新一轮高级珠宝商将非洲奢侈品带到世界各地

新一轮高级珠宝商将非洲奢侈品带到世界各地

Africa is often seen as the home of precious gemstones and metals, with the world's leading jewelry houses sourcing a steady stream of diamonds, gold and other minerals from the continent.

非洲通常被视为珍贵宝石和金属的产地，世界领先的珠宝公司从非洲大陆源源不断地采购钻石、黄金和其他矿产。

But Africa isn't merely a source for raw materials: A new wave of homegrown jewelry houses is offering distinctly African luxury to customers near and far.

但非洲不仅仅是原材料的来源:本土珠宝公司掀起一股向远近客户提供具有鲜明非洲特色的奢侈品的新浪潮。

Sierra Leone-born Briton Satta Matturi, creative director of her namesake fine jewelry house, says that African jewelry designers often have to contend with preconceived notions of what African design is.

塞拉利昂出生的英国人萨塔·马图里是她同名的精品珠宝公司的创意总监，她说，非洲珠宝设计师常常不得不与非洲设计的先入为主的观念抗衡。

But there is a rich history of distinct and intricate jewelry craft across the continent. "Each region has its own style. Ghana, with its gold heritage; Kenya's striking Masai neckpieces; South Africa's Ndebele beading; Malian Tuareg adornment, Nigerian coral beads and ancient Egyptian influences," she said in an email sent from Botswana, where she takes regular sourcing trips.

但整个非洲大陆都有丰富的独特而复杂的珠宝工艺历史。”每个地区都有自己的风格。她在从博茨瓦纳发来的电子邮件中说：“加纳拥有黄金遗产;肯尼亚引人注目的马赛人的项链;南非的恩德贝勒串珠;马里图阿雷格装饰、尼日利亚珊瑚珠和古埃及的影响。” 她经常去博茨瓦纳采购。

The house, founded in 2015, already counts Rihanna as a client.

这家公司成立于2015年，蕾哈娜已经是它的客户。

Some of her designs reimagine historical beliefs and traditional craft for present times to create modern desirable pieces. For Matturi, who previously worked as a rough diamond expert for De Beers, this approach anchors her collections and her company.

她的一些设计重新想象了历史信念和传统工艺，为当今时代创造现代的理想作品。马图里之前是戴比尔斯的一名原钻专家，对她来说，这种方法为她的收藏品和公司提供了基础。

"My vision from the very beginning has always been to create designs that are wearable art forms," she said. "For example, our collection "Artful Indulgence" focuses on creating bejeweled African masks and masquerades using 18-karat gold, diamonds and other precious stones, including rubellite and black onyx."

她说：“从一开始，我就一直致力于创造可穿戴艺术形式的设计。”例如，我们的“Artful Indulgence”系列主要使用18克拉黄金、钻石和其他宝石(包括红宝石和黑玛瑙)制作镶有宝石的非洲面具和化装舞会。

Rosenkrantz Africa makes similarly stunning pieces. Founded by Iver Rosenkrantz, the brand was behind the world's largest tanzanite and diamond necklace, containing a total of 600 carats of tanzanite and 100 carats of diamonds -- a feat that brought with it a flurry of new clients.

非洲罗森克兰茨制造了同样惊人的作品。该品牌由艾弗·罗森克兰茨创立，拥有世界上最大的坦桑石和钻石项链，总共含有600克拉的坦桑石和100克拉的钻石，这一壮举带来了一大批新客户。

But along with developing a unique design sensibility, which fuses the aesthetics of his native Denmark with the Tanzanian and Iranian roots of his wife, Jhaleh Aziz, the brand's creative director, Rosenkrantz has been developing supply chains as well.

但罗森克兰茨除了开发出一种独特的设计感——将他的祖国丹麦的美学与他的妻子、该品牌的创意总监贾勒·阿齐兹的坦桑尼亚和伊朗血统融合在一起——之外，他还一直在开发应链。

"My experience and network in Africa amongst rural communities and artisanal miners has made it possible for us to work directly with people at the source. This means we are able to influence the way the gemstones are being extracted and support the miners," he said via text.

“我在非洲农村社区的经验和与手工矿工之间(关系)网络，使我们能够直接与源头的人合作。这意味着我们能够影响开采宝石的方式，并为矿工提供支持。”

Although based in Tanzania, Rosenkrantz recently co-founded Zimbaqua, Africa's first woman-only run mine for aquamarine and tourmaline based in Zimbabwe. Rosenkrantz believes that investing in, and upskilling local women will serve these communities in the long run. In addition to sourcing the gemstones, the miners have been trained in cutting and polishing, which allows them to increase the value of the gemstones themselves.

虽然总部设在坦桑尼亚，但罗森克兰茨最近与合伙人共同创立了Zimbaqua公司，这是非洲第一个仅由女性经营得海蓝宝石和电气石矿的公司，总部设在津巴布韦。罗森克兰茨认为，从长远来看，对当地妇女投资并提高其技能，将为这些社区提供服务。除了开采宝石，矿工们还接受了切割和抛光方面的培训，这使他们能够提高宝石本身的价值。