Welcome back to my day-by-day breakdown of the 2023 edition of The COUTURE Show, which recently returned to the Wynn Convention Center.  Here are my notes and takeaways from Day 3, during which I had appointments with Sevan Biçakçi, Tariq Riaz, Ara Vartanian, 886 by The Royal Mint, Buddha Mama, Jorge Adeler, Meredith Young Fine Jewelry, and Moksh.  Enjoy!

Saturday, June 03: Day 3 (Noon – 5pm)

SEVAN BIÇAKÇI:  It’s no secret that I adore Sevan Biçakçi (both the man and his eponymous jewelry collection), nor that he’s among the very small group of designers I’ve dubbed ‘The Storytellers’ because even the most cursory glance at one of his reverse intaglios takes you on a journey to another time, place, or both.  This year, the Sevan Gang—creative director Emre Dilaver, twins Herman and Arman Biçakçi, and Simone Waldron—showed me a collection that brought about the tangible delight to which I’ve grown accustomed when fondling his bejeweled creations: Talk about #WearableProzac!  Editorially, this collection continued expanding on many of the stories begun in previous years, whether padlocks, bracelets, engagement rings, or high jewelry, most featuring his signature reverse intaglios, but some simply marvelous works in precious metals and stones.

The Double Elephant Tension Cuff was one of my favorites and, like a couple of his magnificent gents’ rings, was imbued with all sorts of Sevan-y goodness without featuring an intaglio.  So too was the Baroque Pearl Peacock Ring that featured a unique baroque South Sea pearl that to Sevan had appeared like the body and head of a peacock, so he created a tail out of dozens of scales of diamonds and micro-mosaic (on the front and the back) and crafted the whole thing into a jaw-dropping ring.  But it’s those reverse intaglios that remain the stars of the Sevaniverse, and with good reason: They’re friggin’ incredible!  This year, some of the reverse intaglio pieces that really stood out to me included the Dragon Bracelet with diamonds, rock diamonds, micro-mosaics of semi-precious stones, and a pair of reverse intaglios in rock quartz; an Engagement Ring featuring a hexagonal diamond of 6.17cts set in a rock quartz surround in which a reverse intaglio of pink roses had been carved; a pair of Sevan’s signature padlocks—one featuring a mermaid carved into green amethyst and the other a dancing elephant carved into citrine—and the Wheat Ring with a reverse intaglio of wheat carved into rock quartz set in a ring of gold and silver with black, white, and colored diamonds.  Additionally, a pair of noteworthy necklaces featured large-format reverse intaglios: the Fiery Inferno Necklace featuring a trilliant-shaped brown diamond framed by diamonds and set in a chunky inverted tear-drop-shaped rock quartz into which a reverse intaglio of a fiery inferno had been carved, itself surrounded by larger diamonds, with the whole thing surrounded by figural flames of micro-mosaics of semi-precious stones and even more diamonds, all on a chain of gold, silver, diamonds, and rubies; and the Peacock Necklace featuring a reverse intaglio of a peacock’s head carved into a pear-shaped tanzanite that’s surrounded by a frame of diamonds and set in a large rock quartz into which a couple dozen reverse intaglios have been carved to emulate the ‘eyes’ of the peacock’s feathers, this surrounded by larger diamonds, all suspended from an ornate but delicate chain set with even more diamonds.

TARIQ RIAZ:  Aesop taught us that necessity is the mother of invention, and this was certainly true in the case of designer Tariq Riaz—a former member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—when his then-pregnant wife expressed to him her frustration at the inevitability that her wedding ring would soon be too small for her swelling fingers.  This became the seed that would grow into the AbrazoFIT™ mechanism that Riaz would engineer and trademark: A mechanism that allows Riaz’s pieces to effortlessly expand (in the case of his rings, from a size 6 to a 10), ensuring that the wearer can wear them and even pass them on, with nary a thought given to having them sized. 

The first thing with which I was taken was the wonderful plays of color, often in the form of bright enamel on the inside of the bands of many of his 18K gold rings, whether figural palm leaves or architectural homages to Abu Dhabi’s Qasr al-Hosn (the Fortified Palace) and Qalat al-Jahili (Al-Jahili Fort).  The next thing I noticed was the clever way in which the pieces in his Circle of Life collection brought to mind a cross between a wind spinner and a human vertebrae with an upbeat op-art vibe.  And this was before I’d learned about his background as an engineer specializing in robotics and design!

