HAVANA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The seemingly impossible has happened. For the first time in over sixty years, Cuban-made designer products can be purchased by Americans in America. With today’s launch of the online retail store Rox 950, American consumers can now purchase handmade silver jewelry crafted in the Havana workshop of Cuba’s most acclaimed jewelry designer and private entrepreneur Rosana Vargas.
The iconic designs, including bracelets, necklaces, and earrings forged from 95 percent pure silver, embody the passion and rhythm of Cuba with a bold, modern, and distinct style. The pieces reflect where Cuba has been and where it’s headed, and serve as a deliberate choice on Vargas’s part to do something that has never been done before in the world of fashion.
The Rox 950 collection represents the first Cuban-made designer product to hit American shores since the revolution. Even in a clouded diplomatic environment, Cuban products made by private entrepreneurs may be imported to the U.S. under current rules issued by the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC). In Cuba, the export of this product is authorized by the Cuban Ministry of Culture.
“Rox 950’s American launch embodies the boldness and pride of the entire Cuban culture,” begins Vargas. Her Havana gallery and workshop has become a favorite stop for fashionable locals and in-the-know tourists seeking one-of-a kind mementos that will forever remind them of their Cuban experience.
A local celebrity in Cuba, Vargas can often be found at her workshop overseeing some 30 employees who handcraft each piece to Vargas’s specifications. “This is our art, a uniquely Cuban expression of our determination in the face of adversity, and the beauty we can create even with limited resources,” continues Vargas.
Vargas explains that it was no easy task to bring her collection to the U.S. She faced countless regulatory, logistical, financial, and legal hurdles, making it nearly impossible for a Cuban entrepreneur to export their product for sale in the U.S.
The result is simply breathtaking. The Rox 950 collection includes a number of powerful statement pieces that express the empowerment of Cuban entrepreneurs. Ironically, it washes up on American shores as American women overcome their own obstacles.
“In that respect, we could not have come at a better time; the world is evolving and women are taking on new roles. Rox 950 designs are something you wear because they reflect your inner confidence and because there’s a story and a passion behind them. I think that’s something women everywhere can relate to,” says Vargas.
Cuban jewelry designer and private entrepreneur Rosana Vargas is available for telephone or email interviews from Rox 950’s Havana workshop. Contact Britni Coe at bcoe@gregoryfca.com to arrange.