It’s hard not to smile when you see Nadine Ghosn’s jewellery collection. A burger ring. A pencil-shaped bracelet. A collection inspired by Lego. If nostalgia and pure joy had a baby, it would be Nadine Ghosn Fine Jewellery
When she isn’t travelling the world, Ghosn has her roots planted in Singapore, and last month the designer showcased her pieces in Hong Kong for the first time. While it may have been her first professional showcase, her connection to the city and Asia as a whole runs far deeper.
“I have always felt very attuned and attracted to Asia,” Ghosn says. “When I travelled to Hong Kong for the first time in 2010, the energy [in the city] was palpable. I decided then and there that once I graduated from Stanford, I would move to Hong Kong.”
Born in the US and of Lebanese and Brazilian descent, Ghosn did her secondary schooling in Japan, and then went on to graduate from Stanford with a dual degree in economics and art history. She subsequently spent a year in Hong Kong, working at McKinsey.
You might also like: Nadine Ghosn on seeing Karl Lagerfeld and Beyoncé wear her jewellery, confronting her fears and building her brand without formal design training
After stints as a consumer goods consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in New York, working with brands like Tiffany & Co, Chanel and Sephora; and in Paris with Hermès, Ghosn bid adieu to corporate life, instead opting to work on something that would fulfil her creatively. “I always knew I wanted to do something in luxury but didn’t know exactly how I would penetrate the industry.”
Though she now fits seamlessly into the jewellery space, it didn’t come as easy as one would think. “I would love to act like [my move to jewellery designing] came about naturally, but that’s not the case. I wanted to learn something tangible— something that I was passionate about.” Ghosn was 25 at the time and thought: if not now, then when?
“No one really talks about the fear that exists once you leave your comfort zone and choose growth. I had nothing to lose and everything to prove. The opportunity to create my own path forward is extremely liberating,” she says.
In 2015, Nadine Ghosn Fine Jewellery was born. Though she has no formal training in design, she describes that as a blessing rather than a burden. “Design school gives you the rules and parameters of the game, while not having a background [in design] forces you to get creative and crafty, and stay hungry,” she says.