Meet Yael Sonia
From a young age, Yael Sonia has been drawn to gems and jewelry, believing not just in their intrinsic beauty, but in the symbolism and personal meaning behind each piece.
Growing up between New York, Paris, and São Paulo, she was constantly surrounded by art, as well as visually rich and multicultural environments. For her 16th birthday, her mother, a gemologist and art gallerist, had one of her daughter's designs produced. That started Yael down a path to forge her own work. After graduating from Barnard with a degree in French Literature and Translation, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Metals & Jewelry Design from Parsons School of Design and began creating handmade, sculptural designs out of sterling silver and gold. "I knew then that is was what I wanted to do with my life," she says. "I was able to actually create wearable sculpture that could express my thoughts and feelings."
In 2000, while living in São Paulo, she reignited her love of colored stones. "In Brazil, I discovered the pure beauty and life of gemstones," she says. Not long after, she created what was to become her most recognizable collection: Perpetual Motion, so named because of the constant, rolling movement of perfectly round gemstones suspended in sleek structures of gold. The design, inspired by the playful magic of special toys, was also what marked her transition from purely artistic expression to wearable fine jewelry.
Since then, her designs have won multiple awards, including the 2002 Tahitian Pearl Trophy Award for her Spinning Wheel necklace. Her work has been shown in boutiques and galleries in the U.S. and internationally, and worn by Olivia Wilde, Morena Baccarin, and Scarlett Johansson, among others. She brought her business to New York ten years ago, and in 2013, she opened an elegant showroom there, in SoHo. Today, she continues to celebrate kinetic design and pieces that complement the strength and beauty of the women who wear them.