By Cynthia Unninayar
The creator of the much acclaimed and award-winning “Perpetual Motion” jewellery collection, with its swinging pendulums, rolling spheres, and spinning tops, designer Yael Sonia herself seems to be in perpetual motion.
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Sharing her time between New York, São Paulo, and Paris, this talented jewellery artist has earned a well-deserved reputation for her bold, innovative, and playful— yet sophisticated—pieces. Made in 18K gold, gemstones, diamonds, and pearls, the Perpetual Motion collection was “inspired by the movement in children’s toys,” she explains. “I want my pieces to create the same kind of excitement a child feels for a new, fantastic toy. They are like having a personal toy around your neck.”
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Each of her ingenious pieces is handcrafted in Brazil where she works with local stonecutters to obtain the colourful one-of-a-kind gemstones that her skilful goldsmiths turn into very limited kinetic collections. “Brazil is where I feel most creative. I spend several months a year at my studio and showroom there, fine-tuning my designs and producing the collection,” she adds. For much of the rest of the year, Yael lives in New York where in 2007—only ten years after her professional debut—she opened her own boutique at 922 Madison Avenue. The store has rows of colourful candylike gemstones and visually interesting toy-inspired pieces, moving and swinging with an energy all their own. “A client who walks into the store immediately sees that everything moves, rattles, and comes alive like in a child’s universe,” she adds.
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With a museum-like quality to her very untraditional work, it is not surprising that Yael Sonia’s jewellery is featured in galleries in the USA, Brazil, and France. Béatrice Trelcat, director of the Galerie Elsa Vanier in Paris, specializing in contemporary design, explains, “We have been showing Yael’s work for four years now. At first, we had to educate our clientele to her range of colours, the cut of her gemstones, and her unconventional settings. It takes time to appreciate, in full, the detail of these intricately designed pieces. Like layers of a secret, they reveal themselves slowly.”
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Equally delightful as her Perpetual Motion pieces, her other collections include “Rock”, “Kite,” “Spinning Top,” and “Deco.” Recently, she unveiled her collection of handcrafted platinum jewellery. She is even taking her signature Perpetual Motion line to a different level with interactive kits, which let her clients personalize their own pieces with a choice of colours and gemstones. With all of this activity, accomplishments, awards, and acclaim, it is clear to see why Yael Sonia herself is a designer in perpetual motion.
