Interview with Elliot Abbott, President of The Hollywood Collection

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Elliot Abbott, President of The Hollywood Collection. Turns out the man who came up with a great idea for a jewelry company about 15 years ago is a genuine gem! Warm and engaging, he shares with us his love for his business—and his customers. And clearly he admires the movie stars whose jewelry he lovingly recreates, those actresses who epitomized the glamour of Hollywood in its heyday. He knows these actresses and movies will never come around again. But, as he says, Hollywood is alive and well at The Hollywood Collection. Elliot Abbott is indeed a man who pursued his dream, and made it come true.

Design and Production of The Hollywood Collection

Elliot Abbott: The designs are from those old black and white photographs that we’ve gotten over the years of the stars from different films. You know, when they make movies they have a photographer on the set all the time taking stills, so there will be literally thousands from each movie. We go through as many as we can find, and we find some pieces that we like and send them down to our factory—they do a model for us and we take a look at it. If it’s nice, and pretty, beautiful—we’ll add to the collection—and if it’s ugly and horrible, we won’t. What we’ve learned is that it doesn’t really matter who the star is, if the piece is ugly, ladies don’t want it.

SD: So, you’re looking for the most glamorous jewelry worn in those movies. Where is the factory?

SD: I read on your website that your customers really like the rhodium plating. Does rhodium make the piece stronger, longer-lasting?

Elliot Abbott: All our base metal is sterling silver. We put rhodium on because it sort of approximates

the look of platinum. So it’s beautiful, shiny. We plate it with either rhodium or 3 microns of 14K gold. We do it because we’re replicating something that has quite a history to it—something that represents some of the most glamorous actresses in the world.

Elliot Abbott: I think some of them were—some of them were their own jewelry, and some of them were costume.

SD: I read your customer testimonials on the website. The Hollywood Collection gets rave reviews.

Elliot Abbott: I think one of the things we’ve learned over the years—and we’ve been doing this now for about 14, 15 years—is that women love to tell the story of their jewelry, if they’ve got one. If you talk to a woman who owns a piece from The Hollywood Collection, she loves it when someone asks her, "Where did you get that ring?"

SD: So, they love to tell the story of the star who wore it, and in what movie.

Elliot Abbott: Yes, I think the reason rings sell as much as they do, is that it’s the first thing you notice on a

woman, and ours have such great stories behind them. They feel pretty good wearing something that Monroe wore, Bette Davis wore…

SD: If the designs are from black and white photographs, how are you able to determine the colors of the stones, whether pink, or blue, or clear diamond, or other stone color?

Elliot Abbott: What we’ve done is look at black and white photos of different pieces and been able to pretty much match what they probably were. You know, maybe a shade of cognac might have been a little darker. But for the most part, it’s pretty easy to tell.

SD: How do you go about making the jewelry? Is there an artist who recreates the design?

Elliot Abbott: Yes, they work from a drawing. A drawing is made from the black and white photo, and then the model makers make the model, and then it goes into production. The factory ships a prototype of each style and we’ll say we love it or not... I’ll show it to my wife, Lisa takes a look at it, and I’ll show it to my daughters. Women have great taste in jewelry. They know what they like, and it’s not hard to know when something works. I wish I could tell you it’s complicated—but you show a woman a beautiful piece of jewelry—they’re in!

Elliot Abbott: It’s endless. When we were doing movies we’d look through the pictures taken on set to choose

Lana Turner's Synthetic Amethyst and Diamond CZ Ring

publicity shots, from a ‘League of Their Own’ or ‘Awakenings’, (Elliot was the Executive Producer for these movies and others.) or whatever it was, and there were literally 5,000 or 6,000 photos. So you multiply that by how many movies there were in the space of 40 years—it just goes on forever.

Elliot Abbott: About 14 new styles. The thing that takes the longest time is getting it right. We’ll get it sent to us, we look at it and say what about this, what about that— let’s try this, let’s try that. Each of these things takes time but we’re representing such history, we feel beholden to get it right. So it takes us a little while.

The Man Behind The Hollywood Collection

SD: By the way, I must admit that I put your name in Google and discovered you were a movie producer. Do you still work in the movie business? (Some of Elliot’s movie credits include: Executive Producer of 'Getting Away with Murder', 'Awakenings', and 'Calendar Girl'; and Producer of, 'A League of Their Own', 'The Preacher’s Wife', and 'Renaissance Man'.)

