ORIANNE COLLINS JEWELLERY

Today we visit one of Switzerland’s top tourist attractions, the Jungfrau summit.

The Jungfrau is considered one of the most picturesque mountains in the Swiss Alps and its summit was reached approximately two hundred years ago by Aarau resident J.R. Meyer. Switzerland is also home to featured jewelry designer Orianne Collins.

Of Thai and Swiss ancestry, Collins’ childhood dream was to become a fashion designer but once she attended sewing school she realized that the profession was “not my cup of tea.”

At age 19, she found her stride studying International Management with emphasis on communications and marketing. She would subsequently establish O-COM, an events organizing agency, nearly two decades ago.

Never straying too far from her early passion for design, in 2006 Collins collaborated with longstanding designer jewelry brand Van Cleef & Arpels (France) where she designed a charm bracelet to benefit her Little Dreams Foundation, which she co-founded with ex-husband Phil Collins.

The success of the bracelet led Collins to launch a high-end custom jewelry brand and website in 2007 called The Right Label. In 2009 she was ready to unveil her self-titled fine jewelry collection Orianne Collins Jewellery (a/k/a OC Jewellery).

Enlisting German and Italian artisans, OC Jewellery is characterized by the sumptuous, dazzling creations of the Tales, Forever, Vintage, Wonders and Limited collections. While the Romance, Men’s, Kids, and Signature collections highlight pared down sophistication.

The Wonders Collection pays spectacular homage to Thai flora with their likenesses cultivated from combinations of pink kunzits, sapphires, brown diamonds, citrine, and brown quartz set in 18-karat yellow gold.

Eighteen karat pink or white gold offset by smooth, curvaceous heart shapes carved from white agate, black onyx, mother-of-pearl or moonstone are the focal point of Collins’ Romance Collection.

In my opinion, the subtle, muted colors of heart studded bangle bracelets, multi-heart pendant necklaces, and charm bracelets effortlessly take what could easily be considered girly to womanly.

“Jewelry is the most universal form for immortalizing inspiration,” says Collins. “I draw from my experiences to feed my passion for jewelry design. I keep a notebook to sketch new ideas whether I am traveling, on the phone, with my family or in a hotel. My collections reflect my personality.

The idea for the Heritage Collection, for instance, came about while I was in France. I was interested in having a picture of my children engraved on a gemstone.

So I wanted to create a ring with my son’s face engraved on a diamond or another gemstone. The OC brand is a kaleidoscope of urban and traditional trends with a classic, modern touch.”

The sleek outlines of items from Collins’ Romance and Men’s jewelry collections has been featured in singer Usher’s music video Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home) as worn by the singer as well as model/actress Noémie Lenoir.
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Photo 1 (top right): 18-Karat Pink Gold Quartz Heart Ring from Romance Collection
Photo 2 (center): 18-Karat Yellow Gold Little Angel Pendant Necklace from OC Kids Collection
Photo 3 (bottom left): 18-Karat White Gold Cuff Links with Blue Chalcedony from OC Men's Collection