Some of my favorites included the Khalas Palm Leaves Ear Cuffs that are adjustable in two places (!) and feature 98 diamonds, 144 tsavorites, 50 yellow sapphires, and 20 grey sapphires set in 18K white gold; both the sensuously serpentine Wishbone Bracelet with 70 diamonds in 18K rose gold, and the transformable Wishbone Earrings with 32 diamonds set in 18K rose gold that can be worn either as a drop or curled into a circle; and the Coral Ring in 18K gold with 63 diamonds.  If I had to pick but one, though, I’d neither pass “Go” nor collect $200; instead, I’d immediately reach for the Tik Tak Ring, which is exactly what it sounds like, a literal ring of 14 figural Tic Tac breath mints in 18K rose gold that have been ridged on the inside for his or her pleasure (and well-being!), each capped on both ends by a bright 0.45ct natural emerald.   

ARA VARTANIAN:  I’ve always looked at jewelry through the prism of me (as in could/would/should I wear it?) and have long been a fan of reverse-set diamonds (where the culet faces outward) and asymmetry; so, it’s no surprise that I’ve been drawn to the bold designs of Ara Vartanian since first being introduced to his collection back at COUTURE 2019.

There’s a bold ferocity to Vartanian’s designs, tempered by their inherent beauty, which makes them a bit like sparkling weapons (more than a few would be handy in a back-alley brawl and could easily draw blood when used defensively).  And while many seem at first glance to be futuristic, bordering on the outlandish, his masterful use of scale makes them more akin to wearable sculptures.  Make no mistake about it, Vartanian is very much an artist at the top of his game.  The pieces that really made an impression on me this year, range from relatively simple yet self-assured pieces such as his Embrace Ring in 18K white gold, to gobsmacking statement pieces, like the Inverted Black Diamond Necklace featuring a black diamond of 57.18cts, a rubellite from the Cruzeiro Mine of 5.73cts, as well as 16.39cts of brown diamonds and an additional 35.43cts of black diamonds, set in 18K gold.  Perhaps less brazen, but no less empowering were a quartet of rings, including the Inverted Black Diamond Three-Finger Ring (featuring 14.90cts of black diamonds and 2.25cts of diamonds in 18K white gold), the Black Diamond Two-Finger Ring (featuring a 12.20ct emerald-cut east-west black diamond and 3.66cts of diamonds in 18K white gold), the South Sea Pearl Open Ring with Opal (featuring a 47.33ct South Sea pearl, a dark brown Ethiopian opal of 2.98cts, 0.22cts of black diamonds, and 0.51cts of diamonds in 18K white gold) and the Opal Two-Finger Ring (featuring a large Ethiopian opal sphere of 13.36cts with 0.62cts of inverted black diamonds and 0.32cts of diamonds in 18K white gold).  What really took my breath away, though, was the pair of Indicolite Tourmaline, Rubellite, and Diamond Earrings featuring a pair of indicolite tourmalines (20.49tcw), a pair of rubellites (13.40tcw), and 18 elongated diamond baguettes (2.15tcw) set in 18K white and rose gold.  Not only were they absurdly vibrant and clean stones, but—like the rubellite in the Inverted Black Diamond Necklace—the indicolite tourmalines and rubellites came from the Cruzeiro Mine as part of Vartanian’s ‘Conscious Mining’ initiative.

886 BY THE ROYAL MINT:  I’d been roaming the various aisles of the show, when Sameer Lilani from Amrapali London waved me over and asked if—in my unofficial role as COUTURE Spirit Animal—I might show some love to these nice, young Brits who’d taken the booth across from his, for their first COUTURE.  What happened next remains one of the funnier COUTURE anecdotes in my repertoire, but it requires its own article to do it justice; so, I’m gonna put a pin in that and herein simply discuss what 886 is. 

