Browse By:
Linda Hagobian is a travel enthusiast who speaks five languages, so it makes perfect sense that her turquoise and ebony jewelry line is every bit as worldly. The journey begins in the American Southwest where premium turquoise is mined alongside copper.
"Turquoise has been used with gold, it's been used with silver, it's been used alone," Hagobian says. "I wanted to be able to combine it with something new, something natural and wearable."
That desire led to West Africa, where rich, dark ebony that grows in the region is carved by local tribesmen into distinctive shapes suitable for jewelry. The journey then ends in Italy's romantic Lake Como region, where the turquoise and ebony are united in handcrafted gold and silver jewelry that is truly breathtaking.
Sold exclusively in Italy, Hagobian's jewelry collections now make their U.S. debut on Jewelista.com.
Like her jewelry, Hagobian has followed a winding path. She grew up in Los Angeles, learning about turquoise through her family's business, R.H. & Company, which been involved with this particular gemstone for 40-plus years. Linda's father, Roben Hagobian, was always seeking out the finest turquoise available.
He was understandably delighted to discover an especially fine variety available from an Arizona mine called Sleeping Beauty. The turquoise from this mine is a vibrant blue color and is free of the matrix and spots you'll see in other turquoise. When he introduced this premium turquoise to the Italian jewelry industry in the 1980s, they were smitten and began using it in high-end designs. Decades later, Linda settled in Lake Como, where she continues to be inspired by Italian design, and has brought her own innovation to the family business: A line of designer jewelry that incorporates Arizona turquoise and African ebony in a strikingly unusual mix.
Since her family business had a base in Italy that was precisely where Hagobian's wanderlust took her directly after college. While she worked in management and did not initially set out to be a designer, "I think it was always in my subconscious mind, to pay attention to design," Hagobian says.
"I've been living in Italy all of my adult life, surrounded by the arts and artists," she said. "They make fabulous textile, fabrics, leather. You're just so exposed to creativity."
She is also inspired by the linear shapes of Danish design and the colors she has seen at places like Pompeii and Ercolano, cities buried under volcanic ash 2000 years ago that remain the home to intricate frescos, found in beautiful and intact villas.
"The color combinations of some of these paintings created so many centuries ago are really breathtaking," Hagobian says. "They make me dreamy and yet help fuel my creativity."
As a young girl, when travelling with her father, she saw American Indians, such as the Navajo tribe, creating turquoise jewelry with symbolic meaning. This process captured her imagination, but it was the Italians who set her mind free to the possibilities of how luxurious and stunning turquoise jewelry could be.
"The Italians traditionally create fabulous designs and quality by combining turquoise with traditional materials such as gold, diamonds and pearls," Hagobian says. Then after meeting a friend who sold Dogon artifacts made of ebony from West Africa, Hagobian thought about how beautiful it would look with turquoise, and her journey began.
Hagobian uses turquoise, ebony, diamonds, Italian-crafted 18-karat gold, and sterling silver findings in all of her pieces. Having grown up learning about the finest turquoise, she has a keen eye for quality, color, and contrast.
"Since our family business produces, manufactures, and sells turquoise all over the world, I have the opportunity to be able to select superior product in my designs," Hagobian says.
To ensure its suitability for jewelry, the ebony undergoes careful preparations."It needs to sit and dry for two or three months at a time, and then it is carved," Hagobian says.
"Ebony is very pliable, you can make many designs with it ranging from a simple classic hoop earring to something avant garde or something with diamonds that is pure luxury."
Indeed, it is the choice of materials that give each piece in her collections a different look from a simple pair of ebony and diamond earrings to a long, multi-strand necklace that combines turquoise and ebony and drapes across a woman's body like a piece of apparel.
While she crafts the designs, it takes a global village to assemble Hagobian's pieces, from the artisans in Italy who painstakingly make sure each graduated piece of turquoise is of the right size and color and perfectly strung, to the 42 African men and women who carve the ebony into precise shapes.
"I'm most proud of being able to help everyone from the tribesmen and women in Africa to the Italian artisans that help me put together the final product," Hagobian says. As a sign of gratitude, the company donates part of the proceeds of the jewelry to Dogon Schulen, which builds schools in Mali, West Africa.
Q&A
Choreographer Martha Graham, I feel, created a language of design through expression, in physical movement, form and dress.
A simple gold and ebony teardrop earring. These have a refined touch that not just appropriate to all seasons but also to any wardrobe.
When I moved to Italy I realized in the summer everybody wore linen. Linen pants, linen skirts, linen dresses, shorts, shirts, camisoles, pajamas they even change the bedding to linen. I have adapted to this tradition and I love it!
My very admirable style icon was my tailor and dear friend Francesca Scotti. She was a sartorial genius who worked with most of the fashion design houses in Italy. She had learned the art and technique of true Italian craftsmanship and showed me the essentials.
I will be traveling to Mali in Africa to visit the children in the villages where proceeds from the jewelry will help in building schools.
A woman who has a curiosity of not just fashion.
Inspired by the organic shapes of nature, designer Linda Hagobian unites earth and sky in the Undule collection, featuring hand-carved ebony that seems to undulate on the wrists and at the ears, combined with premium, sky-blue turquoise from Arizona's Sleeping Beauty mine. The unexpected shapes of the ebony catch the eye, and the blue-deep brown color combination dazzles. Shop this collection
Natural beauty goes elegant in the Bamba Collection, which features designer Linda Hagobian's signature combination: earthy, African ebony, carved by hand into geometric and teardrop shapes, and premium sky-blue turquoise from Arizona's storied Sleeping Beauty mine. Each piece is handcrafted in Italy with 18-karat gold and silver findings, with some featuring exquisite details such as granulation to bring rich texture to each piece. Shop this collection
Why hello, are you new here?
Only members have exclusive access to purchase products. Sign in or join!
Hey there, it’s been too long
Please sign into your account. Your account allows you to make purchases and access your Jewelbox plus other personalized features.
Expected Date Available: X Weeks