Inverted diamonds, displaced stones, lines that seem to defy gravity: the Brazilian jeweler imagines a high jewelry where classical codes become material for reinterpretation.
Sometimes all it takes is turning a stone over to change how a piece of jewelry is perceived.
That is precisely what Ara Vartanian does. In his creations, the diamond does not always occupy the place that tradition reserves for it. It is inverted, suspended, set into an unexpected construction. The gesture looks simple; behind it lies a precise knowledge of gemstones and jewelry techniques.
Born in Beirut into an Armenian family, Ara Vartanian grew up in São Paulo, surrounded by the world of precious stones. His father built a major business there around diamonds and gemstones. Yet the future jeweler began on a completely different path. After studying economics at Boston University, he spent four years in New York working as a trader on the Nasdaq.
In 2000, he returned to Brazil and joined the family business. Two years later, he designed his first pieces of jewelry. In 2005, he opened his own workshop in São Paulo.
Since then, his signature has rested on a simple idea: knowing the rules in order to move them better.
Jewelry in Motion
At Ara Vartanian, form is never separated from the body. The jewels are designed to move, to accompany a gesture, to find their balance on the skin. This research gives rise to pieces with a graphic presence, where gold and precious stones engage in a sometimes unexpected dialogue.
The designer also gives great importance to the work of his workshop. Around thirty artisans (jewelers, stone setters, polishers and specialists in particular techniques) make the House’s creations by hand. Drawing remains closely tied to craftsmanship. A stone can alter a construction, a setting can impose new proportions, a mechanism can transform the silhouette imagined on paper.
Sabrina Gasperin, a Story for Two
Since 2006, Ara Vartanian’s journey has also been bound up with Sabrina Gasperin, the Brazilian model who became his muse and partner.
Present from the House’s very first campaign, she also contributed to the creation of a collection that bears her name. The Bone earring is one of its best-known pieces.
Their campaigns have gradually taken on a more personal dimension. They tell a love story as much as they accompany the evolution of the brand. This openly embraced intimacy gives the jewels another resonance: that of objects that become part of a life, rather than mere images.
Between Jewelry and Contemporary Art
Ara Vartanian’s curiosity has also led him toward contemporary art. He has collaborated with Janaina Tschäpe and Ernesto Neto and, in 2017, with Kate Moss on a collection of 27 pieces.
These encounters extend his taste for free forms and materials in motion. The Brazilian jeweler’s latest creations follow this same line of research. The precious stone becomes an architectural element, at times surprising, always designed for the body.
Ara Vartanian does not seek to break with tradition. He prefers to make it take a step sideways. A reminder that in jewelry, it sometimes takes only a shift of perspective to reveal a new form.
