SPOTLIGHT: Mr. Robert Tateossian

From City financier to jewellery designer, Robert Tateossian founded his eponymous brand with the purpose of offering men and women a distinctive way to express their personality and style. Widely recognised as a the “King of Cufflinks” due to his successful range of cufflinks, Robert often draws on his international upbringing, love of luxury and travel in creating pieces that are innovative, unique and of uncompromising quality.

After dedicating seven years to the world of banking, his natural creative flair, love of luxury and a keen eye for detail led him to jewellery and accessory design. In 1990, Tateossian Ltd was established in London. Inspired by everything, from travel and religion to art and fashion, and with no creative limitations, traditional metals such as silver and gold are often combined with previous jewels such as diamonds, sapphires and rubies, as well as carbon fibre, meteorites and crystals. Many of the Tateossian signature elements reflect Robert’s own appreciation of mechanism, aesthetics and the unconventional, delivering distinctive yet wearable pieces. 

The Rakish Gent spent some time with Mr. Tateossian to know him better.

What led you to leaving the world of banking and embark on a creative career?

After working at Merrill Lynch in investment banking I was ready to leave the corporate world and give a new career a chance. My criteria were that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I wanted to travel the world, and loved the world of fashion. All bankers in the City in the mid 80’s wore cufflinks – but the designs were dull. Unlike shirts and ties the options were limited. I identified a window of opportunity in this market and decided to pursue it.

In your view, what makes Tateossian stand apart from its competitors?

Tateossian jewellery is innovative, our pieces are unique and stand out. As I always tell my design team there is no point to do something if it already exists on the market. Every season we introduce a line of jewellery that is creative and  pushes the boundaries of design. We  try to source materials that are new,  and apply manufacturing techniques that have not been used before.

We make sure that our clients are taken on a journey of discovery, so that they can expect to see something new every season. We look at what is happening in the world of fashion but our jewellery pieces remain timeless. They are executed with careful attention to design and impeccable craftsmanship.

Can you tell us about the process of sourcing the materials that you work with to create your jewellery?

We have our network of suppliers across the world who know that we are constantly on the lookout for new materials whether it is lapidaries for new stones with a variety of cuts whether vintage or new. Similarly, the tanneries and leather workshops know that we are on the lookout  for a new types of braiding, new type leather treatments, innovative eco friendly materials such as a recent one made from corn fibres.

How did mechanical elements find their way into your work and into the jewellery pieces?

One of the designs that launched our brand on the international scene were the Watch Cufflinks back in the early 90’s. These were fully working small watches operated by a quartz movement. The idea was that you by wearing  the cufflinks combined with your wristwatch  you could monitor three time zones. Let us not forget that at that time mobile phones were not available!  The tremendous success of this design made me aware how interested our clients were in cufflinks that were mechanical.

What product categories do you find perform especially well for you?

The way men dress has clearly changed over the past decade. Though the dress code for men has become more casual, men still like to dress up  and when they do, wearing cufflinks is the perfect finishing touch for any outfit which partly explains why our sales of cufflinks keeps going from strength to strength. Cufflink lovers also love to build on their collections season after season.

However, bracelets  continue to be our strongest category of growth especially with the trend of stacking. Clients regularly walk into our stores and spend over an hour with our sales staff to select the perfect stack. We usually recommend bracelets that have the same colour tonality, one silver, one beads and one leather all with the same metal finish.

You recently hosted a private event to celebrate the launch of Frieze 2023. How does art inform your work? 

Frieze Week in London is one of my favourite times of the year when the city is heaving with visitors from all over the world, whether serious collectors of those curious about art. There is an incredible energy and buzz in the air. Whether it is Frieze Art, Frieze Masters, PAD, or the African Art Fair there is so much creative talent on display. I find the exhibitions, whether paintings, sculptures or installations incredibly inspiring. The atmosphere always opens my mind to “newness” and  leaves me with mental notes for future collections.

How do you approach jewellery design and a collection for a new season?

Throughout the year I make notes on things /objects that inspire me. This could be a building, an exhibition in a gallery, a furniture or lighting showroom. Similarly, I am constantly requesting stone samples, leather cuts and braids with different weaving techniques. When it comes to designing a new collection we put everything on the table, we analyse the results of the latest collection, listen to observations from our sales and marketing team, comments from our sales staff – we review all the “design notes” accumulated over the year and everything goes into the “mixing bowl”. The design process usually lasts between 6 to 12 months – though some pieces can take us over an year and a half to develop and perfect.

How is Tateossian approaching challenges involving sustainability and shopping more consciously?

We are very conscious of the challenges the world if facing due to global warming and we feel that it is imperative that we make our contribution to make the world more green. Starting from the day to day in the office with recycling. This year we launched our sustainable packaging. Wherever possible we try to use recycled metal whether silver or gold. We also make sure that all our stones are sourced ethically. Unlike fast fashion our pieces are made to last, designs are timeless,  they are heirlooms to be passed from one generation to the next.

Are there any particular pieces within the Tateossian AW23 collection that you would recommend to readers of The Rakish Gent?

In cufflinks, gears remain our signature and this year we introduced the Infinity Gear Cufflink – one of our key gear designs is executed in the shape of an eternity knot – a symbol which is meant to bring good luck and longevity. Our Positano bracelets have also been an outstanding hit. The bracelets come in an array of colours from black agate to Arizona …..The beads are cut especially by our lapidaries in a pill shape interspersed with our signature sterling silver gears.

What can we look forward to from Tateossian in 2024?

We have a very exciting collaboration with a major Italian luxury car company – unfortunately the name cannot yet be shared as we are still at the documentation stages. However, in our main collection, you can count on seeing more mechanical cufflinks, new stones combinations with chains for bracelets and necklaces, and  new clasps with innovative textures.

Explore further at Tateossian.