It was during London Fashion Week that Nilufer Kizilkaya, founder of Nilufer Fine Jewellery—a London-based British contemporary fine jewellery brand—met with Gemfields, a world leader in responsibly sourced coloured gemstones, particularly emeralds from Zambia and rubies from Mozambique.
This meeting resulted in the creation of a fine jewellery collection titled Rhea, featuring responsibly mined Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds. However, this is not the first time the two brands have collaborated. Nilufer Fine Jewellery and Gemfields have been working together for nearly a decade. “What draws us to each other is our shared emphasis on responsible sourcing and giving back to communities. We work directly with miners for our emerald and ruby sourcing,’ shares Nilufer.
Rhea is a symbolic name rooted in Greek mythology. During mythological times, Rhea was known as the daughter of Uranus and the mother of Zeus. Her name means ‘that which flows’. The placement of gemstones in the Rhea collection is inspired by infinite geometric sequences, making the shapes appear fluid.
“We began the design process with rings using emeralds and diamonds and have recently added rubies to the collection. Rhea is also the name of the second-largest moon of Saturn, which has a slight reddish hue—so we were keen to incorporate rubies alongside emeralds and diamonds,” says Nilufer.
The design language of the collection is deeply influenced by Gemfields’ rubies and emeralds. “Their wide assortment of gemstone cuts has always been an inspiration. This time, we primarily used round and marquise-shaped stones,” she notes.
The Rhea collection strikes a balance between bold coloured gemstones and Nilufer’s signature minimalist aesthetic. “We don’t see emeralds and rubies as just bold colours—to us, they are no different from colourless diamonds. We believe colour is essential in modern jewellery, much like clothing—no one wants to wear just one gemstone forever. We encourage mixing and matching,” adds Nilufer.
Prices start at Rs 2.5 lakh (for a single diamond ear cuff).
—manuvipin@newindianexpress.com
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