Pascale James’ fruit loops are golden delicious

Antonia Pascale – co-founder of British jewellery brand Pascale James – admits that it was while tucking into a healthy snack that design inspiration struck. ‘I was peeling an orange in the studio one day, when I was attracted to the shape and texture of the discarded rind. I started to reimagine it in metal, as an earring.’ So began a process of analysing fruits and their various parts, from the seeds of a pomegranate to the indentations particular of figs. ‘We started experimenting, hand carving various fruit parts out of wax before casting them in metal,’ notes her design partner Christopher James.

Pascale James prefers to work with recycled sterling silver, so the very notion of immortalising fruit waste in a precious and enduring way struck a chord. ‘Whether it’s half-eaten cherries or an unripe lemon, we wanted to create a story about what people may perceive to be desirable or not,’ says Pascale. ‘Real beauty can be found in something that’s seemingly worthless.’

‘Pear Top’ earrings in recycled solid silver

The Re-Imagine collection consists of tactile necklaces, earrings, bracelets and objets that take the form of fruits in various states of decay. Standout designs include a pair of 22-ct gold vermeil orange segments, while a dimpled sterling silver cuff imitates a luscious spiral of orange zest. ‘Some pieces are more abstract than others,’ says James. ‘The concept is playful, but the pieces have to be easily wearable too.’

Their biggest design challenge was achieving the right proportions. ‘We both love working on a larger scale, so making things smaller was probably the most difficult part of the design process,’ admits James. Ensuring that each piece has a certain density was equally important. ‘Jewellery has to feel satisfyingly voluminous to wear too,’ opines Pascale.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Pascale James website