Emotional Jewellery

 
I don’t know what it is with me and jewellery lately, but I have a fast growing interest in it. I have only begun to develop this interest since I started to pay more attention to the design process, to the story, inspiration and dedication behind a collection, in short, to jewellery that is not just ornament. Because there has to be something very special, different, about a piece of jewellery to capture my attention. Like the pieces here. At first glance, they seemed so far away from my minimalist personal style that I was convinced they were the kind of accessory I usually like to admire on somebody else. But when I visited the designer’s studio, she told me to try something on.

The sapphire necklace (first photo below) suddenly fitted my t-shirt and blue jeans look (and my short hair style) and didn’t feel awkward at all. This universal appeal seems to result from the symbolic nature of the raw materials used in the entire collection, from a variety of crystals to gold, silver and copper. Natural crystal is in fact the designer’s favourite material, because “it is the fruit of earth, a source of wisdom and perfection”, she says. “Nature always grasps the balance and harmony in its physical appearance.” Nothing is randomly chosen, each gem has its own meaning and purpose. Its emotional quality is what generates this incredible appropriation between jewellery and its wearer.
 

 
The designer is none other than Alina Ieva, the personalized perfume maker I interviewed back in May. Alina collaborates with a local atelier with tradition and about the challenge of putting her ideas into practice, she says: “It can be difficult and easy to the same extent. It is easy when all conditions necessary to make a piece of jewellery are fulfilled: I know what I want and I have what I need, meaning the raw materials and an established crafting process and delivery period. It gets difficult when the underlying conditions to make quality jewellery are not observed because this means to remake the entire process time and again.”

From the way she talks about her jewellery line, it’s obvious how much passion Alina puts into this Nature & Distinction project, too. She says that designing jewellery is a challenge. “The path from an idea to its physical end is fascinating and enriching. I gain experience, I discover new traits of human condition.” Just as with personalized perfume, jewellery represents a natural extension of the wearer, another part of the art of being yourself. The secret? “Communication, knowledge and creativity.”

Nature & Distinction jewellery showroom:
17 Dr. Victor Babes Street (Villa Trifoi), first floor, Sector 5, Bucharest
email: office@nd-jewelry.com
online shop: Nature and Distinction Jewelry

photos by me