Simply put, The Royal Mint (hereafter TRM) is the oldest maker in the UK, having struck the coins of British monarchs for more than a millennium.  Recognizing that coinage (and currency in general) is fated to go the way of the Dodo bird, the folks at TRM decided to look to the future and expand into areas that complement their expertise in precious metals, and—having decided that jewelry was one such area—launched 886 (taking from the year, during the reign of Alfred the Great, in which TRM struck its first coins), and hired as its creative director, Dominic Jones, whose eponymous award-winning collection received raves from Anna Wintour and has been worn by such illustrious folks as Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Rhianna, Beyoncé, Harry Styles, and the late Karl Lagerfeld.

There’s a lot going on with this collection, so pay attention.  886 launched with a sustainable 28-piece gender-neutral collection crafted in solid alloys (not plated), making them stronger and denser.  Further, instead of being ‘cast,’ these solid gold and silver pieces are ‘struck’ (like coins), resulting in alloys that are 30% stronger and noticeably more lustrous.  So, what makes this collection sustainable?  I’m so glad you asked!  The gold jewelry is made using e-waste gold, that—using a process TRM has licensed from a Canadian cleantech start-up—is retrieved and recycled from electronic waste (think: the circuit boards of discarded laptops and mobile phones); while the silver is reclaimed from x-ray films discarded by the UK’s National Health Service and other hospitals.  Pretty cool, right?  And with 886’s Pavé Collection, TRM has opted to use lab-grown diamonds, which ensures the highest quality and beauty, while keeping the price point more attainable.

The jewelry features strong, clean lines; making the minimalist collection particularly timeless.  Meanwhile, my favorite pieces include the Coin Stack Necklace, comprised of squatty, linked cylinders of 18K gold, where the cylinders are ridged like the edge of a coin (which makes them feel really nice against the skin); the Bold Poem Cuff, engraved along the edge with the first five lines of Thomas Hood’s poem, “Gold!” (an excerpt from and the moral of Hood’s long, satirical poem “Miss Kilmansegg and Her Precious Leg” first published in 1840), bestowing an erudite cheekiness upon its wearer; and the Enlarged Cuff, which combines grace with some serious heft.  All told, 886 is a collection of jewelry that is not meant to be saved for the proverbial rainy day, but rather to be worn and worn often.

THE GEMS PROJECT:  The Gems Project—a joint venture between The EAB Project’s Elizabeth “Beth Anne” Bonanno and Gems and Tonic’s Joel Cheatwood—is a luxury brand development agency that represents high-end independent jewelry designers.  At COUTURE 2023, my TGP ‘tour’ included four of the agency’s designers, Buddha Mama, Jorge Adeler, Meredith Young, and Moksh.

BUDDHA MAMA:  There’s something about Buddha Mama—a finalist in the ‘Gold’ category in the 2021 COUTURE Design Awards—that never fails to put a big smile on my face.  Whether it’s the 20k gold and blindingly white diamonds they use (they being the titular Buddha Mama, herself, designer Nancy Badia, and her daughter/co-designer, Dakota Badia, whom I refer to collectively as the ‘Buddha Family’), the sensational enamelwork, or the numerous allusions in their designs to everything from Eastern mythology to lowrider culture to new age mysticism—all through an upscale boho chic lens, with a very IYKYK mentality—there is something at once covetable and empowering about their designs.  If you’re into stars, dreamcatchers, cigar-band rings, evil eyes, mandalas, marijuana leaves, Hinduism, Buddhism, Egyptology, or amulets and talismans of any kind, then Buddha Mama is exactly what the doctor’s ordered for whatever ails you.

One thing I appreciate about Buddha Mama is that while each season features fresh and exciting pieces, they can be mixed effortlessly with pieces from previous collections.  Thus, some Buddha Mama classics really spoke to me, this year, such as the Small Ganesha Pendant in 20k gold with diamonds, both blue and pink sapphires, and emeralds; the Hinged Cuff with Black Enamel and Diamond Mandalas with nearly 22cts of diamonds mandalas set in black enamel on 20k gold; and the Disco Ball Chains in 20k gold.  New additions to the Buddha Mama lineup that piqued my interest include the delightfully cheery Moon Drop and Stars Earrings in 20k gold with sky blue enamel and 2.11cts of diamonds; the Lotus Diamond Shaker Ring with more than 5cts of loose diamonds under rock crystal set in 20k gold; the Mandala Star Ring in 20k gold with nearly 10cts of sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, and London blue topaz.  If I had to pick my favorite, though, it would be the Evil Eye Locket with Diamonds, a 20k gold locket with a 55ct rock crystal face, 4.12cts of diamonds, and a number of ‘evil eyes’ engraved both inside and on the back of the locket, that is substantial even by Buddha Mama standards.  And if, by chance, you find yourself thinking that it all seems a bit ‘extra,’ perhaps you should be asking yourself “Is it extra, or am I basic?”

