As a child, Regine Basha stood at her father’s side inside the Montreal jewelry store where he had granted her a showcase of her own—a place to sell the delicate seashells she’d collected on vacation.

“I would sit on a stool in front of the case and tag each of the shells as I waited for clients. He would introduce me to each person who came in,” Basha says. “I remember to this day that an ambassador to the Ivory Coast bought one of my shells for $7. That was it for me. I caught the bug.”

That bug was for finding, creating, and marketing beautiful items, under the tutelage of her father, Aaron, and her grandmother. Aaron Basha is known for his eponymous jewelry company and its iconic baby shoe charms. But it was Regine’s grandmother—the woman she is named after—who founded the company in Iraq in 1908, Regine says.

Regine Basha became CEO of the family business in 2020. As the third-generation owner and primary designer, Basha says she is bringing her own point of view into the industry. Her background in international relations, as well as her fluency in English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic, gives her a worldly perspective you can see in the brand’s jewelry.

For example, her signature collection is Love Is My Religion—its pieces reflect Basha’s hope that individuals from all walks of life and religious backgrounds feel as one, united by their commonalities within faith.

Basha learned Arabic from her grandmother; it was the only language she spoke. Basha’s father, the youngest in his family, inherited her jewelry business—but the elder Regine continued to be involved in the day-to-day goings even after she turned 100, Basha says.

“I got to spend a lot of my childhood with her. She was the real boss,” Basha says with a laugh. “I carry her energy—her visionary and creative mind. [Our business] means a lot more to me than just what I do. It’s the legacy that continues and honors her.”

Basha’s family traveled the world during her childhood, as her father was spontaneous. They lived in London, Montreal, and, finally, New York. One of her childhood highlights in London was seeing the group Wham! in the lobby of the hotel where the Basha jewelry store was located. Her father marched her over to the pop stars and introduced her.

“He always wanted me to experience people, whether it was a sit-down dinner with a prime minister or the local artist on the beach,” Basha says. “Moving around really gave me a lot of insights into people, and that’s where international relations came in. I could adapt to any situation and any culture, really.”

Her degree in international relations from Tulane University was supposed to lead to law school, Basha says, but she ended up working for a diamond dealer in New York. She was that company’s top salesperson for three years and learned new skills. Then she came back to Aaron Basha and helped set up its first website and worked on the marketing and public relations with her sister.

“We spearheaded the visuals and the photo shoots. We went to trade shows. We all kind of did everything,” Basha says.

She took a hiatus to get married and start a family, but with her father’s retirement Basha says she was ready to return. He took over the company as the youngest of his siblings, and so has she.

Basha says she is proud to continue the brand’s traditions, such as the baby shoe charms, and also excited to add her own designs. Since the Aaron Basha store in New York closed during the pandemic, it now operates entirely online. But that shift also brought a lightness and a new era into the work, she says.

“I am now the source of the creativity, and it’s endless,” Basha says. “I use jewelry as a vessel to send messages that are important to me or contribute to the world. It has to be gorgeous, but it also has to have meaning.”

Top: Regine Basha, the third generation to run Aaron Basha, says she is adding her own designs to the jewelry brand that she hopes will become signatures like their baby shoes. (Photos courtesy of Aaron Basha)

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