Lebanese jewellery designer Karma El Khalil has rounded up some of the most exciting names in contemporary jewellery for a brilliant cause – raising funds to support the people of Beirut following the harrowing explosion that ripped through the centre of the city in August.
The jewellers, including well-known names such as Lydia Courteille, Stephen Webster and Selim Mouzanaar, have offered up a selection of jewellery pieces that will be auctioned off this weekend in a fundraiser titled Dear Beirut. Bidding for the auction, which is being hosted digitally by Art Space, will open on Thursday and close on Sunday (October 22nd to 25th, 2020).
Jewels in the online Dear Beirut auction range from an industrial silver, gold and diamond necklace by Rick Rose’s Los Angeles-based jewellery brand Roseark, expected to fetch at least $600, to a darkly fierce blackened gold and black diamond cocktail ring by Lydia Courteille, expected to sell for as much as $6,000.
Karma herself has donated a pair of earrings to the charitable auction. Crafted in 18ct white gold and set with diamonds, the celestial earrings take inspiration from a supernova and are expected to attract bids of between $7,000 and $9,000.
The Dear Beirut auction, spearheaded by Karma and four other New York-based women with ties to Lebanon, also includes art, with creations offered up by artists including Mattea Perrotta, Mandy El-Sayegh and Flavie Audi.
All proceeds from the sale will be donated to Offre Joie, a fully vetted Lebanese NGO working on the ground in Beirut to lead the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in areas the city devastated by the blast.
“Our primary concern was the most vulnerable communities in Beirut affected by the blast, which are the artists, LGBTQI, creatives, and migrant workers,” says Karma. “We focused on their immediate needs, which we recognised being the rehabilitation of their neighbourhoods.
“To give you some background, in the areas of Mar Mikhael and Karantina, small businesses run by creatives and the LGBTQI community – which include studios, homes, community spaces, LGBTQI safe spaces, and shelters – exist and flourish in relative freedom and safety. These are the only neighbourhoods in Beirut that serve as enclaves or safe havens for these marginalised communities. Sadly, these neighbourhoods encircle the port, which was the epicenter of blast, and were obliterated by the August 4th explosion. So rehabilitating these neighbourhoods is crucial to the support, safety and preservation of these communities.”
Ten jewels to bid on at Dear Beirut…
All prices were correct on the date of publishing, but may be subject to change
Để lại một bình luận