Baker Faaiza Omar teams up with Charles Greig on new luxury jewellery collection
You may know Faaiza Omar as SA’s renowned confectioner, creating cakes that are almost too pretty to eat.
Now, she has taken her penchant for aesthetics and detail into the jewellery world. The My Sweet Life author has teamed up with Charles Greig Jewellers to create a stand-out local luxury collection.
“Inspired by Beechwood Gardens and the spring blossom, bumble bees, dragonflies and butterflies, typical of an October day, we have created a collection of jewellery of varying price points. The collection highlights our favourite gemstone and colour - emerald - enhanced by unusual fancy cut diamonds,” says renowned jeweller Christopher Greig.
This is Faaiza’s first foray into jewellery design, yet, she says, jewellery has always played a major role in her fashion and outfit choices. In fact, she most often chooses a piece of jewellery first before deciding on the clothing.
“I’ll often design a dress around a piece of jewellery that I want to wear, like earrings or a neck piece if it’s for an event. I love designing dresses too. If I want to wear emerald earrings, I might include beading or handwork in a similar shade on the dress,” she says.
On this collection, Faaiza says she saw a gap in the market for exclusive, stand-out jewellery pieces and decided this is her time.
“After months of planning we are ready to launch. Now is the perfect time as we head into the summer season under level one, with social calendars filling up with events and special occasions.”
She worked predominantly with rose gold and yellow gold as the base metals to hold her carefully selected gems. Emeralds are her most revered gemstone and are one of the main features of this collection. “The colour represents new beginnings and, in this case, new partnerships,” she says. Look out for the emerald-and-diamond ear cuff. The setting of the trillion-cut diamonds and cushion-cut emeralds takes on the look of a glittering, leafy vine climbing up the ear once fastened in place. “I’m obsessed with earrings. If I don’t have earrings on, I really do feel bare.”
Commenting on jewellery style in general, Faaiza thinks stacked bracelets are “amazing” but otherwise prefers an understated look. “If you are wearing a big earring piece, you definitely don’t need to wear a huge necklace as well. I think minimalist is best, as it allows the jewels to tell their own story and really shine. We have designed our high-jewellery pieces for the collection in this way – alluring, for those who like to convey a sense of exclusivity and mystery.”
The 40-piece collection features earrings, a dedicated ear cuff range, necklaces, bracelets, pendants and rings, all currently available at Charles Greig Hyde Park.