Collaboration is the new buzzword in jewellery, and the hottest pairing right now is GemfieldsxMuse. How do I know? Because at last week’s Couture Show in Las Vegas, the busiest booth was the one showcasing the latest pieces in this ongoing series of jewels by some of the most exciting talent in the industry, all set with Gemfields gemstones.
Now in its second year, the collaboration between Gemfields, one of the world’s leading suppliers of coloured gemstones, and Muse, a New York-based showroom for emerging and established talent in the fine jewellery industry, was a genius idea. Gemfields already has an established collection of one-of-a-kind jewels, created alongside leading international designers, set with larger gemstones unearthed in its ruby, emerald and amethyst mines in Africa. In 2016, it announced its new mission to promote rubies and emeralds for everyday wear by working with the designers at Muse, introducing Gemfields gemstones to a stylish new customer who likes her fine jewellery to be fashion-forward and affordable.
For 2017, Gemfields has expanded the collaboration to include 17 Muse designers and friends of Muse, including Silvia Furmanovich from Brazil and queen of enamel Holly Dyment. The 75-piece collection showcases the incredible diversity of talent nurtured by Muse, but the jewel that stole the show at the Couture Show was the heavily laden necklace, below, tinkling with charms from the new GemfieldsxMuse coloured gemstone charm collection.
Of course, as I’m sure both Gemfields and Muse knew we would, anyone who visited the booth stayed longer than anticipated, intent on identifying which designer was responsible for which charm. Holly Dyment’s smiling skull is instantly recognisable, as is Buddha Mama’s cheery, cross-legged deity and Nikos Koulis’ vintage-style charm, but the gold can pull? And the enamel surfboard? Cue a fun game of guess the designer (Ana Khouri and Tara Hirshberg, if you’re wondering).
You can buy the necklace in its entirely – in fact, one sold to a retailer during the Couture Show, and there is a similar ruby-set version available – but the plan is to sell the charms individually and encourage customers to create their own bespoke necklace. With 75 to choose from, including shells and scarabs, padlocks and palm trees, and horseshoes and hearts, the charm necklace might have been having a moment before the Couture Show, but with the launch of the new GemfieldsxMuse charm collection, this fun trend is set to reach fashionable new heights.
The GemfieldsxMuse coloured gemstone charm collection will be available to buy from Fall 2017. Select pieces from the new GemfieldsxMuse fine jewellery collection are available to pre-order now – shop them below.
