THE STORY BEHIND OUR DESIGNER THIS MONTH
Some of you have already been introduced to our designer this month, Louise Serafini, when you received our South African box with the tree of life necklace set, but did you know that she hails from royalty? Her Hungarian mother is a countess while her father descends from a jewelry dynasty. In the 1920’s, Louise’s grandfather, Diego Serafini, was brought out to South Africa fro
m Antwerp, Belgium, to the dusty town of Kimberley, to teach the South Africans how to cut diamonds. It was earlier, in 1869, when Kimberley first attracted the world’s attention with the discovery of an 83.5-carat diamond called the Star of Africa which eventually landed on the Queen of England’s crown. From that time, Kimberley was known to have the largest diamond mine, called the Big Hole, and it was here that the eponymous company De Beers was born.
It is also from these humble beginnings that Diego’s daughter, Alice Serafini, became one of the first woman cutters in the county.
Louise’s father, Eugene Serafini (whose name appears in the Diamond dictionary), was well known as the rough diamond buyer, who was instrumental in putting the rough diamond business on the map in Basotholand, now known as Lesotho. One of his fascinating stories appears in the novel – Pulani, available on Amazon
Louise was born in Accra, Ghana and now, as the 3rd generation, continues in her capacity as Gemologist and Designer Goldsmith under the banner of Serafini Design Workshop, which was established in the mid 1980s.
In the upcoming weeks, Louise will be sending us alternative earrings highlighted in her design sketches that could be interchanged with your earrings in this month’s box. Look out for them in our shop.
The Gift Izzy Girls
