Ilgiz F. inspired by Samarkand

Transforming UNESCO's World Heritage beauties into extraordinary new jewels: this is the latest successful challenge by Russian designer Ilgiz F.


  • Samarkand rings

    Samarkand rings

  • Observatory ring

    Observatory ring

  • Amethyste and emerald earrings

    Amethyste and emerald earrings

  • Samarkand bracelet

    Samarkand bracelet

I never say 'you cannot do this' and 'you cannot do that' to myself — I just imagine and find a way to bring something to life», Ilgiz F. said to VO + in a recent interview. So He has done while working on his new jewelry collection, which is inspired by the designer spring trip to the city Samarkand. The bright cupolas of mosques and mausoleums, the rich colours and designs of the encaustic tiles, the high blue skies, the sweetness of the fruit, the smells and tastes of spices, the wealth of legends and sagas find a new aesthetic reinterpretation in the new 60 jewels created for the collection which is simply called Samarkand.

The blue colour of the sky and the cupolas of the ancient mosques are transformed into turquoise and turquoise-coloured enamel while the rubies, Ural emeralds, sapphires and diamonds play the role of rich colour accents.

The result is an extraordinary work of art which unites many different techniques - from cloisonné and champlevé to stained-glass and painted enamel - making no claim to the status of ethnographic research, as Ilgiz explains: «I wouldn’t want people to see this collection as an ethnic one, although I can understand the temptation to classify it as an ‘ethnographic fairy tale.’ The fact of the matter is that fashion has been exploiting the Oriental themes for so long, weaving them into casual-look collections, that I see no reason why the jewellery design can’t use this know-how with greater frequency than before.»

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