Miami-born and of Cuban-Armenian descent, Vanessa Fernández is not merely a jeweller but a maker of movement. Trained at the bench, her goldsmithing skills and designs blur the boundaries between adornment and sculpture. Her resume is enviable, too — designing at John Hardy under Guy Bedarida, Louis Vuitton under Lorenz Bäumer, and contributing to high jewelry projects for Gucci, Christie’s, and Tasaki, including a special commission for the Nippon Foundation in Japan. In 2021, she was appointed White House Goldsmith by the U.S. Department of State, a rare and prestigious distinction, handcrafting bespoke pieces for the President, First Lady, Vice-President, and visiting Heads of State.
Driven by the need to create what she imagines, she works out of her studio in Miami, where she designs and renders, and sculpts wax models. Working with alloys, she casts and finishes each piece entirely by hand. “My goal is to design jewelry that appears effortless, regardless of the control and precision it demands when sculpting.” Tactility informs Vanessa’s creations. She remarks how it plays an essential role in the way the jewelry interacts with the skin, “whether hanging off the ear or hugging the finger.” A believer in comfort, she is “continually inspired by the seductive power of the female form and fluidity of gold as a material.” This week, she is bringing her new Curva designs to COUTURE. “The new pieces are more complex in their movement, with a wider range of stone sizes,” she adds. The evolution of Curva leans into a more sensual, sinuous form. “It’s erratic yet calculated. The flow is irregular, but the way it grips the stones feels both delicate and powerful,” Vanessa explains. “Angles have become more erotic. The twists and turns feel unexpected, though somehow, they still make sense.”
The standout piece? A one-of-a-kind neckpiece that pairs chrysoberyl with diamonds in a sculptural, custom-alloy setting. “It’s set in 105 grams of 18-karat yellow gold,” she says. “The piece features a specially cut suite of pear-shaped chrysoberyl totaling 32.14 carats, accented with diamonds. It’s bold and considered, playing with structure and light.” Color remains the driving force behind the creative vision. “I’ve always been drawn to the exotic—to vivid, saturated color,” she notes. This year, that instinct manifests in three Paraiba tourmaline pieces: a glowing cabochon ring, a diamond-accented toi et moi with pear-shaped Paraibas, and a mismatched pair of hoop earrings that shimmer with electric blue and white brilliance. Each addition captures her signature Curva.
