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November 24, 2011 - No Comments!

I Give Thanks…

...for being able to finish another collection. Thankful also to those physically and spiritually present at the launch. Of course, among many other things to feel so blessed about.

Inset has to be one of my favorite pieces in the Deux Yeux collection. Its a necklace of lemon topaz and honey quartz with an arabesque gold detail in pave of white sapphires strung on faceted spinel beads. The yellow of lemon topaz is actually a natural color. In fact, people back in the day almost automatically labeled any yellow stone as topaz much as they would any blue stone sapphires. The now popular blue color of topaz has only been a relatively recent development with the help of man; one has to first heat treat and then irradiate white topaz in order to obtain the signature hue. But its nice to see large, natural specimens once in a while.

Available in Firma Greenbelt 3.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

November 8, 2011 - No Comments!

Shamcey Supsup in Sense & Style, November 2011

Shamcey wears my lotus flower inspired rose cut rhodolite garnet earrings with yellow sapphires in this month's issue of Sense & Style Magazine. When worn, it covers a good part of the lobe. Sometimes its not just your clothes you match your jewelry with but your skin color as well. And I love how it goes well with Shamcey's olivine skin tone. The earrings are part of the Deux Yeux collection coming out this November 11, 2011 at Firma Greenebelt 3.

November 4, 2011 - 1 comment.

Deux Yeux Launches November 11

The history of grand jewels is nothing short of fascinating. Stories of fabulous wealth and costly inventories of exquisite gems seem so far fetched today, and somewhat of a social sin, that when one reads accounts of court jewels from the Mughal Dynasty, Siam royalty, as well as the French and English crown jewels, one wouldn’t know if they were actually fantasy or fairy tale. From the fabulous Golconda finds, wherein the first diamonds were mined, came the largest and most illustrious of gems; providing the Mughals their playthings of pebble sized diamonds strung in massive bibs, turban ornaments, bracelets and rings, among other things…and all worn together at the same time.

A sort of exchange of European and Indian/Oriental design happened in the early 1900’s when French joalliers were commissioned by the English royal house to take apart and recreate many of the accumulated gifts from India, considered the greatest jewels in Europe then. The French artisans redesigned them into lighter, more elegant, Indian-inspired feminine pieces as the originals were mainly worn and designed for male wearers.

Magnificent pieces were produced through commissions between the 1700’s and early 1900’s by Queen Alexandra, Napoleon and the infamous Marie Antoinette to name a few, but so far as history goes, the general fate of these said magnificent jewels were either to be taken apart or redesigned according to the successive monarchs' tastes. A majority of the French Crown Jewels was, in fact, auctioned off in 1887 to prevent a royalist coup d’etat. Parures, coronets and diadems of natural pearls, precious gems and large diamonds were dismantled and sold into numerous lots. And once they were disposed, most were never to be heard from again.

It is in these cloudy chronicles that Kristine and Paul draw inspiration for their new creations from. Wherein literal translations of these jewels would be next to impossible, the designers now attempt to reinterpret these grand designs with their own takes. “I am inspired to create pieces that give a similar feel of elegance and history using a more playful approach,” says Kristine. “I’ve also been watching Disney fairy tale based movies and listening to the soundtracks while I design. I don't know if this has a strong influence on the outcome, but it keeps the royal mood light and fun!”

“What inspires me are the classic forms and motifs; the incredibly large stones and the formal symmetry. Which I plan to inject some movement, tension and whimsy to, to lighten the whole look,” says Paul. “During the creation process, I noticed a large part of my collection gave nod to the Mughal era; with ‘decadence’ as the guiding principle in allusion to the feel of the end product. But I made sure everything would still be wearable.”

Deux Yeux, roughly meaning “two eyes”, aims to show two different views on the discussion of court jewels. The challenge of which is to practically imagine the original pieces; even the original cuts of the gems themselves, as references to these remain scarce. It was in a time of yet unspoiled commercial society that these jewels came to be and it is in that essence of pure creativity that fueled the designers’ minds.

The collections will once again be produced applying the principles of renewable luxury. Using reclaimed precious metals and forming them into these newly inspired pieces.

Deux Yeux’s launch will be on November 11, 2011 at Firma Greenbelt 3, Friday, at 6pm. Co-presented by Ayala Malls, Moet & Chandon and L’Oreal Paris Philippines.

October 3, 2011 - 2 comments

Musing on Mughal

Next month's pretty exciting; big news then. But as a preview of new things to come, I've been sort of fixating on the Mughal dynasty lately. The look. The incredible stories. The history. And I've sort of taken inspiration from the jewels as well. Not to reproduce impossible pieces but to take off from them. As an example here are earrings, influenced by ancient patterns, updated and interpreted. With drop center stones about 0.75cts each set in white gold.

September 14, 2011 - 3 comments

Tabletop

I like emerald cut diamonds. But they seem to have more character in larger sizes. They don't sparkle as much as brilliant cut diamonds but possess a more subtle, ice-cube like character, for lack of a better term.  Inset is a bespoke project with components taken from several heirloom pieces and formed into one gorgeous bauble. At the center is about a 2 carat emerald cut diamond, flanked by diamonds of about a carat each. A parallel of pave diamonds go horizontally across and run down the sides of the architecturally inspired ring. When worn, all you see on top of the finger are broad flashes of white light.

