You can select a piece from any Victor Velyan collection—whether it’s a cocktail ring featuring a fabulous cabochon-cut Muzo Emerald, a necklace of tumbled Black Tourmaline beads, or a pair of Mexican Fire Opal earrings—and watch as, after putting it on, even the most shy and reserved wallflower transforms into someone positively brimming with confidence, verve, and more than a little nerve. Simply put, Victor Velyan designs jewelry that bestows upon its wearer a sense of empowerment and individuality. Who wouldn’t stand up straighter wearing one of Velyan’s signature gem-set cuffs, when it makes you feel a bit like Wonder Woman?

“Victor Velyan is emblematic of the creativity, innovation, and ingenuity that comprise our show’s curation. Revered for his unparalleled work with important colored gemstones, his proprietary technique with patinas further distinguishes his singular designs.” —Gannon Brousseau (Director, COUTURE | EVP, Emerald)

More than most designers, it’s quite difficult to separate Victor Velyan from his designs; so imbued are they with his very singular essence. Equal parts mad scientist, intrepid explorer, history buff, and the proverbial kid in the candy store, Velyan is always seeking new and exciting minerals and materials for his incredibly wearable pieces.

Dioptase Druzy from the Democratic Republic of Congo in a vibrant shade of teal, Blue Opals from India containing fossilized moss, chatoyant Green Moonstones from Burma, Blue Lace Agate from Namibia, and 3-billion-year-old boysenberry-hued Rubies from Greenland are but a few of the incredible minerals and gemstones introduced to me by Velyan over the years in his booth at The COUTURE Show at Wynn Las Vegas.

Sure, he enjoys a faceted stone as much as any jewelry designer, and he absolutely adores a cabochon, but more often than not, Velyan shies away from uniformity, preferring instead to recognize and amplify the unique asymmetrical beauty found in free-form stones and baroque pearls, not to mention the occasional rough or unpolished gem. Oftentimes, of far more importance to Velyan than a particular stone’s lack of inclusions, for instance, is the story that the stone is telling, its hues and saturation of color(s), how it reflects and/or refracts light, and simply how it looks against the skin.

Says Velyan, “I really have to live with stones for a while and let them tell me what they want to become.”

“Cayen Collection hosted Victor Velyan’s first jewelry showing, and the moment I saw his Patina collection—rich textures, gold accents, and vibrant gems—I knew such a fresh and exciting concept was something extraordinary. I immediately started wearing his pieces, and now I personally own 10 of his cuffs (along with a number of rings and earrings). Beyond their artistry, his cuffs are incredibly comfortable, molding to the wrist like a second skin, and effortlessly complement both bold and classic styles, making them truly collectable.” —Soraya Cayen (Proprietor, Cayen Collection)

And then there are the finishes. A highly-skilled metalsmith, Velyan’s proprietary patinas in brown, green, and white, lend an almost organic, skin-like quality to the gold and silver of his settings. Similarly, a number of his settings are finished with reptilian textures, whether crocodile, lizard, or snake. And more recently, Velyan has taken a deep dive into enamels (my favorite example is a deep navy blue, which, when set with a smattering of twinkling diamonds, evokes the night sky). As someone who spends a significant amount of his time in Africa each year, it’s no wonder that the animal kingdom is an excellent source of inspiration to Velyan; as are world cultures, travel, history (Kings! Queens! Crowns! Weaponry!), fine art, and yes, nature in all its magnificent splendor. All of this exemplifies why Velyan’s designs are excellent examples of jewelry as both talisman and armor.

Take the OOAK Modular Glacier Earrings, for example. These two-tiered modular earrings (they can be worn as either drops or studs) feature a quartet of Mexican Fire Opals, which, being pure silica, are colorless. While to most people the words “Mexican Fire Opal” might conjure visions of a blazing inferno, those stones reminded Vic of majestic, icy glaciers, and he set them accordingly.

Gaze upon the joyful femininity expressed in pieces featuring his popular Cherry Blossom motif, such as the Baroque Coin Pearl Cherry Blossom Cocktail Ring, with its Baroque Coin Pearl and Diamonds set in a ring of 24K Gold and Silver, with proprietary White Patina featuring Velyan's Cherry Blossom motif in Enamel and proprietary Brown Patina. Then there are the Garden of Eden Earrings, in which each earring features a gold figural “tree” wrapped around beads of black tourmaline, using negative space, with a Burmese ruby “apple” hanging from one. Suspended from each “tree” is a figural “snake” carved from a rare turquoise from the Kyzyl Arvat mine in Turkmenistan, where it is a symbol of purity and chastity. The mineral’s Day-Glo green hue is a result of sulfur, while the copper of the matrix lends it the appearance of having been hand-painted with gold leaf.

“I strongly believe that as one of today’s most important jewelry designers, Victor Velyan’s pieces are not just desirable but are, in fact, necessary for anyone concerned with collecting jewelry that will hold a place of importance in the future. The timeliness of his designs makes his jewelry relevant now, allows it to pair beautifully with vintage pieces and collectible signed work from the past, and ensures its future significance.” —Elizabeth Anne Bonanno (Co-Founder, The Gems Project)

At the end of the day, Victor Velyan is a storyteller, and as our friend Soraya Cayen so eloquently once told me, “Every texture, every gemstone, and every finish tells a story of passion, history, and unparalleled artistry.” Whether it’s Japanese-inspired cherry blossoms, carved Colombian emeralds, African leopards holding carved “leaves” of hessonite garnet and diamonds in their jaws, or one of his signature cuffs set with any of the numerous varieties of opal he so enjoys, when wearing a piece designed by Victor Velyan, you become a part of that story. And it’s a story you’ll enjoy telling again and again.

Victor Velyan
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