Redefining Adornment

Contemporarising the art of craft when it comes to jewellery requires ingenuity, innovation and imagination. Here are our top picks from the eighth edition of GemGenève that are driving the new narrative.

- RICHA GOYAL SIKRI

Geneva in May is a flurry of activity as passionate purveyors of beauty-buyers of watches, jewellery, precious stones, and natural pearls—descend on this picturesque city. Industry sources estimate that Geneva carves out a global market share of approximately 30 per cent in luxury watches and jewellery.

Beyond the million-dollar sales figures achieved for established brands, since 2018 an international gem and jewellery show in Geneva, aptly titled GemGenève, has served as an incubator for emerging talent and new designers specialising in contemporary jewellery. Select designers featured in past editions have, in fact, sold their creations at special exhibitions organised by auctions houses such as Sotheby’s. Discover contemporary jewellery masterpieces from the eighth edition of GemGenève.

Sugar High

A.win Siu’s pop art jewels from her ‘Something Sweet’ collection will definitely make you smile. In times of trouble, our mind references childhood memories to calm the nerves. A.win Siu’s mineral confections with brooches designed as sugary toffee, or gemencrusted lollipops instantly unlock those pleasurable memories from the past.

“I created these jewels at the start of the pandemic because it was a very depressing time,” she explains. However, the designs and execution of these intricate jewels are far from simple or infantile. Her ‘sweet brooches’ feature rare gemstones such as Paraíba tourmalines, sapphires, spinels, set on a bed of diamonds (created using the pavé technique). The body of the jewel is in titanium, which is further embellished using the French plique-à-jour technique of enamelling.