In our quest to discover exciting new jewelry brands and support local talent, we found - through our favourite fashion watching portal, Instagram – a few that are now on our radar.
In our quest to discover exciting new jewelry brands and support local talent, we found – through our favourite fashion watching portal, Instagram – a few that are now on our radar.
These brands are not only exciting because they employ local artisans but also because they have their own unique spin on age old designs. Entrepreneurs often take their own inspiration, their passion, their ideas and life events and use them to incorporate a dynamic and successful business.
These brands have specifically taken the opulence of Pakistani culture and our unique heritage to design their jewelry, making them great pieces to own and also to gift them to people abroad.
Pierre Gemme
Pierre Gemme popped up on my Instagram when model Zara Peerzada wore a pair by them. This prompted a subsequent deep dive into their Instagram where I found pieces of jewelry with stories to tell. The brand has made embossed portraits of women into their earring designs in a bid to celebrate important women in history. There is a design fashioned from a 17th century Mughal Emperor’s artist of a woman, which is even more special because there were very few women who painted at the time. Some examples include one of Kahina, a pre Islamic female warrior in the Berber culture in Morocco and the renowned Umrao Jaan. They also have designs with Pakistan’s pride: truck art and a rose garden circa the Mughal Dynasty. These pairs came later into their designs but the first one they launched and their signature is a very Indian-inspired design that can easily switch between Eastern and Western styling.
Sana Aziz
Sana Aziz graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone, College of Art and Design in Scotland and started working from her home town of Lahore a while ago. Her hand crafted jewelry items made with silver, plated in gold and adorned with semi-precious stones are a class apart. One can easily see the exquisite craftsmanship that a student of jewelry design is capable of. Aziz has sought inspiration from a number of local elements but most fascinating is that she’s taken a design from the beautiful tile pattern at Wazir Khan Mosque and put that into earrings. She’s also the only local jewelry designer I found to be making hair accessories at a time when they are trending worldwide. Her Kundan Peacock Joora pin and Kundan Hair Clips are the ideal accessory for the bride who wants to add some extra sparkle on her big day!
Iyana Jewelery Studio
Known for their intricate jhumki designs of all sizes, Iyana caught my eye on Instagram for their distinctiveness. Their designs are not your run of the mill traditional jewelry– their colour combinations are vibrant, quality is great and they have been contemporized to be worn with more things than one. Their small sized jhumkis are very wearable, not just for weddings but with kurtas in the summer also. They also have plainer designs for the person with more minimal preferences.
