I remember 17 years ago walking the halls of the Coterie show at the Chelsea Piers in New York and seeing the booth for Ben-Amun. You can always tell which brands are popular because the booths are slammed, and at that time, the hot booth was always Ben-Amun. I mean, it was literally like a nightclub, there were so many people there. At the time, our friendly neighboring store, Hysteria, carried the line, so I never looked at it, but I would gaze at the booth and think, "maybe one day."

Well, this year is that "one day." I haven't walked the mean streets of Coterie in a bit, but I got an email from the Ben-Amun representative and links to all the great companies that now carry the line, like Neiman Marcus and Net-a-porter, and I thought: it still must be the cool brand it was almost two decades ago! 

Also, anyone still around in the business after all this time knows what they are doing. So, I would like to introduce the brand Ben-Amun to The Shoe Hive. Here is a little bit about the line:

Isaac Manevitz, the Egyptian-born designer of Ben-Amun, has been successfully designing and manufacturing his line of high-end fashion jewelry for close to 40 years. The name Ben-Amun was inspired by the designer's eldest son's name (Ben), and the King of Egypt (Isaac's homeland) named Tutankhamun. 

Over the years, I have learned that the people who own the brands are just as important as how they make the collection. Ben-Amun is handcrafted by artisans in the Garment District of NYC. Each piece is handmade, and many of their artisans have been with them for 30 years. I always take longevity as a sign that is must be a great place to work as well, and a healthy company makes products you can trust. 

So, check it out online or in store. As you can imagine, I love the collection. I have yet to meet a chunky gold necklace I don't like.