Every detail of the UNOde50 universe, including its stores, comes under the gaze of José Azulay, the brand’s creative director—and its latest location at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City is a prime example of how materials, colors, and feel matter to Azulay.
“My source of inspiration is my environment, but always passed through the sieve of my sensitivity. I constantly look around me,” he says. “Everything has a meaning behind it, generally associated with a specific moment in my life, with a change, with learning.”
One of the first things you notice is the bold use of UNOde50 red. Azulay says he picked that color when he started the company to draw customers’ attention and let them know this brand would offer a special experience.
“Red is UNOde50’s color. It is the color of life, of people who have passion, who have the joy of living, and who do things with love,” Azulay says. “Red was present in a very marked way in our first stores. In the ’90s, we were pioneers in being so transgressive and unconventional that it made us stand out from traditional jewelry brands. We wanted to be different and unique, like our pieces.”
The JFK store also is notable for the marble, leather, and wood throughout the space. Metal is another key material, giving the store luster as well as serving in UNOde50’s signature padlock shape.
“The padlock, our brand emblem, symbolizes the protection of our jewels. For this reason, we decided to use it in our packaging so that it acts as a guardian of the little treasures that we give to our customers with each purchase,” Azulay says.
The Spanish jewelry company has more than 130 stores worldwide, including 30 in the United States. Azulay created the brand in Madrid with the idea of designing only 50 units of each piece of jewelry, making each item a rarity.
In the JFK store, UNOde50 has some of its newer collections, such as Feelings, and classic pieces, too. It offers necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, watches, and key chains in 18k gold plated or sterling silver. All of them are made in Spain following the brand’s traditional process.
Azulay says upcoming openings this year include locations at both the airport and El Palacio de Hierro department store in Guadalajara, continuing UNOde50’s commitment to the Mexican market.
“UNOde50 is a unique and different jewelry concept where the peculiarity of the designs is one of the most important factors of the brand,” Azulay says. “They are jewels with a personal and timeless stamp that makes them easily recognizable and unmistakable, both in Spain and in the 47 countries in the world where we are.”
Top: The seats and José Azulay’s heart-shape artwork bring a burst of red color to the UNOde50 store inside New York’s JFK airport. (Photos courtesy of UNOde50)
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