AYESHA STUDIO | FINE JEWELRY

The casuarina trees' feather-like leaves shield us from the sun as we walk to the picturesque Digha Beach in Calcutta, India.

Today we opt to relax, positioning our lounge chairs in a good spot as we listen to the gentle lapping of the Bay of Bengal's waves.

At the close of our day, we are treated with a spectacular sunset. India is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Ayesha Mayadas.


Dating back to the Mughal Dynasty trinkets made with gold has been a cornerstone of India's jewelry industry.

From ornate neckpieces with accents of pearls and diamonds to simple gold chains suspending a single locket, the beautiful quality of India's gold jewelry is unquestionable.

Mayadas' elegant, regal gold jewelry is no exception. The buttery color and voluptuous texture of her nature-inspired, 18-karat yellow gold jewelry reflect superlative metalworking skills.

Several years after moving from Calcutta, India to Rochester, New York, Mayadas enjoyed a successful, thirteen-year stint as a textile engineer. Her fascination with precious metals, however, led her to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) where she received a Masters in Metals. Within a few years she established her company Ayesha Studio | Fine Jewelry.

She implements a hammering technique that renders jewelry possessing an appearance that brings to mind ancient queens. Her remarkable, sculpturesque floral shapes, solar trajectories, and simulated raindrops display her reverence for nature.

The soft curves of her pieces--poised to drape an arm, neck, or ear--replicate nature's fluidity.

Accents of diamonds, rubies, tanzanite, freshwater pearls, as well as silver, platinum, and oxidized copper, add lyricism to the gold's gentle twists and coils.

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Photo 1 (top right): 18-Karat Yellow Gold and Patinated Copper Autumn Leaves Brooch
Photo 2 (bottom right): 18-Karat Yellow Gold Linked Swirl Necklace