A model wears necklaces from the Empower Tools collection, Pavé the Way by Joan Hornig.


Courtesy Pavé the Way


Philanthropist and jewelry designer Joan Hornig has already raised millions for charities around the world through her existing jewelry lines, including Philanthropy is Beautiful, which donates 100% of profits to organizations chosen by the buyer. Now, she's turning her attention to Millennials and Gen Z, with a philanthropic jewelry concept designed to empower: enter Pavé The Way.

Gen Z: "A generation to look to"

When Joan Hornig married in her twenties, she made a commitment beyond her promise to her Harvard college sweetheart, George Hornig. "I made a deal with myself when I walked down the aisle, that by the time I was 50, I would be giving 100% of what I earned back to good causes" she tells me, "I have never forgotten that commitment and Generation Z is now reaching the same age. They are all about learning and being inspired; it's a generation to look to." In an extension of her existing philanthropic jewelry lines, she is now targeting Gen Z and the younger Millennials, in a bid to make philanthropy a lifelong positive habit from the start.

She's a passionate advocate for education rather than a straightforward donor to causes, who sees her role as "helping others to have an impact", an idea that plays well with the socially aware generation currently coming of age. Many young adults see social activism as a big part of their identity: "it's important to show what your stand for," says Grace, a 19 year-old literature student, "the clothes I wear and the way I look reflect what I believe in." According to Pew Research, Gen Z are likely to be better-educated than previous generations. They are socially conscious: the majority believe human activity is behind global warming (54%) and that blacks are treated less fairly than whites in the US (66%), pointing to more progressive views than their elders.






Nut and Bolt and Wrench diamond-set earrings, Pavé the Way by Joan Hornig.


Courtesy of Pavé the Way



Empowerment jewelry

Joan designed the latest collection for Pavé the Way with this in mind. It includes Empower Tools, a continuation of Hornig's Tools for Giving concept, featuring pieces like the Lock in Your Superpower padlock earrings, and Key to Success studs, designed to mix and match in multiple piercings; and the Use Your Voice diamond pavé microphone and Steps for Equality necklaces. The fun wordplay belies the fact that the line references big issues like women's empowerment and financial insecurity, creating an aspirational blend of style and substance. Customers can pick a motif that speaks to their values, bring an important part of their identity into their look and give to a cause that means something to them, at the same time.


And the giving has never been so easy. For every piece purchased on the Pavé the Way website, Hornig subtracts the labor of the workers in New York's diamond district who make her jewelry and the cost of the clean, ethically sourced materials, and turns over the profit she would have made directly to a charity chosen during the transaction by the customer. Since she launched her first philanthropic jewelry line in 2003, she has given away millions of dollars to organizations around the world, ranging from community hospitals and local charities in the US, to the American Red Cross and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, as well as international NGOs like Doctors Without Borders. 

"It's about young people and the stories they will tell, a concept designed to be talked about," says Hornig. The brand's online magazine, The Y, features Millennial and Gen Z writers talking to their peers, providing "food for thought around the concept of the 'three whys': why share, why care and why wear what represents your values". A diverse community of ambassadors with resonance - who may or may not have an existing public profile - include actress and musician Meg Donnelly, student and activist Claira Janover and dancers Maud and Chloe Arnold.





Designer and philanthropist Joan Hornig, who donates 100% of the profits from her jewelry lines to ... [+] charitable organizations chosen by the customer.


Courtesy of Pavé the Way


From the trading desk to the jeweler's bench

The concept is simple, yet it took audacity to make it fly. After Harvard, Hornig started out in banking as a professional fund raiser before moving into private equity and hedge funds. She enjoyed making her own jewelry inspired by her knowledge of art history, and began to notice at gala events that jewelry was often a prompt for conversation that could bring people together and empower the wearer, so she turned her passion into a business and found herself designing jewelry alongside a career in private equity. "There were some similarities between my business and the trading desk," she laughs, "my word was my bond in both. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do, delivery is what is important." 

She launched at Bergdorf Goodman's in 2003 and since then, she has designed for first ladies - her Philanthropy is Beautiful line is still a go-to for gifts for visiting dignitaries to the US - and her bold jewels are regularly seen on celebrities including Meghan Markle, Lupita Nyong'o and Michelle Obama, pointing to a cross-generational appeal that many other brands can only dream of, underpinned by her belief in bridge-building. After a 20-year career on Wall Street, Hornig was successful enough not to need the profit from her social activist jewelry lines, and has never taken a salary. Instead, she has been honored by the United Nations Women's Entrepreneurship Day and New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

"Part of giving is listening, not imposing," Hornig finishes. "This is a generation that is listening and learning." It's also one that has already shown itself to be powerful, and she is helping to charge up those superpowers by enabling them to give and do good as easily as buying a new pair of earrings.

Source: Forbes

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