Custom cuts and bright-coloured stones, what more do we need to cheer us this Spring?
Custom cut gems and coloured stones have a starring role in jewellery this year. A growing proportion of jewellery enthusiasts are leaning towards the concept of coloured gems in unusual shapes and fanciful cuts – and lends itself to a powerful story of creativity.
Nikos Koulis has always been ahead of the curve; the glorious gem cuts uplift his creative escapades in gold. Vivid colours and minimalism parlay Nikos’ love of Art Deco and sees him experimenting with gemstone cuts and assembled in graceful patterns. The Oui, Spectrum and the V Collections with its new mismatched earrings are effortlessly glamorous and dynamic.
Designers such as Nak Armstrong, Harwell Godfrey, Kavant and Sharart share Nikos’ penchant for custom-cut gems. “I commission my own tapered baguettes in a multitude of odd proportions not found in the gem market,” says Nak. It creates a more dynamic and organic aesthetic to the run of stones Nak uses for his namesake fine jewellery line.
While vibrant “colours offered by gems” and the “possibilities of creating pieces from a wide variety of stones” informs Guita Mortinger’s design philosophy, Dima Rashid of Dima Jewellery celebrates a love of gems instilled in her by her father, an avid stone collector.
Although an architect by training, designer Marcia Budet veered towards jewellery. The gem cuts she uses in her wearable collection are iterations of triangles and trapezoids in elongated forms. “This has become a brand differentiator; an identifiable element of my work and something that I purposefully incorporate with pride,” adds Marcia. Although this award-winning designer loves custom cut tourmalines, of late, she has been incorporating other gems in specific cuts for her commissioned works.
Gemmologist Harriet Hedges is an awe of the more unusual cut gemstones. “So much practice, precision and risk go into a different or new cut,” says Harriet, fine jewellery and watches brands partnerships assistant at Threads Styling. The digital personal-shopping service partners with the likes of Nikos Koulis, Kamyen and VAK to cater to an ever-growing tribe of customers.
While Vishal Kothari, founder of VAK, uses a variety of interesting diamond cuts, Pooja Gandhi of Kamyen specifically avoids the classic round diamonds. “Instead, she selects diamonds that have been cut into odd shapes such as elongated emerald cuts,” says Harriet. This style of jewellery, featuring custom and uncommon gem and diamond cuts, is a characteristic that Threads’ clients are buying into in large quantities, points out Harriet.
Using a mix of gem shapes and or sizes makes the design more interesting and bespoke, observes Kimberly McDonald. Her pieces reveal an “intentional placement to each one, rather than a continuous frame which is also beautiful but much more conventional.” Kimberly uses irregular and organic gems and slices to adorn her beautiful creations, as evidenced in this pair of earrings (featured in the article) set with boulder opals in the centre, framed with grey and white diamonds in varied sizes along with diamond slices and accented with handcarved sapphire rosettes.
Jenny Klatt and Stephanie Wynne Lalin of Jemma Wynne have an affinity for interesting gem cuts and often use alternative shapes like shield-cuts and half-moon cuts. Katherine Jetter happily absorbs “the gorgeous organic quality of the materials” she works with for inspiration – organic and irregular shaped gems, primarily opals make a regular appearance in her colourful pieces.
Young talent Ananya Malhotra turns to expert gem cutters in her home country for custom cuts. Her Lotus Samsara Flush earrings, inspired by the lotus flower, are set with hand-cut pink opals and embellished with Mozambique rubies – the long dimensional shape of the opals add depth to the design. “The pink opals for the earrings were custom cut in India to fit the design and complement the oval rubies,” explains Ananya.
Employing specially cut gems and custom cut diamonds enable designers to forge a signature aesthetic with a global appeal. Luxury fashion e-tail platform Net-a-Porter does a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces which their EIP customers love (Extremely Important Person). Bina Goenka, Irene Neuwirth and Amrapali are prominent names that cater to the demand for unconventional gem cuts and designs on the luxury etailer. “There is huge demand for anything one-of-a-kind or limited edition on Net-a-Porter, as often our customers already have their classic fine jewellery pieces and now, they are looking for something that is different. They want something special that no one has,” says Libby Page, the platform’s Senior Fashion Market Editor.