Koll said he’s also connected with major jewelry manufacturers in the U.S., including one of the largest in Louisiana, to make the RE’VOLVE jewelry line.
The jewelry will be assembled at the Destrehan store, starting with about 20,000 units.
“If plans go right, they’ll sell out like they’ve never sold jewelry before,” he said. “I believe it will be hottest piece that has ever hit the shopping channel.”
Be the first to comment