Master of the baguette cut, Suzanne Kalan has long brought an offbeat sensibility to jewellery design, for pieces which celebrate colourful, asymmetric silhouettes.
In her new pieces, the Los Angeles-based jewellery designer stays faithful to her distinctive design codes while rethinking classic forms, with rings, bracelets and earrings in the ‘Golden Age’ collection peppered with colourful gems.
Suzanne Kalan ‘Golden Age’ jewellery
‘I wanted this collection to capture the sheer simplicity and beauty of 18ct gold whilst maintaining my signature design aesthetic,’ Kalan tells us. ‘Similar to the way I set the diamonds and gemstones in the “Fireworks” collection, I have created seesawing pieces of solid gold by uniquely crafting and setting them against each other to create strong yet delicate designs. It’s a collection that’s ideal for layering with multiple different styles, which is what inspired me.’
Solid gold is cast into shapes reminiscent of princess-cut gemstones in earrings set off to brilliant effect by rainbow sapphires, while a classic tennis necklace is completely rethought in gold. ‘The way we master the liquid fluidity in this collection is down to the careful structure and design of how the pieces are created with an 18ct gold wire. This then enables each piece to have a smooth movement which moves like silk with a solidness of gold,’ Kalan adds.
Her pieces are designed to be worn together in a juxtaposition of texture when layered, stacked or piled up the wrist. ‘From the very beginning, my ethos has always been that every single piece I design would complement any other design in my collection,’ Kalan says. ‘My inspiration behind “Golden Age” was tied into this. I’ve designed with diamonds, a wide skew of different sapphire colourways, emeralds and rubies, yet standalone gold is not something I had focused on. Rather than being the backdrop to the gemstone, this collection allows the gold to be the star of the show.’
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