Hegeman & Co is now owned by Robert Corio, a longtime friend of Richard. Corio boasts over 40 years of experience as a jewelry manufacturer in Rhode Island and is known both nationally and internationally. Hegeman & Co now operates under the umbrella of Robert Corio Designs located in Johnston, Rhode Island. Richard’s bench and plethora of traditional tools are still part of the shop’s décor, a testament to the man who started it all.
Hegeman & Co remains a small business built on decades of expertise, individualization, and honesty. To this day, Richard’s clients still come in proudly donning custom jewelry he crafted in years past.
Now Hegeman & Co. uses traditional jewelry making techniques married with state-of-the-art jewelry design software. One aspect that has not changed is a reputation for quality and excellence. The name Hegeman and Co. carries with it a sense of pride.
In 1970 Richard Hegeman began his jewelry career as an apprentice lapidary, a gemstone cutter. After using his skills working for different companies, he ventured off on his own in 1978. At that time, he opened Hegeman & Co, a small lapidary shop in Downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Using his expertise, Richard began repairing precious and semi-precious gemstones for individuals, as well as importers, manufacturers, and retailers. Richard also designed and made custom pieces for his clientele.
Many of Richard’s pieces are still available at Hegeman & Co, including the pieces photographed on this biography. Lots of the jewelry Richard made reflected the time frame of the many decades he created fine jewelry. Dangle earrings of various colors, art deco pendants with accents of gold and silver and many more. Richard was surely a fan of natural blue sapphires from Ceylon, better known as Sri Lanka, where the most famous and valuable sapphires originate from. He also had an affection for pink tourmaline, pearls, aquamarines, and rhodolite pyrope almandine garnets. His legacy lives on throughout the various pieces still displayed in our store.