These 16 up-and-coming creators were supposed to showcase their works for the first time at the Couture show’s Designer Atelier in Las Vegas. Here they share their stories, their influences, and the jewels they were most looking forward to presenting.
ALINA ABEGG
Designer: Alina Abegg
Style: “Bold, playful, with a touch of nostalgia.”
Jewelry career: “I have always been captivated by gemstones, but at first kept it as a side passion. While studying fashion business, I started to notice that I was having lots of jewelry ideas. So I decided to give it a serious shot by applying for the design course at the GIA in New York. After my first day in the course, I knew this was my calling.”
Design icons: “At the moment, I am in love with the work of Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. I am fascinated by the way he combines geometric shapes and turns them into something practical.”
Sourcing: “When I first started the brand, I quickly realized the enormous environmental footprint of the jewelry industry. Wanting to change the direction, I soon became dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for every part of the design, production and even business process.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “The Maxi Rainbow Pfefferminz earrings in 14-karat rose gold set with peridot, pink opal, yellow agate, lavender chalcedony and rubellite.”
ANANYA
Designer: Ananya Malhotra
Style: “Timeless yet bold in color, texture and combination of precious materials.”
Jewelry career: “I grew up in India, where jewelry holds significant importance at ceremonies and in culture. For me, it is personal and carries great sentiment, and I went on to discover my true passion when studying at Central Saint Martins [in London] and the GIA.”
Design icons: “Maharani Gayatri Devi; I admired her style and boldness. She was a true change maker. Marina Bulgari, another industry tastemaker; she was revolutionary, and her jewelry was way ahead of her time with her bold and brave use of color and cuts.”
Sourcing: “My sourcing process is unique to each of my designs. I believe honesty is key [to] the process, as well as understanding the origin and certifying my gemstones, and thus I have long-standing relationships with gemstone experts who support me [throughout] the entire sourcing process.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “The Panjshir, a ring featuring a 15.35-carat Afghan emerald from the Panjshir mine, set in hand-cut crystal and diamonds.”
ARTEMER
Designers: Tanya and Tomer Mikaeilyn
Style: “Elegant, geometric, unexpected, balanced.”
Jewelry career: Tomer says, “I knew I wanted to work with physical materials and acquire a craft that combines [different types of] art. I loved the possibility of working with natural substances like gold, copper, silver and gemstones — so this is what drew me to apply to the Bezalel Art and Design Academy in Jerusalem, [Israel,] to gain a BFA in jewelry design. Tanya went to the same academy, but studied fine art. I am the one who pulled her into jewelry design, after graduation.”
Design icons: “Dan Alsberg, a Jerusalem-based jewelry designer, was our very first jewelry design icon and a major inspiration. His jewelry is playful and unexpected, yet very finely made and wearable.”
Sourcing: “We are very lucky to be located in one of the world’s largest diamond centers [in Israel], so we have our pick of diamond suppliers.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “The fancy-color diamond Crescent Moon ring, which features a combination of diamond cuts that you would never expect to go together. We love the sharp, geometric baguettes with the natural and organic shapes of the round diamond and the beautiful fancy-color crescent diamond.”
AZLEE
Designer: Baylee Zwart
Style: “Influenced by the French Art Deco era combined with ancient civilizations, interpreted through a minimal, approachable lens.”
Jewelry career: “I interned at Glamour and Allure magazines in New York, then moved to Guatemala to work for a fair-trade nonprofit with local artisans. It was there on the shores of Lake Atitlan that I began to study the art of jewelry metalworking and was immediately enamored with the notion of being able to sculpt pieces from the ground up that can be worn everyday and passed down from generation to generation. I was living there alone, so aside from work, I had endless time to explore my new passion, which was such a blessing.”
Design icons: “The ancient Greeks, Blakstad interior design, Cate Holstein of Khaite, [and] I’m obsessed with Art Deco furniture designers.”
