Author: Solitaire Magazine
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PEARLS FOR QUEENS
Since the dawn of time, the subtle power of pearls has exerted a magical attraction for the female gender. Naturally seductive, the gems are associated with both the divine and the corporeal. Their beauty is timeless and universal, and that is one of the reasons why pearls are celebrated as metaphors for virtue and love,…
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GEMS IN THE SUN
Bulgari celebrated its new high jewellery collection together with other 40 VIP guests at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Krabi, Thailand, on 26th June. Named The Magnificent Inspirations, the collection was exhibited on live models, putting up an extravagant fashion showcase. Among those exhibited included high jewellery and timepiece creations, featuring pieces from the Italian Extravaganza,…
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SPARKS FLY
Three generations of jewellery history and tradition, designer Dalia Daou has what it takes to experiment on classic and traditional jewellery making and design processes. Based in London, Dalia Daou was recently awarded the New Designer of The Year 2016 at the UK Jewellery Awards and the Rock Vault by the British Fashion Council. …
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BEST BACK FORWARD
Tapping into the bare back trend of the season is the backlace — long necklace worn backwards. First caught our attention when Audrey Hepburn wore it in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the backlace has since been fashionably resurrected. Princess Diana wore pearl cascades in 1985, while both Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway sported diamond backlaces at…
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OF FAIRIES & TALES
“Wear rings on your middle finger,” advises Margarita Prykhodko. “It’s the finger describing the creative side of your brain.” Not surprisingly, rings designed by Prykhodko for her company Sybarite deserve nothing less than centre stage. Take, for instance, Sybarite’s latest collection, the Waltz of the Flowers, inspired by the Nutcracker ballet. It took Prykhodko 689…
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SOOT YOURSELF
Fine jewellery is no longer just a four-horse race. Designers are on a never ending quest for novel materials for their collections, way beyond metals and stones to create iconic conversation starters. One such jeweller is London-based designer Jacqueline Cullen, who has built her entire design ethos around Whitby jet, a prehistoric black fossil circa…
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UNLOCK THE MOMENT
Keys initiate curiosity. A symbol of promise and freedom, the motif brings us back to ancient Babylon, where the first keys were made out of wood. Their main purpose, then and now, is to safeguard secrets and things of importance. Size, materials, and shapes have since evolved, but a key’s basic function remains. In…
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MODERN MASTERS
With a background in accountancy, it wasn’t easy for Marco Verdi to take over his father’s business, Italian jewellery brand Verdi Gioielli. “My best and most challenging experience was to begin to know and love jewels, and to grow a personal taste in jewellery,” Verdi shares. According to him, the perks amply made up for…
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WILD THINGS
Fascinated with the world around her, Los Angeles jeweller Daniela Villegas’ design aesthetics are inspired by the beauty of the unexpected. “By putting elements of the natural world into jewellery, you can take the power of Mother Nature everywhere with you, like a sort of talisman,” she says. Taking both real creatures and precious reincarnations…
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CUTTING CORNERS: FROM ROUGH TO POLISHED
Recently, reports emerged on the failure of the Lesedi La Rona diamond at London’s annual summer art auction. Sure, it sold at a whopping USD 61 million, a price that is no small feat. But for a 1,109ct rough diamond? Surely a raw diamond that size is worth so much more? It was…
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THE MARGARITE SPECTRUM
Pearls have radiated beauty and purity for millennia. Amongst all precious gemstones, there are only a few ones produced by living organisms, and pearls are the most famous and lustrous of them all. Natural pearls are formed when an irritant or parasite becomes lodged in the tissue of an oyster. The oyster responds by secreting…
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SEVEN RED HOT RUBY TIMEPIECES
Distinguished by their deep blood-red colour, rubies rank as the world’s second most precious stones, after diamonds. Their ruddy colour among a sparkling sea of hues and cuts upholds their fiery symbolism of passion and romance. The beauty of jewellery watches lies in their exquisite gem setting, where varied cuts are placed front and centre…