If you detected that some changes were afoot at Hearts on Fire (HOF) during JCK Las Vegas 2023, buckle up—everything is going to look and feel different at this year’s Luxury show. The product, the color scheme (no more purple?!), basically the entire vibe have all been updated considerably to align with the brand’s refreshed strategic vision.
That vision has been Rebecca Foerster’s primary focus since she became HOF president, North America, two years ago. “I felt that it kind of had fallen off track and lost its way,” she tells JCK. “It can be very difficult for a mature brand to stay on point and to remember its value proposition and reason for being. It’s much easier to launch a new brand than to revitalize an old brand. And sometimes we just have to go back to basics. You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. You go back and look at things that had impact. You go back to the core of what really makes this brand so special and different.”
Foerster hopes to carry forward Hearts on Fire’s legacy of “the world’s most perfectly cut diamonds showcased in beautifully made jewelry” while refocusing on bridal jewelry that offers a “complete HOF design, not a diamond in someone else’s mounting,” as the cornerstone of the business, she says.
Considering the current market environment has also been key.
“Lab-grown diamonds created a huge challenge for us,” Foerster says. “We were fighting against a generic lab-grown war zone, and I knew that was not a winning formula. So we had to add value by presenting the brand in a much more modern, luxurious way and elevating it to become a diamond jewelry brand, and not just a diamond brand.”
As per Foerster’s objectives, Hearts on Fire has been steadily revamping and expanding its bridal selections—and there will be plenty to see in that category at Luxury. But cementing its identity as a luxury diamond jewelry brand required the introduction of a signature product line that retained the company’s DNA while pushing it forward.
Enter Barre, a collection inspired by the pulse and dynamism of a vibrant metropolis. Pairing linear elements with diamonds set as if they are floating, Barre pieces are meant to evoke the geometric forms of a city skyline seen at a distance, softly illuminated by the dreamy glow of neon lights.
A select group of retailers previewed Barre earlier this year at the Centurion trade show, but the full collection is making its official debut at Luxury.
While Barre puts a visual on HOF’s new design direction, the presence of a new team member further indicates that major changes are underway for the company: Yunjo Lee joined Hearts of Fire last fall as its first chief creative officer.
“I am excited to work with the team to inject lively energy and bring impeccable style to life in our new creations,” says Lee, who has worked with Tiffany & Co. artists Paloma Picasso and Frank Gehry and recently held the position of director of jewelry design at Mejuri. She also has showed promise as an independent designer (JCK covered her early work in 2018).
“We went through numerous iterations on sketches and prototypes to refine every small detail to achieve the perfect balance of scale and proportion,” says Lee. “I believe we have created a distinctive design language that speaks to women of today.”
Lee’s influence will manifest in forthcoming collections, but her hand is already evident in Barre and in Hearts on Fire’s visual identity, including new packaging and displays. During the Luxury show, Lee will be available at the HOF salon to meet buyers and share more about the brand’s creative plans.
All these changes, Foerster says, have necessitated a more thoughtful approach to retail distribution: “We look different, and we’re competing in a different arena, so we are focusing on strategic partners who will be able to tell our new story.
“We do have very, very strong, loyal retailers that have been with us for a long time that we hope will evolve with us and continue to be a very important part of our future. We are also in acquisition mode—we have opened up in [the stores] Just One Eye in Los Angeles and Cayen Collection in Carmel, California, and we are looking at similar opportunities.
“We’re investing in the future and we want to be with partners that are investing in the future too,” says Foerster.
Hearts on Fire is showing in the Titian ballroom at the Venetian through Monday, June 3.
Top: Barre multi-row ring in 18k gold with diamonds, $7,700
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