Into The Green

Farah Karbhari - Designer

Ryder’s in-house Designer Farah Karbhari hails from Sydney, Australia, and brings with her a tapestry of inspiration and expertise from her days as a merchandise planner in the fashion industry. Farah is passionate about educating her clients about diamonds and gemstones, and designs fine jewellery that acts as a legacy and heirloom for generations to come.

Growing up in an Indian family I was fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful diamonds and gemstones. These pieces were passed down from generation to generation and I absolutely relished any opportunity to wear these precious jewels. The gemstones that were in the family were predominantly diamonds or rubies and as I grew older, I started to fall in love with green emeralds. Deep greens have always been my favourite colour, there is something very grounding and calming about them. For my wedding jewellery, I decided to incorporate emeralds with diamonds to create my own family heirloom which can be passed on to future generations.

If you would like to contact Farah for your bespoke jewellery please email at farah@ryderdiamonds.com

Stone Selection

My client had a strong vision to create a bespoke green emerald ring set in 18k yellow gold with an abstract and raw texture to it. When it comes to emeralds, it’s all about the hue, tonal grade and saturation of colour. This is what determines the value of one of the most desirable gemstones in the world. Generally the deeper the colour, the more expensive the stone. There are various types of emeralds and they are differentiated by their place of origin or presence of certain type of impurities. The most coveted are the Colombians which are known for their exceptional quality and high value. My client was drawn to the deep and dark green hue of the emerald and was also quite sensitive to achieving value for money. My advice therefore was to consider a Zambian emerald, which are loved for their intensity of colour and despite having a desirable dark green hue, don’t come at the same premium in price as the Colombian.

I reached out to our green emerald diamond dealers across the world to source the perfect stone and found an exceptionally cut 7.94ct Pear shaped Zambian emerald. As soon as I showed my client, she instantly fell in love with the stone. The stone had a beautiful shape, a distinctive vivid green hue with a lovely deep tone and desirable natural imperfections.

Design Inspiration

Now that the stone had been selected, it was time to create a design to maximise the beauty of the stone. My client had a certain design in mind, however it needed refining to enhance the impact of the centre stone. The brief was to create a ring set in 18k yellow gold, with the gold to have an ultra shine similar to 22k yellow gold which is commonly used for Indian jewellery. We also wanted to incorporate an abstract, rough and raw like texture to the gold to give it an artisanal quality.

Crafting and Mounting

The bespoke journey allowed for my client to view the evolution of the gold throughout the crafting process. As we didn’t have a precise idea of what the gold was to look like, it was my job to effectively communicate my client’s vision to our talented Sifu (craftsman). I sent her updates along the way and we would make modifications based on her preferences and my guidance. The mounting stage is crucial as we are able to double check the size and proportions of the ring before the stone is set and the gold is polished and plated. There were a few adjustments to the gold along the way and all worthwhile as the finished ring was an absolute beauty.

With the intention and love we poured into the ring, the finished piece became an instant heirloom, rich with history and sentiment.