Internationally celebrated for her signature Fireworks designs and innovative use of baguette diamonds, Suzanne Kalan has redefined contemporary fine jewellery.
Her creations merge modernity with tradition, resulting in pieces that are both bold and timeless. Suzanne Kalan is at peace with the fact that her unique and avant-garde design style means she must sometimes wait for others to catch up. “Often, it’s a slower start with new designs,” she explains. “But a year later? Suddenly they’re on fire, and the trend never stops- the pieces become timeless, and everyone is wearing them non-stop with their other Suzanne Kalan pieces”.
The clearest example of Kalan’s ability to defy conventional jewellery rules and of creating new trends in the jewellery world, is her Fireworks bangle. “Baguette diamonds were never popular,” she says, “they were seen as old-fashioned and traditional, and as being difficult to work with. Jewellers preferred to avoid them.” But when unpacking a parcel of baguettes, she paused to admire the arrangement of the sparkling forms scattered on a table. “The idea of setting them like that just popped into my head,” she says. “It ended up changing everything.”
The Fireworks’ sense of movement and modernism has made it one of the 21st century’s most influential jewellery designs, particularly the firework tennis bracelet and tennis necklaces. “Tennis bracelets just used to sit in safes,” says Kalan. “I hate the idea of designing something that gathers dust. Women want something they can wear, with jeans or with black tie, I want them to wear them non-stop layering, adding more, having fun with the pieces.”
Colour is another Suzanne Kalan signature, with the designer pioneering the use of rainbow gemstones and vivid centre stones. She uses her instinct, intuition, along with her 40 years plus in the industry when looking for stones. “I recently bought some opals that were really one in a million, not as expensive as some opals. But they had a beauty all their own. I have that confidence now, to do something unexpected that I know will work. That’s the aim: to create something original and surprising, that stands the test of time. I want my jewellery to be passed down.”
Kalan’s daughter Patile, is now by her side in the family business, as is Kalan’s husband and son. She also adds, “my granddaughter is only four, she’s already crazy about jewellery, so I think she might be the third generation running Suzanne Kalan one day.”
