Cassandra Goad isn’t just a jeweller and gemmologist, but is also an adventurer with an ear for stories and an eye for detail. A restless explorer, she says if she didn’t live in Italy then she would live in Mexico, a country she’s very familiar with. She’s travelled the breadth and length of the country, from the Yucatan’s Mayan Pyramids to the lake at Patzcuaro for Día de Muertos, from the Sian Ka’an Biosphere along the eastern coast to the western coast to watch the flight of the flamingos.
It’s the Yucatan Peninsula’s natural beauty that created inspiration for the Fire Coral earrings in Goad’s Mexico Collection. These are, she explains, ‘inspired by the coral I left drying in the sun on the beach at Celestun (near the long narrow estuary where the pink flamingos gather) and along the Mexican barrier reef and Sian Ka’an (“place where the sky is born”) Biosphere at Punta Allen.’
Mexico’s eastern beaches reach out to the world’s second-largest biodiverse coral reef, where fish, turtles and dolphins are attracted to the spectacular corals. The sealife swims freely among the fragile twig-like silhouettes of the corals, which sway gracefully in the currents. It’s these beautiful marine organisms that Goad’s earrings reimagine in 9ct yellow gold, discreetly studded with small diamonds, half hidden in the delicate branches. When worn, the earrings dance gently with the wearer’s movements, recreating the coral’s movements in the sea.
They are an elegant memento of a trip to the reef from a glorious beach in a country Goad adores. ‘I love the Mexican sense of fun, the vibrant colours, the exotic food (and its beautiful presentation) and its wonderful culture and folkloric traditions,’ she says. ‘I would go back every year, forever.’
Fire Coral yellow gold earrings, £2,385; cassandragoad.com
Joanne Glasbey is the editor of Brummell magazine andwatch editor of Times LUXX magazine
