Magnus Oculus

"My friends call me the Queen of Rubies" shares Hanan Sultan who centers much of her work with the gemstone. Explaining her love further she adds "they run through my family heirlooms, particularly my grandmother's jewellery and I feel that red is timeless, powerful and expressive." By inviting her clients to embrace the sartorial power of constrained choices, Sultan is illustrating that sometimes not only is less more, but also by far the better. As many in Planet Jewellery fret about which side of the natural and lab grown gemstones divide they sit on, Sultan uses both, with her hair adornments set wifh lab grown rubies and the bespoke earrings pictured in Slide 1 utilizing natural rubies set in 18ct yellow gold. Sustainable practices segue naturally on a by project basis rather than being humble bragged about excessively on her feed, with Sultan's atelier taking on a number of restoration projects but always with the objective of adding something new and distinct. A recent endeavour close to her heart was "My Mother's Dented ring" slides 2 and 3 which saw Sultan repair and reset her mother's ring. "I truly believe that art or design are always paused or abandoned rather than ever being truly finished " she notes of her design credo. Observe closer and there is an element of 'to be continued' with her body of work, with an elasticity for design extensions of ideas already present. Although a relative new entrant into the jewellery landscape, her maison has garnered a lot of attention and accolades. From being a finalist in Milan Jrwellery Week's Calibre D'Oro Award to being awarded Retail Jeweller's"'Rising Star 30 under 30", the momentum is ever preseht . However, Sultan is at pains to wear the praise lightly adding: "Recognition is really appreciated but it is not what drives me. I am constantly thinking about the next project and the possibilities and I'm always very excited" As too are those who've encountered her work: a jeweller who is simultaneously intuitive and and a deep thinker, and whose passion for her craft knows no bounds. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #hanansultan #finejewellery #magnusoculusredux

Oftentimes, a gamechanging piece is born out of considered observation. "Hair is really an extension of the human body, but in modern life, hair adornment has become very disposable. "notes Hanan Sultan, in regard to the genesis of her Hairclips Collection. Reflecting on how across cultures and race, hair is a potent symbol of beauty, Sultan went about addressing this anomaly and created gold plated hairclips set wifh lab-grown rubies. Launched in 2022, the collection took on a momentum of its own, in no small part due to its clean lines, in keeping with the 'Quiet Luxury', but also blood red rubies bringing the Middle East razzle-fazzle special sauce to proceedings too. Furthermore, unlike the more formal tiara, this was insouciant everyday luxury in step with modern times. Functional and beautiful, most definitely not meant for confinement in a vault and embraced wholeheartedly by the younger jewellery collector. "I wanted to reclaim hair adornment as something worth cherishing and passing down as heirlooms" she adds. Sultan's experimental approach has brought with it a clientele of thinking women. "My work invites dialog, it is never something static or final. Most of my collectors begin with questions, conversation and a type of shared curiosity" she observes, and she sees these collaborative discourses as an essential part of her process. Furthermore residing in Muscat, London and Dubai has meant each city has made a mark via geography, aesthetics and architecture, imprinting on her design memory and informing how she works from sketch, to bench. "I am deeply hands on, and very involved with every stage including the difficult and unglamorous parts." Embedding her knowledge, and skills into every piece results in jewels that have a soul of their own. #mazzimusings #hanansultan #finejewellery

"Neotraditionalism to me is about revisiting tradition without being constrained by it. It is essentially cultural identity in motion rather than something that is fixed" jewellery designer Hanan Sultan shares in our latest #magnusoculusredux In the space of five years, Sultan has founded a maison that uses her own personal biography of Omani roots and Dubai and London as current places of work and perennial inspiration as the building blocks to research, present, and propose different ways of engaging with jewellery. Frankincense, designed in 2020 was her first collection and reframed traditional Omani wedding rituals, where frankincense, presented to the bride as part of her dowry and burnt to evoke harmony and calm between bride and groom is made into a suite of jewels featuring gold with pearl accents. The choice of frankincense and gold was intentional, both materials valued highly in an Omani context but also affording another dimension in the wearing process as the scent of the Frankincense emanates as it is warmed by the body's temperature. Sultan adds "it allows jewellery to exist beyond form, it becomes a lived experience." However, Sultan also notes "The challenge was creating something culturally rooted but also quite progressive." The headpiece is in fact an adaptation of a kumma, a hat normally worn by Omani men. Sultan explains "I reinterpretated it as a crown, I wanted it to be a gift to the bride that symbolizes equality." Cultural movement is often most clearly witnessed in adornment choices. In this collection, Sultan deftly walks between preservation, provocation and the wearable pretty with elan. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #hanansultan

