Anabela Chan launches Fruit Gems Collection

Anabela Chan has announced the launch of her Fruit Gems Collection which combines science and art to create colourful jewels featuring gemstones synthesised from natural fruit and vegetable waste.

Chan stated that Fruit Gems has been developed in response to the amount of food wasted annually across the world.

The coloured gemstones feature pigment synthesised from Spinach, Beetroot, Blueberry, Purple Sweet Potato, Blue Spirulina, Green Plankton, and Dragon Fruit.

Developed in Anabela’s atelier over a four year period, her team is able to extract pigmentation from fruits and vegetables.

These include carotenoids contributing red and orange from dragon-fruits and tomatoes; flavonoids contributing yellow from carrots and lemons; betalains contributing red and purple from beetroot; anthocyanins contributing blue from blueberries and spirulina, and chlorophyll green from spinach and plankton.

Through a combination of processes including crushing, grinding, simmering, straining, air-drying and freeze-drying, the Fruit Gems are then bonded and stabilised with a bio-resin foundation derived from plants and renewable organic materials such as corn, soybean, agave and avocado seeds.

The rough Fruit Gems are then cut, faceted and polished the same way as natural gemstones, with the ability to be casted into forms like molten metals.

Through this process Chan has also developed Regenerative-Gemstones, including a new Amber made with autumn leaves and twigs; as well as rose quartz, turquoise, amethyst, malachite and lapis lazuli re-created using lapidary off-cuts.

Chan said: “From Waste to Wonder, we innovate through harnessing ancient traditional techniques with modern ideas and technology. It is about learning from the past, to offer a different perspective in the present, always in mind for a better future.”