Raise your hand if you've been to Mecca. No? Raise your hand if you've been to Sharon Khazzam's showroom. Same thing. The FIT and GIA grad, and former sole in-house designer for Asprey, granted us the pleasure of visiting the Manhasset, NY wonderland a few weeks prior to showing her collection in Paris last month. It was everything. EVERYTHING. We're talking museum cases filled with the most exquisite one-of-a-kind pieces we've ever feasted our beady little eyes upon. When asked whether she'd sell said pieces, the CFDA member quickly responded, 'Maybe.' Cut to handmade wooden tables and floors with Mexican fire opals and semi precious gems burnished into the old beams and a spiral stairway (to heaven) leading us to her drafting table of watercolors (she renders each piece...in paint..with a brush...yup), vision boards, and drawer upon drawer of loose stones. We admittedly buzzed through the rest of the day, a little high on Khazzam and pledging our allegiance to everything SK.
“The mosaics and inlaid floors, the music and the color, the people and their effervescent culture – it fed my soul.”
What's your idea of ultimate luxury?
Ultimate luxury is being able to do what you enjoy, each and every minute. Ultimate luxury is knowing how to enjoy beauty, knowing how to appreciate it and also knowing how to share it.
The gemstone you are currently lusting after is...
I lust, and have been guilty of this lusting for many years, after Paraiba Tourmaline.
If you could have dinner with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I would love to have had dinner with Salvador Dali because, aside from his incredible talent, I am sure his whiskers could have told me many a tale!
If you could buy any piece of contemporary jewelry from another CFDA member, what would it be?
I cannot pick a favorite fellow CFDA member nor a piece of their jewelry, because each one has their own unique beauty and voice. Like food, or hats, one can have respect for more than one.
Where's the last place you visited that inspired your creativity? Give us some details!
Greece was my last most inspiring place. The mosaics and inlaid floors, the music and the color, the people and their effervescent culture – it fed my soul.
If you could sit front row at any fashion show, what would it be and why?
I suppose I would like to sit at the front row of a new talent, possibly even a student, whose ideas are unique and untainted by the laws of their land.
If you could be anything other than a jewelry designer, what would it be?
Should jewelry design not have knocked at my door, I would have liked to be a classical concert pianist.
Be honest – who is your celebrity crush?
Sting is my celebrity crush: smooth and elegant Sting, with his beautiful sound.
What's your spirit animal and explain why.
I am driven by color, so I would say a peacock. This elegant creature can see more color than humans can.
What does it mean to you to be a member of CFDA?
Being a part of the CFDA is being immersed in a group that has passion. We all speak a common language and sing like tunes.