Lydia Courteille is one of the real queens in the jewelry world. Her collections are often described as dark humor and very baroque. Her designs are like a fairy tale book, all put into one small perfectly detailed object. Come and discover her newest jewelry collection called: The Queen of Sheba!
The Queen of Sheba collection is Lydia’s invitation to come and join her to, what she describes as: the Cradle of Mankind. The reign of the Queen of Sheba was in, what we call today; Ethiopia. Although modern archeologists say it is possible that it was more in Yemen or perhaps in both countries.
Lydia: The queen of Sheba, was seen as a Divine creature, an alluring sorceress of great intelligence and wisdom.
Makeda, the Queens Ethiopian name or Bilqis, heard of King Solomon's wealth and wisdom and she went to see him with her gifts of gold, spices and gemstones. Menelik, son of Makeda and Solomon is believed to be the first Solomonic Emperor of Ethiopia. The beauty of the Queen of Sheba story is that it is indeed a crossroad of religious influences; Biblical, Hebraic and Quranic which all have influenced and nourished Ethiopian popular art. This art is filled also with animistic and magical beliefs.
Lydia states to have had 4 big influences in designing her collection.
The four big influences:
Lalibela Churches.
This beautiful mystical place is in the North of Ethiopia and has 11 monolithic rock-cut churches. The legend says it was built by angels and carved from the depth of Earth. This magical place was created by Lalibela, who was Queen at that time and she wanted to create a New Jerusalem. It’s cut out volcanic stone and took only 25 years to build. Today, it’s a pilgrimage. Often referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World.
Mursi Tribes
This is a nilotic pastoralist ethnic group that lives in Ethiopia, Omo Valley. They are one of last tribes where women wear lip plates. Although they wear them when unmarried for dances, unfortunately it is more worn for tourists these days, according to the lecture I have read about it. A way to earn a little extra. However, looking at photo’s from this tribe, where the men are also referred to as Flower Men, it is easy to see, knowing the work of Lydia, how this influenced her!
Ark of Covenant.
The holiest item of the Hebrew. This wooden clad chest is believed to hold the tablets with the ten commands. There are so many stories about this object!
Danakil Desert.
This enchanting hell is one of the lowest and hottest place on the planet. Its beauty is incredible and diabolic at the same time. Temperatures easily go up to 50C and incredibly enough: there are people still living here too. A few Afar, who engage in salt mining. Volcanoes, swirling sulphur and mineral salt formations have been the inspiration for the choice of gemstones. Rare yellow and green tourmalines, gold - the color of clay- and brown diamonds.
Ring in 18kt Gold, Black Rhodium, Yellow Sapphires, Tsavorites, Green Tourmaline
The Jewelry Collection
The Queen of Sheba collection contains 18 pieces: 1 tiara, 9 rings, 7 earrings and one bracelet
All jewelry is in black and brown rhodium plated gold 18k, green and yellow tourmalines, yellow sapphires, brown and white diamonds, tsavorites, peridots and opals.
Striking jewelry
Once again, Lydia has come up with an extraordinary range of jewelry. It’s delightful, daring, bold, extremely detailed. The colors are so striking. The choice of gemstones is crucial as in all of her work. Although it is not for everyone’s wallet, Lydia’s work is an amazing combination of unique pieces, perfectly executed and worth every penny.
Quality, price and value are in perfect balance.
Earrings Queen of Sheba Collection: 18kt Gold, Yellow Sapphires, Diamonds, Tsavorites, Opals, Green Tourmalines and Peridot
Karl Lagerfeld
It is easy to understand why so many love her designs, one of her famous fans, Karl Lagerfeld, dubbed her as a Genius for Making Jewelry. Her jewelry appears in Woody Allen movies and her surrealistically detailed jewelry is found on Haute Couture catwalks and often used for brand collaborations. You can purchase her jewelry in some of the most delightful jewelry stores in the world and recently she opened a boutique online found here.
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