MADDOX Holds Iconic DIAMOND Fashion Show: Learn From the Founder's Humble Beginnings

When I heard from the grapevine that Ms. Charo Cordial was holding a fashion show in posh EDSA Shangri-la, it would be epic. She sought the best fashion show director there is Robby Carmona, and a list of celebrities unprecedented, all of whom have been part of the growth of her diamond jewelry brand MADDOX.

Her success didn't come overnight, and we were treated to a very lovely interview and got to understand her humble beginnings. Imagine doing business during the pandemic, changing business models because of necessity, like fate and achieve success that she couldn't even imagine. She attributes this all from the people around her, who helped her with the business and also the clients who have given over and beyond the love for diamonds. 

Ms. Charo says "We are holding this fashion show to make sure Filipinos know that diamonds can be affordable, we have small margins but hope the Philippines becomes well known in the industry as a mecca for it. I'm so happy that even in international trade, they now know we love them and appreciate jewelry. I used to sell agricultural machinery, and people didn't know I'd land in this industry. I am a Bicolana, born and educated there. I went here for the board exam and worked for an international company. I only started selling jewelry during the pandemic. I sold bags, and it was so fun to talk to people. It was hard to ship them, so I looked for other things to sell and started with gold. Then diamonds later on. Maddox came from my son's name, named after Angelina Jolie's first born. Now people know us by that name. I am super happy, I didn't dream of this but talking to you now, I still can't believe it. I am so blessed, I could attribute it to my employees and friends, the people around me who helped me reach this."

She adds "Last year while doing vlogs, they had celebrity customers who also went to their shop. There's a lot of them, so you'll see them all at the show. The idea was made by Robbie Carmona, and icons are involved so you will see them all in different segments."

 

One pretty thing I learned from Ms. Charo was something she said before we went to see the show. She said "You have to love what you are doing, your employees, your customers and give them what they want. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, we all do, I also went bankrupt, in a different business, but I never gave up. It would have been nice to have a lot of artists here but it was hard to manage their schedules."

If you want to see the show (and the celebrities too), here are some highlights and videos from the runway. 

More videos are posted on our Facebook page, just search for KUMAGCOW on FB :)

 

Thank you and congratulations Ms. Charo! MADDOX is just beginning, and seeing this makes me want to see another next year yeah?! 

Natural Diamond Authority TESSERA Jewelry Welcomes CELESTE CORTESI

 

Beauty was all around when we arrived at the Molito branch of TESSERA Jewelry. Known for being the mecca of sourcing jewelry with natural diamonds, they've now got branches in 38 Rockwell, The Podium, Opus Mall and this one at Molito Lifestyle Center in Alabang. While it's a bit far from our place, we were here to witness something really special as they collaborated with one gorgeous woman, beauty queen, title holder, Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi.

She exudes confidence, talks quite eloquent, and sees this collaboration as an opportunity to make the pieces she dreams of to come true. One thing that's going to be evident with the collection they plan to do is the color BLUE. Celeste means heavenly, and that's exactly the shade of color that will be seen on the ones they plan to design and release for TESSERA Jewelry. There were a few displayed at the event, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of what they plan to do with their partnership. 

 

Celeste invests in jewelry, and she's known of Tessara even before they talked about doing this. She makes sure it goes with her personal taste and color. She also wants that lasts forever, so she could pass the pieces on to her kids, and generations after that. She's received some gifts from her boyfriend, and says it doesn't need to be all expensive. As long as it makes her confident and feel good, she's going to love it!

 

Celeste Cortesi with Tessera Jewelry CEO Carl Fider and his wife Sales Director Ms. Papat Aquino Fider

 Here's more of our interview with Celeste on video, please sub on our YouTube channel to see more entertainment and lifestyle content!

Tessera expressed how important Celeste is as they welcome her to the brand. They say she is the embodiment of grace, warmth, and they can't wait to shine with her. Congratulations Celeste! You are blessed, and remain so nice to this day! You may get in touch with TESSERA Jewelry on IG for more information about their brand.

Shining Bright: CHARO CORDIAL and MADDOX JEWELRY

Took a trip way east to Marikina City to visit the physical showroom of Maddox Jewelry. We got to talk to Madame Charo Cordial, the viral online seller, entrepreneur and businesswoman who made her small venture into a gold and diamond empire that it is today. 

She had very humble beginnings. Brought up in a small town where farming was the premier industry, her parents had her take up Agricultural Engineering in college. During the pandemic, she just had the the opportunity to delve into jewelry (among her other passions), and that's where Maddox Jewelry started. When we met her, her demeanor was very warm and welcoming. With her fascination for all things gold, she got so busy these past few years garnering not only a huge clientele but celebrities, some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. The difference between her and the other online sellers is that she's got a physical showroom in Marikina (AZDM Building) where she conducts appointments for those who want to see the jewelry before they purchase it. 

Here's what we saw there!

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We asked her about making investments on jewelry and what is the best time to do it and she said "There's really no BEST time to do it but NOW. As you may know, gold value is increasing over the years and if you don't get it early, you won't see the value grow. I've seen several of my clients who purchased gold and diamond pieces in the past and in a few years, the value is now 5 times of what it was then."

She adds "Jewelry is not only for women, but men too. We have several pieces that are unisex especially the classic designed ones that can be worn by men or women. Aside from that, we have celebrities like Mark Herras who got earrings with diamonds in it. (Tried to find it on display but they said it's all sold out!) We have them in different colors. We have blue diamonds, green diamonds, something that would fit your personality. We'd gladly accommodate you here as we have people who could assist you to choose the right sparkle you need for your jewelry."

Here's a bit of our talk with her that evening:

As you may have heard, her clients are mostly other jewelry sellers that source most of their wares from her. She also wished for a few A list celebrities to collaborate with her since she also does content on TikTok and Facebook. 

Her Facebook page is her only selling platform, and streams are regularly done live and deleted right after because most of the sales are done only during livestreams. If you're interested, go follow their page and watch out for schedules, it's mostly from 6pm to 12am and they're quite keen on helping entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. If you've been wanting to start your own collection, they have people to help you at their Marikina office. 

Their showroom is pretty full most of the time, it might be wise to ask for appointments through their contact numbers there. I'm off to buy a few very soon. Remember as she says, the time to invest in jewelry is now!

Super nice and very humble, she's shining bright indeed. Thank you and congratulations Ms. Charo! Here's wishing you could help more people and continued success in the business!