Simran

I CAUGHT UP WITH SIMRAN FOLLOWING THE DESIGN OF HER EVIL EYE SIGNET RING TO REFLECT ON THE PROCESS AND HER EXPERIENCE COMMISSIONING A BESPOKE PIECE OF JEWELLERY.

How did you first come across Genevieve’s jewellery, and what initially drew you to her work?

I came across her brand and designs via another TikTokker (@chiarasaterlier) who was doing a round-up of her experience at the Goldsmith's Fair in 2024. I've always loved jewellery (and even had dreams of one day becoming a jewellery designer, when I was younger) so seeing Genevieve's pieces in that TikTok video immediately made me save the brand to my list of lust-worthy jewellery designers. I think many jewellery designs these days are either too minimalist or too avant-garde. That's where Genevieve's designs are so different. They're colourful, playful and bursting with personality. I love colours and I love pieces with a story behind them - bonus points if they consist of beautiful gemstones (which also tend to have symbolisms behind them).

Genevieve's original rendition of an Evil Eye ring is unlike any other evil eye ring that I've ever seen and I loved how playful it felt to me. Warding off evil can be fun too!

Could you talk me through the bespoke process and what that collaboration was like?

It was extremely easy. Genevieve made me feel like I could have a million questions and she'd never lose her patience. I never used the right language and sent her the weirdest sketches but she always knew what I meant when I'd asked for certain things. She's so warm and friendly, even over emails, so it made the entire process one that I really looked forward to. At the end of March 2025, I decided to send her an email asking if she'd be open to working with me on a smaller, everyday version of her Evil Eye signet ring, because I don't and will never wear such a large ring. I gave her my rough budget and we went from there. She was never pushy about anything - be it design or budget. That was when I knew I'd reached out to the right collaborator. It took about 6 months. Seeing the ring in person was just amazing. I couldn't believe that's what we'd worked on together. She had taken the visuals in my mind and turned it into reality. I love my ring and I love wearing it all the time - which was always the plan when making a smaller version of the original signet ring.

What made you choose an Evil Eye signet specifically? I know you already owned one - how did you approach making this version feel more personal and distinctive?

So I've already mentioned that I love stories and symbolism. The concept of evil eye is really prevalent in South Asian culture - we call it nazar. I think it's called something similar in Arabic or Persian cultures too. In my family, we ward off evil eyes by burning dried red chillies after circulating them around the person's body; whoever you wished to protect. If there's no pungent smell, it means that person really did have evil eyes cast on them. Every member of my family also wears a crocheted black thread (called kaala dhaaga which literally translates to 'black thread' :D) either on their wrist or their ankle - the black thread is meant to ward off evil eyes. We have also tied one on my family dog's collar! I do believe in this concept. For example, if there's a goal I'm working towards or a dream I wish to see fulfilled I think twice about who I'd wish to share this with because I wouldn't want my most precious dreams to be tainted by evil eye, however unintentional.

But no matter how much you try to prevent evil eyes, I've always felt comforted by the presence of an amulet. The typical blue evil eye designs that you see in almost every Turkish restaurant are pretty but when translated to jewellery, they never looked satisfying to me. In early 2024, I'd purchased an evil eye ring made from artificial materials. I told myself that if after a year of wearing it I felt like I wanted to continue wearing an evil eye ring then I'd commission a real gold ring for it.

And so that's what happened in March 2025 and thankfully Genevieve said she was open to making it. I loved the little details of the gold diamonds to symbolise the lashes and the etchings/engravings. And the 2 white diamonds on the side to show the whites of the eye. It looked like a properly designed gemstone ring while also being an evil eye ring and I loved the subtleties of the evil eye aspect of her original design. I wanted to see if all of that could be made at a smaller scale so that it can be a true everyday ring that also suited my ring sensibilities. 

What do you prefer about the new ring compared to your original one?

EVERYTHING! I love how striking it looks. I love that it's made of real, durable materials. I love that the black diamonds symbolise not just the lashes but also resilience (similar to black onyx) so it ups the ante on the protective element of the ring. I love that I have a genuine blue sapphire in the middle of the design instead of just a blue stone - and again, a blue sapphire is often regarded as a symbol of protection. It's also slightly larger than the evil eye ring I'd purchased in 2024 so it feels sturdier and suits my hands more.

If you were to design another bespoke piece in the future, what would you like to make?

I want to customise an ingot pendant with tiny gemstones to symbolise those I love the most. I can't stop with the symbolisms.