The Tokyo-based designer’s second fine-jewelry brand reimagines traditional techniques, customizing pieces based on six themes.
As a young graduate from Tokyo’s Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry in 2007, Yuta Ishihara started to create custom-made wedding pieces for his friends. Three years later, at only 23, he launched his first brand, Shihara, which is now sold at over 300 retailers around the world.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the designer decided to focus on his other fine-jewelry brand, Yutai, which he launched in 2021. Whereas Shihara is minimalist — featuring 3D jewels with hidden clasps and using only gold, platinum, diamonds and pearls — Yutai incorporates colored stones, including lemon quartz and blue topaz, and more traditional settings.
Originally from Yamanashi, the prolific jewelry district west of Tokyo, Ishihara lives and works in the Japanese capital, where he constantly explores new materials and innovative techniques. Jewelry Connoisseur caught up with the designer to ask how he makes his pieces feel so modern, yet entirely timeless.
What is your design philosophy?
I approach design from the point of view of wanting to create something lasting that can be passed down for generations. For Yutai, as the materials inspire the design, I remove all restrictions and allow my curiosity about materials — especially the use of colored stones — and craftsmanship techniques to lead the design process. Originally, jewelry was something that was made to order; the jeweler would select the materials based on the customer’s requests and then design and produce the piece. With Yutai, I wanted to develop a collection that centered around six design themes but could be uniquely customized for each customer. I wanted to explore traditional jewelry-making techniques and update these in my own way to challenge the standards of traditional jewelry.
How has your style evolved?
For every collection I create, I am always reimagining the traditional craft and jewelry-making techniques that have been used for many years and finding new and inventive ways to update them by challenging the existing standards. I approach design from the point of view of wanting to create something lasting that can be passed down for generations, but the design process for Yutai and my other line, Shihara, are very different. With Shihara, I come up with the designs and then choose the materials, but with Yutai, the designs come from the materials I find.
What is your favorite of the pieces you’ve designed?
This is a difficult question as I really love them all. There are pieces that I love the color of the pearls and [I also love] specific Revive ring styles [from Yutai]. Because everything [I design] is one of a kind, each item feels like a special encounter that I may not have again.
What type of customization can you offer?
For the Sectional Pearl necklaces, I wanted to rethink the pearl necklace, which is such a familiar and classic jewelry item. By creating a way to seamlessly integrate the pearls with other gemstones and metals, I wanted to create a pearl necklace that felt more personal to the wearer, who could choose the various combinations of stones. With these necklaces, I can customize everything from the stones, of which there are 20 different stones to choose from, the type of akoya pearl or South Sea pearls, the length of the necklace as well as the combination and stone placements. With Yutai, I really enjoy that each piece I make is one of a kind and I can change the material combinations in so many ways. There are some combinations that I may never be able to recreate in exactly the same way, which is what makes each piece so special.
What are you currently working on? What about future collections?
I would like to continue to expand the possibilities of color, shapes, and size combinations of the materials. And [I also want] to explore and deepen my current collections, creating more unique pieces.
Main image: Lemon quartz and blue topaz are combined using the Fused Gems technique, during which two or more gemstones are cut and combined to create one single stone. (Yutai)
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