GLENDALE, Calif. – As part of its celebration of Armenian Heritage Month, FOX 11 is featuring Tacori, the Glendale jewelry company that has grown from a small immigrant family business into a globally recognized name in bridal jewelry and red-carpet design.
Its reach now extends far beyond the display case.
What we know:
Tacori says its jewelry has appeared on stars including Olivia Rodrigo, Nicole Scherzinger, Stephanie Beatriz and Lisa Ann Walter.
“Sinners” producer Sev Ohanian also wore a custom Tacori brooch to the Oscars, a piece Nadine Tacorian-Arzerounian says carried special meaning because it came from the company’s Dahlia collection and was created for a fellow Armenian.
The backstory:
Still, the company’s story starts at home.
Haig and Gilda Tacorian, Armenian Romanian immigrants, met in Los Angeles in the early 1970s and built a jewelry business from scratch. Paul Tacorian says his father used to joke that he started dating Gilda because “she had a car,” while Nadine says there was another reason too: “She spoke English.”
In the beginning, Paul says, the business consisted of his parents and maybe one other person. Haig traveled for sales. Gilda ran the office. Their children grew up inside the company, working there every summer before eventually taking it over. Nadine now leads design. Paul oversees sales and marketing.
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What they’re saying:
“We’re best friends. We grew up together, but we’re opposites,” Paul says. “She’s the thoughtful, pragmatic one. I’m the crazy, loud, outspoken one. And it fits perfectly.”
That contrast has helped guide a company that built much of its identity around engagement rings. Tacori says its signature Crescent design gives the brand a look customers can recognize immediately. Paul says that design language, along with the company’s insistence on local craftsmanship, helps set it apart in a crowded market.
“It’s handcrafted here in America. It’s really key to what we do,” Paul says. “We have a design element that nobody can duplicate.”
The company says every piece is still handcrafted in Glendale and that more than 40 hands touch a single piece of Tacori jewelry before it leaves the building. Tacori also says it produces more than 15,000 pieces of jewelry every year.
Growth followed. The company says it expanded from 25 employees to 125 as the second generation sharpened its focus on bridal jewelry and branding. Nadine credits Paul with helping spot the opening.
“Paul came in and put a full marketing plan together and saw a really nice opportunity for a bridal company because there weren’t that many brands back then,” Nadine says. “So, I mean, it took us to the next level.”
The brand also picked up wider visibility through pop culture. Paul says Tacori appeared on The Bachelor, worked on Trista and Ryan’s wedding and became part of multiple iterations of the franchise, which helped elevate the company’s profile.
And pop culture still shapes consumer demand.
Nadine says one of the fastest examples came after Taylor Swift’s engagement, when stores began hearing from customers asking for that specific look.
“It was literally overnight,” Nadine says. “The next day we had our stores calling, saying customers are calling in and asking for that ring particularly.”
She says the moment pushed fresh demand for vintage styling, antique diamonds and old mine cut stones, an area where the company feels especially strong.
“Literally, overnight everyone’s like, I want vintage, I want antique diamonds, I want unique old mine cut diamonds,” Nadine says. “It was so exciting for us because this is really where we can shine.”
For all the glamour, the family says roots and community matter just as much as design. Tacori recently received recognition from the Children of Armenia Fund for its support of education programs.
“One of the most important things to me is our future, our children, helping them have a future and opportunities,” Paul says.
The next generation may already be waiting.
Paul says his son visited the business last summer, looked around and asked whether he could work there one day, then quickly followed with a bigger question: could he be the boss. Nadine says her 8-year-old daughter already has started designing pieces and has sketched earrings of her own.
For Paul, the larger story still goes beyond jewelry.
“This country allows everybody the opportunity to come without speaking language, without having any money,” Paul says. “If they work hard and they’re committed to what their craft is or what their vision is, you have the greatest chance on earth to do it here.”
Tacori sells luxury jewelry. But the deeper value may lie in something less easily measured: a family story built in Los Angeles, shaped by Armenian roots and still made by hand in Glendale.
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