Korean fashion jewelry brand Nadri has surprisingly found itself featured in recent portraits of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
Perhaps it was not exactly product placement. But Nadri is one of five platinum collection brands in the royal couple's latest photo book and described as "fit for royalty."
"A Korean jeweler inherited the craftsmanship from the goldsmiths who made exquisite crowns for royal families in the Shilla Dynasty 2,000 years ago," the captions gush.
Nadri does not make fine jewelry but reasonably priced fashion accessories with sterling silver, faux diamonds and gemstones. It is, to say the least, unusual for this kind of merchandise to be included in the photo album of a family that owns the Koh-I-Noor.
But behind the brand is a remarkable success story. Nadri was established 33 years ago by Choi Young-tae as a mom-and-pop store in Namdaemun Market. Choi, a marine technician by trade, started the jewelry business when he became fascinated by the exquisite Shilla Dynasty handiwork he had seen in Gyeongju National Museum.
By 1997 he was doing well enough to move headquarters to New York and try to conquer the world market, and by now Nadri has some 3,800 stores across the U.S.