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By Perry Gil S. Mallari
Photos by KJ Rosales
Artists come in all shapes and
sizes and so do their mediums in which they express their art. Some
prefer to work with paints, others opt to mold plaster or carve wood
and a few use found objects to concretize their artistic visions.
For jeweler and designer Laura de Guzman, it is precious stones and
metals that bring her creative concepts to life.
An interior designer by training,
de Guzman narrates that her love for jewelry was something she
inherited from her grandmother Barbara Yap-Angeles, the founder of
Angeles University in Pampanga. “It was my grandmother who taught
me to appreciate beautiful jewelry,” she recalls with nostalgia.
Endowed with regal deportment, de
Guzman married another creative individual in the person of
Architect Arlen de Guzman. The couple has five children and three of
them have clearly shown proclivity to the arts, “My two
daughters—Pia and Anica—are both architects like their dad while
my youngest son who’s now in Grade 3 also display strong aesthetic
sensibilities.
De Guzman started to lay the
groundwork for jewelry business seven years ago but it was only last
month that she decided to open her shop she calls “Laura” at the
fourth level of The Podium in Ortigas Center. Articulating on the
kind of jewelry that her store sells, she says, “We have a wide
variety of pieces with prices ranging from P500 to P200,000
depending on what the client wants.” De Guzman also explains that
like fashion, trend in jewelry is also a cycle. “Last year, silver
is the in thing and now it’s yellow gold.” She also comments on
the target market she is focusing on, “I have a set of clients
that are very, very fashionable. They don’t want pieces intended
to be kept forever, they want designs that are en vogue.” In
addition to fashionable jewelry, her shop also sells décors and
reproduction of antiques.
Though preoccupied with running
her store most of the time, it was in making custom-made jewelries
that de Guzman fully displays her creative prowess. She discloses
that the first step of the design process is to see the stone, which
is often supplied by the client. “I draw preliminary sketches
based on the physical attributes of the stone,” she elaborates,
adding, “I then asked my platero to make a mold and a number of
prototypes.” She stresses that this is the crucial phase of
production wherein she dictates to the craftsman to implement the
minutest detail of her design. The prototype then was presented to
the client for approval. De Guzman emphasizes that everything must
be right before the stone is finally set because corrections are
very hard to do beyond this stage. “Baka mabakbak ‘yung bato pag
inalis uli [The stone might be damaged if you try to reset it],”
she explains.
Because of the tedious labor
involved, de Guzman explains that custom-made jewelry commands a
higher price. She discloses that her ability in appraising precious
stones is a combination of highly trained senses and technological
savvy. “I use gut-feel most of the time, but I do carry a tester
that proves very useful particularly when I’m appraising multiple
pieces,” she reveals.
De Guzman also shares her
thoughts with The Times on investing in jewelries. “The best
investment of course are diamonds but not everybody can afford
them,” she explains, continuing, “Buying jewelries made of
silver or gold is advantageous not only because of their value but
also because both can be melted and forged into new designs as their
owners deem fit.”
Given the very distinct nature of
the business of designing and selling jewelries, de Guzman relates
that it’s not for the general population, “You’ve got to have
good eyes and good taste.” The creative designer intones that the
two attributes she named cannot be studied or acquired outright.
“They come naturally through ones upbringing and exposure,” she
concludes. 
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