{"id":4103,"date":"2024-01-17T14:56:37","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T14:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afrikagora.com\/seattle\/these-jewelry-houses-want-to-take-african-design-mainstream-in-the-international-luxury-jewelry-markets\/"},"modified":"2024-01-19T03:36:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T03:36:08","slug":"these-jewelry-houses-want-to-take-african-design-mainstream-in-the-international-luxury-jewelry-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afrikagora.com\/seattle\/these-jewelry-houses-want-to-take-african-design-mainstream-in-the-international-luxury-jewelry-markets\/","title":{"rendered":"These Jewelry Houses want to take African-Design mainstream in the International Luxury Jewelry Markets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The motherland continent of Africa has always been rich in incredible resources. However, for one reason or the other, these resources often seem to shine and sparkle when brought to foreign countries. Those refining the resources are often not natives to the motherland and thus the Africanness of their refinement is usually lost as they take on European, American, or Asian outlook.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let take the jewelry industry for instance. The world\u2019s leading jewelry houses are based in Europe and America. Yet a huge portion of their precious stones and raw materials supplies come from Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only part we hear mention of the African continent is on the grime side of the supply chain; war and conflicts that erupt in the tribal lands where the precious stones are mined. However, when it comes to the top-dollar luxury end of the supply chain, the beneficiaries are on the other side of the ocean.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vania Leles, the Jeweler taking African Luxury mainstream<\/b><\/h1>\n

There is a growing community of African jewelers and jewelry houses who are pushing African design mainstream. Think of them as the \u2018FUBU\u2019 (For Us By Us) of the jewelry industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

We know Africa is a leading source of precious stones and raw materials. However, the industry players who have been refining these precious materials into luxurious goods are mostly not Africa. So they can\u2019t very well capture African fashion and design with deserved authenticity.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is where jewelers like Vania Leles comes in with her jewelry brand, <\/span>Vanleles<\/span><\/a>. The Guinea-Bissau native founded her brand in 2011, and previous to this venture. She worked for various companies including Graff and Sotheby\u2019s, from which her desire to design her own luxury brand of authentic African design started sprouting.<\/span><\/p>\n