Lizard shells, cowries, octopus tentacles, shark fins… These marine treasures sometimes become, under Sara Beltrán’s watchful eye, the raw material that gives life to gems. But, as a rule, they are imitated better to be glorified. Retaining their shape and scales, they are found engraved in more rock quarried in quarries than on the seabed (onyx, moonstone, lapis lazuli, quartz, citrine, tiger’s eye, etc.), sometimes diamond or sapphire. “From the very beginning, the ocean forced itself on me, says Sara Beltrán, who founded her label, Dezso, in 2006. It holds so much life that it is dizzying: I want to show its breadth and return its beauty to us. »

Born in El Paso (Texas), the designer, who grew up in Mexico, remembers how his father, an accountant, loved to give jewelry to his mother, a ceramic and porcelain maker: “With my sister, we fought to steal her retro ring, to play with. » However, Sara Beltran never thought of turning jewelry into a profession.

“Perfection from Imperfection”

When he moved to New York in 1998, he envisioned himself as a shopper for a department store. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she had just finished learning the basics of advertising when her passion took her elsewhere. He tried an internship in the Italian edition mode, improvised as a press officer for a year. One day when he was assistant at a photo shoot for Abercrombie & Fitch, in Hawaii, photographer Bruce Weber [qui a fait l’objet de plaintes en 2018 pour agressions sexuelles] noticed that he was recovering shells and wood chips on the beach. “I played with jewels”, he explained to her. “Can you make me a hundred necklaces, a hundred bracelets, and a hundred pendants? », she asked him. It’s a click. He launched Dezso quietly.

Sixteen years later, Sara Beltrán has established relationships with diamond dealers in Tel Aviv and Los Angeles and digs in India, Mumbai and Jaipur, where she owns an apartment, goldsmith and engraver: “I spent hours with them perfecting my passion. » The latter ensures most of its production, completed by Moroccan and Mexican craftsmen. Handcrafted, Dezso jewelery reproduces the grooves or spirals of the shell. Dislikes barrier-free shine, Sara Beltrán prefers “perfection imperfection”. He had just opened his first private retail space, on Greenwich Street, a stone’s throw from his midnight blue-walled apartment, filled with rugs, knick-knacks, palm tree designs, and driftwood. The interior is like a bohemian seaside decor.