‘Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning.’ Giotto di Bondone, Renaissance painter.
Drawing inspiration from the golden age of antiquity, our creative director, Deniz Gurdal, has designed a stunning new collection of coin jewellery, which sees treasures of old transformed into treasures anew. To find out more about this mesmerising capsule we have asked Deniz to tell us about the creative process behind our favourite coin rings, coin earrings and gold coin necklaces.
- What has inspired you to create this beautiful collection?
- I have been fascinated by art and history since I was a child. I grew up in Turkey and visiting the Grand Bazaar and its antique shops was one of my favourite things to do. I always loved old coins and used to collect them with passion. When I started designing jewellery around 2010, using old coin moulds as well as semi-precious stones was one of the first ideas I came up with. The British Museum’s buyer discovered us at one of the exhibitions in London. We then had some pieces designed around antique Roman Coins, that they really liked. The buyer asked me if I can design a whole collection for their upcoming exhibition - Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, so I have created my biggest Roman Coin collection in 2013. My designs were displayed in a huge cabinet at The British Museum exhibition shop with so many Roman Coin necklaces set with different semi-precious stones. Now, in 2019, I can see coin jewellery being so on-trend, so I have decided to bring coin pieces back, giving them a modern twist.
- What has influenced your fascination with the treasures of the past?
- I can say that spending all my summer holidays with my grandmother and going through her jewellery boxes had a big impact …
- What are your personal favourites form this capsule?
- I't really hard to pick just a few pieces from the collection. I really like Roman Coin and Pearl Drop Earrings, Roman Coin and Bead Cluster Statement Pendant Necklace and Gold Coin Lariat Style Necklace.