August is near! And with it comes the influx of peridot jewels to ooh and aah at.
Peridot seems more popular now than ever. While blue and green is the hottest color combination of the year (sorry, Barbie), peridot’s chartreuse shade has grabbed people’s attention noticeably.
It used to be that peridot would divide consumers—it’s not exactly inconspicuous—but as more shoppers are embracing color, it feels perfect for this moment. And if that alone doesn’t have you convinced, the latest collaborations from Fuli Gemstones undoubtedly will.
Collaborating with artists both up-and-coming and established—Joy BC, the French house Tournaire, Stephen Webster, and Annoushka among them—the jewels, which were first introduced to the trade at GemGeneve, utilize gemstones from the Fuli mine.
The collaborations for 2023 are pretty epic examples of how compelling peridot can be, especially in the hands of jewelry artists. personally, I can’t get enough of two offerings in particular.
First, there are these earrings pictured above. I mean, wow. If it’s color you’re looking for, they’ve found it. Designed by Stasia Parker, a freelance illustrator of jewelry, the earrings—and equally colorful accompanying pendant—took the gold for 2D Peridot Jewelry Design at the 2022 Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards.
With a design this good, who could possibly be satisfied leaving it as a two-dimensional version on a page? No one, especially not Fuli’s chief marketing officer Pia Tonna—who had the wonderful pieces brought to life by Vipa Designs, an ethical jewelry manufacturer in Birmingham, England.
The other jewel that has my eyeballs popping is the Medusa comb brooch by artist Joy BC (that’s for Bonfield-Colombara), a goldsmith and sculptor based in the U.K. The piece was designed in dark green bronze, 18k red gold, and platinum, with Fuli peridot. The artist describes her creation on Instagram:
“This metamorphic artwork challenges definition. A mutating comb, a brooch—both a sculpture and a jewel. Combs date back to 5500 B.C. Across cultures and continents, they are recognizable domestic objects, which are inherently connected to self-image and grooming. Combining noble metals, gemstones, and bronze, the work oscillates between various material and categorical perceptions associated to both decorative and fine arts.
The teeth of the comb seem to be moving, swaying like the tendrils of an anemone under the sea. We often talk about nature as if it is something separate from us, but we are nature. Medusa connects the human and the animal. She attracts yet disturbs the viewer—her hair a bed of writhing snakes. Though some may think of her as a monster, she was the only mortal out of her Gorgon siblings.
Her name literally means queen. It was the act of violence, rape, and scorn that changed her. Medusa has been a subject for artists throughout the centuries. This piece is my modern take on Medusa. To me, it is a story of a powerful woman wronged—a story that has been repeated over centuries. But it is also a story of transformation and power.”
You can see more of the collaborations on Fuli Gemstones’ Instagram.
Top: Earrings designed by Stasia Parker and created in collaboration with Vipa Designs, with Fuli peridot and colored gemstones
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