PARADISE ADORNED
From Hawaiian heirloom jewelry to contemporary styles, these local gems offer a tropical elegance.
TEXT BY NATALIE SCHACK
IMAGES BY JOHN HOOK
TRANSLATION BY MAHORO ROTH
RIGHT HAND: LOLE HAWAI‘I (BLDG C, LEVEL 1)
LEFT HAND: KOBE JEWELRY (BLDG B, LEVEL 1)
It starts with diamonds—doesn’t it always? Gleaming in their cases, blindingly white, impossibly clean. At Kobe Jewelry, they don’t so much wink at you as throw their arms open wide, demanding you look. Yet nestled alongside the brilliance are pieces far more rooted in place: gem-coated turtles, golden plumeria scrolling thick and luscious across bracelets, and the unmistakable heft of classic Hawaiian heirloom designs. These are jewels that don’t just sparkle; they speak the language of the islands, flora and fauna cast forever in gold.
“In a way my dad’s store feels like a time capsule because it hasn’t really changed,” says Sierra Jeong, the storeowner’s daughter. Her father, known to customers as Jo-san, has been here at Royal Hawaiian Center for almost twenty years. “He’s not really aesthetic oriented and he’s not about a brand—he is the brand. He’s very himself.” For Sierra, Kobe is as much about legacy as it is about luxury: “Waikīkī has changed—it’s very luxury oriented—but there’s something beautiful about being this small business and being here.”
ALL FROM KOBE JEWELRY (BLDG B, LEVEL 1).
Jewelry at Royal Hawaiian Center, it turns out, is all about stories like this—each boutique offering its own lens through which to glimpse Hawai‘i. If Kobe is about legacy, a time capsule preserved in gold and scrollwork, then Laki Hawaiian Design is about reinvention. Here, hand-carved bangles meet rich black Tahitian pearls, while patterns inspired by taro leaves, rainforest botanicals, and marine life shimmer across bold rings and pendants. Each piece feels both rooted and refreshing, a modern homage to the islands’ abundance. And because Laki specializes in custom design (with orders completed in just a few days) you can walk out wearing something singular, intimate, and new.
Meanwhile, at Lole Hawai‘i, accessorizing is an occasion for customization. Here, lies an array of pendants in dozens of styles, from swinging hula girls and diamond encrusted slippers to sterling silver shakas and swimming turtles. Curate a stack of necklaces perfect for everyday wear, the perfect souvenir from your time in the islands. Or load up a necklace with a variety of charms for a uniquely maximalist affair.
ALL FROM YUMI KIM (BLDG B, LEVEL 1)
And then there’s Yumi Kim, where jewelry becomes less heirloom and more flirtation: a whisper of gold, the swing of a trendy gem or pearl on a playful hoop, paired with the brand’s signature floral dresses. If Kobe feels like permanence, and Laki like self-definition, Yumi Kim feels like play: the joy of trying on an island identity for a night, of catching yourself in the mirror, and knowing this sparkle is part of your story, too.
Four shops, four different moods, four ways of slipping into Hawai‘i’s narrative. Taken together, they make Royal Hawaiian Center more than a shopping destination. It’s a gallery of adornment, where the islands gleam back at you in gold and coral and pearl, each jewel a chance to carry a piece of the place with you.
“I think Hawai‘i influences me, the bodies, silhouettes, and designs that we were making before coming here,” Phan says. “It’s nice to just really be creative here because I’m not challenged in the way that I was when I was designing New York, like, ‘Okay, you’re selling florals in November?”
