Aquamarine gemstones never fail to court attention. On her wedding night last year, the Duchess of Sussex chose to wear an emerald-cut Aquamarine cocktail ring that previously belonged to Princess Diana. The next day, the stone had made the front pages of national newspapers internationally. These pastel green and blue gemstones have captivated throughout all of time – for it has been said that aquamarine gemstones are the treasure of mermaids and talisman of good fortune to sailors. Aquamarines are timeless and in demand. The darker the colour of aquamarine, the more valuable the gemstone is considered to be, of which those known as ‘Santa Maria’ (sourced exclusively from the Santa Maria mines in Brazil) are considered the most intensely coloured and expensive in the world. As jewelry designers, why wouldn’t we want to work with aquamarines.

The Arctic collection is the star of our aquamarine jewellery designs. The collection is inspired by the cool blue waters of the arctic and the white of the icebergs glistening in the sun like diamonds. From the initial inspiration to the finished design, here we’d like to reveal to you the story of how we brought this new collection to life.

1. Design Inspiration

Our team love traveling and pride ourselves on an international team. Thus, all of our collections are inspired by luxury travel destinations often visited by Founder Alexandra. Thus we have a South of France Collection, a Parisian Collection, a Portofino Collection…and our latest collection – the Arctic Collection.

Due to the consultation of guides and research of pictures of the Arctic landscape, Alexandra fell in love with the colours and lines modeled by nature – the jagged angles of the monumental icebergs, the deep blue of the sky and the sea, the striking contrast between blue and white of glistening icebergs. The natural component is predominant in a trip to the Arctic – you lose yourself in the void with the aim to reconnect with nature.

2. Drawings and Design

The powerful images of the Arctic landscape held a space in Alexandra’s thoughts for a short time, as she promptly put her ideas on paper and started sketching a new collection. “The choice of using aquamarine came naturally” she revealed. “This gemstone is a blue variety of beryl, coming from the same family as emerald. The best gems combine high clarity and transparency and are almost free of inclusions, thus sparkle wonderfully!”. Our Arctic Collection features hand-selected aquamarines the designer picks personally. For this reason Alexandra opted for a simple and geometric design, aimed to draw the attention to aquamarines and resemble the jagged angles of icebergs.

3. Handmade in London

A whole new collection was shortly born and Alexandra’s hand-drawn designs were waiting for the approval of our craftsmen in London. Our highly skilled team craft jewels by hand, harnessing the knowledge and expertise of generations of jewellery professionals.

The Arctic Collection

Our ready-to-wear Aquamarine Arctic Collection is composed by earrings, rings, necklaces and cufflinks and has become a go-to both for women and men who love to captivate with timeless and elegant designs. Intricate details are what characterise our bespoke pieces, which are tailored starting from our client’s ideas and showing their true character.
Our journey has come to an end, now you know all the secrets behind the Arctic Collection. If you are interested in this collection you can contact us via Almost Essential. We make ourselves available for any enquiry you may have and especially if you love aquamarine and would like a bespoke jewellery piece crafted for you.

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Written by Cristina G. from Alexandra’s award winning jewellery design studio.