Page 63 - Luxury Guide Turbilhão 06

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point of view

Her creations merge modernity with tradition, result-
ing 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 every-
one is wearing them non-stop with their other
Suzanne Kalan pieces”.
The clearest example of Kalan’s ability to defy con-
ventional 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,

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along with her 40 years plus in the industry when look-
ing 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 confi-
dence 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 fam-
ily 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.”