Mark Wilson photographed by filmmaker Erik Matti
Cover Mark Wilson photographed by filmmaker Erik Matti

Jeweller Mark Wilson tells us how the image and identity of Filipino culture influenced his craft through the years

Aesthete Mark Wilson has always been the go-to of people who want more from the accessories they wear. Through his brand Caro Wilson, he was able to make pieces that share decades-old history at one glance. In this Q & A, Tatler he shares his humble beginnings and where he draws inspiration from. 

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When did your love for jewellery-making begin?

In 2017, Ramon Villegas, his partner Ver, and I were having lunch, and he said to me, “I’m doing very well with my jewellery and my wood workshop.” One week later he was dead. A massive stroke took his life, way too soon, at 63. In my sadness, what he said came back to me. Upon reflection. A couple of months after he died, Ramon’s family sold some of his jewellery. As I considered what to buy, his guiding words came back to mind. He said it was important to study fine things up close and in a tactile way if you intend to make fine things yourself.

So, while I bought his antique jewellery to study, I also bought them with the intention to turn some of them contemporary and relevant again. They comprised my first jewellery collection that paved the way for the launching of the Caro Wilson brand in November 2018.

The Caro Wilson Mariquit Collection puts a new spin on some very fine 19th century Ilocano creolla earrings, which have fallen out of style. How to make them relevant again became the challenge.

Your brand, Caro Wilson, highlights jewellery that is a repository of Filipino beliefs. What made you focus on this theme? What fascinates you most about Filipino culture?

Jewellery is not just about vanity, style, or power-dressing. It has a deeper function. Since the beginning, jewellery has been created to express spiritual beliefs or to evoke the divine. Of course, the cruciform shape is a clear example to those of us in the Christian world.

Another example aside from the cross is the anting-anting (amulet) which I understand were worn in the 19th century by, among others, the Katipuneros in the wars against Spanish and American occupiers. I imagine the wearers had protective beliefs attached to the amulets. These would be cast, usually in brass and reflect masonic ideas. The process is called sand casting. It involves a coal-fire furnace and shirtless men pouring heavy ladles of molten iron into sand casts. I loved it!

Anyway, I had my favourite anting-anting cast into rubber moulds, then cast into sterling silver. We play with matt versus polished surfaces, and with finishes such as oxidised silver and gold vermeil.

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Which among your jewellery did you enjoy making the most?

Every piece I love. But some, like the Caro Wilson Cordillera Bracelet, have really evolved since we introduced them in 2018. We found a form that really works, based on the original rattan bracelet but with attenuated loops, made in gold or silver or both. We currently have six bracelets in production—one in 18 carats white, yellow and red gold, one in rose gold and white gold, and four in sterling silver. This is very personalised, and we enjoy pairing the shade of gold with the skin tone and/or with the client’s personality.

What’s next for Caro Wilson?

Caro Wilson is branching into product design. Basket weaving, upon which our Cordillera Bracelet is based, is still a big inspiration. I am trained as a lighting designer, so we have come out with a line of lamps in candlestick proportions with woven copper shades. We call this line “Skinny Bitch”. Lamps, vide-poche trays with bilao-type detailing, tables in brass, kamagong and woven metal—we are moving into finely-made luxury objects, small volumes, high quality.

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