The cult of Shamballa

When Mads Kornerup opened his first jewellery shop on Rue de Sevigne, Paris, in 1994 he had no idea it marked the beginning of a jewellery flair that  would lead to the international jewellery success Shamballa Jewels.

Shamballa Jewels have a holistic spirit and look that I would describe as discretely chic and expensive. Shamballa is worn by A-list celebrities and available in excluisve departments stores such as Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Harrods. Each piece is hand made and a privilage to wear. A story tells of a doorman who let a man enter one of New York’s finer establishments because he spotted  that he was wearing a Shamballa bracelet. He thought he must be someone worthy to enter. We have been given the privilage to get more of an insight of the brand from Mads Kornerups assistant, Caroline, of Shamballa Jewels.

Can you tell us about Mads Kornerup? How he started Shamballa Jewels?                                      
In 1994 Mads Kornerup opened a store in Paris, which was relocated to Soho, New York, two years later. Both stores offered a wide range of unique ancient Indian & Tibetan jewellery, whose aesthetic and underlying spiritual expression had caught Mads’ deep attention.

This became the main source of inspiration, when Mads began designing his own pieces during the “New York years”. His innovative design quickly caught the attention of the public eye. As a matter of fact, the first Shamballa bracelet was created upon request from musician Jay Z, and already in 1998 selected pieces were available at the recognized New York department store Barney’s. However, due to tragedy of 9/11 Mads and his family had to return to their roots in Copenhagen, Denmark. However, this turned out to be a decisive point in the full blossom of Shamballa Jewels.

Back home, Mads joined forces with his brother Mikkel. Together they created Shamballa Jewels, and launched the first official jewellery collection in 2004. The collection, which among other pieces included the significant Shamballa bracelet, became an instant succes story that soon spread world wide.

What the philosophy of the Shamballa?
Beneath our aim to design unique fine jewellery lies a spiritual philosophy, inspired by ancient traditions of Buddhism, meditation and yoga. The philosophy is incorporated in our designs through ancient Buddhist and Tibetan symbols – for example our thunderbolt which is said to symbolize enlightenment, our Kartika dragon which is said to symbolize the severance of all material and worldly bonds – or our signature double thunderbolt, the Star of Shamballa, which is a reminder to each and every one of us that we are unique just like the stars in the sky. Just like a star the human being can emanate light and heat. This way, a deeper meaning connected to our main philosophy is to be found in each of our pieces.

Which piece is sold the most?
Our best seller item in the less expensive price range is a Shamballa bracelet with a white diamond pavé diamond ball and black onyx balls. Our best seller bracelet in the expensive price range is a full white diamond pavé bracelet. However, the idea is that you combine and customize your own bracelet so it somehow reflects who you are.

One of your collections is with the argyle pink diamond. They are really very rare. Can you tell us why you use pink diamonds?
One of the rarest wonders of the jewellery world is the pink diamond from the Argyle mine in Western Australia. It has been an exclusive part of the Shamballa assortment since 2008. Each year around 600 million rough diamonds are found in the Argyle mine, but less than 1 % of these are pink. The pink diamonds are sold at an exclusive yearly auction. Luckily, we are one of the chosen few who have been given the opportunity to bring them to light and raise awareness of their unique beauty. Something which is indeed a great honor and pleasure!

Stars and celebrities in Hollywood and other parts of the world wear Shamballa jewels. Can you name some?
HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, hip hop Mogul Jay-Z, actor Ashton Kutcher, basketball legend Michael Jordan, Helena Christensen, tennis Legend Boris Becker, actresses Joy Bryant, Lindsay Lohan, Demi Moore, singers Rihanna and Beyonce, Daniel Day Lewis, LeBron James, Ellen DeGeneres, Wender Bremen football player Mesut Özil, NBA laker’s player  Lamar Odom, Bianco Brandolini and Princess Kasia al Tahani of Kuwait  are just some who like and wear Shamballa.

Are you planning to open a showroom or corner in Istanbul, Turkey?
We opened in Colette, Montaigne Market & a series of other high-end retailers in 2010. Up until now, 2010 has been amazing year for us! However, it is a decisive point for us to put time, attention and energy in each of our new, as well as established, retailers.

At this time, we do not have plans on opening Istanbul, but at Shamballa Jewels unexpected things happen all the time. So who knows, maybe we will get the opportunity to open a showroom or corner in Istanbul in the near future. It is surely something we can wish and hope for!

Tuana Zeynep Bigin

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