Today, gemstone manufacturers are not just digging below ground, but making new inroads away from soil to develop man-made diamonds. De Beers has launched new company Lightbox, which specialises in laboratory-grown diamonds, while Swarovski has invested heavily in innovative mining-alternatives, which offer transparent supply chains.
Now, San Francisco-based man-made diamond manufacturer Diamond Foundry has teamed up with Dover Street Market, on an exclusive collection with six fine jewellers. ‘We wanted to create a collaboration that was inspired by our unique and special diamond cuts, enhanced by each designer’s expert craftsmanship, to push the boundaries of design’, explains Mona Sadat Akhavi, vice president of marketing at Diamond Foundry.
Ana Khouri, Delfina Delettrez, Hum, Hunrod, Raphaele Canot and Sophie Bille Brahe are all on the leading line-up. These jewellers are renowned for their experimental diamond settings, choosing to suspend them in space or offset them against unusual gemstones. There’s a punky punch behind their designs for Dover Street Market. Brazilian Ana Khouri, whose ear cuffs curve ergonomically around the ear, has created a single cuff style dangling with a length of pavé chain, while Italian jeweller Delfina Delettrez’s studs and punched with punky metal piercings. Elsewhere, Japanese atelier Hum has subverted the concept of a single stone ring, dangling a central diamond as a moveable pendant.
For the launch, Dover Street Market has enlisted photographer Katerina Jebb to shoot its accompanying campaign images. The industrial, stripped back shots are an evocation of the retailer’s modern approach to jewellery design, and reflect the fresh and visible inroads being made in gemstone manufacturing. §