"As a student I got increasingly curious about contemporary jewellery art although fast forward to 2013 and I'd finished my PhD and my work has continued in this line and I was completely burnt out and it was very much related to working in contemporary jewellery art! I didnt really enjoy visiting galleries or seeing exhibitions and I found them not very welcoming or warm." Hannah Tomoko shares. Fortunately, the disillusionment came after the creation of the piece pictured, entitled One Vulnerable Position, No.4 out of 99, which was part of her master's project whilst studying in Sweden. Tomoko makes valid points in regard to the micro and macro aggressions within the art and by extention jewellery art world. Any ecosystem with in and out groups can impede and disrupt a creative's course and it is a premise vividly explored in the brooch thqt is made out of potato, iron and silver. "Creating feels like home, so that feeling of comfort and trust is what I seek in the design process." Thus Tomoko designed a brooch that can either be worn alone and as a pendant too, or displayed as a sculptural object. It's genesis lies in the domestic, Tomoko chose to sculpt some potatoes and let them dry over the summer and that formed the basis of a greater idea. The shriveled potato she likened to a "mini timeline of human life, how something that was once alive was now dried out and echoed the loneliness and fragility of life" Encouraged, she made a bigger statement sculpting an additional 99 companions that could either be viewed on a custom made rack as a collective comment on life's impermanence or be a wearable organic reminder for the chic, contemplative clients that have grown in number since her 2018 founding. Creating a jewellery art piece that is in dialog with the mind and body is in keeping with Tomoko's practice where she aims to ask big questions and tackle answering them one piece at a time. In eschewing labeling, Tomoko also aims to open up this seemingly intellectually and aesthetically rarefied world to others, inviting them in to play, wear and treasure forever. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #magnusoculusredux #hannahtomoko #jewelry

"So often when I hear the word "inspiration" it kind of makes me bristle up because I cannot put a finger on what inspires me, or it is perhaps not what people think." Hannah Tomoko shares Movement both voluntary and involuntary are at the core of Tomoko's personal history as she explains "It is how I grew up and it is part of my core identity " Born in San Francisco, early years in Wisconsin, camping holidays in the US desert and a seismic move to Belgium when she was 11, the country of her parent's birth all left their mark: "to be very honest it affected me in ways that I never realized and were very difficult to handle" she notes. However, the experience could also be seen as informing Tomoko's sense of intellectual curiosity which saw her firstly in Paraguay and then in Sweden where as an Erasmus Exchange Student she studied at Konstfack University College for Arts Craft and Design and where her professors included jewellery artist Karen Pontopiddan, silversmith Anders Ljundberg and artist Miro Sazdic. A more timid and rigid practitioner might have bolted and stuck to the safety of studying solely in Belgium, but Tomoko embraced the creative adventure promised, resulting in Hurt Body No.1, pictured, her first piece completed in Sweden. "I was really encouraged to work with alternative materials, so I started testing plastic in trash...and I really enjoyed working with these skins parchment and leather. And it might sound strange but to me they had characteristics that reminded me of metals as there was a tension, a specific direction within them." If one can attribute one word to Tomoko's practice, it would be experimentation. Hers is a creative story where she is compelled to embrace places, methodologies, materials and possibilities and craft forever pieces that speak to the beating heart of her creativity. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #magnusoculusredux #hannahtomoko #jewelry

"How can you love something if you toss it out when it becomes outdated? Or the moment it becomes imperfect? I think by consuming this way, we are robbing ourselves of the love an object can actually give us" jewellery designer Hannah Tomoko shares I'm our latest #magnusoculusredux . Tomoko is best known for the Linea collection , her bold extrapolation of the possibilities of filigree. But underpinning all of her work is the notion of timeless elegance; her quest to create it, share it with her clients and present it as an alternative to the cult of newness and more."There was a mindfulness I had as a child to clothes, tools, objects so I do like things to last." Pictured is the Linea 410 Infinity Bangle in silver, a design that Tomoko developed in 2005 during her second year at Belgium's prestigious PXL-MAD where she was tutored by David Huycke and Audi Pauwels. For Tomoko, the desire to create a piece that spoke to her initial encounter making jewellery, when she spent a year in Luque, Paraguay after high school was especially important. Of her time in Paraguay she notes " The town was very well known for filigree which came[there] through Jesuit 17th century missions, but I had never seen filigree before, so. I found a teacher [who said] there is no way you will learn the skill in 6 months but if you are interested you can come....he would give me an exercise and what I think was striking in hindsight was his workshop was extremely small and simple and his tools were very basic." Witnessing first hand that constraint didn't necessary stall stellar outcomes, Tomoko adopted a similar approach with Linea, "I like the symbolic idea behind it, of what could be possible with wire and the result was something quite interesting and both professors were so enthusiastic about this project that they encouraged me to continue researching it even it was for other projects." It was feedback Tomoko took to heart with Linea available in an array of audacious and singular in their design and execution iterations. From dramatic neck pieces and pendants to earrings and bangles Tomoko's aesthetic sensibilities are evident. #magnusoculus #mazzimusings #hannahtomoko

