Hombisa Jewellery

Hombisa (to decorate, in Xhosa,) was founded in 2008 by Vincent Lourens. Lourens is a contemporary jeweller living in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He has been developing and expanding his skills for the last 18 years and has created a unique and instantly recognisable style drawn from the broad array of his interests, influences, and inspirations. (Hombisa Jewellery. 2017)

"The source of inspiration for many of the jewellery pieces in his collection comes straight from nature (figure 1). Whether it is a fern leaf, an ocean wave or a sea shell, anything can serve as a starting point to create something new and unique. It allows him to make powerful items of adornment, jewellery that evokes feelings and emotions to the wearer". (Hombisa Jewellery. 2017)

Figure 1- Hombisa Jewellery., (2010). Dandelion Pendant. African Blackwood, 18ct Yellow Gold, Silver, .50 Point Yellow and .40 Cognac Diamond. [ONLINE]

Lourens (2017) developed a technique called The Milky Way. He works with selected exotic and African hardwoods. Holes as tiny as 0.2 mm are drilled, which are then painstakingly filled with precious metal wire one hole at a time. The effect this creates is similar to looking at the scattering of the stars in the African night sky (figure 2).

Figure 2- Hombisa Jewellery., (2009). The Galaxy. African Blackwood, 18ct White Gold, Silver and .60 Point Yellow Diamond Pendant. [ONLINE]

 A link can be drawn between Lourens jewellery and my work. The milky way technique has been his style of recognition, I have taken the technique idea, developed it and made it my own. He also uses inspiration from his surroundings including patterns taken from Isishweshwe and that is similar to how I use Isishweshwe as my source of inspiration. The picture below shows how he interprets the Shweshwe patterns, uses his techniques to create jewellery with an African feel.

Figure 3- Hombisa Jewellery., (2010). Shweshwe Earrings. 18ct Yellow Gold and Sterling Silver with 10 Point Brilliant Diamonds set in  Makassar Ebony. [ONLINE]