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Sz7 7 Effy 18k/Sterling Pave Sapphire ring. Guaranteed authentic, fine estate<br>fresh condition with no significant wear or damage. 7.4 grams.<br><br>Fatollah “Effy” Hematian (1943-2023)<br><br>Effy Jewelry shared news of its founder’s passing on social media Monday.<br><br>In a statement to National Jeweler, the company said: “With great sadness we<br>announce the passing of Mr. Effy Hematian. Although we will all mourn this<br>profound loss forever, we choose to celebrate all Effy has brought into our<br>lives.<br><br>“Effy was a loving husband, father, grandfather, visionary and community leader.<br>His honesty and humility only illuminate the industry-defining change he brought<br>to the jewelry world. Through his unwavering belief in God, he demonstrated that<br>we can live a life of passion and purpose, leaving the world better than he<br>found it.”<br><br>Born Dec. 10, 1943, Hematian emigrated to the US in the midst of the Islamic<br>Revolution in the late 1970s.<br><br>Though he trained and worked as an electrical engineer, Hematian started a<br>jewelry company when he landed in New York City in 1979, building his business<br>from nothing, as recounted in a video posted to the Effy Jewelry YouTube<br>channel.<br><br>“I’m really proud that I could tell you that [I] came to this country with zero<br>and today we are one of the biggest [jewelry] manufacturers in the States,” he<br>said.<br><br>According to the video, Hematian spent most of his mornings sketching jewelry<br>designs, sometimes completing as many as 20 to 30 sketches in a single day. He<br>said his background as an electrical engineer helped him see things other people<br>might have missed.<br><br>In the afternoon, he liked to walk the factory floor and keep an eye on the<br>production of his designs.<br><br>While his creativity and design inspirations were “endless,” the Effy Jewelry<br>website describes one creature—the panther—as the designer’s “lifelong muse.”<br><br>The big cat became the cornerstone of the brand’s “Signature Collection,” and it<br>became a star at Jewelers for Children’s “Facets of Hope” event, held annually<br>in Las Vegas alongside the Couture and JCK shows.<br><br>Hematian and Effy Jewelry were longtime supporters of JFC and donated plush<br>panthers to give away at the gala for about five years.<br><br>JFC Executive Director David Rocha remembered Hematian as a “lovely man.”<br><br>“Effy was always so kind and would make time to share his latest designs, his<br>inspiration and his process. He was a real icon in our industry. My thoughts are<br>with (Hematian’s son) Benny and his family,” Rocha said.<br><br>Sarin Bachmann, group vice president of the RX Jewelry Portfolio, said: “We were<br>so saddened to learn about Effy Hematian’s passing. Effy has been a wonderful<br>partner to JCK over the years and a force in the industry.<br><br>“We appreciated his deep passion for creating beautiful jewelry stemming from<br>his roots as an engineer. Effy’s legacy will live on with his family, his<br>namesake business, and the wonderful jewelry creations he inspires.”<br><br>On social media, members of the trade—including many Effy Jewelry employees—and<br>the brand’s customers reacted to news of Hematian’s passing with similar<br>remembrances, recalling a man who was kind and had a passion and a talent for<br>design.<br><br>Jan Swartz, the group president for Holland America Group, wrote on LinkedIn,<br>“Mr. Effy Hematian was much more than one of the world’s most brilliant jewelry<br>designers and visionary entrepreneurs.<br><br>“Beyond his professional achievements, he had a kind and generous spirit. I<br>admired his craftsmanship, creativity, passion, and love of his colleagues,<br>community, and family. Mr. Effy will long be remembered by every life he<br>touched, and his legacy will live on.”<br><br>On Facebook, a longtime Effy Jewelry customer said, “RIP Effy … your creations<br>have been making me happy for years and will continue to, for years to come.”