Elliot Abbott: Strangely enough, I hadn’t done it for about 8 or 9 years and about a month or so ago I read an

article in Sports Illustrated that kind of got me interested again. So I may be doing another one. I think the guys who wrote ‘League of Their Own’ for us, are going to write this one. Penny Marshall, my partner, is probably going to direct. So we may be doing another one. I got very excited about reading it, and love the idea…but it’s a year and a half out of your life.

Elliot Abbott: I was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Chicago, and moved out to California about 36 years ago.

I was originally in the music business. My first client was Jim Croce (‘If I Could Save Time in a Bottle’). I went on to manage a bunch of people—Neil Sedaka, Randy Newman, The Carpenters, Ricki Lee Jones, The Kinks, that old rock ‘n roll band.

Elliot Abbott: Well, I love music. I was around music. I love melodies. Guess I was always able to tell a good song. I was drawn to Randy Newman, and these people because I always loved songs. And I guess I’m able to communicate with them. You know, it’s the same story with jewelry. I love communicating with the customers.

Elliot Abbott: Besides the girls (his wife and daughters)—which is really why I gave up the movie business because I didn’t get to see them very much—I like to golf.

Elliot Abbott: I love the fact that we’re doing something people love. I love when an idea works. I love the fact that the golden age of Hollywood is alive and well at The Hollywood Collection.

Elliot Abbott: Yes, I love watching those old movies, that’s not a chore for me.

SD: So, with your background in show business, it seems quite natural for you to make ‘movie star’ jewelry in your jewelry business.

Elliot Abbott: Well, I’ll tell you, if you want to talk to someone who really knew nothing about jewelry, you’re talking to him now. I don’t wear jewelry, I don’t wear a watch, and I knew nothing about it. I learned an enormous amount from the guys at our factory, from the buyers, from our customers, and the biggest lesson was—if you think it’s pretty, it’s pretty—it works!

A Great Idea and It’s All About the Customer

SD: When you started The Hollywood Collection had you quit the movie business? Were you looking for something different to do?

Elliot Abbott: No. We were in the midst of post-production on ‘League of Their Own’, and I was having a little concern because the marketing guys at Sony Pictures were wondering who the audience was going to be for this movie. So I said, “I think it’s going to be women 35 plus years old.” So I called Doug Briggs of QVC and said, ‘You guys got all the women watching your channel here, would you help us promote this movie?” He said, “Sure, we’ve never done anything like it, but we’ll help you. What do you want to sell?” I said, “Well, we don’t have anything to sell, but we want to show movie clips on your channel.” He said, “Look, come up with some merchandise we can sell from the movie, and we’ll do it for you.” So we did.

We came up with a line of merchandise called ‘Official Cast and Crew Merchandise’. We had jerseys that the ball players wore, and baseball hats, and all this stuff. It sold incredibly well. I never forgot that, and about 2 years later I thought, I’d love to come up with another product line to sell on TV. And I kept thinking, and thinking, and finally I said, “You know, they wore a lot of jewelry in movies, I wonder if we could get the rights to do that, find a jewelry factory, and all that stuff." And that’s how the idea came. And I was terrified that someone had thought of doing it, and no one had. That was the germ of it.

Elliot Abbott: Yeah, it’s been around for some time. It’s my only really good idea, but it was a good one.

SD: It’s wonderful when an idea really works. So you had to get the rights to do this jewelry?

Elliot Abbott: Yes, we had to get the rights from the estates, from the actresses, to do this. When we say

Marilyn Monroe's Famous Diamond CZ Fan Ring

Marilyn Monroe wore it, we have the ability to say that.

We had a funny conversation with one of the shopping channels that wanted us to do a line of clothing like our jewelry. You know like a dress that Marilyn wore, Bette Davis wore, or Audrey Hepburn. And I thought about it, and thought about it, and I said to them, “I don’t think it will work.” “Oh sure it will.” they said. I said to them, “I’ll tell you why—if you’re a size 4 and you wear that Monroe dress, you may be very happy, but if you’re a size 18—you may not be thrilled with that look." Not to be disrespectful, but people are different. And they said, “Gee, we never thought of that.” Well, that’s the problem. Everyone can wear a beautiful ring—everyone. It will look beautiful on any woman’s hand. That’s the way it is.

Elliot Abbott: It’s really fun. It's very, very satisfying to think something might work, and then it does. And, it’s also very satisfying to hear people who are happy, who have bought something you have— something that you’ve put your heart and soul into—and they love it, and they look good. It’s just a really good feeling.

