Gemfields recently announced a brand partnership with fine jewellery label IVY New York. The brainchild of designer, and lifelong gem enthusiast, Vlad Yavorskyy, IVY was conceived as a lifestyle brand, born out of Vlad’s loves of photography, travel, art, jewellery, and books – and his deep passion for vibrant coloured gemstones.
The jewellery line represents the joyful gathering of all these interests into a single artform. At the heart of this new collaboration is colour.
“I’ve always regarded colour as a glimpse into the soul of a gem,” explains Vlad, recalling a dramatic trek up the Tian Shan mountain range in Central Asia over 35 years ago and being pulled along by an old pack horse to access a cave full of “the reddest of rubies”. Gemstones, formed deep beneath the earth many millions of years ago, are,
for him, intrinsically linked to Mother Earth, “like a pulsating heart shaped over the years”.
As a world-leading responsible miner and marketer of coloured gemstones, and the majority owner and operator of both the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique, and the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, Gemfields shares Vlad’s devotion to coloured gems.
Montepuez is one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world, while Kagem is believed to be the single largest producing emerald mine. “The near-miraculous set of circumstances required for gemstone formation leads to our almost innate fascination with them,” says Emily Dungey, Gemfields’ marketing and communications director. “IVY New York’s collection cleverly draws our attention to the inimitable natural beauty of each gemstone, enabling its character to stand out.”
IVY New York has at its core the principle of responsible sourcing, which aligns with Gemfields’ aim to mine responsibly. This means, among other things, continuous improvement at an operational level, transparency in the auction sales process, industry-leading practices to modernise the sector, projects to improve health, education and livelihoods in the local communities around the mines and conservation efforts to protect Africa’s great wildlife and biodiversity.
The new IVY x Gemfields collection features earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces crafted from 18-karat gold with responsibly mined Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds, set alongside rose-cut diamonds in an array of enticing designs: from bold emerald statement rings to ruby and diamond chandelier earrings, to floral-inspired rings and regal ruby chokers.
Vlad describes the process of cutting a gemstone as like a “work of art”. Each piece in the collection was designed and handcrafted in-house, and each one ensures coloured gemstones take centre stage.
“Like a painting needs a frame, a gemstone needs an exquisite setting in which to shine,” says Vlad, who drew design inspiration for the collection from everything from the grand balls of the 19th century to the sparkle in the eyes of the women who might wear the pieces.
But his main inspiration, as always, was the gemstones themselves: “their kaleidoscope of colours… the bewitching emerald, with its vibrant green, captivating and penetrating the souls of both women and men… and the fiery gift of a red ruby”.
He sums up the mesmeric effect that rubies and emeralds can have on those in their thrall: “Sometimes, just one glance at that unparalleled red or deep green, and you’d willingly part with all your wealth to possess a piece of it.”
The IVY New York x Gemfields Collection is available on: ivynewyork.com