"The themes explored in my Serpentine Ring always bring a tear to my eye because the story embodied is from religion as well as the warrior part of my heritage" intimates Munpreet Virdy. Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism was said to have had an encounter with a protective serpent spirit. Instead of attacking the guru or retreating in fear, the cobra offered its hood as covering for him from the beating sun; a reflection on the Guru's own message of oneness, and how all creation can live in harmony rather than opposition to one another. Virdy wished to impress this idea further in the form of the "Ik Onkar" carved on the inside of the ring, but working with jewellers who were not familiar with the ancient script meant it was placed, seemingly inverted. "I felt disappointed, but then my father said it was actually perfect because when you take off the ring the Ik is actually the right way around." Messaging intact, the Serpentine Ring's tail revisits the martial history that is part of Sikhism as a belief system, with the tail looking more like a sword than entirely reptilian. "I definitely wanted to bring in the fierce resilience that is intrinsic to us as warriors" Virdy notes as she expands that the sword can also be seen as defensive rather than aggressive; a reminder to stand your ground, something Virdy embraces fully in her craft: "my vision is to create pieces which are meaningful, intentional and uncompromising in quality. " For now, Munpreet remains principally a private jewellery maison, creating pieces for clients who appreciate Virdy's hands on approach, distinct eye for truly special gemstones and commitment to elevating her culture."For non Sikhs it is an opportunity to learn and appreciate and see how they themselves can relate to the messages, and for me it is the biggest compliment because clients return." Jewels that pose questions, widen vista's and beautify the wearer are the moderh treasures needed for times such as these. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #munpreet_official #magnusoculusredux #finejewellery #africanjewelry

It is a truism that history is a tale of the victors, but art in all its expressions allows for different perspectives to be shared and more importantly, equally valid stories to be heard. Intrinsically woven into the brand DNA of Munpreet is honoring memories and the present realities they bring. "When India was partitioned and Pakistan came into being, the Punjab was split. Many lives were lost, many families were split up, for many this moment in history that is celebrated represented heartbreak," Virdy shares candidly. It also created tension, where commemoration can just as easily be misinterpreted as provocation. For Virdy, whose family's post partition migration history took in Uganda before settling in Zambia, the Dharam ring (pictured) is a moving reminder of fortitude in beauty. "I named it Dharam [because] that is my Grandfather's name and I wanted to honor him" Virdy explains, however the distinctive pave diamond stud like forms are "inspired by the studs on shields back in the day, we're talking eighteenth century here and the centre stone is a Zambian emerald because I really wanted to connect to my two heritages. I am patriotic about being a Zambian, and as a gemmologist I love the blue tones and the clarity." Virdy injected further elements of surprise in her choice of reverse setting the diamonds used in the ring. "It brings more sparkle because the facets of the diamonds are upwards and outwards and it is also more ferocious." she adds. Private clientele have been drawn to its compelling form, with many ordering the design, occasionally, with a different central gemstone. Yet, it is in this iteration that Virdy's sense of home, belonging and protection segue into one. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #munpreet_official #magnusoculusredux #africanjewelry #highjewellery

"I believe that a piece of art or a piece of jewellery should be more than just a beautiful piece. It should have a message, and my pieces offer a transformational, wearable message of resistance, justice, courage and identity" shares Munpreet Virdy, founder and creative director of Munpreet and our latest #magnusoculusredux . Virdy's jewellery journey has not been linear: "I was not lucky to inherit this path, and have faced many challenges due to not being a generational family business" she shares. However, her unique perspective as a Zambian of Punjabi descent has resulted in a body of work that interrogates culture and identity from a contemporary, wearable lens. Her Intuition Ring (pictured) is designed to be worn on the index finger and is inspired by the traditional Sikh Kirpan, a ceremonial sword that is worn as a symbol of justice. In this instance Virdy chose to create a piece that would be a "modern heirlooms but still very rooted in Sikh culture." The piece has also had the added boon of becoming a signature piece for fhe maison, instantly recognizable and in tune with the interiority that Virdy hopes each piece will convey. And the sword motif has been extended and modified into a pendant necklace, earrings and a bracelet. However, in its original iteration. it is a powerful statement of intent. Eschewing conventional ideas of the sort of rings that sell beyond matrimonial ones: for example cocktail rings, stackables or a smaller piece designed for the little finger, reflects Virdy's desire for each piece to be edgy but situated in heritage. One uses their index fingers to point and Virdy proposes that the jewels designated for that finger should also indicate the path we wish to follow, but always on our own fierce, stylistic terms. #mazzimusings #munpreet_official #africanjewelry #finejewellery #magnusoculus

