Q & A with Scéona 

1. City of residence: Singapore

2. Place of birth: Nice, France

3. In under five sentences, define your business: Scéona jewelry is a fine sustainable jewelry brand. We design, produce and sell rings and earrings using two sustainable materials only: 18kt solid recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds.

Mining operations are an absolute ecological and human disaster. By recycling gold and creating diamonds in a lab, we avoid mining. We know that, as a business, our impact does not end with the product itself: for our packaging, we partner with a New-Zealand based company that creates hand-crafted jewelry packaging. Their boxes are made from a solid piece of timber, sourced from forests managed to ensure that the balance and biodiversity of the surrounding area is maintained. Moreover, we offset our carbon emissions through EcoMatcher, an organization that supports local communities in various parts of the world to improve their livelihood by planting trees. Apart from storing carbon, trees help in preventing soil erosion, support wildlife, and give us oxygen.

4. What inspired you to launch a sustainable jewelry business? In 2011, I moved to Jaipur, India. It is well-known for being the world’s greatest cutting center for colored gemstones and during those two years, I discovered a new passion: jewelry. To be more specific, I was absolutely fascinated by the behind the scenes of jewelry: how to design, create, model and produce it; how to choose the appropriate gemstone, how does a gemstone grow. So many things to explore! I realized that before it reaches the showcase of a shop, a piece of jewelry goes through many hands and requires multiple production steps. I immediately knew that I wanted it to become my everyday work.

Being inexperienced, I decided to go back to school: I took Gemology classes at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) I also started to hang out in workshops and gemstones sellers’ shops. Few years later, in 2018, I arrived in Singapore and worked in product development for a local jewelry designer. Once again, it reinforced my passion: from the designer’s initial brief to the first sketch to production, I loved every bit of it. These experiences as well as my studies taught me a lot about the jewelry industry and at the same time, my environmental conscience grew dramatically. As a consumer, I noticed that there was a void here: I could not find pieces of jewelry that met my expectations in terms of design and sustainability. I put that together and it clicked: let’s launch a company specialized in fine sustainable jewelry. After a year of hard work, Scéona was born.

5. Out of all the pieces you produce, which is your favorite/why? Ili Ring. Because it is the ring that illustrates the brand Scéona best: it looks like a simple very thin gold band with a diamond but it is so much more than that. The band has a tree bark texture applied on it and the diamond is set on the side. With less than 1 gr of gold and a 2mm lab-grown diamond, Ili ring says it all. Its beauty lies in its minimalist yet detailed look.

6. If you could share just one piece of wisdom with the world, what would it be? Be kind, in all circumstances.

7. What book(s) are you currently reading? I am reading ‘Où vont les fils?’ a book written by Olivier Frébourg. It tells the story of a husband and father who sees his happy world and family life collapse when his wife suddenly decides to leave him. Not super fun but very well written!

8. Quote you (try to) live by? “Until you try, you don’t know what you can’t do.” Henry James

9. Using one word, how would you describe yourself? Optimistic

10. What is one random fact that most people don’t know about you? I am expecting a baby! It really brings me a lot of joy everyday in those weird uncertain times. And because I launched my company 6 months ago, it feels like I am having two babies in one year!