After designer’s death, Scott Kay Inc. to carry on

Scott Kay Inc. will reopen today after the unexpected death of the brand’s namesake designer last week, a man who is remembered as a pioneer in the jewelry industry.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

Celebrated jewelry designer and innovator Scott Kay died of a heart attack Thursday at the age of 57.

New York--Scott Kay Inc. will reopen today after the unexpected death of the brand’s namesake designer last week, with the Kay family saying that the company will “forge on,” as Kay would have wanted.

Kay, one of the industry’s most celebrated and well-known designers, died of a heart attack in New York on Thursday. He was 57.

A giant physically as well as metaphorically in the world of jewelry, Kay’s eponymous company was celebrating its 30th year in business this year.

In an interview with National Jeweler this summer, the Brooklyn-bred jewelry-maker discussed how his recent suite of C-level hires would allow him to do what he really loved--create--and he named another well-known designer as his mentor: Henry Dunay.

On Monday, Dunay said he was going to “really going to miss” Kay.

He said he noticed early on that Kay was young and eager and had the talent to make it.

Dunay was right.

“He had a definite vision, and that helped his business become strong over the years because he followed it. That’s the key to having a good brand, and I didn’t see that change at all over the years,” Dunay said, adding that Kay was always one to “keep at it” and work hard to do whatever needed to be done for his business.

“I am really going to miss him. I think the industry has lost someone who is really passionate and strong.”

Among Kay’s many accomplishments was his work with both platinum and alternative metals.

The designer is credited with helping to resurrect platinum in the United States. He supported, and received support from, Platinum Guild International throughout his career, receiving the organization’s highest honor two years in a row.

PGI-USA Senior Vice President Jenny Luker call Kay a “true pioneer” in the industry. “He lived his life to the fullest, with passion and purpose. He was endeared by everyone at PGI, and he will truly be missed,” she said.

Kay also was the worldwide spokesperson for palladium and brought the alternative metal cobalt to the bridal industry. He retains the largest distribution of this contemporary metal in the designer category, according to the company.

He also is credited by Condé Nast’s Brides magazine for creating the first bridal jewelry advertisement more than 25 years ago.

Borsheims Fine Jewelry and Gifts, which just opened its second location in Omaha, Neb. this

Banner will be right here …

year, is among the retailers that stocks Kay’s men’s wedding bands crafted in alternative metals.

On behalf of the retailer, CEO Karen Goracke said: “We are very saddened to hear of the news of the passing of Scott Kay. Scott was a devoted father and husband as well as true artist. He was an inspiration and leader in our industry. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and members of the Scott Kay team.”

After closing Friday, Kay’s Teaneck. N.J.-based company reopened Monday, with a message from Kay’s family posted on the company’s website, as well as on the company’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

In the statement (the full text of which is available above), his family said that while they were heartbroken by the loss, they would “forge on with passion, zest, a sense of humor and the stubbornness to ensure we ‘never compromise,’” which was Kay’s personal and professional motto.

Scott Kay Inc. made a number of key executive hires throughout 2014, adding a director of sales, chief merchandising officer and chief supply chain officer, all of which were new positions for the company.

These followed Kay’s decision to hire the first CEO in his company’s history in August 2013, former David Yurman executive David Minster.

Kay said during the earlier interview with National Jeweler that when Minster came on board last year one of his observations was that, “there’s so much runway here”--meaning that Kay didn’t lack for designs. “If I didn’t do another piece for 10 years, we’d have plenty of product to work with,” the designer said.

He also said in that same interview that the hire of Minster as well as the other executives “set him free” to do what he loved best: design, dream and create art.

“I really have just been in the business of trying to make beautiful things,” he said.

Kay is survived by his wife, Regina; his two daughters, Tiffany and Jordan; and his son, Troy.

Services took place at the Nanuet Hebrew Center in New City, N.Y. on Sunday. His family is asking that anyone wishing to commemorate his life do so with a donation to Jewelers for Children.

Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff contributed to this report.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.