A jeweler wants to display his work not only to spark desire but also to highlight the craftsmanship and care behind the design, which is what Elinor Avni says she hopes her New York store can achieve.
Her collaboration with architecture firm Baranowitz + Kronenberg did just that and more. In December 2021, Prix Versailles announced that it had awarded Âme Jewelry its own global award for Best Interior Design in the Department Store and Stores category. Prix Versailles announced the winning designs in a variety of categories on December 15, and Avni says she is thrilled to be among those on its prestigious list.
Whether you see it in person or through photos, it’s immediately clear why Avni’s vision for her retail store stood out. “Rather than approaching it schematically, the Âme is designed as an all-encompassing journey that includes all the senses,” Avni says.
The Âme store located at 132 Spring Street in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood really appeals to all senses. Imagine a monochromatic room filled with steel curtain walls, polished dark concrete, and elegant glass shades. Each of these gloves bears one of Anvi’s designs and a set of lab-grown diamonds, allowing each piece to have its own space in an upscale fashion.
All this is reflected in the exact location of the store. For example, the boutique’s steel walls are meant to represent the shadows created from the facades around Lower Manhattan, a place that perfectly blends historic architecture with cutting-edge modern design ideas.
The idea is that the customer walks along the gowns and throughout the store to see each piece individually. This exploration leads the client to see everything slowly and carefully, thinking about its beauty as well as how to wear it.
Anvi says she wants people to wear diamonds every day, not just for special occasions, so present the jewelry in a way that makes you feel like you can instantly see how you’d wear it and why it was so attractive to her in a boutique design.
“While using traditional materials in a funky way, the space maintains a warm and inviting vibe even though it breaks with all the mores of a fine jewelry boutique,” Avni says. “Jewelry and interior are equally important in creating this holistic experience.”
If you feel like you’ve gone to a place where time and space bend, you’re right. The Âme store concept is an abstraction in the best way and serves as a “unification of the past, present and future,” according to the jeweler’s website.
Avni, an architect by trade, founded Âme Fine Jewelry House in 2019. Her inspirations include architecture and shapes found in nature, something she tries to achieve with diamonds or lab-grown diamonds, which the brand said are ethically and environmentally friendly.
Âme’s vision is to transform the fundamentals of jewelry making by integrating contemporary design with the latest technology. The design of our New York store is a tangible expression of this endeavour, Alex Popov, CEO of Âme, said in a statement. “We therefore appreciate that the Versailles Prize jury recognized our vision and honored us with this prestigious award.”
(Images provided by Âme . Jewelry)
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