John Hardy jewelry was founded in 1975 by Canadian designer John Hardy. He visited
Bali in the mid-1970s and the island's jewelry-making traditions raised his interest. He began learning the techniques of the local artisans then developed his first pieces by applying new design concepts to traditional Balinese techniques. The John Hardy compound was built in Mambal, Bali in 1996 and is the company production center where the jewelry is created. It also is a living and gathering space with an organic farm and low impact buildings. In 1999,
Guy Bedarida, a senior designer of haute joaillerie of the
Place Vendôme, joined the company as Head Designer and expanded Hardy’s design concepts to include the use of classical European jewelry techniques and new motifs inspired by nature and ancient East Asian art styles and themes. In 2007, then John Hardy president Damien Dernoncourt, with Head Designer and
creative director, Bedarida, purchased the company from Hardy. That same year the company headquarters was moved to
Hong Kong and a satellite office was opened in New York. The company opened its first flagship store in
Plaza Indonesia, Jakarta in 2010. In 2011, it opened its first store at
The Landmark, Hong Kong. In 2014, two more stores were opened in Bali, Indonesia. On July 31, 2014, John Hardy announced that Robert Hanson, former CEO of
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., was appointed CEO. Hollie Bonneville Barden joined John Hardy as the Creative Director in 2016 and debuted her first collection for the brand in Fall, 2017. After receiving formal training in jewelry design from London’s
Central Saint Martins College and the
Wimbledon School of Art, Hollie held design positions at numerous boutique jewelry brands before working for an internationally renowned high jewelry house within the
LVMH portfolio. She possesses both an extensive formal training in fine jewelry and an inventive outlook on design. Today, she oversees all John Hardy collections, and leads the team of artisans. Summer 2016, John Hardy opened its first U.S. boutique in
Houston. The brand opened its second US boutique in Manhattan at 118
Prince Street, between Greene and Wooster streets in SoHo. John Hardy opened boutiques in Century City, Aventura,
South Coast Plaza,
The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace alongside premium outlets at Woodbury Commons and Desert Hills. Their jewelry can also be found at locations in the Caribbean, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Korea through major department stores. As of April 24, 2019, John Hardy announced the advancement of three executives. CEO Robert Hanson became Non-Executive Chairman; Kareem Gahed, who was Chief Revenue Officer, became CEO, and Audrey Finci, who was COO/CFO, became President - COO/CFO. On September 14, 2022
Reed Krakoff was appointed Creative Chairman and also Strategic Advisor to
L Catterton, John Hardy's majority shareholder and the largest global consumer-focused
private equity firm to oversee the creative and artistic direction of the business with a focus on accelerating the growth of the John Hardy brand. On August 1, 2023, John Hardy named Jan-Patrick Schmitz as Chief Executive Officer. ==Designs==