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Frederic Duclos

Our Story

About the designer, Frederic Duclos

Frederic Duclos is an award winning French designer of contemporary sterling silver jewelry. This family owned design studio was created under the guidance of Karen and Frederic Duclos in 1984 and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Frederic Duclos is originally from Southeastern France, where for several generations, his family has been designing accessories.

Frederic’s upbringing cultivated an admiration for art and sculpture. The influence of rolling hillsides with a river running through it and the vast pre-Alps in the distance provided a perfect backdrop for inspiration to start flowing. Walks beside his mom on the Rue d’ Antibe in Cannes with the picturesque French Riviera further stirred the inner voice of the designer.

In his mind, sculpture was limitless, but controlling size and balance to create individual jewelry pieces became his passion. After completing studies in Paris, Frederic was immediately drawn into the allure of jewelry design. His last year of college brought him to California, where he was introduced to Karen by a mutual friend.

Karen, at eighteen and a junior at the University of California, had started a wholesale jewelry and accessories business. She soon discovered a niche for designer sterling jewelry. Together, they opened one of the few electroforming factories in the U.S.

In the early years, they produced for the fashion market and private label for elite designers that wanted access to impeccable quality. In fact, they became authorities on this manufacturing method and were featured authors in the book titled Jewelry and Metalwork Survey Edition 2.

Frederic expanded his collection into ornaments and objects d’art and is a recognized as a collectible artist in this specialized field.

In the mid-90’s, Frederic found a comfortable niche in independent fine jewelry stores and these have been his primary retail partners for over 2 decades.

The numerous awards he has received throughout the years always encourage him to create fresh, new concepts, as do the letters and emails from clients who express their appreciation of Frederic’s talents and how they have impacted their stores.

AWARDS

Frederic Duclos received his first design award during the inauguration of the first fashion jewelry design contest sponsored by the now defunct ACCENT Magazine. This magazine focused on accessories in the fashion industry. He placed FIRST for sterling silver design.

In February of 1998 he received his second award for outstanding fashion sterling design from ACCENT Magazine.

In 2012, Frederic entered the JCK Jeweler’s Choice Awards. He won two awards in the pearl and fashion categories.

2013 Brought another two awards in sterling and fashion

2014 Brought first place awards in sterling and fashion categories

2015 Frederic won awards in the sterling and fashion categories

2018 Frederic won first and second place in the sterling silver categories

Writes Frederic, “As I design a piece of jewelry, I envision a woman wearing it. Her face, silhouette, and personality reflect the statement I am trying to achieve. My goal is to capture the fundamental qualities of a woman’s features, and complement them with refined embellishments. The best tribute I receive is when I meet a woman who is wearing one of my creations.”

ACCOLADES

Frederic Duclos is constantly receiving press coverage from jewelry magazines because his pieces are creating fashion trends. Please see our “press” section to view recent press coverage.

OUR STANDARDS AND ETHICS

Frederic Duclos takes great lengths to insure that all pieces adhere to the strictest standards set by the Federal Trade Commission. As such, we own the trademark for Frederic Duclos,and our FD signature logo. All pieces are marked in the legal standard with our country of origin and the minimum sterling silver content guarantee of 92.5% Silver.

We are proud members of the JVC; Jeweler’s Vigilance Committee, that works closely with industry partners to insure adherence to government standards.

The American Gem Trade Associate (AGTA) is the recognized standard for colored gemstone jewelry; insuring that the consumers understand exactly what they are buying. We are members and assure you of our transparency in the fine materials we use to make all of our creations.

Frederic Duclos