It’s not easy for a newcomer to stand out in jewellery. With thousands of brands, from global powerhouses to one-person bands, there have never been as many jewellers in the world. The range of styles is nearly infinite, with dizzying design, materials and quality variations.
Dries Criel is a name that stands out in this complex world. The young Belgian brand, founded in 2018 by Dries, has already made its mark with a handful of powerful designs. Rather than rocking the boat, Dries offers a quiet revolution of the jewellery classics. Always elegant but beguilingly bold, Dries’ twist on the classics presents men and women with effortlessly chic new ways to wear jewellery.
Dries began life as a classic and contemporary ballet dancer. His training the importance of perfection, focus, determination, and the power of expression. His innate appreciation of the human body and his rigorous self-imposed discipline have led to stand-out pieces like the Lotus, particularly the cuff bracelet (above and below). Combining his childhood fascination with Ancient Egypt, its achingly beautiful aesthetics, and the flow of a dancer’s body, Lotus is a stylised silhouette of the mythical flower. Lotus avoids the pitfalls of pastiche or trope of this ancient symbol and instead proposes a daringly scaled architectural jewel that whispers Hollywood glamour and opulence. The two smooth sweeps of mirror-polished gold, reminiscent of the sun god Ra’s munificence, rise high above the wrist and taper together in a knife-edge crest.
Despite its near-monumental proportions, it is surprisingly comfortable to wear. Variations include diamond pavés intersected with lightning jags of coloured enamel and panels of tiger eye or malachite seamlessly integrated into the plates of gold. Dries has adapted the Lotus design into rings, earrings, and pendants, a minimalist, futuristic take on the pared-down.
Dries has created a dozen styles of jewels that he refers to as realms in his jewellery universe, the designs ebbing and flowing into each other to create individual families but a shared heritage. Egyptian influence is evident in the Sphinx, Anubis, Scarab, and Pyramid. The powerful torsos of dancers and their lithe, fluid limbs are captured in Flux and White Crow, Rudolf Nureyev’s nickname. Abstract and highly sculptural are the best-selling triangular Brute earrings and the everyday Bond jewels based on the chain link.
All the jewels are handmade in Antwerp, in the famous diamond district and at a specialised enamel workshop in Italy. Dries has first-hand knowledge of the diamond trade, having worked with a traditional diamond dealer before launching his jewellery brands, so he has a trained eye when selecting gems. His attention to detail is unwavering, and he oversees the production of each piece, often cycling between gem setter, goldsmith and polisher with the jewel in his pocket. Dries strives to be as responsible as possible when sourcing gemstones and gold and uses only fully traceable sources.
