Apm Monaco

APM Monaco sits squarely in the demi-fine sweet spot: more design and finish than costume jewelry, without fine-jewelry prices. It helps to know the brand began by manufacturing fine jewelry for luxury houses before becoming a fashion jewelry label in 2012, so there is real production know-how behind the look. If you want of-the-moment pieces you can wear and layer often, it earns its place.

Officially it is a fashion jewelry company, but with an unusual backstory. APM Monaco originally focused on manufacturing fine jewelry for luxury brands, then transitioned into a fashion jewelry brand in 2012 under CEO Philippe Prette and his wife, creative director Kika Prette. That heritage is why people often shelve it as demi-fine.

Yes, the Monaco connection is genuine. APM Monaco was started in Monaco in 1982 by Ariane Prette and her son Philippe Prette, and the company is still headquartered in both Hong Kong and Monaco today. The Riviera name is part of the brand's identity, not just marketing.

It is a true family business. Ariane Prette and her son Philippe Prette founded it in Monaco in 1982. Today Philippe serves as CEO and his wife, Kika Prette, is creative director, the pair who steered the brand's 2012 shift into fashion jewelry.

Production moved to China in 1992, and that is where the brand has manufactured since. With its dual headquarters in Hong Kong and Monaco, APM Monaco blends a Monaco-born identity with an Asia-based manufacturing and retail base.

The Prette family built and still leads the brand, but it took on an outside investor in 2019 when the private equity firm TPG Capital acquired a 30% stake in the business. The founding family's CEO and creative-director roles remain central to how the brand is run.

It has grown quickly. APM Monaco opened its first branded boutiques in Cannes and Rome in 2013, passed 130 stores by 2017, and as of 2025 operates more than 500 boutiques across over 26 countries with around 2,300 employees. Much of that footprint is in Asia and Australia, so its retail presence is genuinely global.

Rapid, deliberate expansion is a big part of the story. The brand went from over 30 stores in 2015 to 130 by 2017, with the bulk of that growth concentrated in Asia and Australia. Pairing a Monaco-born identity with accessible, frequently refreshed fashion jewelry helped it scale into more than 500 boutiques worldwide.

Treat it as demi-fine and shop accordingly. Because APM Monaco is a fashion jewelry brand rather than a fine-jewelry house, focus on the pieces whose design and finish you love most, and care for them as you would good costume jewelry. Its origins manufacturing for luxury brands are a reassuring sign of the production standards behind the range.