14 September 2023
Gemfields’ partner, The Line fine jewellery launches in the UAE
To celebrate the debut and showcase The Line x Gemfields Songbird collection, which features Gemfields’ Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds, a special event was hosted in Dubai for media and influencers.
The glittering reception – held at 12 Chairs, SLS Dubai, in mid-September – was a perfect way to introduce The Line and its founder, Natasha Khurana, to this new market of gemstone enthusiasts and to mark the occasion of The Line’s UAE website going live, with a Dubai-based design studio to follow soon.
The event also saw the display of the stunning Songbird collection, which pays homage to both Indian artisan traditions and the raw power of coloured gemstones. Named for the musical songbird, whose distinctive call has been recognisable since the dawn of time, the collaboration is the first between The Line and Gemfields. It reflects Natasha’s modern and unique take on the classic Indian jewellery aesthetic, whose popularity, like that of the songbird, has endured through the ages.
With crescent hoops, flowering earpieces, shoulder-dusting “chandelier earrings” and pendant and string necklaces fit for a Maharajah – all starring Gemfields’ coloured gemstones – it is a breath-taking collection, reflecting the Indians’ penchant for wearing extravagant jewels every day. Each piece is handcrafted from 18k gold and juxtaposes bold coloured gemstones with delicate pearls, in the time-honoured Indian style.
The rubies featured were all sourced from the Montepuez mine in Mozambique, while the emeralds are from Kagem in Zambia. Both mines are owned by and operated by Gemfields, a world-leading responsible miner of coloured gemstones. The two mines have produced some of exceptional gems, which have fetched record prices at auction.
Natasha was inspired to design the collection by her passion for art, fashion and history and by her dual life, living between New Delhi and Dubai. With Songbird, she pays tribute to the “weighty legacy of Indian jewel-making and wearing”, and to the role that colour plays in everyday Indian life. Rubies and emeralds have long been prized in India – for both their beauty and their talismanic powers – and their bold hues make them the perfect fit for this collection.
“Gems are what drew me to jewellery as a career. I believe we need to do very little by way of bejewelling gems: when they are this beautiful, they speak for themselves,” says Natasha, who had a lightbulb moment that she wanted to be a fine jeweller when she first saw loose gemstones for sale. “The colour, the fire of rubies and emeralds! I lost my heart!”