From vivid tanzanite to sculptural forms, these statement pieces bring colour, craft, and personality to cold-weather style.
The Diamond Works: Bold in Tanzanite
Cape Town’s finest lifestyle moments call for bold colour — and few gemstones deliver like tanzanite. With its intense violet-blue tones, tanzanite feels alive, shifting subtly with light and movement.
At The Diamond Works Institute — home to the only live diamond- and tanzanite-polishing studio in the Southern Hemisphere — the stone takes centre stage. Master goldsmiths craft rings, pendants, and earrings in-house, each hand-finished to enhance the gemstone’s fluid brilliance.
More than a thousand times rarer than diamonds, tanzanite is uniquely African, making these pieces both statement jewellery and conversation starters — particularly when worn over winter gloves.
Gerda Goosen: African Inspiration
Gerda Goosen’s jewellery draws on Africa’s creative freedom — where adornment is shaped by imagination as much as material. Inspired by vanishing tribal aesthetics and traditional ornamentation, her work balances sculptural presence with contemporary sensitivity.
A defining feature is her innovative vegan ivory, developed over the years to replicate the look of ivory without harming animals. Certified vegan by PETA, each piece is handmade in her studio in small, often one-off collections.
The result is jewellery that feels tactile, expressive, and deeply personal — ideal for layering over winter gloves, where bold cuffs and rings become wearable storytelling.
Philippa Green: Sculptural Statements
For more than two decades, Philippa Green has created handcrafted jewellery from her Cape Town studio, recognised for its distinctive textures and sculptural form.
Her path into jewellery began unexpectedly in Taxco, Mexico, where a silversmithing course sparked a lasting fascination with metal and process. She later returned to South Africa to study jewellery design, building on a Fine Arts background that continues to inform her work.
Initially recognised for bold cuffs, Philippa’s signature now extends to statement rings, organic silhouettes, and pieces featuring striking semi-precious stones. Nature plays a central role in her process — from early morning swims to time in the mountains — shaping jewellery that feels elemental and grounded.
Worn over winter gloves, her rings become commanding focal points.
