04/07/2026
Happy Fourth of July!
This year marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, a milestone that invites reflection on freedom, democracy, and ethics, and one that resonates deeply with our own commitment to preserving cultural tradition and artistic heritage.
The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum carries forward the legacy of Ilias Lalaounis in support of the arts, of entrepreneurship, and of the renewed practice of the decorative crafts; educating a broad international audience with particular attention to American academia. It was in this spirit that the American Friends of the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum, a 501(c)(3) organization, was established in New York in 2015 to support programmes for American scholars studying in Athens, among other initiatives. Through the Museum’s forward-looking education, the enduring dialogue of Greek craftsmanship is continually renewed and carried on to generations to come. In this spirit, we celebrate the bond that the Lalaounis family has forged with the American community.
Last week, we were honoured to welcome to the ILJMuseum Her Excellency the Ambassador of the United States to Greece, Kimberly Ann Guilfoyle. Together with a select circle of friends from Athenian society, active in industry, energy, construction, and shipping, we had the pleasure of sharing the Lalaounis legacy with the Ambassador within the Museum’s premises in Athens.
Happy Fourth of July with the hope that the beacon of freedom, first kindled in the birthplace of democracy and carried forward in the American ideal, may continue to light the friendship between our two peoples for generations to come.
