Missoma’s ‘Mangrove Viper Cuff’ for Rising Gems

Missoma chose to create their 'Rising Gems' piece based on the World Land Trust project in the Philippines. The marine reserve and wildlife sanctuary on Danjugan Island is home to the stunning coral reef and mangroves that inspired this design.

A small jewel in the Sulu Sea, the island is completely encircled by fringing coral reef and many of the lagoons have surrounding mangrove stands.

We wanted to capture the organic, unruly and finger like patterns of this wildlife in our cuff design, and have focused on the 'Mangrove Viper' as the centrepiece to this. This serpent is often found inhabiting dense areas of mangrove, and its bold black and yellow stripes stood out to us as menacing yet magnificent. We have tried to recreate its colouring and pattern using 'Enlightened Swarovski Elements' gemstones in subtle shades of citrine pavé in Cream Yellow, Saffron, Golden and Mandarine, offset by black spinel pavé on a black rhodium setting. Combining this stark colour contrast with the more eclectic and vivid colours found in the exotic coral reef also enabled us to include a touch of vibrant colour for which our designs have become known. We have used the innovative 'gem in gem' setting in peridot, blue topaz, pink rhodolite and amethyst, as we wanted to represent the variety and multitude of colourful fauna to be found on Danjugan. Home to at least 244 types of coral, 17 species of mangroves and 572 fish species to name but a few of its many inhabitants, this island is truly a treasure cove of hidden gems which Missoma is proud to support.

To find out more about Danjugan Island, or donate to this project, please visit: www.prrcf.org

To find out more about Rising Gems please visit www.risinggems.co.uk

The Rising Gems Collection will be on display exclusively at LIBERTY, in their new Designer Jewellery Room, from 8th - 14th June to celebrate Coutts London Jewellery Week.