‘I wanted to feel strong, stand up’: Designer on creating ring inspired by Beirut blast

On August 4, 2020, a chemical explosion rocked Lebanon’s capital Beirut leading to 200 deaths and 6,000 people being injured. Six months later, a Lebanese designer — Nada Ghazal — attempted to distill the strength of the city through her creations.

The blast had destroyed her workshops, but her employees managed to remain safe. In an interview with Jewelry Connoisseur by Rapaport, the designer shared that her latest collection has been inspired by the resilience of her people. “This collection couldn’t be more relevant to what [the Lebanese people] are going through right now. The designs stand tall and rise upwards to flourish out of the difficulties,” her representative at Valery Demure was quoted as saying.

The centerpiece of the collection is the Fuse Rock Ring, an 18kt gold ring, whose design was influenced by the designer’s memory of the blast down to the champagne diamonds which, a report in Forbes states is “reminiscent of the dust clouds she saw after the explosion.”

“I created Fuse Rock a few months back while Lebanon was, as it still is, going through one of its toughest times. I wanted to feel strong, to be defiant, to stand up despite it all. I needed to garner my strength and visualize it in this sketch which then became our Fuse Rock Ring,” she wrote on Instagram.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nada Ghazal (@nadaghazaljewelry)

Things, however, have not unfolded the way she expected. The ring instantly raised the ire of people on social media who went on to accuse the designer of profiting from a tragedy. It must be noted that the ring has been priced at USD7285 (approximately Rs 5,30,000).

Here are some of the reactions:

“set with champagne diamonds reminiscent of the dust clouds she saw after the explosion”

🤦🏽‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/jmuMhYqgWb

— Sarah Dadouch | سارة دعدوش (@SarahDadouch) March 1, 2021

By the way, it costs more than what most people in Lebanon are making in a year at the moment pic.twitter.com/F7TsSgmdu6

— Laudy Issa (@laudyissa) March 1, 2021

Yet someone else trying to profit off the pain of thousands. And of course at a price most Lebanese couldn’t possibly afford.

There is a big difference between depicting trauma through art & creating unaffordable, unattainable fashion off the back suffering #BeirutBlast https://t.co/wyxj8ZHtZk

— Sarah Copland (@sas_yvonne) March 1, 2021