Editors' Note

Sasson Basha knew from a young age that he would go into the family business, established by his father Aaron Basha. He handles marketing and public relations duties for the company and provides the inspiration for many of the company’s charitable initiatives.

Company Brief

Family owned-and-operated jeweler Aaron Basha (www.aaronbasha.com) was established in 1906 as a pearl dealership, and was housed on London’s prestigious Berkeley Square until 1990, when the company moved to its flagship store on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue. Aaron Basha’s innovative products include their world-renowned baby shoe collection of pendants and charms, as well as many other designs and styles made from 18-karat gold, platinum, fine enamel, diamonds, and other precious gems. The Aaron Basha collections are available in such high-end department stores as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Harrods in London, in addition to several fine jewelers worldwide.

When you look at the economic crisis, many at the high-end have been heavily affected. How much of an impact did you see on the business, and have you seen the luxury market growing strong again?

This year, we are consistently increasing our business and moving in a promising direction.

Do you see this brand as a luxury brand? You have price points that open it up to many different markets. How broad is your target market?

We’re definitely limited to the higher end consumer. Our fans are collectors, so it’s about acquiring quite a few different charms to represent their lifestyles. But our consumers are a wide range in terms of age.

Has the collection remained relatively consistent, or are you creating new styles to further broaden your offerings?

We do bring in new collections, like the Evil Eye collection that has been so successful, nationally and internationally. We have also added quite a few new ideas into our lifestyle collection.

Would you talk about the creation of Evil Eye, and did you expect it to be received as well as it has been?

For the Evil Eye collection, we were inspired from the Mediterranean cultures and philosophies, and it fits perfectly into our philosophies of lifestyle: love and protection, as well as good luck charms.

It has definitely taken off in an incredible manner, more so than what we expected, as the world is adopting many different philosophies and cultures in everyone’s lifestyle. Good luck and protection against evil is a theme that our consumers feel connected to.

What we’ve done is contemporized the ideas and presented them in fine jewelry and turned it into a fashion accessory as well.

The Ladybug collection is your core collection, but having offered it for so many years, how have you been able to keep it so fresh?

Ladybugs are traditional. It’s the ladies favorite insect and I don’t think that will ever change.

You have also created the “Play Ball” collection.

As we are highlighting more of the lifestyle products, the Play Ball collection fits into what we do, as it represents everyone’s favorite hobby.

In each of these collections, are you offering them with bracelets and necklaces in all different product lines?

No, we already make them as charms, and there are other ideas as we create them into many different variations.

We make the ladybugs in many different variations, like earrings, rings, necklaces, chains, bracelets, and charms. The same applies for the Evil Eyes.

Many equate the strength and brand awareness of Aaron Basha with the female market, but you also have offerings for the male market. Will you talk about that product line?

What we’ve done is customize a lot of our charms for the men’s market, especially in cufflinks and shirt studs. Because they’re so whimsical in nature, very detailed, they are extremely attractive and conversation pieces. It’s definitely for the confident gentleman.•