Celebrating color: many success stories start with people who were told not to do something. In this regard, Robert Leser has a very colorful story.(Featured Designer)

JQ, January, 2005 by Unninayar, Cynthia

Robert Leser is a man who doesn't take no for an answer. Although everyone told him that it would never sell, this third-generation jeweler forged into colored gemstone jewelry in the late 1990s at a time when white diamonds were the stone of choice. "When I started mixing colored gemstones in 1997, almost no one was doing it in their jewelry," Leser reminisces. "I had seen the flowers done by a famous Italian designer but he was about the only one. Retailers thought I was crazy. 'Who will buy it?' they asked." Who indeed ...

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"I made four rings and six pairs of earrings in one style--my original...

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