LILY GABRIELLA FINE JEWELLERY
Drawing inspiration from art and architecture, Lily Gabriella Elia’s creations are joyous ‘mini sculptures’ that incorporate both precious and unconventional materials in delightful ways. “I don’t believe in design boundaries, and I don’t limit my pieces to conventional jewellery materials,” says the Londonbased, Brazilian designer.
One of her best sellers — the marble rings are composed of meticulously carved marble shanks set with large precious centre stones. In these pieces, she effectively contrasts different marble colours with large gemstones, achieving a thrilling stone ‘alchemy’. She was able to achieve the design by reducing the marble, usually used for large construction purpose, to a very small and extremely precious scale.
In another favourite piece, the Spira rings she created each from a single piece of gold and then set them with diamonds or gemstones.
Lily has always been fascinated by the way “architects sculpt light”. In a recent collaboration with Sotheby’s Diamonds, she attempts to “capture the light and life” of a series of rare coloured diamonds in a nine-jewel, capsule collection. In the Solar cuff for instance, she positioned a 21.15ct oval yellow diamond in the centre of a concave and filled the surrounding space with white and yellow sapphires, emulating the art deco sunrise motif.
Most of Lily’s work is bespoke, and she loves the unrestrained freedom of these commissions, describing them as both challenging and exciting: “It’s a wonderful process of fusing my clients’ style and personality with my own aesthetic and design ethos.”
For more information, visit www.lilygabriella.com.