Valentine’s Day is the perfect moment to give a jewel that expresses your love or a friendship worth honouring with a special gift. Traditional, ironic, tongue in cheek, heart-broken or playful, we have scoured the globe for the prettiest and most original jewels that she will want to wear all year long.
Hearts are an obvious motif for Valentine’s Day jewels. We have unearthed some original interpretations from far afield including Australian luxury jeweller Margot McKinney with Rose de France Amethyst paired with a golden South Sea pearls (above) and Zambian-born Patrick Mavros who brings the vibrant patterns of Africa to a gold heart pendant. From Japan, Tasaki presents the Danger Heart pendant with a bite. Little gold fangs sprout from fresh water pearls delicately strung around a gold heart-shaped frame. For the brave hearted or ironically-inclined, look to Chinese jeweller Feng J’s Coeur Rouge earrings (top). The two halves of a broken, crumpled red lacquer heart complete with drops of rubellite blood dripping out form a pair of strangely attractive earrings.
Red and pink are the enduring colours of love and a more subtle way to spoil your beloved or a dear friend in the form of a Galentine’s Day gift – a trend we are happy to see gaining ground. Annoushka’s glossy red tulip earrings made of carved red agate reveal two miniature freshwater white pearls emerging from the blooms. Dubai-based Aisha Baker brings the pastel-hued memories and playfulness of her childhood to jewels such as the coiled pink lacquer Chit Chat ring and the 'All You Need' ring (above) that spells our love in candy-cute enamel and diamonds in the form of the outline of a fairy tale castle. Capturing the innocence of school days, Aisha Baker's jewels are ideal gifts for friends since childhood.
Alessa is a love story in itself, created by husband and wife due from India and Guatemala respectively. The couple created Alessa when they met studying at the GIA. The soft pink lacquer and diamond ring is a sweet as kiss and deeply romantic.
Carolina Bucci also looks back to her childhood of making friendship bracelets during her long summer holidays. The Forte charm bracelets are strung together on the spot based on your selection of beads and charms from an alluring sweet-shop like display of glass jars full of pretty, colourful baubles, making it the perfect Galentine’s Day gift.
The trend for spelling out your love is gaining strength. Dior’s iconic Oui collection of jewels with a message will make your intention perfectly clear. Oui, Toi et Moi and Je t’aime are some of the phrases written in slender gold wire with diamonds dotting the i’s and i’s. Less cute and more tongue in cheek is Annoushka’s The Vampire's Wife Love Letter Charm (above). A simple gold card bears the words Love Letter and the result of Annoushka’s collaboration with Susie Cave – wife of musician Nick Cave - and named after the song that holds a treasured memory in the rock ‘n’ roll couple’s courtship. Spanning the world in a jewel, New York-based, Indian-born Coomi was inspired by the façade of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona to create the Passion bracelet. Stephen Webster’s Promise To Love You Earrings are created in collaboration with British artist bad-girl Tracey Emin and are miniature versions of the iconic neon signs of the fine artist. With this style-spanning array, there is no excuse for not choosing an original and meaningful Valentine's Day or Galentine's Day gift this year.
