Transcript
|I have come to Geneva to find out more about Avakian, a jewellery house that is defined by colour, movement and lots of playful little twists. The look of the jewels is contemporary yet laid back and it brings easy glamour both to red carpet and everyday jewels.
The first thing that strikes me about these jewels is how bright and colourful they are, so I asked Haig Avakian, son of Edmond, who founded the house almost 50 years ago, to tell me about the inspiration behind the designs.
Haig: We use a lot of colour because we feel that it makes the centre stones stand out more. We put a lot of emphasis on contrast - my Mediterranean upbringing has had a big influence on the use of colour in the jewellery.
An Avakian trademark is the playfulness of the jewels. This Joker ring spins, the centre of these Byblos jewels rotate and these Riviera pieces all have interchangeable parts so that you can change the look and feel of your jewels.
Haig: My father is a civil engineer and he was going to continue being an engineer until he veered off into the jewellery business. The first word that came to his mind was movement, and how we can make jewellery more fun.
Take a look at these Links jewels, which you can really play around with to get the look you want. The Victory jewels were made for stacking and having fun with, while the Acqua jewels combine beautiful gemstones and flowing forms that sit softly on the skin.
As you can see, this is a very personal take on luxury jewellery, and it’s clear that it’s the vision of one man. You can see this individuality and personality in designs like the Caché rings. Caché means hidden in French, and what’s hidden about these rings is the fact that they are entirely pavéd on the inside with gemstones. Like these tempting little apples, once you’ve seen jewels the Avakian way, you will be hooked.
