Mansa Musa

Every VANLELES Diamonds creation is an homage to the beauty of Africa. Vania Leles started the jewelry brand to showcase the gemstones and diamonds of her home continent. Each ethically sourced piece is inspired by African history and landscapes, with precious stones transformed into stunning jewelry like dangle earrings, pendant necklaces and cocktail rings.

Leles was born in Guinea-Bissau and later studied in Lisbon and London. Her work as a model took her to Paris and New York until she settled in London. In 2003, she had the idea for a jewelry brand while on a fine jewelry shoot. Someone on set told her that Africa was the origin of some of the world’s most precious and semi-precious stones. Yet when she did some research, she discovered that there was a lack of fine jewelry African designers working with these stones.

Leles decided to establish her own African and female-led jewelry house, but her mother urged her to slow down. “She suggested I get ten years of experience before launching my own company,” Leles told Introspective. Taking her advice, she quit modeling, earned a gemology degree from GIA London and was hired as a gemologist by Graff. She later worked at De Beers and Sotheby’s.

In 2011, Leles launched VANLELES Diamonds. She opened a store on New Bond Street in London, a major center of the international jewelry trade. She began small, taking commissions for engagement rings and tennis bracelets. In 2015, a loyal client became an investor, and Leles relocated to the prestigious Brook Street.

When designing, Leles told The Study, she envisions her pieces for “a dynamic and elegant woman who isn’t afraid to wear grand jewelry with the same ease while in jeans and a white shirt or in a gown.”

Since the beginning, Leles has maintained a strict policy of only sourcing diamonds from certified conflict-free suppliers. This includes stones from all over the African continent, including Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

On 1stDibs, find VANLELES Diamonds earrings, necklaces, rings and more.

Contemporary jewelry is inextricably linked with the moment in which it is created, frequently reflecting current social, cultural and political issues such as environmental consciousness, identity and sustainability. It’s informed by fashion trends, from the chokers of the 1990s to the large chain necklaces of the early 2000s.

Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment. Lockets made of silver or gold have been treasured gifts for hundreds of years, for example, and charm bracelets, which have existed since prehistoric times, didn’t become especially popular until the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. For many centuries, fine jewelry was used primarily to express wealth or status through lavish materials. Then, in the 1960s, a concept known as the “critique of preciousness” emerged, with jewelers creating pieces that did not get their value from gemstones or precious metals. Instead, it was the jeweler’s artistic vision that was prized and elevated.

This shift still informs Contemporary jewelry being made by artists today. Whether they are using cheap, found materials and working with provocative geometric shapes or seeking out the rarest stones, they are imbuing their work with meaning through their skills, techniques and ideas. Innovative designers such as Elsa Peretti, who popularized sculptural sterling-silver jewelry for Tiffany & Co., and David Yurman, who twisted metal into the simple yet striking Cable bracelet, have also influenced the direction of Contemporary jewelry’s forms and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, technological advancements like metal alloys and laser engraving have led to new possibilities in jewelry design. Now, edgy makers and brands as well as minimalist designers are pushing Contemporary jewelry forward into the 21st century.

Find a collection of Contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.