2. Grand Central Station, Lexington Passage
Our Vision
Our vision with Inaya Jewelry is to make our passion for jewelry and our inspirations more accessible to you. Our Process
Our process picks up where nature left off millions of years ago, when minerals interacted with the elements deep below the earth’s surface to form gems in the rough. Some say these gems have the power to calm, heal, purify, and inspire. In a time when gems can be made in a lab, our passion is traveling the world to unearth natural precious and semi-precious stones. We work closely with local artisans, who are well-versed in the properties of each stone and can skillfully transform what looks like a shiny rock into a brilliant gem. When the gems arrive in our workshop in New York, we hand-craft designs inspired by the places that fill us with awe – the landmark buildings of New York, a dance floor on the beaches of Goa, the busy streets of Bangkok, or even a sunset at the culmination of a hike. Like sunsets, no two pieces of our jewelry are ever the same. By the time our jewelry is available in our stores, the journey has sometimes taken two years. That’s because each piece is a wearable work of art, made to be practical yet eye-catching, affordable yet enduring, and unique yet classically beautiful. With every necklace, earring, or bracelet we create, our goal is to bring a little more joy, beauty, magic, and passion into the world and the lives of our customers. Our Story
Meet Inna and Anyuta Zelikson – sisters, best friends, New Yorkers, and designers of wearable art at Inaya. It all started in 2001, when Anyuta returned to New York from a life-affirming trip to India that introduced her to the world of gemstones that existed – literally right below her feet. She quit her lucrative job in marketing and joined forces with her sister on what would go on to become a wild and wonderful ride. When they decided they wanted to start a jewelry business in the wake of 9/11, people told them they were crazy. But they knew that then, more than ever, the world needed healing, passion, and beauty. So with no support other than each other, they slowly began building a business, teaching themselves everything they could about jewelry and participating in every street fair or festival they could find. Still, when Inna and Anyuta look back on that time all these years later, the only word that comes to mind is gratitude. with their parents in 1991 as political refugees from Belarus, leaving behind everything that was familiar. gave them a real chance to succeed – as long as they were willing to work hard. Today, the two sisters are living their dreams. Inaya now has a store in the West Village, alongside neighbors like Burberry, Marc Jacobs, and Ralph Lauren. It’s also the only independent jewelry designer to have a store inside Grand Central Station. And their jewelry has been featured in magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and InTouch. But their real gratitude stems from being able to use their passion to form meaningful connections – with each other, with people across the globe, and with something much bigger than themselves. In India, their work has connected them with schools that need building, orphanages that need support, and organizations like UNESCO that are striving to make the world a smaller, more united place. For Inna and Anyuta, this is the true meaning of Inaya – bringing just a little more beauty into the world, piece by piece.
