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Sunday, March 25, 2012

JewelMint Zuni Bracelet 's Long Lost Twin?


A super huge thanks to Aya for sharing this look-alike with us in this post here! Aya brings up a good point, is this a coincidence or a blatant knock-off of Vanessa Mooney's Moon Bracelet design?

It's been mentioned by Cher Coulter in the past that her and Kate get inspiration from all sorts of places and items they come across in other countries, the runways, etc.

On the other hand, some may argue that the fashion world thrives on the recreation and interpretation of what is currently popular at even given moment. In fact, JewelMint's website does state that pieces are "inspired by the runway, vintage pieces and places" that both Kate and Cher love.

I do realize this brings up the touchy subject of knock-offs, and knock-offs are typically frowned upon in the fashion community. On the other hand, it's very common for designers to "recreate" pieces to make them more affordable to the masses. Vanessa's design is priced at $222.50 and JewelMint's price tag is of course (without a promo code), $29.99. That's kind of a big difference! If this piece was, in fact, inspired by Vanessa Mooney's design, should JewelMint have given credit to the designer in the product's description?

Additionally, does it bother you if a design by JewelMint looks too similar to another designers piece? Do you expect Kate and Cher to come up with original designs? What's the difference between inspired and knock-off? Let's discuss it!

xoxo, Lily
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3 comments:

  1. Wow, that was cool of you to turn this discussion into a post. JM did the same thing with the Royal Ascot ring too, that being a knockoff of the Gucci Horsebit ring:

    http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446427231

    I realize in the fashion industry there is a whole business of "getting the look for less," but I thought JM was better than that, when they say they release "exclusive designs." (And all these design sketches make it look like they designed it from scratch!) I thought making knockoffs was for Forever21 or Target... Surprised a famous personality like Kate Bosworth would flaunt these in official photos. I don't know how much she makes from JM, but not very classy IMHO. It's like carrying a fake LV purse, except this time she's saying "I had a part in making this."

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  2. I agree with Aya. There are a ton of inspiration pieces for less in the industry. I would totally expect something like this from Forever 21 and Target and wouldn't really think anything of it. But JM prides itself on unique and exclusive designs. I expect more from JM really.

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  3. I don't know if you are aware of how the buying process overseas works, but when jewelry companies travel overseas to manufacturers they are shown a whole range of jewelry samples of pieces that are currently trendy and they have the choice to pick one of those samples and order them in mass or if they want to tweak the design of the sample they can work on the development of that with the manufacturer. They also can have the manufacturer create original designs that the designer came up with on their own and work on that process together. Many smaller companies (one that i used to work for) just place an order for a whole bunch of the pre-made sample pieces and have the manufacturer slap their logo tag or name on the items so they can sell it under their label as if they designed it. I know this for a fact because the company i used to work for did this. the designs usually cost less than $5 a piece when ordered in bulk.The only difference here is that jewelmint is selling theirs for a price much closer to the actual value of the item, where the VM piece has an inflated price. i know VM states that their items are made in downtown LA, but i've seen this same design sold in bulk in other countries by manufacturers. you can probably go on alibaba right now and find it being made by somebody without even getting on an airplane and visiting china or india. i'm not sure who designed it first, VM or the manufacturers over seas, because they often knock off designs that are popular, but in the jewelry industry it is sometimes hard to tell which came first the chicken or the egg.

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