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Meet The Designer Inspiring Men To Wear More Gold
Meet The Designer Inspiring Men To Wear More Gold

Rafael Indiana is a name that has become synonymous with unique and artistic jewelry design.

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COVER STORYIgee OkaforWITH RAFAEL CEMO CETIN, Meet The Designer Inspiring Men To Wear More Gold, Photography, Jeremy Mitchell Words, Igee Okafor In Conversation with Rafael Cemo Cetin, Istanbul, Turkey, Rafael Cemo Cetin, Rafael Indiana, His brand, is a unique and unisex line of jewelry made primarily of natural, unheated gemstones of the highest quality, hand-engraved by master artisans with various mythological symbols., The rings are hand-sculpted from wax and then cast into solid gold or vermeil. Indiana specializes in intaglio and cameo. All his pieces are hand-sculpted with a more amorphic, mystical, and undefinable design that ensures the ancient and mysterious quality he seeks to capture., Initially, when you launched the brand Rafael Indiana what was its ethos?, IO: What design characteristics in your jewelry set it apart from similar brands in business today?, I’ve self-educated myself to become an amateur gemologist., Our gemstones are primarily unheated natural stones of the highest quality. There is a galaxy of colors, hues, sparkles, and tones. Each carries its spiritual energy compressed throughout thousands of years. Aquamarine is one of my favorite stones. Hessonite has a lovely lava fire color. Tanzanite is rarer than diamonds with a deep candy blue. Colombian Emerald, of course, is the ultimate gem of elegance. There are infinite colors and choices, depending on the client's wants. Our stones are hand engraved by master artisans with various mythological symbols. Then the ring is hand sculpted from wax, which we believe gives it its authentic ancient beauty. Lastly, it is cast into solid gold or vermeil., My preferred material is pure 22k gold. This was the metal of choice in the ancient world. All hellenistic greek jewelry is forged from raw gold. Giving it a bright yellow sunshine color. Gold, when beaten, shines. Therefore our piece’s textures are always crafted in a rustic manner. We superficially age the gold to give it an ancient patina. One can not tell the difference between a two-thousand-year-old ring at the met museum versus a brand-new Rafael Indiana ring.