The Gold Standard In Timeless, Versatile Design

One of the luxury world’s great ironies is that many an international fine jewelry brand was created by an impassioned jewelry lover, rather than a trained jewelry designer. Taking creative risks, experimenting with aesthetics and manifesting her design vision, Valeriya Guzema and her New York-based brand Guzema Fine Jewelry are prime examples of how an impassioned jewelry lover has built a globally successful brand.

As Ms. Guzema explained in a Zoom interview, “I initially worked in fashion journalism, so I had the opportunity to examine in detail jewels from hundreds of brands that varied in aesthetics and price segments. And even with that richness of supply, I could not find the pieces I wanted to wear, which led me to design my own line. That’s how Guzema was founded in Kyiv when I was just 25.” The brand’s golden origin story also embodies artistic fearlessness, heroic alchemy and precious family heirlooms. As the Guzema website explains, “…all we had was a few dollars, the passion to create something unique and the gold teeth of Valeriya’s grandfather…so we melted them down and made our first pieces of jewelry to show the world what we can do.”

From such heartfelt, humble beginnings, the brand has grown exponentially in eight years. Operating three eponymous boutiques in Ukraine, Ms. Guzema also has placed her jewels with numerous offline and e-commerce retailers. In addition to being the brand’s creator, she also models many of her designs on its website and on the brand’s Instagram gallery. “We also frequently team with prominent fine artists creative professionals and influential style leaders,” Ms. Guzema noted. “We do creative collaborations and jewelry shoots with various ambassadors and friends of the brand.”

In 2023, Guzema Fine Jewelry launched in the U.S. market with headquarters in New York City. Although it mainly sells direct-to-consumers online, in June 2024, the brand exhibited for the first time at the JCK Las Vegas jewelry show. The response was “super-positive and supportive,” Guzema recalled. At publication time, the team was in talks with various a number of national retailers.

During our Zoom conversation, Ms. Guzema wore a gracefully designed, impressively flexible 18-karat gold necklace. “I am test-driving this design,” she explained. “I do quality control with every piece that comes out of our atelier. I literally wear new designs pieces all day and all night for a few weeks non-stop. I even wear them to sleep in,” she said with a laugh. “We do this rigorous testing to ensure that our jewelry is as resilient as it is beautiful, and will stand the test of time.”

Regarding her company’s move from Ukraine to New York City, Ms. Guzema related, “I’ve long had the goal of living in New York City, which is, without any exaggeration, the center of the world. I always follow my instinct, and moving to New York the U.S. was one that I couldn’t ignore.” Her love of design, coupled with her understanding of why and how people want to wear jewelry, all drive Ms. Guzema to create kinetic and versatile pieces that offer opportunities to be worn in different ways. “Versatility is key for me personally, as my lifestyle is active and far from serene,” she explained. “I imagine many other people, especially women, can resonate with that.”

While the transformer ring from the Love collection can change shape to fit on different fingers, the fringed and kinetic Chainfall earrings, necklace bracelet and ring from the Hidden Beauty collection embody shape-shifting aspects, as well. Every creation in this range requires up to 14 hours of meticulous handwork to be completed. The long Chainfall ring creates dramatic effects, consisting as it does of a band from which just over two inches of fine yellow gold or white gold chains swing and sway as the wearer moves. An ultra luxe version of the ring features a diamond-encrusted band from which the delicate chains descend like a precious metal waterfall. All gemstones set in Guzema pieces are natural, as opposed to industrially made, and all are sourced from conflict-free zones. This latter characteristic, Ms. Guzema noted, “is of paramount importance for the brand.”

It’s worth mentioning the superb production values embodied by Guzema jewels. Handmade in Italy, Kyiv and California, the brand’s numerous collections are created by master artisans trained in heritage jewelry-making traditions. All of these factors complement Valeriya’s Guzema’s communications skills and commitment to creating covetable jewelry pieces.

In mid-July 2024, Guzema launched a luscious, colorful and golden “Flower Power” campaign. Featuring three florists who cater to A-list celebrities and global fashion houses, Flower Power captures the artists wearing 18-karat gold Guzema jewelry and creating artistic floral designs in sunny Santa Monica, CA.’s Rustic Canyon. Each florist was filmed wearing pieces from a specific collection of Guzema jewelry, styled by Olga Yanul, while they worked outdoors creating floral designs.

Jenya Tsybulskyi of Jenya Flowers, who created the floral arrangements for Jennifer Lopez’s 2022 wedding to Ben Affleck, was photographed wearing jewels from the Light My Fire collection, plus the “Kvitka” charity flower brooch. Brittany Asch of Brrch Floral, a Los Angeles based florist whose work has appeared in both The New York Times and Vogue, created a towering floral sculpture while wearing the Guzema Space collection in 18-karat gold. Sophia Moreno-Bunge of Isa Isa, a Los Angeles-based flower designer who has worked for couture houses like Gucci, Chanel, plus the clothing brand Ulla Johnson, sported the Guzema Chainfall ring and earrings from the Hidden Beauty collection while crafting her compellingly colorful floral spray.

Photographed by award-winning director and photographer Liza Voloshin, Guzema’s campaign blooms with the tagline, “Flowers are the jewelry of the world.” As Ms. Guzema observed, “Flowers are Nature’s most intricate jewels: just like precious metals and gemstones, they are treasures born from the earth. Because connections between fine jewelry, flowers and floral design are undeniable and uniquely precious, creating Flower Power was a delight for all of us,” she recalled. “It also gave us a way to showcase Nature’s powers to inspire artistic harmony and grace.” Just as Nature inspired our ancestors to create jewelry and headdresses out of flowers, vines and leaves, it also compelled people to fashion the first “fine” jewels from iron, bronze, gold and other precious metals. Guzema’s Flower Power campaign vividly reaffirms how crafting and wearing adornments is a primal, and universally meaningful, human endeavor.

Speaking of cultural relevance, Guzema jewelry is now appearing on select episodes of Season Four of the Netflix series Emily in Paris. (The jewels are worn by the show’s lead female characters Emily and Mindy.) Emily in Paris is one of the streamer’s top-rated shows: its season three debuted in December 2022 and collected 117.6 million viewing hours, making it No. 2 on Netflix’s U.S. English-language chart. What’s more, the third season earned a Netflix Top 10 spot in 93 countries. “Everyone in our company is looking forward to seeing our jewels come to life on-screen,” Ms. Guzema said. “It’s an honor to have our jewelry appear on a show that is beloved around the world for its upbeat storytelling, couture fashion and exquisite accessories.”