Three renowned jewellery brands Nada Ghazal, Lebanon, Graziela Kaufman, Brazil, and Cece Fein-Hughes, Britain, reveal collections that are deeply influenced by their individual life experiences, concerns for the environment, and rich historical artistic traditions.
New Journey
Lebanese designer Nada Ghazal dreamed up her new collection Doors Of Opportunity during her move to London. “It was inspired by a beautiful antique door I came across when looking for a home there. The move to London was a bold one, specifically since the main office and workshop are still in Beirut, but I felt that it was the right step to grow the brand internationally, especially after our flagship store was destroyed in 2020 Beirut blast.”
The door was a sign to affirm her decision to seek newer opportunities for growth. She has used various door elements in her pieces: the arch, the dome, the door knocker, the keyhole – all of which are individually symbolic. The designer also chose gemstones and symbols to detail the pieces.
“The green butterfly is a sign of freedom, while the pink heart signifies self-love and the blue lotus is a symbol that manifests prosperity,” she adds.
The collection consisting of rings and pendants feature the designer’s signature matte finish, and sandblast details as accents. The signature stone settings make the beautiful doors a lot more alluring. This summer, she debuted in the US with the Door Of Opportunity alongside her core collections, My Muse, Baby Malak and Fuse, including the latest cuffs and chokers from My Muse and Baby Malak.
For Amazon’s Cause
Graziela Kaufman’s Amazonia Collection has been a huge hit with her clients and retailers. The pieces draw on her Brazilian heritage – and delving deeper into the narrative of the Amazonian Rainforest. Bright gems, gold, titanium and coloured rhodium translated into rings, and earrings bring the flora and fauna of her beloved forest to life. Sumptuous titanium rings took several manhours to craft.
“Most people don’t know how hard it is to make titanium pieces. Titanium is the strongest metal on earth, making it extremely difficult to shape – it takes about 100 hours of hand work to create each of these rings. I’m bringing you iridescent greens, blues, pinks, and purples, which are my take on the many vibrant colours of the flowers found in the rainforest. These stunning hues are created by electrical current that’s run through the titanium, which is fascinating,” explains Graziela, who is also donating 10% of the proceeds to the Rainforest Trust.
Rococo Art
Rococo style paintings from the 18th century stirred up Cece Fein-Hughes’ imagination. Having fallen in love with the Rococo Art when studying History of Art, this fall, she came up with the Ribbons collection.
The British fine jewellery designer’s creative process is infused with her love for storytelling and art. In signature Cece style, each 18-karat gold ring and pendant in the Ribbons collection is adorned with either hand-engraved skulls, heart-shaped diamonds, wedding bells or a diamond encrusted compass.
“Inspired by the erotic frivolity, over-the-top romance and ornamental beauty of the Rococo period, these traditional signet rings and pendants have been given a modern Cece twist,” she explains. Cece has also matched up each engraving to the colour of the ribbon on the pieces. The colourful accents are rendered using hand-painted champlevé enamel.
