From Bucharest to the Middle East, ‘Saba & Adam Jewels' is a story about one man's passion. Alex Karkhi is a 28-year-old designer who dedicated his life to craftsmanship. He recently celebrated the brand's first anniversary. “I have always been interested in fashion and jewelry and especially in the concept of chromatic and aesthetics. I am really happy with my work! I get to play with a lot of materials and work with so many talented people. It is absolutely great!” Unimpressed by runway looks, Karkhi believes it is best to embrace one's own style and keep things simple, but intriguing at the same time. “I always refer to fashion as a means to express yourself, like how would your emotions look at nine in the morning or at eight in the evening. What I decide to wear is how I actually feel at that particular moment. I think I am kind of an addict!” Bucharest is one of the most exciting places and has changed a lot the past 10 years. “And I can say it changed for the better,” Karkhi added. “Bucharest is a fun city, always developing, in sync with the new trends, and from what I have seen lately, Bucharest has started to grow a lot in terms of fashion. A lot of new upcoming designers, fashion shows, artists, singers, everybody is working so hard on their image that their style is becoming impeccable.” Talking about his journey, Karkhi said he previously studied dentistry and is a doctor. “But being involved in aesthetics probably lead me to jewelry design. When you start your own brand you want your name to be very special and memorable. I wanted a name to reflect what I love and value the most so I can be proud of it. After a while it came to me: I had to use my wife's and son's names: Saba & Adam. What better name could there be? I am married with two beautiful children, a girl and a boy, that mean the world to me!” However working in the industry comes with its own set of challenges. “Everything is hard. It is a struggle between what you really want to do and being commercial, because you have to sell. Fashion takes time, for people to understand it, to digest it and then to feel the need for it. You cannot force things to happen, sometimes you have to let it be.” Karkhi also learned a lot from a friend who is one of the first jewelers in Bucharest. “He was the most capable to teach me the basics of jewelry, including techniques and tools that we use, but I am also a quick learner so I have picked up a lot of information by myself. I also intend on going to Italy to perfect myself in one of the greatest jewelry designs school,” he added. Discussing construction he said the longest time is spent on the conceptualization. His first bracelet was ‘The Silver Brave' a knitted black thread bracelet with 80 silver beads. “It usually does not take that much time to actually make a bracelet. It is coming up with a design, then combining different materials and colors for a cool look. Normally, for example, it takes me up to three hours to make a silver cuff. But let's talk about the beaded bracelets here. Making a bracelet with beads is one of my most relaxing moments of the day.” The beaded bracelets and necklaces are made with natural precious and semi-precious stones and silver or gold. Every bracelet has a story. “Every stone has healing properties and meanings. Most of the time I focus on creating pieces of jewelry not only to look good, which is very important, but also to give the person wearing it- protection, energy and stability from what happens in his life. Spiritually, my jewels will ground and protect you from negative energy, will help you in times of stress, easing any transformation allowing you to engage your highest level of consciousness in the process.” Karkhi spoke about finer details, designed precious metal elements that carry his logo and signature. “It is a complex process that starts on the drawing board where I put my bracelet designs on paper including the beads, lock system, the way the CZ diamonds are set, and so on. After the drawing is final it goes to a very talented wax artist who will create a perfect piece from the drawings provided. The wax goes then into a mold and that is when I come in again. We melt the silver or the gold, we pour it into the casts and we get the first final sample. It then goes to the quality control where we check it for imperfections, and after oxidizing, to give it that vintage look, it goes to polishing and finally it is done! It can be used in making a bracelet or a necklace.” He said jewelry design also implies making a lot of new friends all over the world and it is the highlight. “And second, that I have managed to have customers that wear my jewelry internationally and that a lot of people like what I do and more and more are joining the great big ‘Saba & Adam' family! Sometimes I happen to meet people who are already wearing Saba & Adam. To see my jewelry being worn gives me utmost pleasure.” His new collection shares a more spiritual part of his life. Talking about trademarks, he said his is ‘Fleur de Lis'. “Rich in history and legendary, the Fleur de Lis is one of the most recognized symbols across the world. Representing either a lily or an iris, traditionally, it has been used to represent French Royalty, and it is said to signify perfection, light, and life. Its motif comes to us from a distant past and to this day still remains a mystery to its origins. Wearing this symbol gives my customers a sense of royalty. We are all in a great, big, Royal Saba & Adam Family.” He believes 2015 will shift the trends and ask minimalism to take backstage.” I think that 2015 is the year where everybody wants to wear as many jewels as possible (on their wrists). The bigger, the better. We are slowly growing from minimalistic designs to more flashy and imposing pieces. Overall, jewelry represents a statement. Every piece of jewelry can become a personal item. It is actually each and everybody's personal trademark. It shows the world who's who, and who we are! If you care about this, then you are one of us!” Buy online at: www.sabastory.com
