How the Sisters Behind Jewelry Brand Jul B. Dizon Propel a Legacy Forward

The sisters behind Jul B Dizon, Janina, Candy, Ginny, and Lucille, reflect on lessons learned from their late mother, and the role sisterhood plays in propelling their shared legacy forward.

When we arrive at the Dizon home, the scene unfolds like the opening sequence of a telenovela. The sisters appear one by one, in matching ensembles, as if leading ladies being introduced.

It is Janina who greets us at the door. She leads us to Ginny, who welcomes us warmly in the middle of arranging and examining jewelry displays. Lucille descends from the stairs with a demure smile and quiet “Hello,” while Candy follows her, instantly making the room laugh. 

On this Saturday, their shoot coincides with a special sale for Jul B Dizon, the jewelry brand named after and founded by their matriarch. The Dizons’ abode is a heritage home from the ’80s where their family grew up, and where Filipino artworks cover nearly every inch of their walls. Floor-to-ceiling windows complement a high ceiling, so sunlight manages to stream into the living room despite gloomy morning skies. It’s the first time in 30 years that the event is being held in the house.

Jul was the daughter of Paz Bañas, a jeweler who opened a shop on Manila’s jewelry row on Bambang Street. She would go on to establish her own label in 1978 and make a name for herself as a celebrated figure in the industry, winning over a dozen awards around the world including the prestigious Diamonds International Awards sponsored by De Beers.

At present, Jul’s storied legacy of excellence in design continues to live on through the hands of her daughters Janina, Candy, Ginny, and Lucille, the third generation of Dizon jewelers.

The four are an ardent bunch, their dynamic balanced and tight-knit. Sisters Janina and Candy are outwardly vivacious compared to sisters-in-law Ginny and Lucille, who at first come across as more reserved, but over the course of our day, slowly reveal their playful, loquacious personalities. The sisters interact like they’ve grown up together as a quartet their whole lives. When Lucille, seemingly the most introverted sister, is asked by our producer to speak for a video, the three giggle knowing she dreads public speaking.

It then comes as no surprise that over lunch, the rapport feels natural and warm. They sit apart to ensure that each guest is taken care of, and they offer plates of viands and desserts with an insistence that we try each one. They inundate us with fond recollections of their late parents, punctuated with hearty fits of laughter.

They tell us that the room we’re occupying isn’t actually where they have their meals. The temporary set-up was necessary for the meantime, as the dining area was converted to a viewing floor. Upon walking into the house, clients are greeted by glass cases scintillating with diamonds and fine gemstones. On display were creations designed by Ginny, whose design language, like her sisters and mother, is often inspired by nature. She admits to favoring jewelry with a center gemstone though, and loves to work with the geometric, cosmic, and mythological.

Ginny grew up in an artistic family, and her grandmother used to bead gowns for the designers of her time, drawing on dresses and asking Ginny to trace them on fabrics. The task bored her at the time, and she didn’t imagine falling into a creative career. “That’s why my first work here [at Jul B. Dizon] wasn’t artistic, it was back-end.” Fresh out of college, her then-boyfriend and now-husband Cedric invited her to help the family with numbers. “I love computers, so that was my first job. An inventory assistant to my mother-in-law until I learned to design.”

Similarly, Candy’s daughter Jacqueline and Ginny’s daughter Gillian (“We’re Jacque and Gill!” the former says) are also involved in the business. Meanwhile, Lucille’s son Calvin studied diamond grading at GIA, prompting an interest in the business and continued, ongoing studies in gem-cutting.

Jacqueline helps her mother manage the shop in Makati, while Gillian, who designs, credits it to their late grandmother, who encouraged her to try her hand at design without consideration for whether it would sell. Gillian has a penchant for drawing, and remembers designing a clown for her first creation, and being pleasantly surprised that it was produced then sold.

It turns out, Jul took the same approach with her kids. Particularly with her daughters, she encouraged Candy and Janina to explore their ideas, no holds barred. “I think the fact that there were no boundaries kind of made us more confident in the long run,” Janina reflects.

After elementary school, she and Candy were first assigned to clean tables at the Ortigas workshop. “We hated it,” laughs Candy, just before Janina recalls sleeping under the display tables post-tidying up. Their mother would also make them sit next to her during client appointments, exposing them to her work little by little. 

For Lucille, joining the Dizon family professionally happened much later. Jul casually invited her to try her hand at it, and like Ginny, Lucille didn’t start off as a designer. She was tasked to restring beads before moving on to different departments. A culinary graduate, Lucille confesses feeling a sense of intimidation when she was asked to join. “I think because in other businesses, if you are an in-law, sometimes you are not welcome. So, the pressure is there to do well. Maybe that’s why it really also pushed me to study in GIA, because I’m new in the business.”

