'I had been talking about doing my own thing for twenty years already,' reflects Kia Schwaninger, the founder and creative director of Kia Schwan. She has recently launched the Color Rhythms collection, vividly articulating the power of memory, palette and architecture, elegantly proposing the case for carved stones. The road to launching her line seems somewhat predestined. ;Like many small children I started with making bead necklaces,' she shares, before a trip to Ecuador as a teenager and the chance to apprentice in a jewellery workshop indicated that beyond the childhood hobby, lay an undeniable gift; 'I was taught the basics of metalsmithing, and just had fun for three months making jewellery, hammering and bending metal into shape.'
Schwaninger’s preternatural talent was honed at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, where she studied Jewellery Design, which was followed by an internship at Tiffany, where some of her designs actually went into production. Roles at Van Cleef & Arpels, first in their Paris atelier before leading their customisation team in New York and latterly as design director for Harry Winston cemented her position as a jewellery professional in the truest sense. It could have been easy to remain a senior distiller of ideas for jewellery behemoths, but as Schwaninger explains, 'I felt like I had been dreaming of creating a collection that would represent me fully, so that was how Colorhythms came to be.'
Creating pieces that chime with clients search for the unusual is at the forefront of Schwaninger’s process. She adds: 'I love the fact that these pieces are not just something you buy off the shelf. It takes a little longer to make, it takes more thought.' Specificity and emotional resonance be it with gemstones, or expressing cultural hybridity are ideas that also inform Schwaninger’s design practice. Prior to Paris and New York, where she now lives, her formative years were spent in Lucerne. 'I guess I have that Swiss, detail oriented, perfectionism and high standards for my craft and also the logic for my design. Things need to be coherent, and things need to make sense, but then I also love the boldness, the chaos, the vibrancy of New York with all the different cultures and it somehow finds itself into my pieces.'
Depicting spaces and the places that they are a paean to was thus a natural next step: 'I have always loved Art Deco jewellery, architecture and design and we have some of the most beautiful examples here in New York. But then on a date with my husband in Miami a few years ago we took a tour of the Art Deco district and I fell in love with the idea of seeing the same visuals, same aesthetic and the same design details but in these pastel tones with a tropical feel.' For Schwaninger, encountering the paintings of Robert Delaunay, particularly ‘Rhythm No.3’, held in the Musee d’art Moderne de Paris augmented the central thesis for Colorhythms: a collection where art, architecture and a meticulous devotion to craft and gemstones collide.
Schwaninger is keen to introduce 'a different type of tension or harmony' as the stones, some faceted, others carved nestle together 'to create a dialogue among colours, geometry and movement.' For Schwaninger, 'colour memories that you create, and you keep within your mind' offer fertile ground for jewels that are imbued with her own recognisable design language, but also invite clients to be part of the co-creation process.
Clients can either choose a piece in a stone sequence of Schwaninger’s making such as the Abacus Ring in carved chrysoprase, malachite and turquoise set with diamonds and amethyst, or a Disc Pendant in turquoise and malachite with tourmaline cabochons, or go on an aesthetic adventure of their own; selecting to pair carnelian with tigers eye, lapis lazuli with chalcedony or opal with coral or any other stone that resonates with them. The pursuit of perfection is paramount. Schwaninger adds: 'it is super important for me that the back of the piece is as beautiful as the front. My rings may have the grill at the bottom with a little upside-down diamond underneath and all are very tactile. I love stroking my fingers over the carved stones and I create pieces that are somewhat heavy in a nice sense and powerful too.'
Beyond Colorhythms, Schwaninger remains committed to her jewels, reflecting a client’s story in the most compelling of ways. In Heirlooms, an ongoing series born out of private clients’ requests for her to reimagine heritage pieces they have inherited she deftly keeps the integrity of vintage gemstones, but brings forth the sensibilities of each new owner, sometimes incorporating the narrative arc between the two. 'I really love creating little symbolisms and little messages to the family. I hope each piece is something that will go further to the next generation.' With Schwaninger, one witnesses a designer who has successfully combined the precision and impeachable standards expected from the Place Vendôme with profound sentiments. Hers is a more intimate Maison; where observing and documenting the people, places and things that have left an imprint on us is at the heart of every piece made.
