From the start, LaLaounis saw the potential of mining history for inspiration. While still managing his uncle's company, he began to make reproductions of ancient Greek pieces. Eventually, not content with merely copying the designs of the past, he started to design his own pieces, taking Byzantine, Minoan, and Mycenaean decorative themes, as well as the long history of Greek gold work, as his starting point. LaLaounis would focus his collections on one era of history at a time, but rather than approaching them chronologically, he worked with the historical designs that best fit the fashion of the current moment. Even though history was his muse, LaLaounis always wanted to make jewelry that spoke to the modern woman.