And I’ll tell you, the other thing I love about it is that the jewelry reminds people how great these actresses were, how great these movies are. Watching Gaslight and seeing Ingrid Bergman…it just takes your breath away.

SD: It does, and that’s the beauty of your jewelry—it brings those memories back, and makes women look great at the same time.

Your website is really nice, and very comprehensive. You have Specials of the Week, a print catalogue, a newsletter—and I see you have 5 stars out of 5 on Yahoo, the customer’s highest rating of excellence.

Elliot Abbott: Look, we want to treat people the way we want to be treated. It’s fairly basic, simple stuff. If somebody is unhappy, we want to make them happy.

Elliot Abbott: Yes, we do. We want people to be happy with their purchase, and if they’re not, they will get

their money back.

Marketing and QVC Shopping Channel

Elliot Abbott: (A few days before our interview, Elliot hurt his hand playing golf.) Well, now with my hurt hand I type with one finger, and work with the buyers of the various shopping channels, and I write the cards that come in the boxes—and I love talking to customers. And I go on television, QVC here in the United States, and QVC in the UK, and in Japan. And I do the shows—a horrifying experience for me—but that’s what they wanted, so I do it.

Elliot Abbott: Shopping channel. We’ll do an hour at a time, and they’ll put up about 10 or 12 different styles,

Lana Turner's Synthetic Sapphire and Diamond CZ Earrings

and I go on TV with the host, tell the stories, and show the photos. I get a stomachache when I have to go on.

SD: It must be quite a different experience being in front of the camera, when as a movie producer you’re behind the scenes. How is the QVC working out?

Elliot Abbott: It’s working really well. We’re doing about 5 shows a year in England, about 3 or 4 shows here in the United States, a couple in Japan. So it’s going well, and they love the jewelry.

SD: I'll be doing a story later this month or in July about Kirks Folly, a company that also does the QVC shows.

Elliot Abbott: They do very well. You know, QVC is beautifully done. I’ll tell you, the guy who used to be the CEO, Doug Briggs and I became very good friends, and he said to me a long time ago, “I just want to tell you one thing—the product is the star.” I never forgot it. People can really tell the difference. That’s why we use 3 microns of 14K gold rather than the one micron that most people put on. We don’t want the jewelry to wear out. We have women who have bought rings from our company 14 years ago, and they’re still wearing them—and they look just great. If you take the time to make it right they will last.

Elliot Abbott: Oh yeah! You know, everybody knows Monroe, Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, they’re International stars who everybody is aware of. So it’s not a product you can find just in one territory.

SD: You’ve had articles written about The Hollywood Collection and other media attention such as Good Housekeeping, Extra, Georgia Magazine, and others. The Hollywood Collection really sparks a lot of interest.

Elliot Abbott: Yes, people really find it interesting—a ring or a pair of earrings that was in Gone with the Wind, or Casablanca. When I thought of the idea, I thought, well surely someone is doing this, but I pursued it anyway. I found out that A, nobody else has done it—and B, it could be done!

Elliot Abbott: Well, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. We found a great factory to make it for us in Thailand, and people really warmed to it immediately.

Elliot Abbott: Yes, but believe me, it just seems to take care of itself. Find it, discover it, and they want to

Bette Davis' Faux Pearl and Austrian Crystal Bracelet

know more about it—and that’s wonderful. And when they get the jewelry they go crazy! It’s so rewarding. We love it. It makes us feel great. And we’ve tried over the years to keep it at a price point that everyone can sort of collect it.

Elliot Abbott: It's a wearable collectible. And, it doesn’t break the bank.

SD: Yes, that’s another thing I love about The Hollywood Collection—it’s very affordable.

You are located on famous Ventura Boulevard. Do you get many movie people coming in?

Elliot Abbott: We don't have a store. This is our headquarters here on Ventura Boulevard. We sell to a lot of retailers, about 20 or 30 stores, and occasionally we’ll get some inquiries about putting it in movies. We’ve had a bunch of jewelry in a lot of TV shows. And there’s a whole tray of it in the movie, ‘Men in Black’. Remember when they had the scene in the jewelry store—that’s a whole tray of ours.

Elliot Abbott: Actually, with ours, they just buy it. But, for us it’s not the major part of our business. People have said, “Have you ever thought about doing Julia Robert’s jewelry, and contemporary actresses. You know, for me, with the movie business the way it is right now, it would be a jillion dollars to get the rights to do that, and I’m just not sure that people really care.

