The Swedish brand’s new fine jewelry collection, Virasaat, is named after the Hindi word for “inheritance,” both the name and style direction offering nods to founder Ben Gorham’s Indian heritage.
The range will reportedly include necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings made in Italy with chain-like formation linking pearl shapes interlocked with graphic bars. Prices range from $350 for a silver ring to $27,000 for a gold necklace.
“Our process is quite long, because not only do we design products, we truly engineer them,” Gorham told WWD.com of the pieces. “That approach, that idea of obsessiveness around perfection, takes time. So simply, we’re done with the first iteration of the jewelry and we thought it’d be a good time to let people see it.”
Gorham says one of his influences for the line was the lingering impact hip-hop culture has had on him.
“In the ’90s, my big cultural influence was hip-hop, and hip-hop still today has this incredible fascination about jewelry,” he says. “I tried to make something that echoed the sentiment of culture and tradition, and at the same time pushed it into being something that was highly expressive, kind of unapologetic, and that for me represented hip-hop culture.”
Byredo has dabbled with the idea in the past, working with French jewellery designer Charlotte Chesnais on one-off collaborative pieces but the new line will be a permanent category extension for the brand.
Byredo’s high-end makeup-line is another popular off-shoot, now driven by Chanel’s former Global Creative Makeup and Colour Designer, Lucia Pica, who succeeds Isamaya Ffrench as Creative Director, and available Down Under at MECCA where the fragrances are also stocked.
The new jewellery range is now available exclusively in Byredo’s boutique on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, before being extended to other Byredo flagship boutiques from 25 January 2024.