JORGE ADELER:  It’s one thing to create jewelry for special occasions and the red carpet: It’s another thing, altogether, to design pieces that can be worn every day (or even every week); and the latter is the secret sauce that Jorge Adeler slathers on everything he and his daughters, Valentina Adeler Armour and Wendy Adeler Hall make.  Add to that more than three decades of circling the globe in search of the finest sources of pearls, gemstones, and antique coins, and you get why Jorge Adeler is a go-to for women and men, alike (and was a finalist in the ‘Men’s’ category in the 2021 COUTURE Design Awards). 

For me, it’s a few things…  First and foremost, I always learn something simply by speaking with Jorge (not to mention that I tend to laugh my ass off whenever I get the chance to kibbitz with Valentina and Wendy): It might be a few words or a quick turn of phrase, or it might consist of a few minutes of back-and-forth, but in retrospect, it’s invariably quite profound.  Also, I love when a designer lets the stone or mineral dictate its setting, and at Jorge Adeler—whether it’s a slab of boulder opal from Australia’s Lightening Ridge, a raw hunk of Brazilian aquamarine, a cleaved Polish prasiolite, a jagged citrine from Central Africa (which, you are informed, the Chinese consider to be the ‘stone of success’ and should be given to someone generous), or a shard of the iron meteorite that landed in Siberia’s Sikhote-Alin Mountains in 1947—they let the stones do the talking.

One of the reasons that my friends in this business have remained my friends is that I’m not precious about things, and know that at the end of the day, they are at COUTURE to sell.  As such, I always say that if I show up for my appointment and you’re in a sales appointment that is running long, just let me know and I’ll come back, later (because, let’s face it, there’s always somewhere for me to be at COUTURE).  This was exactly what happened, this year, with Jorge Adeler; and what’s particularly cool is that I made a couple of new friends, as a result, because the vendors with whom the Adelers were meeting turned out to be the charming and clever duo of Todd Smookler-Somoza and Robert Diamond from Luxuria in Palm Springs, with whom I immediately bonded over our mutual adoration of Jorge Adeler!

I should add that while I gave up my assigned appointment, I’d already spent a considerable amount of time perusing Jorge Adeler’s cases, because they were kind enough to accessorize me for a very special surprise birthday soirée I was attending that night on the patio of Delilah Las Vegas (with a sensational antique Roman coin set in a pendant of 18K gold and diamonds from their Gods & Heroes collection, as well as an 18K ring featuring a piece of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite from their Noir collection).

The pieces that enticed me to have them pulled from the case for my inspection included a skillfully polished convex slab of Lightening Ridge boulder opal set in an enhancer of 18K gold with diamonds; some fabulous freshwater pearl pieces; antique Roman and Chinese coins set in everything from gents rings to woven leather bracelets to gold necklaces; and new pieces featuring the raw or cleaved specimens of citrine, kunzite, aquamarine, lapis lazuli, and tourmalinated quartz for which Jorge Adeler is so beloved.

MEREDITH YOUNG FINE JEWELRY:  While COUTURE 2023 marked my first appointment with Meredith Young, she’d first blipped on my radar a couple of years ago, when she was a finalist in the ‘Colored Gemstones Below $20K’ category at the 2021 COUTURE Design Awards.  Since then, she has expanded her line to include a number of collections based on different scientific theories and philosophical concepts, including Controlled Chaos (chaos theory), Pure Energy [the corresponding philosophies of vital force (Posidonius), prana (Ayurveda), conatus (Baruch Spinoza), will-to-live (Arthur Schopenhauer), libido (Carl Gustav Jung) and élan vital (Henri Bergson)], and Chasm (optics and caustics), as well as her new ‘Supernova’ collection which she debuted, this year.  And while I love a bit of studied erudition as much as the next fellow, what’s of far greater import is the innate wearability of her designs—often a result of excellent stones presented in an intriguing array of cuts, shapes, and sizes, as well as meticulous execution—which just makes the hifalutin impetus behind them a fun topic of conversation when someone asks about that cool ring you’re wearing.