SD: No, there’s nothing like the glamorous movie stars of that era. No one is ever going to come along again like

Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, and the others. These women are icons. The movies were such classics!

Some of Elliot's Personal Favorites from The Hollywood Collection

Elliot Abbott: There’s a ring I just love—it’s a Lombard ring—HCR178. It has a black square center stone and it’s

Carole Lombard's Black Diamond CZ and Clear Diamond CZ Art Deco Ring

surrounded by clear cz baguettes.

Elliot Abbott: It’s so elegant, and actually QVC just ordered it again for their August show.

Elliot Abbott: It’s big enough—it’s not gigantic though. It’s sort of the right size. You know, people call and say, “Tell me about this ring. Do you like this ring?” I have to be honest with them. Sometimes we really get it right, and sometimes we don’t. And, with that Lombard ring we just got it right. And in person it’s just gorgeous. People look at it and say, "Wow!"

SD: Yes, it's a very classy ring. It is so reminiscent of that wonderful style and attitude the legendary actresses had about them. Do you have any other favorites from the collection?

Elliot Abbott: There’s a Monroe ring, HCR266. It’s a gold ring with three rows of princess cut stones and it’s

beautiful. We have probably sold more of that ring than anything else. That is just one of those rings. I’m told it is also one of the most comfortable rings to wear. We’ve sold a lot of them. I think this is a case of one and one makes four. It’s a beautiful ring and it’s Marilyn Monroe. With that combination you’re going to see some action.

There are a couple of pairs of earrings we love. Vivien Leigh’s ruby earrings, HCE215. They’re beautiful!

There’s a star pendant that Ingrid Bergman wore in Gaslight that’s gorgeous. We’ve sold lots of them. It’s hard to have favorites because we have about 300 to 400 pieces in the collection now.

It’s funny, there’s a new ring, a Dietrich ring on our website, with a football shaped ruby surrounded by a square setting covered with clear cz's. We put that ring up just about 4 or 5 months ago and within two days it was all gone. And I said, “Boy, ya know—a hit, is a hit, is a hit!” I told our buyer at QVC here in the States, I told our buyer at QVC in England, and they’re both going to buy it. It will be fascinating to see because I think it will go crazy. You put those things up, and they go on forever.

Elliot Abbott: Yes, you know it quick. We’ve made a Monroe ring we knew wasn’t really pretty, and the public told us it really wasn’t pretty. They just didn’t really care for it.

SD: The Hollywood Collection celebrates the golden era of film in Hollywood, and the legendary actresses who wore these exquisite pieces of jewelry. I notice that memorabilia collectors are also linking to your website. So some people are keeping The Hollywood Collection in glass cases. A lot of different people love your jewelry.

Elliot Abbott: Yes, that's something we’ve learned. We also have a lot of customers who are very wealthy who do not want to wear their real jewelry. They go on vacation and bring The Hollywood Collection. Because it’s gorgeous, no one is going to know, and that’s the way they want to do it.

SD: Why not wear reproductions if they are this beautiful. Why risk losing your real jewelry or having it stolen.

You mentioned you have thousands of designs to choose from so The Hollywood Collection will continue to grow.

Elliot Abbott: It’s what we love. We probably have about 20 or 30 styles now that are in development, and, of course, we can’t wait for them to come out. As I said though, it’s a slow process. But no, we’re not likely to run out of ideas. The first question QVC asked us is how many shows I thought we could do. QVC orders about 4 or 5 new pieces every show and then they re-order the pieces they’ve sold already that they know are winners. I told them that at the rate of 5 new pieces a show, we could go on for probably 80 years. They got a good laugh out of it. But, it’s true.

SD: That’s wonderful! Well, I wish you continued success. Is there anything you would like to add in closing?

Elliot Abbott: No, I think you’ve captured the essence of it, why we do it.

SD: The Jewelry Collecting site is all about the magic of jewelry—a celebration of wearable art. We like to know why people create jewelry, why they choose to be in the jewelry business. The Hollywood Collection is a fascinating story and we love the jewelry.

Elliot Abbott: You know, life’s tough enough. If you get up someday and put on something that makes you feel good—whether it’s a dress, or a pair of shoes, or a handbag, or jewelry—that’s not a bad thing.

SD: It’s a great thing. It was a real pleasure speaking with you Elliot. I look forward to sharing the story of The Hollywood Collection with our visitors.