"Jewellery is a talisman, an amulet, that can hold memories, contain healing properties and have protective qualities" shares Noor Fares in an in depth interview on Magnus Oculus (link in the bio), and these ideas are ones she returns to in each of her collections. For her, the pieces she designs have a holistic role to play with even nomenclature bringing a profound element to proceedings. Fares' Prana collection and its sister collection Padma are articulations of the divine breath and the sacred lotus flower respectively. Prana takes its name from the Sanskrit for breath of life, with each piece being an ode to the Chakras. The first slide features the Sahasrara Pendant a carved amethyst representing the crown Chakra, which is traditionally denoted by the colour violet, and believed to govern our infinite potential and connection to the divine. Yogic traditions acknowledged, Fares adds diamond pave for glamour with purpose flourish and the choice of yellow gold points to classicism and the fact that yellow and violet are opposites on the colour wheel. Balance is both essential and evident always. Ths Muzo Lotus earrings in slide 2 are a carved rose quartz and emerald one-two punch, with emeralds long associated with truth, revelation whereas rose quartz recognized as a catalyst for increased self-love and compassion. In short, these are jewels with therapeutic receipts. As a lifelong collector of jewels and art, Fares is acutely aware of the value people place on their jewellery, both of the intrinsic and literal kind. However, she is proposing something else, collectables that do not reside in a vault but punctuate the everyday, act as a prompt to tap into the extraordinary and bring joy as they sit next to our skin. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #noorfares #finejewellery

"When researching themes for my collections I reference artifacts and artworks in a similar way as if I had to write an essay" shares Noor Fares, the latest deep dive on Magnus Oculus (link in the bio). It is a meticulous approach but unsurprising when one considers that prior to studying gemmology and jewellery design, Fares earned a degree in History of Art. A trip Fares took to Myanmar included time spent near Lake Inle the traditional homeland of the Lahu Nyi Shan, an ethnic group who are known for their distinctive concentric spiral jewellery that is made and worn by women (see slide 3 for an image of an antique 19th century piece). Fares, inspired by both what she saw and Buddhist notions of cyclic existence, created the Inle Collection which includes an Amulet with concentric circles dusted with diamonds(slide 1) made with 18k Grey Gold and offered in a series of carved stone pendants, earrings and rings which feature either labradorite and diamonds (slide 3), pink opal and fiamonds or moonstone and diamonds. The juxtaposition of heritage and reinterpretation is something that Fares returns to frequently, always being mindful to be respectful and celebratory of people and places. In many ways her work with the Inle Collection and others can be seen as an important intervention; making stunning, wearable amplifications of craftsmanship and traditions that would otherwise fade into history. #mazzimusings #noorfares #finejewellery #magnusoculus

How do you build a successful independent jewellery house that has steadily grown and taken its place in an industry that is oftentimes ruthless terrain for smaller maisons? Noor Fares, with whom I had the pleasure of having a deep dive conversation with for Magnus Oculus (link in the bio) believes its by "paying attention to the way people are wearing jewellery [and] what are they doing." At first read this statement might feel like a breezy truism but it is actually a lot harder to consistently achieve, than said. Balancing one's own creative vision, innovating with each collection whilst moving in tandem with the desires and modus operandi of existing and potential collectors requires the kind of artistic ambidextrous approach that has become synonymous with Fares and her work. Fares' Krystallos Collection had as its genesis the crystals she had collected on her many travels, and which she is a passionate proponent of their restorative and invigorating properties. On the model's ring finger is the Nellum Ring and on her little finger the Veda Pinky Ring, both featuring Black Opals in 18k Grey Gold with diamonds framing the opals. The gemstone choice is extremely intentional. Black opals are not only extraordinarily rare, they are also believed to offer complete protection to the emotional body and shield the wearer from negative energy in all its iterations. Unlike a more traditional religious symbol focused jewel, the rings can be worn discreetly, their purpose - beyond being beautiful - not immediately obvious to others, their hue and Fares' design, making them just the kind of piece one can wear by day with jeans or night with a gown. In many ways there is something gently radical in Fares' offering. This is jewellery on your own terms, tailored for specific needs. It is about jewels that are deeply personal and that assist you regardless of situation and circumstance to look and feel your best. #mazzimusings #magnusoculus #noorfares #finejewellery