Jewelry Designer Kevin Friedman - Creates Stunning 291.88 Carat Necklace

There’s a bit of international intrigue behind the fabulous Ponahalo necklace that’s valued at approximately $16 million. The original stone, weighing 316.15 carats, was discovered by a worker at De Beers’ Venetia Mine in South Africa, sold, taken to Belgium for cutting and stolen.

“It is one of those huge intrigue stories,” says Kevin Friedman, who designed the fabulous Ponahalo necklace. “Basically, the shape of the rock was so unique it was easily identifiable and only a few people can cut a diamond of that size.” The stone, which had been acquired by Steinmetz, a Geneva jewelry house, was recovered in France several months later. According to reports, the thieves eventually were apprehended.

Jonathan Oppenheimer, De Beers’ mine owner, named the stone the Ponahalo Diamond. ”Ponahalo means vision; it’s a Sotho word,” says Friedman, who drew upon the heritage of the Venda, a South African cultural group, in designing the necklace.

“I was given complete freedom to design the piece,” Friedman says. I wanted something reflecting South Africa, something new, fresh and different, a necklace using all five diamonds cut from the stone.”

South African craftsmen shaped two large emerald cut diamonds (102.11 and 70.87 carats respectively) and two pear-shaped diamonds (12.48 and 4.13 carats) from the huge stone. The fifth stone (4.77 carats) was left in its rough form. The fabulous necklace also has 220 diamonds (not cut from the Ponahalo). The smallest of these is .3 carats and the largest just under 1 carat for a total of 100 carats.

It also has 276 safety pins and innumerable beads.

“Historically gold was traded in the area of the Venda and justifies why I wanted to use gold rather than platinum. The Venda culture is the only one in South Africa where the women wear something like jewelry behind their necks, which justifies the long piece in back,” he explains.

“I use a lot of found objects in my work,” Friedman says. “Diamonds are found objects and safety pins are found objects. The safety pins are plated with gold and look almost reddish, almost copperish and almost black, which gives them an aged patina.”

The safety pins are positioned to create horizontal and vertical lines similar to the headbands and armbands Venda women wear. He used traditional, shiny glass beads, which reflect the African culture and were used for trading. “They come in thousands of colors, but I chose black because that’s where my mind was at the moment.”

Friedman spent four-and-a-half weeks from commission to completion of the necklace, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. It’s normally a three- to sixmonth process.

He likes the Victorian way of creating things that are multifunctional, and he designed the necklace so that it may be disassembled into two large, emerald-cut brooches and a pair of bracelets.

“From a distance, it looks like a tribal piece; up close it looks like it’s early Victorian with a classical French style or basic shape. The design with a dog collar and drop is called Esclavage, a basic shape of jewelry,” he explains.

DeBeers’ Forever Mark (a unique number and symbol) identifies the diamonds. “They were given a great number and that’s quite an exciting thing,” he says.

Friedman, 38, grew up in a family involved in the jewelry industry and received his first award at age 15 as a runner-up in an international competition. He received training in London and apprenticed under his father. He spends his time commuting between New York and Johannesburg.

He says good design has two elements – functionality and aesthetics and he appreciates the aesthetics. “To make something pretty and not work is easy. To make something that works and is pretty is more complicated,” he says.

He declines to say who owns his creations, simply saying that each piece needs to suit the person who owns it. He accepts commissions from individuals and often goes to the home to meet one on-one with clients. He creates new pieces and redesigns outdated jewelry and gemstones that have been in a family for years. Generally, people contact him through his New York office (frankliwild.com).

Friedman was in St. Helena recently, as guest of honor at a trunk show at the Anthropology Medical Spa and Anti-Aging Clinic. There was a vast range of jewelry, beads and gemstones from affordable to extravagant, says one attendee.

The event benefited one of Friedman’s projects to develop a partnership between the city of Johannesburg and the Voena (Voices of Eve ‘N Angels) Children’s Choir. He’d like the group to perform in South Africa next year at Johannesburg’s Annual Arts Alive Festival, (artsalive.co.za) which features everything from music, visual arts, theatre, dance, film and comedy to creative industries.

The choir, (voena.org), based in Benicia, has 100-plus children ages six to 18 representing around 35 cultures. Their a cappella vocal arrangements feature multiple percussion instruments, dance and theatrical elements.

Friedman returns to the area on Sunday, September 7, to present a trunk show hosted by Joan D’Angelo of Napa. The event benefits the Napa Valley Emergency Women’s Services. For details, visit napanews.org.