After celebrating the ten-year anniversary of her eponymous brand last year, Melanie Georgacopoulos was keen to mark the milestone with a change of direction. Her new jewellery collection, titled Carats, is the first time she has worked with both natural pearls and diamonds.
In a play on texture, Georgacopoulos unites the two materials, the hard diamonds appearing to sink into their soft cushions of mother-of-pearl. The effect is of spontaneity; the diamonds, seemingly just pressed in, follow the laws of gravity and force the jeweller to relinquish control. ‘The loss of control was a feeling I have had since Covid-19 started, and it was important for me to find a way to showcase it in my jewellery,’ Georgacopoulos says.
‘I luckily found the right lapidary that I was able to trust to carve the mother-of-pearl based on sketches I had done. Ultimately, “losing control” not only reflected the Covid situation we all found ourselves in, but it also resulted in acceptance and hope that everything will be all right in the end. I am very happy with the carving and the embedded technique, and the end result is even better than I had hoped.’
The pieces observe the natural, uncut shapes of the diamonds; as with pearls, they have been used in jewellery straight after being harvested or unearthed. In a pair of earrings, Georgacopoulos nods to her familiar sliced pearls technique by slicing through a rough diamond. In other jewels, different cuts and colours of diamonds add a playful juxtaposition, while asymmetrical pairs of earrings celebrate the natural imperfections of the stones.
For Georgacopoulos, it is finally the right time to embrace working with diamonds. ‘It added more processes to each piece and meant I had to find the right setter as I used different kinds of diamonds and diamond setting techniques: roughs, old mine cuts, brilliants and pavé,’ she says. ‘But, finding the right balance between the diamonds and the natural pearls was a welcome challenge.
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