Winter 2023

A Carmel Treasure Kocek Jeweler, Inc ., Exquisite Jewelr y for Half a Centur y B Y M I CHA E L CHAT F I E LD C armel-by-the-Sea in 1973 was a very different village than the one we know and love today.Yes, there were plenty of visitors, but the retail landscape was more directed to catering to a local clientele. As now, there were plenty of art dealers—in keeping with the town’s heritage as an art colony—good restaurants and souvenir shops, in addition to shops that served the full-time population.The business com- munity was a bohemian mix, populated by entrepreneurs from all over the globe. Into this mix arrived a young man, a gentleman of Armenian extraction who grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. He opened a small jewelry store on San Carlos between Ocean and Seventh where he began designing and crafting the exquisite pieces that he has come to be known for worldwide. His name is Kirkor Kocek. His business, Kocek Jeweler, Inc., is celebrating a half-century of continuous operation this year. Kocek began his apprenticeship in the art of jewelry at the age of twelve in Istanbul. One day while attending school, his instructor asked the class, “Who wants to be a jeweler?” “I raised my hand and said, ‘I do,’” he Kocek working in his first shop in Carmel in 1973, located just across the street from his current location, where he has been since 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Kocek Jewelers, Inc. 134 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 3