A romance with colored gemstones

Jewelry has always been a perennial style staple, since women first tried on their mother’s pearls.

As women continue this love affair with jewelry, H.Stern continues to look to the past for inspiration, and imagine the future to create timeless yet contemporary pieces.

Colorful success story

Founded in 1945 by Hans Stern, the brand  started from a small gemstone trading business in Rio de Janeiro, and has flourished into a colorful success story offering fine jewelry and promoting the exotic beauty and value of gemstones such as tourmalines, topazes, amethysts and citrines—gems Stern had always loved.

Hans eventually passed on his legacy to his eldest son Roberto, president and chief designer, who sought new sources of creative inspiration through nature, architecture, history and culture, and strived to reinvent the brand’s image by putting more value on the jewelry’s design than the stones used, so each piece could reflect the customer’s lifestyle and desires.

This season, H.Stern captures nature’s charm through their colored gemstones collections: Sunrise, Spring and Moonlight.

Sunrise features citrines in varying shades, from pale yellow to glowing orange, and in pastel tones featuring amethysts, rutilated and smoky quartzes set in 18K yellow or noble gold (a unique alloy of metals creating a neutral tone that’s neither white nor yellow gold), with diamond and sapphire accents.

Another feminine collection is Spring, in which stones are cut in organic shapes to keep the designs natural and fluid.

For a more vintage and romantic appeal, H.Stern’s Moonlight collection seals the deal with antique-cut rock crystal gems in various sizes spruced up with the brand’s trademark 18K noble gold.

Unlikely inspirations

In keeping with H.Stern’s authenticity and quality, the brand makes one creation distinct from another by adding a unique detail on each piece, such as, a small diamond or a small sapphire, known only by the wearer.

As the brand’s progenitor was considered a young German with a Brazilian heart, H.Stern’s designers also created a line inspired by Rua de Pedras, a famous cobblestone paved street in Buzios, Brazil, with charm and international flair, and with a style that recalls the past.

The Cobblestone collection echoes the cobblestone street through its irregular-shaped stones cut with lateral facets, as well as on the inferior part of the stones, enhancing their brilliance and transparency.

Another designer who hasn’t forgotten her roots is Diane von Furstenberg. In collaboration with H.Stern, Furstenberg seeks inspiration from her life, career and personal style to create a collection comprised of “power rings” in colored gemstones, diamonds, rock crystals; earrings and bracelets engraved with inspirational words such as love, creativity and laughter; love-knots serving as the collection’s trademark; and various charms or talismans, to name a few.

To make the pieces even more enchanting, each creation comes in an 18K gold minaudière in the shape of the Portuguese ex-vuoto heart.

“We search the past for inspiration, but our interpretation must be current,” said Roberto.

He added: “We are breaking barriers, pursuing the new but never forgetting our roots.”

H. Stern is available at Adora, 3/F, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati.