Discover the cool and offbeat designs of jeweller Inesa Kovalova
Inesa Kovalova's jewellery celebrates a mix of mediums and materials
For Ukrainian born, Netherlands based jeweller Inesa Kovalova, design is a concept that transcends cultures and mediums. After beginning her career in architecture, she studied art and design in both Italy and at London’s Central Saint Martins, merging an interest in materials and scale to create design-led jewellery pieces.
Following an internship at Van Cleef & Arpels, Kovalova began to craft a jewellery aesthetic defined by edgy and unexpected silhouettes - think spiky hoops and futuristic orbs of metal which play on proportions and combinations, with playful results. ‘I enjoy finding balance in combinations,’ she says. ‘I work a lot with how a jewel feels: its touch and its weight. A good jewel should have weight and it should feel pleasant to wear. At the same time, the weight must be just right, never too much. To achieve this, I combine titanium with gold. Gold provides the warmth of skin contact and a sense of substance, while titanium brings an industrial look and balances the weight.’
Kovalova is inspired by art, architecture, industrial shapes, geometry, and grids for voluminous jewellery which eschews flat surfaces. She reinterprets familiar motifs, such as Calder’s kinetic sculptures and city grids, into fluid, wearable artworks.
‘I do my best to overcome challenges, and most of the time I succeed,’ she adds. ‘I tend to think deeply about my designs, prototype them multiple times, and work closely with my atelier to find the right technical solutions. I feel very fortunate to collaborate with highly skilled engineers and craftsmen. I strive for perfection in my work and naturally find compromises challenging, but I’ve learned that thoughtful adjustments are sometimes necessary to bring a vision fully to life. With every project I grow, and the more I create, the more I enjoy seeing my vision come to life and finding people who share it. It feels very exciting.’
