Custom Jewelry in Armenian: "I’m my beloved’s and my beloved is mine."
A celebration of love between two people becomes a heritage preservation project
A bracelet, necklace and matching cufflinks in 18K yellow gold with diamonds
When my collector approached me about this project I was very excited. I have created works for her before but this was taking it to the next level in every way. I have yet created jewelry in Armenian and working with a new alphabet system is a wonderful challenge. To celebrate their love, the collector wanted matching pieces for her and her fiancé using the beautiful verse from Song of Songs: “I’m my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
I take very seriously projects in languages that I don’t read, cross-referencing several times to make sure the decisions are correct. This process alone, connected me with fascinating and generous people in the Armenian-American diaspora, who opened doors to Armenian language, alphabet systems and history. I learned that there are three Armenians: Classic, Eastern and Western. Once we established that Classic (Biblical) Armenian would not work for this project the question came as to which of the other two to design with. She wrote:
“I called both my father and two older cousins of his generation - we all pooled what we knew of various pieces of family history, I ended up learning more stories about my grandparents, great-grandparents and my cousins' parents, and about the country and life these beloved souls no longer with us had to leave behind as children. So it turned out to be a heritage preservation project within my family as well.”
As a result, the choice was Western Armenian. When these connections happen in a project, it is deeply gratifying, even before the design process itself has begun.
The bracelet required most attention. The length had to be perfect. The design process was a balancing act between the size of the letters, the links, the diamonds and the custom-made clasp. We had several rounds of back and forth, all done long-distance via email. Once she signed off on the design, production commenced. Several weeks later, as I picked up the pieces the pandemic broke.
It took a year and a half before the collector received the jewelry. What a relief, once she sent me photos of her wearing them. The fit was perfect and a lovely text message concluded the project:
“Hi Yael, they arrived and they are PERFECT!!! 😍 Thank you so much! The design & workmanship is exquisite […] His cufflinks are superb as well, so incredibly beautiful and the diamonds & font sizing are so harmonious.”
It was a good day.