(JP/Intan Tanjung)

Not only luxurious, John Hardy jewelry is also filled with soul and purpose.

The sky just turned crimson and as the day cooled down, the pathway to the Ganesha Gallery at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay was welcoming.

At the gallery, a keroncong band sang a welcome song while four jewelry artisans smiled in the background. The gallery is host to a John Hardy jewelry exhibition, showcasing its collections until Jan. 10.

“We hope this exhibition can increase our brand awareness in Indonesia. John Hardy is well established overseas, especially in the US, but not many people in Indonesia are aware of us,” said Sri Utami, John Hardy’s senior public relations and marketing manager.

The brand, with headquarters in Hong Kong and branches in New York, Bangkok and Bali, is known for its elegant, luxurious and exclusive pieces.

The brand’s jewelries, 85 percent of which are distributed in the US, can be found in luxury retailers, such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue in the US; Harrods and Net-a-Porter in the UK; Isetan in Japan; and Le Bon Marche in France. In Indonesia, it opened its doors at Plaza Indonesia shopping center in Jakarta two years ago.

John Hardy was set up in 1989 and named after its founder, who spent years learning the ancient skill of jewelry
making from a group of artisans in Bali. The artisans used to create jewelry pieces for Balinese royalty. He built a workshop of a lush thatched-roof bamboo compound that was surrounded by terraced rice fields and organic farms, far away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist island.

With its luxurious touch and strong concept, the company has grown into a multimillion-dollar business. In spite of this the handmade technique is still strongly preserved.

“Our goal is to create luxury handmade jewelry. This ancient technique has been practiced for thousands of years to create gold or silver jewelry for royalty in Bali,” Sri says.

In 2007, John Hardy sold his stake in this multimillion dollar company to his creative director Guy Bedarida and new CEO Damien Dernoncourt, who have been with the company since the 1990s. The ownership may have changed but the vision and concept of the brand still remains the same.

Sri said that although it is possible to create jewelry with machinery, Bedarida preferred to invest in people to create the pieces using skill and passion.

“Besides, handmade creations are special and filled with soul from the maker,” she said.

Bedarida, who once led the design department of exclusive jewelry team Van Cleef & Arpels, now leads a team of designers, highly skilled illustrators and wax carvers — all of whom work by hand to create up to 200 distinctive styles every season.

Four of their artisans — an illustrator, a wax carver and two chain-assemblers who do the Balinese traditional rantai technique — demonstrated the process at the exhibition’s opening night, which drew attention from the curious visitors.

The exhibition features 300 items from the John Hardy collections, including the modern legacy Classic Chains, which was made using the traditional Balinese rantai hand-woven technique of gold and silver, meticulously heated and handcrafted to form the supple drape the chains. The chain is combined perfectly with precious stones, such as amethyst, tsavorite and sapphire.

Other collections — Modern Chain, Dot, Bamboo, Bedeg, Naga, Kali — are also on display along with the one-of-a-kind Cinta collection.

Cinta is an exclusive collection — comprising only one or two pieces of each design — symbolizing the deepest expression the love of individuality, fusing various forms and compositions while maintaining the brand’s signature design.

The Cinta collection, which means love, is extraordinary for its use of only gold and precious gemstones such as moonstone, diamond, black diamond, ruby or spinel — which Bedarida often brought to Bali after traveling.

The jewelry retains the tradition of having a back story and strong philosophy.

Illustrator Gede Wiraga said John Hardy’s designs are inspired by nature, making them very diverse and rich.

“In Bali, Guy [Bedarida] gets his inspiration from many things, whether it’s from the people, the nature, the culture or the religion,” Wiraga said.

Cinta 18K Yellow Gold Naga Cuff: (Courtesy of John Hardy)The Naga collection was based on a Balinese traditional tale.

The Naga (dragon) lived on a mountain and fell in love with a pearl. Every night, it dived into the sea to kiss the pearl. On the way back to where he lived on the mountain, the water on his scales fell upon the rice fields and made the soil in Bali fertile and rich.

“The dragon that watched over the island is a symbol of protection. Its love for the pearl is a symbol of love and the water from its scale is a symbol of prosperity,” Wiraga said.

John Hardy’s exquisite designs are not only carved on the outer side, but also on the inside. The inner part describes how the piece’s shape or form was inspired.

In the Palu collection, for example, beautiful illustration that describes the making of the jewelry by using a palu or hammer, is carved on the inside of the bracelet.

Aside from the luxurious conceptual works, the brand supports ecological projects. One such green mission, the Wear Bamboo, Plant Bamboo initiative will see 800,000 bamboo trees planted throughout Bali.

“In our Bamboo collection, customers can see the number of bamboo tree we plan to plant on the inner carving,” Sri says. “By purchasing this collection, a customer can take part in saving the environment and turn our island green.”