A forgotten heroine and delectable diamonds: The Honesty Box, March 2024
Welcome to the first issue of The Honesty Box. Straightforward jewellery industry insight from March, for your weekend morning reading.
Welcome to the first issue of The Honesty Box, a brand new jewellery newsletter from Honest PR. Each month, we’ll be sharing jewellery news, trends and industry insight for you to read over your weekend morning coffee.
We’ll keep you up-to-date with what we’ve been up to, bring you our favourite new pieces and exclusive views from our friends in the jewellery world, for a straightforward look at all that is bright and beautiful in the industry we love so much.
In March, we’re honouring Women’s History Month with a beautiful piece of work by London-based Joy BC which spotlights a forgotten woman from history. We’re looking forward to April and diamond birthstone season, with a diverse curation of diamond jewellery from some of our favourite brands; reporting on a new launch from a maker who creates deep in the English countryside, and celebrating the production of a very special piece designed in collaboration between Aril Jewels and Fuli Gemstones. For now, the newsletter is free to all; in the future, exclusive interviews and other content will be made available for paid subscribers.
Thank you for subscribing. We’re delighted to have you here with us.
Wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
Katie Manderson
Founder and director, Honest PR
The Diamond Edit
Ethically sourced or lab-grown, April babies will shine bright in their birthstone. Five pieces of diamond jewellery that instil all the radiant confidence of the eternal stone.
The Rivière necklace by Valquère
This classic tennis necklace from Valquère, the innovative lab-grown division of Antwerp-based Baunat diamonds, provides maximum sparkle for a price that won’t break the bank. Made to order in Paris and Antwerp, you can also choose your gold colour and chain length.
The Jali cup ear pendants by Van Gelder
Inspired by the patterns and motifs of ornamental Indian Jali screens, these shoulder-grazing diamond earrings were designed in the Netherlands in response to antique Indian jewellery, and crafted in Jaipur using traditional expertise. Articulated polished cups house a series of diamonds, tracing a line of light down to the collar bone.
The Infinity Smoke ring by Bibi van der Velden
Solid gold swirls of smoke come alive with the movement of grey and white diamonds. Two central salt and pepper diamonds make this a special piece by Dutch jewellery artist Bibi van der Velden, as she captures the uncapturable in a spectacular statement ring.
The Noema choker by Gaëlle Khouri
Lebanese-born Gaëlle Khouri’s cerebral, intricate jewellery is born of a fascination with philosophy. Her hallmarks are mixed metals and coloured gemstones, and this elegant necklace blends white and yellow gold circles, in a striking mesh of diamonds.
The Nomoli Totem earrings by Matturi at Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery
Since 2015, award-winning jeweller Satta Matturi has created distinctive fine jewellery rooted in African art and culture. Striking Art Deco shapes and colours combine with her signature Nomoli head motif studded with brilliant diamonds and smokey quartz, and custom-cut onyx.
Women’s History Month: Hypatia, a forgotten heroine by Joy BC
As Women’s History month comes to a close, we spotlight the work of a truly unique jewellery artist. Inspired by the Ancient world, Joy BC’s work is politically charged, female-focused and aesthetically arresting. Here, she pays homage to the Greek thinker Hypatia, who lived in the 4th century AD, with a small collection of rings, brooches and necklaces.
“In previous work, I have explored the hidden histories of forgotten female heroes, creating miniature-monuments in their honour,” says Joy, whose work also includes a necklace inspired by the mythical character Persephone and her mother Frangere, and bejewelled tributes to Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt. “The series is to celebrate and honour Hypatia – but also to protest against violence to women.”
Hypatia was a philosopher, astronomer and mathematician in Alexandria, Egypt. Considered one of the earliest recognised female mathematicians, she became so prominent in academic and social circles that she was written about by Plato; high praise indeed in such a patriarchal society. As a Neoplatonist philosopher at a time of religious conflict between Jews, Christians and pagans, she was murdered and mutilated by a group of politically motivated Christians.
“The series is to celebrate and honour Hypatia – but also to protest against violence to women.”
Hand-carved in wax before being cast in recycled 22ct gold, this miniature sculpture blurs the boundaries between art and jewellery. Natural diamond tear drops tap into another area of interest for Joy; the importance of the preciousness of tears as a symbol of strength in vulnerability. The tears are also a nod to Hypatia’s brutal murder and the continued scourge of violence against women.
