House of Meraki x Gemfields J’aime Collection
The House of Meraki x Gemfields J’aime collection is a perfect showcase for the green goddess of the coloured gemstone world. Featuring a carefully curated selection of responsibly sourced emeralds from Gemfields’ Kagem mine in Zambia, these exquisite creations have all been lovingly handmade in House of Meraki’s London atelier by a family of Italian craftsmen.
J’aime translates as “I love” or “may God protect”, making it the ideal moniker for the collection – emeralds being widely associated with hope, growth, life, fertility and peace, and thought to possess healing properties. Far from just being decorative, each piece is intended to bring a powerful positive energy to its wearer. Emeralds, which were formed in the earth over 500 million years ago, are one of the ‘big three’ coloured gemstones – alongside rubies and sapphires – and have been beloved for thousands of years.
Zambian emeralds have long held a fascination for House of Meraki’s founder, Gargi Rathi, who would stare at them in wonder when shopping in the markets of Zambia with her mother as a child, marvelling at their perfect chemistry of colour and clarity. Kagem has been the source of some of the finest emeralds ever seen and currently supplies around one in three of the world’s emeralds.
Gargi, a trained gemmologist, describes Zambian emeralds as her first love, and in House of Meraki she has managed to recreate the mine-to-market authenticity of the emeralds that enthralled her younger self. She places due diligence on her supply chain, working only with responsibly sourced gems, which are strictly vetted and certified before being cut and polished at the in-house lapidary in Jaipur, India – home to some of the world’s most skilled cutters – and then set at the London atelier.
The House of Meraki x Gemfields J’aime collection features earrings – from dainty studs to stylish hoops – as well as rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants, which pair delicate emeralds with 18k yellow gold, and occasionally diamonds and pearls. Whether round-, emerald- or pear-cut, the emeralds dominate each piece, their many facets representing the dimensions of a woman’s personality.
Like all House of Meraki creations, the pieces in the J’aime collection have a European aesthetic and elegance to them and were designed to be worn anywhere from the ballroom to the boardroom. The J’aime collection, along with the rest of the House of Meraki range, is now available on both Farfetch (farfetch.com) and Net-a-Porter (net-a-porter.com), as well as on the House of Meraki’s own online platform (houseofmeraki.com).
