British jeweller Anabela Chan has launched a new innovative collection, Fruit Gems, which combines science and art.

The collection follows the brand’s research theme of ‘Waste to Wonder’ which culminated in its first fine jewellery collection ‘Blooms!’ featuring recycled aluminium from cans launched in 2020. Anabela Chan now presents Fruit Gems: colourful jewels with gemstones synthesised from fruits and vegetables.

Over 40% of all food produced and available in the West is thrown away as excess every year, equating to 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in the UK annually. 44 million tonnes of food goes to landfills in the US alone every year.  

This is why the brand wanted to ripen fruits and vegetables beyond their sell-by dates, and turn them into a new genre of gemstones synthesised from natural matters. The collection features gems synthesised from spinach, beetroot, blueberry, purple sweet potato, blue spirulina, green plankton, and dragon fruit.

Developed at its own atelier, Anabela Chan extracted pigmentation from fruits and vegetables through a combination of processes, including crushing, grinding, simmering, straining, air-drying and freeze-drying. The Fruit Gems are bonded and stabilised with a bio-resin foundation derived from plants and renewable organic materials such as corn, soybean, agave and avocado seeds.

The rough Fruit Gems were then cut, faceted and polished the same way as natural gemstones, with the ability to be casted into forms like molten metals. Anabela Chan, who trained under Alexander McQueen, has a mission to create wonder from waste by using modern technology. Her designs have been worn by Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga.