Born on August 14, 1957 in Florida, Lagos always had a passion for art, a keen sense of style, a fascination with the fine elements of design, as well as quality workmanship. He was fortunate enough to have encouraging parents who wanted to see his dreams of becoming an artist come to fruition. At the ripe age of 17, Steven sought to hone his talents and sketches in jewelry. At 20 years of age, he founded his eponymous brand, Lagos. The designer credits learning the jewelry trade from an 85 year old Russian mentor who “taught him the lessons of old world craftsmanship, while impressing upon him the importance of working with the highest quality materials.”
Shortly after founding his now over 30 year old brand – with pieces that vary from the luxuriously bold Glacier lines and the designer’s architectural signature Caviar – Lagos began taking home one prestigious award after the other. The designer says that he continually draws his inspiration “from a diverse fountain of inspiration, from the modern architectural landscape to art Deco.”
One of the brand’s signature concepts was developed in 1984 with the introduction of the Lacos-trademarked Cavia Line. Featuring luminous sterling silver pieces with caviar-like beading accented by eighteen-karat gold, semi-precious stones, and diamonds, the collection has had a non-negligible role in defining the bridge jewelry movement. Today it’s one of the best-selling fine jewelry collections in the country.
Lagos’ design studio is based in Old City Philadelphia, and the brand’s flagship store has been located on Rittenhouse Square, in the heart of Philadelphia’s most prominent shopping district, since 1995. This retail shop features the full line of Lagos jewelry.
For Fall/Winter 2009 and 2010, Lagos is keenly focused on the season’s big trend – bold cocktail rings. New from the Lagos collection this year are big bold colorful passion rings. The rings come in amethyst, blue topaz, citrine, green quartz, smokey quartz, and white topaz, and feature faceted gemstones surrounded by 18 K gold beading on a highly polished sterling silver band with detailing.
