Hannah, Bart and Philou – Jewellery marking new beginnings
A meeting at Jewelry Art Fair
During Jewelry Art Fair in 2023, I met Hannah and Bart. Hannah then bought a silver Embla ring and that’s where our contact began. Not much later, Bart started the goldsmithing course in my studio. Step by step, he learned to make his own jewellery. In the final classes, he worked on a special project: his own wedding ring. The ring was inspired by my design Viridior from the Aurargent collection. This ring has a distinctive blackened finish that will slowly wear off with wear, something Bart actually likes.
A special choice for the wedding day
A new chapter was added in 2024. While I was working on the gold rings for my Elevance collection, Hannah spotted a ring via Instagram with a pear cut bi-colored tourmaline in shades of blue and green. She immediately fell in love with it. During the Neighbors edition of Jewelry Art Fair, she bought the ring. This ring will soon become her wedding band. What is special to me is that she is saving it for their big day in August. Still, she occasionally opens the box to take a look – and to put the ring on for just a moment.
The customer day in the studio
On customer day, they came to my studio with their daughter Philou. Philou is 11 and already loves jewellery. At first, she preferred not to be photographed. That changed when she noticed she was allowed to choose jewellery from the collection to wear. She chose a pair of gold Hoops earrings with London blue topaz pendants and a necklace of tourmaline. She would have preferred to keep them quietly, but after the event, the earrings and necklace really had to be returned by her parents – they are still available.
Jewellery full of stories
Hannah wore her wedding ring to be and the Hooks earrings she got from Bart. These earrings have a base that you can combine with different pendants. For the occasion, she wore the labradorite pendants, in which, in the right light, you can see the blue-green play beautifully.
She also chose for the photo shoot a necklace of black spinel with a pendant from my Inside Out collection, which centers on a Tahitian pearl. This necklace and pendant are still available in my collection.
Rik Balder’s photos show well how this jewelry is more than just materials. They tell of a shared path, of making choices that suit you, and of memories in the making.