August 4, 2011 - No Comments!

Angel Skin Coral

Angel skin coral is characterized by its soft, even pink hue and is highly prized along with the deep red varieties. Corals were traditionally given to babies as protection against the "evil eye". But these earrings will probably get the attention of eyes in general. It's so delicate and feminine.

July 4, 2011 - 3 comments

Spinels

Historically, red spinels have been incorrectly labeled as rubies. But it's quite understandable how this happened as:

1.) Spinels are usually found in the same places where corundum is found; with ruby being the red variety of corundum. In fact spinels are often used as indicator stones by sapphire miners when looking for new sites as they occur together quite commonly.

2.) They have similar qualities in that corundum and spinels are hard minerals. And when faceted gives a similar sharp brilliance. There are blue spinels as well and some outstanding samples intersected with the colors of blue sapphires (also corundum).

3.) Basically anything red was labeled as rubies back in the day.

Today, however, gemology has allowed for clear separation/identification of these two gems. And I happen to love spinels because it comes in these moody shades. Yes, exceptionally rare ones are red or sapphire-like blue. But they also come in bright pinks, deep purples and deep greens. Transparent, clean, faceted spinels are really fine examples of colored gems and posses an almost diamond-like brilliance. Plus they're never really treated to enhance their colors or clarity in any way.

Inset are earrings and a necklace of multi-colored faceted spinels with round brilliant diamonds set in white gold.

May 23, 2011 - 2 comments

UNICEF Auction for Action


Many thanks to Daphne Osena-Paez for rounding up everyone for this cause. This necklace will go on auction along with other amazing works by Filipino designers starting May 25, 2011 via eBay.

Art and Design Come Together for Unicef Auction
By: Dexter R. Matilla
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Monday, May 23rd, 2011

MANILA, Philippines—Real-life stories of maternal deaths happen in the Philippines. Whether the cause may be due to lack of skilled midwives in rural areas or inaccessibility to hospitals, death during childbirth is a main concern for the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) Philippines.

Through the initiative of Daphne Oseña-Paez, Unicef special advocate for children, artists and designers have put their resources together in the hope of raising money that would benefit programs on maternal health and education in the Philippines’ poorer areas.

“When you meet a husband who has lost his wife due to excessive bleeding and was not rushed to the nearest hospital, you start to think and realize that these things should not be happening in 2011,” Oseña-Paez says.

Joining her is celebrity host and also a Unicef special advocate for children Bianca Gonzalez, who has been working with Unicef since 2007.

“Our work with Unicef is that we go with them on site visits—at public schools and daycare centers—and spread the word as much as possible on what’s happening and how people can help,” Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez adds that Unicef would like people to know the funds for its projects do not necessarily come from the United Nations but from donations by individuals, corporations, volunteers.

Hard work and perseverance

Unicef country representative Vanessa Tobin says the project, Auction for Action, is a first for Unicef Philippines.

“Our partnership with acclaimed artists via online auction helps us engage the public in a new and interesting way,” Tobin says. “As well as raising important funds for our work, we will be able to raise awareness of important issues affecting children in the most disadvantaged communities of the Philippines and worldwide.”

“I’ve been working with Unicef since 2007 and I’m very excited to be a part of this unique fundraising auction,” Gonzalez says. “Whilst online auctions are quite new to the Philippines, it’s very secure, and the best thing is you can participate from anywhere in the country.”

But it was through the perseverance of Oseña-Paez that the auction will push through and go live online on May 25 via www.ebay.ph/unicef.

Oseña-Paez says she approached friends—via text, e-mail, Facebook and Twitter—who are artists and designers with the idea of donating items for the auction, with the funds benefiting Unicef’s various projects.

“My head spun that first week—it was like I had a list of favorite things from my favorite creative people,”Oseña-Paez says. “I couldn’t believe how easy it was to ask for help. The rest of the hard work is being done by the Unicef team. It has been many days and nights of coordination, planning and logistical problem-solving.”

Participating artists

Featured artists are Manny Baldemor, Michael Cacnio, Celestina, Seb Chua, Kenneth Cobonpue, Araceli LimcacoDans, Kristine Dee, Janina Dizon, Mich Dulce, Tom Epperson, Accessory Lab, Ito Kish, E. Billy Mondoñedo, Ramon Orlina, Debbie Palao, Ling Quisumbing Ramilo, Benji Reyes, Popo San Pascual, Joey Samson, Vito Selma, Victor Sollorano, Paul Syjuco, Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre of Firma/Felicity, Reg Yuson, and Oseña-Paez herself.

Galerie Joaquin artists such Jovan Benito, Jomar Delluba, Hamzah Marbella, Dominic Rubio and Juvenal Sansó are also participating.

Up for grabs in the auction are experiential packages, including dinner by chef Tonyboy Escalante of Antonio’s, and dugout experience with the Philippine Football Team, or Azkals, on July 3 at the World Cup qualifier in Manila.

“Daphne’s love for art and Unicef’s cause made this happen,” Gonzalez says. Oseña-Paez says none of them had any experience of putting together an auction before, and thanks partner eBay Philippines for making it possible.

“This is like a dream for me—curating and organizing a show like this,” Oseña-Paez says.

And the same can probably be said for the beneficiaries of the auction.