Larry Lippert (L’array) – Sr. Merchandise Director

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Larry Lippert - L'array - Honora PearlsAfter more than 35 years of working in Sales and Operations in the jewelry industry, Larry discovered that he had a unique eye for pearl colors.  Seeing the new colors Honora was able to infuse into Freshwater Pearls, Larry began creating some of the most popular color combinations in our company’s history, including our Rainforest, Bluestone, Safari, Midnight and Santa Fe Collections.  This pearl palette and Larry’s innate flair for combining color have become a big part of Honora’s Freshwater Pearl Jewelry.  His combinations are constantly featured on QVC, QVC UK and can be seen at fine independent and national retail jewelry stores.

Larry began his jewelry career in 1973 after graduating SUNY Buffalo with Zale Corporation’s buying office in N.Y. as an assistant buyer. He worked his way up to Vice President of the Guild Division buyers by 1980 with a stop along the way as a retail manager for Granat Brothers, a Guild store chain in the San Francisco area. He joined Honora in 1982 in sales where he began to acquire extensive experience and education in Cultured Pearls.  He is now involved in running the day-to-day operations alongside Roberta Schechter, co-owner of Honora. In addition to designing, Larry also works very closely with Ralph Rossini, president of Honora, creating all our ads that appear in national fashion magazines as well as the NY Times.

Larry lives in Pleasantville, NY, with his wife, Judi and has a daughter, Joanna, and a son, Michael. He works out regularly at the gym and loves a day playing golf.



  Ralph Rossini – President of Honora

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Ralph Rossini President of HonoraFor the past 10 years our QVC UK audience has grown to know Ralph as our host for The Honora Collection.   He has been working for Honora for over 20 years, originally starting his jewelry career in Honora’s colored-stone division called Kuhns.  This extensive gemstone experience has been invaluable towards making Ralph into the expert in Freshwater Pearls that he is today.

Ralph started out in the world of Film and Television and this background has been a major asset helping lead Honora in its advertising campaigns featured in the New York Times as well as magazines such as In Style, Elle and Town & Country.  Upon Honora’s company commitment to Freshwater Pearls, Ralph coined our tag line “A Fresh New Look At Pearls.”  Ralph remains passionate about film and is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) to this day.

Ralph received a BA in Sociology from SUNY at Stonybrook and was most recently a member of QVC’s Vendor Advisory Board.  Along with Honora’s CEO, Joel Schechter, Ralph travels regularly to China to buy from the world’s largest pearl farmers.  He also works closely with Senior Merchandise Manager Larry Lippert to help develop the colorful pearl palette that helps set Honora apart from the rest of the pearl world.

His love of Freshwater Pearls as well as his passion for Honora’s unique and colorful approach to jewelry is evident to anyone who has come to know Ralph over the past decade on QVC UK or, more recently, as our second host on QVC in the United States. In between his rigorous travel schedule between the US, UK and China, Ralph spends time at his home in Hoboken, NJ with his son Jason.

If you have question or comment for Ralph, feel free to leave it in the comments section below or email us at community@honora.com.



  Joel Schechter – CEO of HONORA

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Joel Schechter, CEO of HonoraMany of you know Joel from QVC where he has explained Freshwater Pearls and brought some of the most unique pearl jewelry to the QVC audience for over 12 years.  Here’s more about his history with Honora

Joel has spent over 30 years in the jewelry industry traveling the world to buy various types of cultured pearls, diamonds and colored stones.  He travels to China constantly to buy from some of the world’s largest pearl farmers.  When Freshwater Pearls came onto the market over 20 years ago, Joel knew he was seeing the future of the pearl world.  Shifting the focus of the company from traditional Akoya pearls and designer diamond jewelry, he began to shape Honora into the leader in Freshwater Pearls that it is today.

Joel graduated from The George Washington University in 1976 with a BA in Economics.  He holds a Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and attained the title for Certified Gemologist from the American Gem Society (AGS).  One of the foremost experts in pearls in the country, Joel has lectured at industry shows, jewelry store educational meetings and at GIA.

In addition to his love for Honora, Joel enjoys playing guitar, snowboarding, sailing and playing golf in his free time.  He works alongside his sister, Roberta, his brother-in-law, Ralph and his son, Michael.   He has proudly seen Honora into a third generation.  Joel has two other sons, Daniel and Brandon and lives in New York City with his wife, Eileen.

If you have questions or comments below, feel free to leave a comment below or email us at community@honora.com.