Razza

Luca Razza was born in 1926 in Providence, Rhode Island, jewellery capital of
the world. He learned his trade at Coro and after a few years became General
Manager for the William Fink Company, where he started a rubber- mould
manufacturing company. There he produced raw castings for Alice Jewelry, Rice
Weiner, and Weiss and manufactured large quantities for Woolworth. In 1958 he
started a 50/50 partnership with Stanley Conheim, which they called The Ronnie
Jewelry Company. Luca was the technical brain, with the manufacturing know- how
gained over the years and with Stanley's business and sales acumen they soon
employed over 300 employees. In 1969 they sold out to The Certified Corporation
from Massachusetts, whilst staying with the company on a 5- year contract. In
the first year Stanley suddenly died and Luca lost  "the best salesman I have
ever known." The new owners  were anxious to lay the groundwork for the future
of the company and Luca had been working on revolutionary new process, which
involved a two component liquid polymer called polyurethane. The concept was to
use plastic in place of  metal in rubber moulds, resulting in highly detailed
carved- looking items that could compete with highly regarded bakelite
jewellery. The jewellery presented here is an example of this method.
(Source: Larry Razza)