In case you would be looking for a beautiful gift for someone special (or yourself), and money is not a problem, please look no further. The upper-end jewellery brand Graff just launched a new set of designs called “The Tribal Collection” – more info here. It’s only too bad their marketing department didn’t do their research, as the rest of the world has been trying to refrain from the use of the denominator ‘tribal’ for a while.
Part of the collection are the above all-diamond earrings – clearly inspired by the reliquary guardian figures of the Kota from Gabon – although the below description on the website fails to mention that inspiration..
A highly evocative design that interprets elemental shapes found in nature, our Night Moon diamond high jewellery earrings frame the face with graphic brilliance. Forming the sculptural Night Moon motif, a perfect half-moon symbolic of clarity and reflection, perfectly proportioned oval diamonds are encircled by double diamond halos. Suspended beneath, invisibly set baguette cut stones trace a striking diamond shape, accompanied by rows of round diamonds that shimmer spectacularly with each movement of the wearer. The Tribal collection captures Graff’s mastery of design and storytelling through diamonds. Three striking motifs unite the collection, which includes petite pendants, earrings and rings alongside hypnotic jewels featuring sleek and sculptural rows of diamonds.
Besides the earrings, the necklace also features a central Kota-inspired diamond motif (see below). Laurence Graff in fact is one of the world’s top 200 art collectors, and previously already created jewellery inspired by the works of Cy Twombly. It’s nice to see his African art also gets to inspire his designs – although it’s a bit of a missed opportunity to not mention the genius anonymous artists that came up with the archetype of the much-celebrated Kota reliquary figures. The diamonds surely are as glittering as the original brass-covered statues once were..
Sara Sampaio wearing the Night Moon pieces shot on location in the Atlantis Dune in South Africa. Image by Mikael Jansson, courtesy of Graff.