There are a lot of contributing factors at work that have made the health of our planet a priority for many, so this Earth Day feels more important than ever. We’ve still got a long way to go, but fortunately, there are many companies—jewelry and otherwise—doing their part to make smart shopping easier for the average consumer. Conflict-free, traceable materials and earth-friendly techniques are all vital aspects to responsibly made jewelry, and an impressive set of independent designers are working hard to make taking care of our planet look really, really good.
One of those talents is the astonishingly creative Fernando Jorge. His eponymous collection debuted in 2010, and the Brazilian designer has picked up a number of deserved awards along the way—most recently for jewelry design at the 2019 Gem Awards.
Collaborating with small workshops in São Paulo, Jorge ensures his creations are imbued with his native Brazil, fusing his high-end pieces with innovative technology and continuously surprising with a style I can think best to call “out there” (please, take that as a compliment). Each of his jewels defines contemporary style, with looks that seem sent from galaxies far, far away (never thought I’d find a place for a Star Wars reference, but here it is).
Exhibit: the Surround collection. It has everything Jorge is wickedly adept at—fresh, inimitable design, brilliant gemstones, that electric aesthetic (he actually does have a collection named Electric)—that to me could only be dreamt up by someone whose imagination extends all the way to space. Surround, though, takes on another element, utilizing materials native to Brazil, such as the tagua nut and petrified wood, with precious materials like nephrite jade and pink opal—and there are diamonds, of course.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn3GZyYAvNb/
Via: @fernandojorge
The collection debuted in the fall of 2018, and pieces of it have already made their rounds on the red carpet: Mother of Dragons herself, Emilia Clarke, wore nephrite jade earrings from the collection to the 2018 Emmy Awards, and Amy Adams wore earrings in petrified wood and diamonds to the BAFTA Tea Party this year.
But new additions to the collection continue to arise, their circular elements joining for the most epic way to celebrate the gifts of the earth, particularly in these iterations featuring tagua nut. This not the first time Jorge has used these materials in his design—his first personal jewelry project, in 2002, incorporated jarina seeds from the tagua palm (also known as the ivory palm). Leave it to Fernando Jorge to take an already-beautiful offering from Mother Earth and dazzle it to unrelenting perfection.
Top: Signal earrings in 18k yellow gold with tagua nut, petrified wood, mother-of-pearl, and diamonds, $13,570
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