The company raised its full-year sales guidance while noting it has not yet assessed the potential impact of the latest tariff news.
Shamballa Jewels On Being the Guru of Men’s Jewelry
The Danish fine jeweler famed for its luxurious beaded bracelets begins a global retail expansion with a store in New York.

New York--Spiritual expression through symbols is the guiding design principle of Shamballa Jewels and, likewise, the Danish brand’s new digs in New York City.
Opened late last month, Shamballa’s new retail space in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood is its only other branded store outside of its Copenhagen flagship.
Its location on the second floor of 170 Mercer St., like every endeavor on which Shamballa embarks, has meaning to founder Mads Kornerup.
For many years he lived on Thompson Street in the neighborhood, and after classes at the now defunct Virayoga, he and his friends would decamp to a restaurant where Shamballa Jewels sits now, sitting at a corner table against the dramatic street-facing windows that reach to the ceiling, which is exactly where we sit when I interview him, albeit on a sumptuous velvet couch.
Kornerup enlisted his in-house architect and the company that designs Shamballa trade show booths to create the New York interiors, which he says are similar to the Copenhagen store designed by Space Copenhagen.
“All the carpentry was done in Copenhagen, shipped over and assembled in three weeks,” he tells me.
One of the advantages of being located on the second floor, besides the considerably lower real estate value than the street-level properties, is the opportunity for a grand entrance.
When I enter, I alight a large wooden staircase that leads to an enormous oak mandala symbol on the ceiling at its apex. A polished lingam stone sourced from India that is used for worship as a representation of Shiva hangs suspended on a brass rod from the mandala’s center.
If a passerby thought they were entering some sort of Asian temple or meditation hall (with well-heeled and chic parishioners), then Kornerup and his team would have achieved their desired effect.
Though the store fits into the aesthetic narrative of the Copenhagen flagship with its mix of Nordic and Asian influences and a dark, relaxing color palette accented by low lighting, the mandala symbol was introduced just for New York at the behest of Kornerup’s architect. It’s repeated on a smaller scale across the ceiling, over a stone bar and all the way to the windows.
“The mandala is the cosmic representation of our spirit and mind,” he tells me. “It’s
There’s of course, a less beatific, more commerical aspect to Shamballa.
It’s no coincidence that the brand hails from the same country as Pandora, essentially serving as the latter’s upscale counterpart, an ironic play on mass-market consumerism, but Kornerup tells me that his dedication to beaded bracelets, which are available in all manner of precious and semi-precious gemstones, even as the brand offers other categories like rings, is the beads’ religious implication.
“My design philosophy is really simple,” says Kornerup. “For me, it’s not so much about the piece of jewelry, it’s most important that the symbolism is something that reminds you of something, even if just to calm your mind, to take a conscious inhalation.

“That’s why I love the beads, because they’ve always represented mantras, calming your mind whether with a rosary or a mala, from all the different religions. That’s why the beads have always fascinated me and keep on fascinating me. That’s why we hold on to the bead world.”
Kornerup’s similarity to and difference from Pandora has proved a savvy model since the brand as we know it today launched in 2005.
With starting price points at $3,000 to $5,000, Kornerup views a Shamballa bracelet as a status item for the man or woman who already has the vacation house, the luxury car and the Rolex, but one that retains the wearability of a Pandora bracelet via its masculine, unfussy appearance, due in large part to its mix of diamonds and gems with string.
Kornerup believes this so much so that he plans on opening stores in Los Angeles and Miami because “it’s a product that really loves to be in the sun, it’s a high-end piece of jewelry that loves to be on the beach … it won’t break,” though London and Paris are in line first.
He says that he and his brother/business partner Mikkel’s greatest accomplishment is getting men to wear jewelry, the type of men who would typically never deign to adorn themselves with more than a watch and a pair of cufflinks.

Kornerup is a man who wears a uniform--black Dior Jeans, Mykita glasses and a python jacket dyed black that he designed himself--and even if it’s more fashion-forward than the average executive’s look, Kornerup and his brother have been able to establish what a man would feel comfortable wearing by designing for themselves.
“I think we created a huge movement, of jewelers daring to use expensive materials, expensive stones, but in a kind of casual, down-to-earth way. I think that that’s really what we are, that you can wear a Shamballa bracelet on the beach in the afternoon but also with black tie. Our biggest pride is of course getting men to wear fine jewelry, getting men into sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds and gold.”
In New York, Kornerup expects the store to serve mostly tourists from Europe, Russia and Asia, and considers it a sort of clubhouse for his clientele, who travel regularly to New York, and local, aspiring converts to the brand.
He plans to host dinners at the store, yoga classes and to display the works of artists.
Next up is a store in London, which Kornerup hopes will open next year because, unlike Copenhagen, there’s a direct flight from London to his new home in Ibiza, he tells me with a laugh.
Shamballa Jewels is located at 170 Mercer St.
The Latest

The organization has raised more than $1.3 million for charity since its inception.

The brand’s latest iteration of a bezel-set diamond bangle features clean lines and a timeless design for a new modern silhouette.

As a leading global jewelry supplier, Rio Grande is rapidly expanding and developing new solutions to meet the needs of jewelers worldwide.

The first watch in the series commemorates his participation in the Civil Rights movement, marching from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.


The catalog contains a complete listing of all the loose gemstones in stock, as well as information about the properties of each stone.

The company added a retailer dashboard to its site and three new birds to its charm collection, the cardinal, blue jay, and hummingbird.

The Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship from Jewelers of America returns for a second year.

An additional 25 percent tariff has been added to the previously announced 25 percent.

The jewelry and accessories retailer plans to close 18 stores as part of the proceedings.

Its Springfield, Massachusetts, store is set to close as owner Andrew Smith heads into retirement.

Designer Hiba Husayni looked to the whale’s melon shaped-head, blowhole, and fluke for her new chunky gold offerings.

She will present the 23rd edition of the trend forecasting book at Vicenzaoro on Sept. 7.

Omar Roy, 72, was arrested in connection with the murder of jeweler Dionisio Carlos Valladares.

The New Orleans-based brand’s “Beyond Katrina” jewels honor the communities affected by the storm.

Lilian Raji explains why joining an affiliate network is essential for brands seeking placements in U.S. consumer publications.

The organization has awarded a total of $42,000 through its scholarship programs this year.

The winner of the inaugural David Yurman Gem Awards Grant will be announced live at the 2026 Gem Awards gala.

As summer winds down, celebrate the sunny disposition of the month’s birthstones: peridot and spinel.

Moshe Haimoff, a social media personality and 47th Street retailer, was robbed of $559,000 worth of jewelry by men in construction outfits.

Xavier Dibbrell brings more than a decade of experience to the role.

The addition of Yoakum, who will lead Kay and Peoples, was one of three executive appointments Signet announced Thursday.

The insurance company’s previous president and CEO, Scott Murphy, has split his role and will continue as CEO.

The nearly six-month pause of operations at its Kagem emerald mine earlier this year impacted the miner’s first-half results.

The necklace uses spinel drops to immortalize the moment Aphrodite’s tears mixed with her lover Adonis’ blood after he was fatally wounded.

The diamond miner and marketer warned last week that it expected to be in the red after significantly cutting prices in Q2.

Jewelers of America’s 35th annual design contest recognized creativity, artistry, style, and excellence.