Chasing Beauty

The exciting synergy of museum-quality gemstones, inspired design, and exquisite craftsmanship in Alexia Connellan’s jewelry is the result of her lifelong pursuit of beauty.

Alexia has always been inspired by architecture, vibrant tropical colors, and lush nature. Although she grew up on the East Coast, every summer she visited her grandmother Lena in Falmouth, Jamaica. Lena taught her to appreciate beauty, from renaissance paintings to Wedgewood china to brightly colored hummingbirds in her garden. Falmouth is filled with Georgian buildings with Caribbean flair: beautifully proportioned and brightly colored with wide breezy verandas: a style known as Jamaican Georgian. The balance, proportion, restraint of the structures in combination with their joyful colors heavily influences her jewelry designs to this day.

Artistic Training

Alexia further honed her creative vision in New York at Columbia University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History & Visual Arts. She continued studying sculpture at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Fascinated by gems since her childhood, when she learned that Vikings used the pleochroism of iolite to precisely locate the position of the sun even on cloudy days, she began to seriously collect gemstones.

She realized that creating fine jewelry would allow her to combine her passion for sculpture and painting with her love of gemstones. She continued her studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology, receiving both an AAS in Jewelry Design and a Certificate in Gemology.

From Commissions to Couture

Alexia began creating custom jewels commissioned by private clients. In 2015, she launched a signature collection of couture jewels inspired by extraordinary gems from her collection. One of her first creations, the stunning Victoria Bracelet, designed to feature a spectacular 16.06-carat purple-pink tourmaline, was honored in the Spectrum Awards, an annual gemstone jewelry design competition sponsored by the American Gem Trade Association.

Her approach to jewelry design is as meticulous as it is inspired. From painterly design sketch to painstaking hand craftsmanship, each detail of every heirloom-quality piece is thoughtfully considered. Every extraordinary piece is a new classic: a unique piece of art to wear, with exceptional quality that will last for generations. And like the woman who wears it, each jewel is absolutely unique.

Today Alexia currently resides in Princeton, NJ with her husband, Irish playwright Brendan Connellan and their son. During this period of social distancing she’s constantly reading about famous gems and jewelry designers to inspire her work.

Read more about Alexia’s Inspirations.