August 9, 2021: Said to be the Gold of the North and infused with the power of the sun, designer jeweller Fawaz Gruosi’s newest collection sends a new message of love as he travels the amber road. A powerful creative force to be reckoned with in the world of high jewellery, Mr. Gruosi has always seen beauty in unconventional materials and has found inspiration in the most unexpected of places.
For the inaugural collection for his new brand, Mr. Gruosi has explored the glories of the mysterious and mesmerising amber. Tracing his introduction to amber by a Lithuanian friend who loved to collect amber on the beaches of the Baltic Sea, where some of the finest specimens of it are found, Mr. Gruosi learned more when he discovered a spectacular strand of amber beads in a Milan antique shop and let his imagination run free when he took those beads home.
Amber is a primordial, organic, bio-material, fossilised resin of conifer trees, that when damaged shed their unctuous sap from around 50 million years ago and is warm, light, tactile and highly prized. When the vast plains of the European mainland which were littered with forests of pine trees were submerged by the oceans sweeping in, the sinking landmasses during the cataclysmic geological events led to the eventual wash up of amber on the shores, as a wondrous natural treasure. Deposits can be found all across the globe, from the Dominican Republic to Myanmar, which is also the source of the oldest amber in the world, around a 100 million years old; and from Siciliy to Romania. The best and most plentiful supplies still come from the Baltic region, specifically from an area on the Baltic Sea, between Lithuania and Poland, called Kaliningrad.
Coming in a wide range of colours such as honey, golden yellow, white, red, brown, and even blue, amber can be clear or opaque or even a mix of both. This opacity is caused by the presence of bubbles. The presence of organic materials that became trapped within the resinous substance-leaves, tree barks and all kinds of insects make for one of the most fascinating aspects of amber. This makes every specimen unique, each with its own character, especially sculpted by the ocean, the soil and each telling its own story of the birth of the planet and offering a glimpse of eternity.
Using amber’s organic composition and its ageless story of metamorphosis, Mr. Gruosi has found preciousness in its story and rarity with a very modern message of life, light and luxury. He has found an entirely new and exciting gem material, with a new colour, texture, warmth, facility and sensuality; and he challenges preconceptions of value and preciousness with this unique collection displaying the fire of passion.
Using the rarest and most sought-after, rich, honey golden yellow amber; this collection has used amber skilfully carved into cabochons or curvaceous elements, create shapes of drop-hoop earrings, a slender bangle inset with a single diamond, smooth half-oval surmounts of earrings, linear yet mellifluous layers on voluptuous rings which amplify the innate warmth and sensual tactility of amber. Mr. Gruosi plays with deep colours, combining amber unexpectedly with fuchsia pink sapphires and onyx cabochons, with diamonds, rose fold and yellow sapphires. He has set amber cabochons like gemstones, into gold drop-hoop earrings and has created a dramatic, spectacular wide cuff bangle with its centre cinched with a line of amethyst baguettes, punctuated with square studs of green jade.
To quote Mr Gruosi’s words about his collection, “To me, amber is incredibly beautiful because it is made by natural phenomena, taking millions of years to be transformed."
