DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
ONE OF A KIND HOW TWELVE-YEAR-OLD SETARA MANASA BECAME A JEWELRY DESIGNER
T hroughout her travels, Poonam Manasa has always collected loose stones. With a lifetime love for jewelry, she traveled to Cambodia with a mission to find a new gem. What she didn’t know was that the three loose stones she’d return home with would become the very first piece in a new designer’s collection. “I’ve been into jewelry ever since I was younger,” Manasa said. “I’m not a clothes person, I’m not a car person, I’m not a handbag person. I haven’t bought a purse in two or three years … but I love my jewelry.” Located on the Thai peninsula in Southeast Asia, Cambodia is one of the only places where blue zircon is found. The mesmerizing gem is credited to be the oldest mineral on Earth, and would be a first in Manasa’s collection. “Before we went, someone from Korman told me that Cambodia is famous for blue zircon, so I thought I’d pick some up while I was there. I have tanzanite from Tanzania and rubies and sapphires from my first trip to Cambodia,” Manasa said.
With her husband’s cousin as her translator, she toured a market in search of the rare gemstone. Three deep blue stones quickly caught her eye. Unbeknownst to her and the seller of the stones, what Manasa had actually purchased was blue spinel, a far more valuable gem. “When I brought it back to Chuck (Korman’s in-house jeweler), he said that it was actually blue spinel,” Manasa said. “It’s actually much more expensive than blue zircon, I hadn’t paid spinel prices!” It wasn’t long before the stunning stones caught the attention of Manasa’s 12-year-old daughter, Setara. Studying the gems, Setara began imagining what the three stones could become. Inspired by pieces her mother had previously designed, she began sketching. “Sometimes ideas just pop in my head. I get inspiration from my mom’s old sketchbooks where she tapes in pictures of cutouts from magazines,” Setara said. “I really like stealing my mom’s jewelry. I’ve never worn a Y-necklace, so I thought if I designed one, maybe I could wear it!” Poonam and Setara began researching other blue spinel pieces for inspiration. They grabbed loose chains and began rearranging the stones until they had found the perfect design. From there, they decided to bring it into Korman to help bring Setara’s vision to life. “I originally thought to make a pendant and two earrings out of the loose stones, but this idea was perfect,” Poonam said. With the help of Korman’s master jewelers, Setara’s first fine jewelry piece was born. Set in rose gold, in the y-shaped style Setara had envisioned, the necklace is truly one of a kind. “It’s my favorite piece,” Poonam said. “I have jewelry from all over the world, but that’s the piece I wear all the time. We’re hoping to design pieces to sell, so far everything we’ve made has been for us.” Sounds a lot like the amazing mother-daughter duo behind SHAY if you ask us! What’s next for this designer? Setara hopes to design a second piece during the family’s next trip to Dubai. With a love of animals, Setara envisions animal inspired jewelry in the future. One thing that is certain, this young upcoming designer is one to look out for!
46 KORMAN MAGAZINE
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