In 2022, Swiss-born Kia Schwaninger took the leap and launched her own New York-based, independent high-jewellery house Kia Schwan.
Her inaugural collection, Colorhythms, is full of joyful and expressive designs inspired by the art deco architecture of Miami.
Known for her decades of experience designing at some of the world’s leading high jewellery brands Schwaninger perfected her craft at prestigious jewellery maisons like Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston, building her passion for vibrant colour and breathing new life into family heirlooms.
Like many small children she started with making bead necklaces, before a trip to Ecuador as a teenager to apprentice for three months in a jewellery workshop. Learning the basics for three months, she had fun making jewellery, metalsmithing, hammering and bending metal into shape.
Exceptionally handcrafted in New York City's best high jewellery workshops, each piece in the COLORHYTHMS collection is fully customisable, with clients able to select from a variety of custom-cut stones arranged in colour blocks and textural compositions, paired with precious metals, including 18 karat rose gold, yellow gold, and platinum.
An aesthetic that’s minimal and clean, the designer loves mixing colour and texture. An assortment of necklaces, brooches, earrings and rings are priced from about $6,000 to $16,000 with special designs upward from there.
My favourites include the ABACUS Small Ring - Sherbert and the DISC Small Earrings.
Schwaninger layers semiprecious stones like malachite, turquoise, chalcedony and amethyst, creating a graphic effect. In her signature “rainbow ring” and its more elongated version, “sushi ring,” the gems are stacked, perfect for everyday wear rather than reserved for fussy special occasions only.
The NYC jewellery brand that showcases the designer's love of mixing colour and texture.
By
Anna Bance
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Published September 2024
Anna is the co-founder of Girls Meets Dress and a contributing editor to the GWG. She expertly guides us round the most covetable online fashion.