What we loved in March
This month saw the Jewelers of America GEM Awards honour excellence in media, retail, design, and more. We couldn’t get enough of British actress and musician Cynthia Erivo’s signature jewellery look as she accepted a new award for jewellery style.
Elsewhere, the jewellery salons hit the fashion capitals, with Nouvelle Box showing brands including Van Gelder, in New York for the first time, and Bibi van der Velden taking up her usual quarters at the Château Voltaire hotel in Paris, alongside newcomer Goldrush, which debuted in Paris.
We were also at the first ever British Watchmakers Day at Lindley Hall in London with the innovative William Wood watches.
Jewel of the Month: Fuli Gemstones x Aril Jewels Lotus Tiara
Designed to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023 the Lotus Tiara, by Kayla Rimmon of Aril Jewels, took the gold award at last year’s Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards (GCDCA). It has now been produced by Aril Jewels and Fuli Gemstones.
The initial design for a transformable tiara-necklace was produced as a gouache by Kayla, to be made in platinum and 18k gold. The final piece is set with marquise, pear and half-moon-cut Fuli peridots, alongside aquamarines, amethysts, pink tourmalines and white diamonds, for a total weight of 6.56 carats. “The design celebrates peridot’s symbolism and connection with ancient Egypt”, describes Kayla. “The Egyptians called peridot the gem of the sun; they believed the gemstone symbolised hope, rebirth and life, so the synergy between lotus flower and peridot is a harmonious partnership.” The lotus flower closes at night and sinks underwater, before re-emerging at dawn and blooming again, and is a symbol of rebirth in cultures including Ancient Egypt.
The project is a continuation of Fuli Gemstones’s initiative to support jewellery designers and raise awareness about the striking green stone, using gems mined from Fuli’s zero-waste, minimal-footprint mine in China. “We are thrilled with the final result, the peridots compliment the design beautifully and we were so excited to unveil it in March at Goldsmiths’ Hall,” said Pia Tonna, Executive Director, of Fuli Gemstones — patrons of the GCDCA — on the jewel’s big reveal at this year’s awards, March 4th.
Don’t go in the water…
Earlier this month in Paris, Bibi van der Velden launched the latest addition to her family of alligators, with the Alligator Vertebrae collection. Earrings, necklaces and rings feature extra articulation as they dance and move with the body, channelling all the grace and strength of our reptilian friends.
In need of engagement ring inspiration?
From deep in the Cotswolds, Hattie Rickards creates tailor-made rings for clients around the world. Now she’s drawing on 14 years of experience to create Icons, a series of semi-bespoke commitment rings aimed at couples who know they want something unique, but don’t know where to start.
“I approach the engagement ring concept slightly differently,” says Hattie. “I closely entwine my client’s personality with my own interpretation of an engagement ring, for designs that feel truly unique.” With a focus on British craftsmanship at a local workshop, and contemporary design intended to be modern heirlooms, she has poured a decade and a half’s experience with hundreds of couples into a line of six customisable diamond rings.
Available from April, the series is based around Hattie’s signature bold settings with central stones often accented with elegant baguettes or modern halos. Clients can select their own central diamond and replace the white diamond details with coloured sapphires, custom cuts or graduated diamonds if they wish. From The Signature, showcasing geometric cuts and tapered baguettes, to The Halo, a modern take on box setting that mixes gold and platinum, and the more traditional Solitaire, with a distinctively sculptural shank, the new line aims to provide a starting point from which to navigate the waters of made-to-measure rings.
“An engagement ring can be so much more than a solitaire in a simple setting,” she finishes. And doesn’t every union deserve a show-stopping ring?
Up next month…
In April, you’ll find us at the Venice Biennale, where Elisabetta Cipriani will launch the Jewellery by Sculptors and Painters exhibition, including work by Ute Decker, Sophia Vari and Giuseppe Penone; while we’re there, we’ll be taking in the Buccellati retrospective The Prince of Goldsmiths, Rediscovering the Classics. Join us, if you’re at the Biennale.
We’ll also be in Kyoto, where Joy BC is joining forces with photographer Olivia Rose on the extraordinary Lovers Eye exhibition, presented by The Shophouse as part of KG+ photography festival, which revisits the surprising 18th century craze of exchanging miniature portraits of single eyes.
We’ll be back next month. Until then, we wish you a very happy Easter! You’re receiving this newsletter because you signed up to communications from Honest PR