Asteri - from the greek, meaning 'star'. This collection was inspired by the piercing wonder of the midnight sky. Bold and brilliant.
Whisper in technicolour,
shimmer in the moonlight,
nova pierces sky
endlessly and forever
…this is what stars are made of…
The inspiration for the Asteri Collection
On a clear night, when it’s crisp and cold and still outside, the sky seems as if it were a satin ripple of black reflected in a mirror, and all of the stars come alive. It’s as if they are dancing… as if they are piercing into you and through the rules of space and time and distance. You could almost swoop your hand, caress, tap, and hold. The old adage, ‘catch a falling star and put it in your pocket’ is just slightly out of tune on this crisp-and-cold-and-still night. The stars aren’t falling. They’re suspended. Almost childlike in dimensionality, they are larger than seemingly possible, incandescent, alive. It’s a strange optical illusion...in the deepest black of a midnight sky, on the clearest night, you could almost reach a star, and yet it is both pulling away and magnified, it is both forever away and just at the tip of your fingertips.
Asteri is one of my more romantic and sentimental design collections, but, true to the inspirational name, the centre diamond is meant to evoke that feeling of a truly heart-piercing star, hence “Asteri'' meaning star.
My design focuses on large centre diamonds (exquisite hearts-and-arrows cut round brilliants), with a precise halo of shimmer that stretches out to capture that feeling light beams reaching outwards. The setting itself of the ring, a cupped, deep basket, is meant to continue the theme of close and far - of looming brilliant and deep. A piece of jewellery is so dimensional and can be so much more than one angle, the side view can make a statement all its own. Certainly the fact that the showcase ring, Asteri Luxe features a 3ct centre round brilliant (with 0.50cts diamond accents) means that the side glimpse is arrestingly bold, and again is meant to evoke roundness and dynamic interplay of light.
I can’t remember what crisp-and-cold-and still deepest black night inspired the Asteri designs. Things don’t move in a linear fashion when it comes to my creative process. The sketchpad on the side of my bed is full of so many beginnings, but it’s really not until I take that pad out and begin to work out the details. More to come from the Asteri Collection, more stars to emerge.