THE BUYER
The jewelry designer Bibi van der Velden had an international upbringing: Born in New York, and raised in the Netherlands and the British countryside, she trained as a sculptor in Florence, Amsterdam and The Hague. In 2005, with a sculptor’s appreciation of the intricate techniques necessary to working with stone and precious metals, she began to make one-off pieces of jewelry—pieces she called “wearable works of art.” Last year, she expanded, launching Auverture, an online portal selling fine jewelry by designer-makers from around the world—chosen, she tells me, for “the stories they tell through their designs.” Here, she explains the stories behind three pieces she’s currently stocking.
DIAMOND OCTOPUS EARRINGS
By Gaelle Khouri
“Gaelle is a rising talent in Lebanon. Her combination of materials—white diamonds and baroque pearls, with the tentacles made in 18-karat white and rose gold—works beautifully, and the mechanism is cleverly integrated into the design, with the head of the octopus locking around the ear.”
€31,280 ($33,250)