Sokolov is a brand that is well known to Russian and foreign jewelry connoisseurs. Its founder Alexey Sokolov began creating his first products back in 1993. It was then that he and his wife Elena bought a small workshop and started making jewelry. Today the company confidently occupies a leading position in the market. The number of its employees reaches 2.5 thousand people. They create more than 30,000 pieces of jewelry every day. Over the years of its existence, the small family workshop “Diamant” has grown into the largest jewelry enterprise in Russia and Europe, the production area of which occupies 40 thousand square meters.
The birth of the Sokolov brand
Despite the fact that the company began developing the Sokolov Jewelry brand back in 2011, its official registration was carried out in May 2014. Having given the company their name, the founders emphasized that they take responsibility for the quality of each product.
Today, the plant's products are successfully sold in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. There are about 8.5 thousand partner stores in the territories of these states. The company's offices are open in Moscow and Switzerland.
The company creates jewelry for women, men and children. These are all existing types of jewelry - from traditional classics to thematic models. When developing sketches of each decoration, an emphasis is placed on modernity. Jewelers closely monitor new trends and take into account corporate identity and fresh fashion trends when creating their products.
Today we want to talk about the beloved brand SOKOLOV , whose jewelry does not leave anyone indifferent, regardless of gender and age.
The founders of the family jewelry workshop in 1993 were the spouses Alexey and Elena Sokolov . Alexey Sokolov became the author of the first products made in the workshop. He inherited the skills of a jeweler from his parents, who spent most of their lives in this field. The locals really liked the jewelry, and after some time they began to be in great demand among residents throughout the country.
And since 2014, jewelry began to be produced in Russia under the SOKOLOV . For the first time these jewelry were presented to the general public in St. Petersburg at the JUNWEX exhibition.
But in Europe, jewelry of this brand became known much earlier. In 2012, SOKOLOV opened its first stores in Switzerland in the city of Bern, and then in 2013 - also in Lucerne and Friborg.
Today, SOKOLOV brand jewelry is sold in more than 16 countries of the CIS, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.
The main principle of the company is a careful approach to all products. The company employs only highly qualified specialists, some of whom are even hereditary. It is interesting that raw materials are always purchased only in banks, and stones are purchased from world-famous manufacturers. This guarantees its purity, and therefore the high quality of the jewelry.
All branded products are subject to quality control by the state and have two marks confirming it. The company uses Swiss technology for applying protective coatings to silver products, as well as the Pantone Color Institute color system in the manufacture of enamel jewelry.
SOKOLOV is known for its European approach to production and the use of innovative developments. Since 2016, the company has been implementing the 5S and the principle of lean production.
To summarize, I would also like to add that the SOKOLOV brand currently produces jewelry made of 585 gold (14 karat) and 750 gold (18 karat), and 925 sterling silver. The company produces products without inserts, with natural and synthetic precious stones of the first category, pearls, diamonds, semi-precious and ornamental inserts, ceramics, cubic zirconia and Swarovski stones, enamel. SOKOLOV products include rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, necklaces, as well as religious, children's and men's assortments, silverware, and souvenirs.
Separately, 2 times a year, seasonal jewelry collections are released, setting the main design trends for the development of the entire assortment. The design of each new collection is developed by artists and jewelers according to data from analytical services, which not only carefully monitor the slightest changes in fashion trends, but also predict them. And as a result of the coordinated work of specialists, new jewelry appears on the market.
Design development
It is noteworthy that the design of each product is completely original. The process of developing a sketch is interesting and consists of several stages. Initially, the idea is “transferred” to paper. The designer draws the product the way he imagines it. Next, the sketch is transferred to the computer. All elements of the product are being refined. After this stage is completed, designers working with three-dimensional (3D) models get down to business. The work is completed by jewelers who create the finished product. Thus, we can say that each piece of jewelry is developed not only by hand, but also using modern innovative technologies.
Distinctive features of jewelry
All jewelry from this company is of high quality and undergoes strict control. For the manufacture of products, only Russian banking metal is used, and stones are purchased from world-famous manufacturers. Among other things, each piece of jewelry has two imprints, the first of which indicates the manufacturer's code, and the second - the compliance of the sample with the declared content of precious metal (gold or silver) in the jewelry alloy.
SOKOLOV jewelry has become widely known and won the hearts of jewelry buyers around the world due to the reliability of fastenings, convenience and resistance to various deformations. This is achieved through the use of advanced European technologies: laser engraving and cutting, cold stamping, rhodium plating
and many others.
The design of each new collection is developed by artists and jewelers according to data from analytical services, which not only carefully monitor the slightest changes in fashion trends, but also predict them. And as a result of the coordinated work of specialists, new jewelry appears on the market.
The jewelry production plant is located near Kostroma. In 2005, it was among the TOP 10 largest factories in the world. And today, according to experts from the State Assay Office, it is the leading Russian manufacturer in terms of the volume of gold jewelry produced. The number of jewelry pieces that leave the factory per day is almost 20,000, which is almost 5,000,000 pieces of jewelry per year. The range of jewelry includes more than 30,000 items.
Features of the Sokolov brand
Each product of the Sokolov brand is a real work of art. To implement design ideas, gold, silver, platinum, precious or semi-precious stones are used. Diamonds, emeralds, topazes, sapphires, rubies, garnets and pearls are often used in jewelry. Such products always look incredibly stylish and elegant. Jewelry can highlight the individuality of its owner, which is why every lady dreams of pieces created by the company’s jewelers. The Russe collection is especially popular. Its creators managed to combine modern design and ethnic motifs. Rings decorated with enamel look incredibly impressive. They resemble traditional Russian embroidery or folk art painting, such as Gzhel, Khokhloma. The collection is imbued with the spirit of Russian culture, displays the beauty of domestic nature, the mystery of the Russian soul.
Skillful fingers
Those who have visited the SOKOLOV jewelry production are unlikely to doubt that the company’s specialists truly have golden hands. And not only in the figurative sense of the word.
After the tumbling stage, complex jewelry is sent to the mounting area. Here specialists will have to do truly magnificent work. This is one of the most important stages of production, which includes several processes.
Filing
Before proceeding directly to the mount, the product must be filed.
Sawing is a rather painstaking process, and it takes place at a workbench. A finagel is built into the workbench cell - a very hard block of wood in the shape of a wedge, against which the product is pressed. The craftsman manually aligns the shape of the decoration using a file.
Along with manual filing, mechanical filing is used, which is used to process hard-to-reach areas of products: groove cuts or internal surfaces of hollow products.
Sizing
This procedure is a privilege exclusively for rings.
Forming the required size is carried out using a mallet (small hammer) and a crossbar, or ring gauge - a metal cone with divisions indicating the size range.
The fitter constantly checks with the ring gauge to ensure that the size is correct. After adjustment, the shank is leveled using a needle file - a small file for fine work.
Assembly
It is the assembly that is the key point in the mount. At this stage, complex products consisting of several components are assembled. For example, here an “eye” is attached to pendants - a ring with which the jewelry is put on a chain, complex bracelets are connected, and many other painstaking operations are performed.
Pin connection
Few people know that earring earrings are cast separately from the decorative part of the product. It is the assemblers who connect the movable and fixed elements of the lock.
A pin connection is created by precisely fitting the parts to each other and fastening them with wire through a special hole. After fastening, the wire is “flatten” on both sides to form holding “rivets”.
It is very important to choose the correct diameter of the hole and wire so that the process of fastening and unfastening the earring is as comfortable and reliable as possible.
Soldering
Soldering, as a rule, is needed in order to attach various decorative overlays to products and connect complex elements of decorations together. At this stage, the jeweler needs to show maximum precision and skill. In case of even a slight deviation from the process, the product will be damaged.
It is very important to choose the correct melting temperature (distance to open flame) and adjust the burner to avoid a large flame.
After soldering, the craftsman needs to carefully clean up traces of solder and align the parts if such a need suddenly arises.
Laser welding
To obtain a permanent connection between the parts of the jewelry, a laser welding process is performed. This technology is carried out on high-tech equipment in order to create point connections. In this case, the metal melts in its various parts under the influence of laser radiation. Due to the crystallization and melting of metals, a clean connection is obtained, practically without a weld. The beam diameter can be adjusted up to 0.3 mm - literally “soldering hair to hair.”
After mounting, the product acquires a complete appearance and is sent to the Upper Volga Assay Supervision Inspectorate. There, the jewelry undergoes a thorough analysis, after which the product is marked with a sample of the precious metal and the name of the manufacturer.