Sourcing: “I source [my rare-cut diamonds] from collections I’ve built relationships with that are all over the world. I’ve fallen in love with the notion that I can give clients high-quality white diamonds that are in completely nontraditional shapes and cuts, and that are truly one of a kind. Many of the stones I offer clients are vintage, and I love that we can put them in modern, clean settings to create a relevant piece.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “We were designing some really unusual one-of-a-kind pieces with our signature rare-cut diamonds that I was very excited to debut! These were a bit more elaborate than some of our previous one-of-a-kind pieces.”
BARE
Designer: Dries Criel
Style: “Redefining classics in a contemporary form. Shapes are studied, reimagined and revived to enhance beauty and blend the timeless with the contemporary.”
Jewelry career: “I started working, as a student, in the diamond and jewelry business in Antwerp when I was 20 years old. Work became passion, and [this,] combined with a natural aesthetic and self-study, [led me to take] the leap to telling my own fine-jewelry story.”
Design icons: “To combine fashion and jewelry and to celebrate a unique family, I would say Hubert and James de Givenchy.”
Sourcing: “Every piece of the Bare collection is handmade (or finished) in Antwerp. I am blessed to be able to work with the finest ateliers and diamond dealers in the world.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “Because the collection really captures the essence of the brand, I was really looking forward to presenting my new Bond Signature Collection, a collection around the redefined gourmette link, celebrating ‘freedom of mind.’”
CAMPBELLIAN COLLECTION
Designer: Bella Campbell
Style: “Colors complementing each other, creating fresh, bold and unexpected results.”
Jewelry career: “I have always designed jewelry for myself and my sisters, then for my close friends and their friends. I was getting lots of compliments. Eight years ago, I decided to [submit] my piece to AGTA’s Spectrum Award competition — and I won! Since then, I have won eight Spectrum Awards.”
Design icons: “JAR, Wallace Chan and Fabergé.”
Sourcing: “I have been a gem dealer for most of my life and have a deep-rooted love for colored stones. They are necessary for my creativity; they do inspire me. I design around them, so I always look at gemstones, and I have developed a vast knowledge of the market and many true friendships. I source gemstones through them.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “The Rainbow Moonstone and Denim Blue Sapphire bracelet in 18-karat gold, accented with diamonds, that won first place at AGTA’s 2019 Spectrum Awards in the bridal category.”
CAROLINA NEVES
Designer: Carolina Neves
Style: “Jewelry with meaning. The woman on the go [is] my main inspiration.”
Jewelry career: “I started as a designer in college. I had access to the market and first decided to personalize a few [ready-made pieces of] jewelry. After that, my inspirations and imagination started to fly naturally.”
Favorite stone: “Emerald is my favorite one. We look for gemstones that have their own shine, and the possibilities that it can have together with other gemstones.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “An emerald earring which was a redesign made as a collaboration with Muse Showroom and Gemfields. It is one of our best-sellers, redesigned specifically [for] Couture 2018. It was a success.”
DALE HERNSDORF
Designer: Dale Hernsdorf
Style: “I’m drawn to the sensuality of gold — the way it feels in the hand and on the skin — so there’s an abundance of it in my jewels. My pieces feel decadent and special, yet still comfortable, as fitting with jeans and a T-shirt as they are on a red carpet.”
Jewelry career: “I began as a painter and photographer, then worked for some time as a graphic designer and illustrator. When I stumbled upon my first metalsmithing class, however, I knew I had found my art form.”
Design icons: “I admire Hemmerle’s sheer inventiveness and existence utterly beyond trend.”
Sourcing: “I have close relationships with my gem dealers, who are directly connected to responsible mines and cutters, thus ensuring traceability of each gemstone’s journey into my hands. I’ve always used recycled gold and am currently taking steps toward becoming Fairmined certified as well.”
Your planned Couture headliner: “The Harness Necklace, hand-wrought in 22-karat gold with a deep blue, 19.7-carat tanzanite that is just incredible, really embodies my design aesthetic and appreciation for detail. From the subtle movement of the gold ring on which the pendant hangs, to the diamond-capped ends of the toggle, I wanted to showcase the one-of-a-kind stone, but to create a cohesive design that would evoke my sensibility as an artist and goldsmith as well.”
Discover the eight other designers here.
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