She and Janina graduated from the Gemological Institute of America, while Ginny and Candy learned in the trade. “I don’t think we all need to be a gemologist in the business,” Candy offers. “[Having] two is actually a blessing.” Ginny adds, “Also being in the business this long, you already get a feel for it. Candy would ask any of us to check a stone, and she already knows it. We’re just confirming it. She already knows if it’s real, if it’s not real, because it’s experience.”

When the sisters tour us around their workshop,we are welcomed by Lucille’s husband CJ, who manages the production floor. In the homely work environment, their artisans are garbed in bright yellow polo shirts and sit at their respective stations. Job order forms are tacked onto each desk, and there are metals being refined and stones being set by expert hands with surgical precision. “I feel jewelry loses its soul when your workers don’t touch it,” posits Ginny.

One of their team members, Dayo, began 30 years ago as a house boy and eventually transitioned to crafting jewelry. It’s not an unusual story for the family, and they’re proud to say that there are generations of families who make up their production team; as of now, there are three sets of fathers and sons. Everyone, they say, is compensated fairly, and their housing and meals are all taken care of. “We help our artisans become who they are. Without them, we can’t do what we’re doing,” Janina insists.

Although they now primarily serve as the brand’s designers, the four are well-versed on all aspects of the company. From the beginning, Jul was adamant about ensuring their well-roundedness. “We have to rotate and learn everything,” Candy confirms, before Janina adds, “You put on your business hat, your creative hat, your marketing hat, your selling hat.” While two of the Dizon brothers, CJ and Cedric, run operations (they have another brother who is not involved in the business), they, too, are versed on the basics of sketching.

It was never a question how tenacious their mother was, and to this day, they remain in awe of her ability to do multiple things at once. When she passed away in December of 2009, the sisters had to divide her work amongst themselves. “She was the epitome of working hard,” Ginny asserts. “I don’t know how she did it. She was able to do the flowers, do the gifts of the customers, have her clients, have a family dinner, have family gatherings, plan the menu, decorate the house, take care of the staff. There are no longer people like that.”

Crossing her arms, Candy quips, “You’re not even allowed to cross your arms like this with mom. You’re not allowed to sigh,you’re not allowed to exhale loudly. You’re not allowed to be gone, you’re not allowed to get sick, your break should be scheduled!”

They admit that the purpose of such strict measures escaped them as young girls, but the four have come to realize how valuable discipline is, especially now that they’re all mothers. Professional efficiency, it turns out, can serve as a gateway to carving out more time for what and who matters.

“When you put family first, everything will follow,” echoes Ginny of their late mother. Except for the Christmas season, Jul adopted an unusual policy of closing shop on Saturdays, which is typically the busiest day for any businesses. For the Dizon clan, to this day, is spent gathering for shared meals and catching up. “I’d say 98 percent of our hard work and what we’ve done is because of her. Really. And on top of all of that, she made sure that our work-life-family balance was there,” Janina declares.

This emphasis on family extends both to their team and clients as well. For Lucille, one of the most valuable things she learned from her mother-in-law was to be steadfast in building trust with whoever walks into their showrooms. “I think that also sets us apart from other jewelry stores that we’re the ones handling our clients. Because in other jewelry stores, it’s a salesperson,” she says. 

When prompted on whether they had anything to share that hadn’t been brought up, Candy is quick to bring up their father. “Dad had a lot to do with the success of my mom,” she narrates of their late father Cenen, who passed away in July last year. “Like, if my dad were here, he’d say it’s because of him,” she teases, before they all simultaneously start laughing. “True!” Janina points out. 

Candy continues, “My dad was always there behind her. She moved to the U.S., my dad was there. When she moved back here, Dad was always supportive of Mom’s decision. It wouldn’t be the same without him.”

On social media, the sisters are candid about how tough it’s been without their parents, so they make it a point to celebrate the lives they led. As a result, their sisterhood and familial bonds have become even more solid foundations. “We depend on each other, because we do trust each other,” Candy says. 

“I think our mom’s influence on our work really helped us become this cohesive unit,” Janina expounds. “Of course we get into tiffs, of course we get into arguments. But we usually leave work in the office, then after that, it’s back to being a family.” 

By TICIA ALMAZAN. Portrait by ALEXIS DAVE CO. Fashion Editor DAVID MILAN. Producer: Bianca Zaragoza. Multimedia Artist: Mcaine Carlos. Media Channels Producer: Angelo Tantuico.