Persia in Bloom: Sara Peymanpour

This Iranian-British designer looks to her roots to create colorful, elegant collections.

Sara Peymanpour’s colorful gem-set jewelry takes inspiration from the flowers and gardens, lighting and architecture of her Persian heritage. Her responsibly sourced jewelry brand, Sara Peymanpour London, launched in June at Couture London, an invitation-only showcase for designer labels on Old Bond Street. Her first collection of earrings, rings and necklaces is called Golbarg, which means “petal” in Persian. Flowers from Persian carpets were the influence for the designs, with sleek lines in 18-karat yellow gold and natural colored gemstones such as tsavorites, garnets and citrines. “Flowers play a big role in Persian culture — from designs in carpets to architecture,” says Peymanpour, who grew up in Iran and now lives in London.

‘I’m a bit of a gem nerd’ A graduate gemologist with a diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), she loves working with gemstones, which she often sources from her visits to international trade fairs. All of her pieces are made by master craftspeople in Italy, Britain and Iran. “I’m a bit of a gem nerd who can spend hours looking at a few stones. I’m fascinated by their colors, shapes, cuts and inclusions and like to combine different colors in one piece of jewelry,” she says. Her favorites are ruby for its majestic color and depth, and Paraiba tourmaline for its color reminiscent of the ocean.

A flourishing garden  Who is the typical Sara Peymanpour customer? A confident, cultured and stylish woman who likes to make a statement with her jewelry, the designer says. And Peymanpour is certainly accomplishing that, having sold several pieces from Golbarg to private clients at Couture London. Another of her collections is Persian Garden, which features intricately crafted, gem-set yellow gold rings. “Persian gardens, symbolizing heaven on earth and often found inside the courtyards of houses, have influenced garden designs from India to Andalucia,” Peymanpour says. “The gems in the single and double Persian Garden rings seem to float between the fingers.”

Shining a light on the past Her Noor collection — the name of which means “light” — includes earrings that recall Persian lamps of the Safavid era, around 300 years ago. These designs incorporate blue topaz and Mexican turquoise in 18-karat gold. Peymanpour has also revealed one-off pieces made in Iran as part of her Empire Collection, inspired by the Persian Empire of the Achamenid era, which stretched from eastern Asia to Europe 2,500 years ago. “These contemporary pieces in 18-karat gold and turquoise, made by skilled artisans in Iran, look like Persian jewelry of thousands of years ago,” she says. Asked what her most cherished personal item of Jewelry is, she replies: “A gold ring with a large Persian turquoise that my mum gave me years ago. I wear it all the time — it is my good luck charm.”