The London-based jewelry designer, who made an impressive debut in 2023, shares her inspirations.
Lia Lam prefers the word practice to brand to describe the eponymous business she launched in January 2023. Her modesty can’t hide the fact that her debut collections have made quite a splash. Jewelry historian Vivienne Becker selected her to take part in the Designer Vivarium at the May 2023 edition of GemGenève. “Vivarium is definitely a momentous milestone in my design career. Vivienne’s taste, her experience and her strict criteria made achieving this milestone all the more significant,” the designer says. She then went on to win Emerging Jewellery Designer of the Year at the Retail Jeweller UK Jewellery Awards 2023 and Emerging Jewellery Brand of the Year at the 2023 Professional Jeweller Awards.
This is an impressive debut for the feisty London-based designer who defines herself as a global citizen, having lived in seven countries. The reason for this success is of course visible in her fine jewelry creations, which Lam would like to be considered as “an object of art, because of the stories and the craftsmanship.”
Lam left a career in law and tech during Covid to go and learn traditional techniques and wax modeling in Italy to complete her training at the bench from the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London. She also studied jewelry history in Paris. Craftspeople in Hatton Garden in London currently help her realize her vision, which comes with some challenges. “My craftsmen told me they love and hate my designs because they have nowhere to hide any mistakes,” she notes. “Achieving a quality that looks like perfection from every angle is hard, and not many people would spend the time or energy to perfect that.” Featuring unusual metal and gemstone positioning as well as extremely precise and clean lines, Lam’s jewels have an intellectual aura to them that doesn’t preclude some charming playfulness. After all, the designer’s motto is “working and playing hard.”
When asked to describe her ideal collector, she sees them as “unique, brave in terms of what they do in life and brave enough to express themselves, definitely a design connoisseur who knows what good design is, and open minded.”
Here Lam presents her creations in her own words.
100% ring
“The ring is my 100% commitment, devotion and, in a way, courage to start a new path. A lot of my inspirations were drawn from my life experiences working in the tech industry and the legal industry. Esthetically it is inspired by everything 20th century. I like how it’s rebellious, minimalist, and also it has a very understated, simplistic opulence to it. It’s wearable architecture. The first thing I thought of is something that would have a presence and build a space around a finger. Something squarish, cubist would naturally come to mind. And then I wanted something that’s extremely minimalistic in a way that it’s the simplest way to construct something, but it would require every corner and weight to be calculated in order for this to work.”
Lagom collection
“There are three pieces: earrings, a ring and the more weighty, elaborate necklace or bracelet. I just call it a chain because we can customize the length to the customer’s wrist or neck, and then make it whatever they want. Lagom (a Swedish word meaning moderate [or just the right amount]) is something that I learned after I got exposed to Swedish culture through my husband. It’s a very interesting concept, which I really like. I like luxury, but I don’t like loud luxury. I like understated luxury. [I also learned from my experience as a dancer] that you need to grasp that right tension in your emotion, in your movement, because anything more is too much, anything too little, unfortunately, doesn’t get across to the audience in front of you.”
Passepartout ring
“This ring is inspired by Around the World in 80 Days in which there was an overlooked character called Passepartout who carries the luggage. I always like to look at the things that are overlooked in life, like daily objects or stories and characters. I think he played a very important role in the entire plot because he releases tension with humor, and he is also incredibly capable, so nobody remembers him. The ring has a modernist feel with a more voluminous look to create a frame that would hold most gemstones. My customers can choose which gemstone to frame, like the most moving moments in life or most moving experience in life.”
Unity collection
“I chose platinum and yellow gold to combine seamlessly. They have different physical and chemical properties and to combine them is a headache, a lot of friction and hardship, but it’s like any rewarding relationship that is worth having — business, marriage, friendship — there is always a period of friction and difficulties at the beginning. I have worked in the tech industry long enough that I felt guilty to contribute to some sort of the polarization in the world that I think is unnecessary. I wanted a collection […] that encapsulates the phenomenon we see on social media. I want people to remember we all have more common ground than differences. That’s why in the middle there is a diamond, the hardest material on earth.”
Main image: Liam Lam. (Lia Lam)
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