Allow me to give y’all some fo’instances:  the three Luxe Enamel Pendants, 18K gold discs with lushly enameled concave surfaces that might best be described as psychedelic ombres, with richly saturated hues and delightful names like ‘Cosmic Bloom’ (pink, violet, indigo, navy blue), ‘Sunset’ (pink, red, orange, and yellow), and ‘Lagoon’ (pink, violet, blue, teal, and green), each set with 0.20cts of diamonds; the Purple Opal Demantoid Garnet Necklace with 93cts of Australian opal beads interspersed with a pair of 18K gold stations set with 1.55cts of demantoid garnets; the Morganite Ombre Ring in 18K gold featuring a morganite of nearly 5cts set above the shank and held by a quartet of prongs set with 1ct of pink and champagne diamonds from Australia’s now-closed Argyle Mine set in a ring of 18K gold; the Sunset Dome Ring with 4.5cts of multicolored sapphires in various sizes, set in 18K gold; and the dazzling Supernova Fire Opal Ring featuring a vibrant cabochon Mexican Fire Opal of 5.1cts surrounded by a 1.58ct galaxy of demantoid garnets that subtly enhanced the plays of green fire in that vivacious opal.

MOKSH:  Nobody has ever described Mughal jewelry as minimalist; because, to riff on the disco classic by former adult film star Andrea True, the style is very ‘More, More, More,” which is a big reason reasons why the designs from the early Muslim dynasty of Turkic-Mongol origins that ruled much of South Asia from 1526-1857 continues to resonate with designers and collectors to this day.  Applying a modern aesthetic to Mughal designs, though; that’s a skill worth applauding, and I’ve been clapping for what Moksh has been doing since I first saw one of the bracelets from their Bombay collection, featuring their signature technique of ‘weaving’ what appears to be a textile but is actually many hundreds of tiny Keshi pearls sewn together by a skilled artisan—using a needle, a silk thread, and a magnifying glass (not to mention far more patience than I will ever possess)—who works in tandem with a technician using a computer to map where each pearl should be pierced.

Derived from ‘moksha’—the Jain and Hindu term for emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release (the Hindu equivalent to the Buddhist concept of ‘nirvana’)—Moksh is that to which we all aspire, according to the company’s founder, Milan Chokshi; and I can tell you this much, I certainly aspire to have some Moksh jewels in my life, and you should, too!

The Moksh pieces that really reached out and touched me at COUTURE 2023 included a pair of rings from the Kyoto collection (based on the Japanese construct of Wabi-Sabi), the Kyoto Emerald Ring (a 10.50ct sugar loaf emerald surrounded by 0.55cts of diamonds and 2.34cts of Japanese pearls set in 18K gold), and the Kyoto Garnet Ring (an 8.71ct garnet surrounded by 0.44cts of diamonds and 0.49cts of Japanese pearls); the Taantvi Flower Earrings (figural ‘flowers’ of 18K gold set with 1.33cts of diamonds, 0.76cts of Japanese freshwater pearls, and 2.69cts of Japanese Keshi pearls); and three pairs of earrings from the Nuur collection, including the Nuur Flower Earrings, a finalist in the ‘Pearls’ category in the 2022 COUTURE Design Awards (featuring 4.46cts of diamond baguettes and 4.8cts of Japanese freshwater pearls set in a figural ‘flower’ design in 18K gold); the Nuur Hoop Earrings (featuring 3.19cts of diamonds in 18K gold); and the Nuur Shoulder Duster Earrings (with 4.19cts of diamonds, 8,42cts of Japanese freshwater pearls, and a pair of Japanese Keshi pearls of 2.54tcw); as well as the airy Paro Cuff (in 18K gold set with 4.18cts of diamonds, 6.47cts of sapphires, and 0.73cts of Japanese Keshi pearls) from the Paro collection, that draws inspiration from the Buddhist prayer wheels found in Bhutan.

COUTURE 2023: Day 3
Wynn Las Vegas
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