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Our founder and chief designer, Takashi was recently asked to give style notes on Antonio Marras’ latest ready-to-wear collection for KENZO at Paris Fashion Week. In a collection that was described as “contrasting the bourgeoisie with the bohemian,” vibrant colors were accentuated by accessories that included hip fedoras and lavish scarves. Takashi’s jewelry picks for the collection included bold statement rings, much like the DIAZ cocktail rings featured throughout the article.
Jewelry trend forecast: 2011 – look out for statement necklaces, stacked bangles and cuffs, layered chains and bold cocktail rings.
The goal of upcycling is to prevent wasting potentially useful materials by making use of existing ones, making something of equal or better value without downgrading the original material or creating more pollution during the process.
We couldn’t help but be inspired and think that this was a wonderful detour from the current norm in luxury sustainable jewelry of using recycled silver or gold, which requires melting, casting and soldering. We really wanted to take our jewelry one step up on the scale of sustainability, and so we got to work on it… Introducing RE to the SOL Collections, a series that symbolizes all our favorite ‘re’ words: rethink, renew, refresh, revive, recreate… In addition to not using ‘virgin’ silver, by manually hammering and shaping the rings and pendants, we avoided the energy-consuming processes of melting, casting and soldering, leaving no footprint behind.
The RE series of rings and pendants are created out of ‘flawed’ silver bangles salvaged from our workshop. We have given a new lease on life to the Conflict-free Bangle cuffs that did not make the cut during our “100% Conflict Free” fundraising campaign to support organic farming cooperatives in Sierra Leone. Each bangle is now a completely different handmade, one-of-a-kind product.
RE is fun, whimsical and eco-conscientious. Proceeds from sales of the RE series will be donated to support grassroots environmental organization through 1% for the Planet.
Very simply put, ‘iwa’ is Japanese for ‘rock’.
The IWA pendant is a rock cast in sterling silver.
At DIAZ, we respect the heck out of rocks. Rocks of any shape, color and size just amaze us.
In most developed societies, dependency on price tags to determine and dictate the value of objects is a given. Amidst this preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods, many of us fail to see the true value and beauty of items that do not have a price tag attached to it. A little old rock may not seem valuable or as rare as a diamond, but did you know that even the youngest of rocks can be thousands to millions of years old, created by much the same natural forces that made what man has labeled as ‘precious gems’.
We’d like to redefine precious here. We believe ALL natural raw materials are precious and should be treated with equal respect.
Thank you for your patience…
It’s been approximately a couple thousand to millions of years in the making, but we’re very pleased to finally present this pendant as a symbol of our appreciation of the Earth in all its glory.
About DIAZ
DIAZ Jewelry is an ethical, sustainable jewelry brand with a mission to create the best products, encourage individuals to defy stereotypes, and use business to inspire creativity and sustainability.