Prada Debuts ETERNAL GOLD, The First Truly Sustainable Fine Jewelry Collection

Pushing the boundaries of fine jewelry, Prada debuts ETERNAL GOLD, the first truly sustainable fine jewelry collection by a global luxury brand using 100% certified recycled gold. Prada fine jewelry is embedded in sustainable practice that informs twenty-first century luxury, alongside time-honored artisanal techniques and precious gems and metals.

Inherent in the notion of fine jewelry - always - is the idea of unique pieces created with a future in mind, to pass between generations, to stand the test of time. The eternal. A new interpretation of this concept, sustainability is built into the core of ETERNAL GOLD, reflecting Prada’s wide-ranging commitment to conscious and responsible practices across every facet of its business - including the shift of Prada’s total nylon production to its innovative sustainable recycled Re-Nylon.

100 percent of the gold used in Prada fine jewelry is Certified Recycled Gold, meeting ‘Chain of Custody’ standards set by the Responsible Jewelry Council. Every step and incarnation of Prada’s responsible gold and diamond production chain is verifiable and traceable - something offered by no other fine jewelry or luxury fashion house in the world.

Prada’s recycled gold is drawn only from eligible recycled material sources, in compliance with due diligence - including industrial gold, and post-consumer precious objects. Prada partners exclusively with those suppliers of precious metal and stones who meet the highest industry standards concerning human rights, labor safety, environmental impact, and business ethics. The reduction of mining of new gold benefits both environments and human rights, and while traceability of diamond origins is conventionally only possible with stones of 0.5 carat or larger, Prada expands the concept, for the first time, to stones of all sizes. It also extends through the entire value-chain, from mining to cutting, setting and polishing - every step of every diamond’s life can be traced.

In a ground-breaking new step for fine jewelry, records of this verification have been logged on the Aura Consortium Blockchain´s platform and can be accessed by Prada fine jewelry customers who also will be able to verify the authenticity of their pieces.

The journey of individual pieces will be accessible by Prada’s clientele, allowing them to trace the provenance of every aspect. This radical transparency on origins, sourcing and production chains gives a modern consciousness to fine jewelry, shifting outdated industry standards to mirror societal change.

From its birth in 1913, Prada has always created “objects of luxury” - inventing items that, through precious materials and the highest level of Italian craftsmanship, are unique proposals for their clientele. They reflect timeless traditions, and the values and concerns of the modern world - ETERNAL GOLD is a new facet of this ideology. The debut collection draws on Prada’s heritage of style, its timeless fashion lexicon, to create pieces that embody eternal characteristics of Prada, conversing for the first time with the sphere of fine jewelry. At the core of the collection is the Prada triangle - a powerful silhouette and universal shape that has become synonymous with Prada. Originally used as a mark of luxury by Prada’s founder Mario Prada, here the triangle represents the brand - a conceptual, wordless logo, universal in its resonance.

This debut collection proposes a foundation of neo-classics, everlasting pieces. Archetypes are examined, delineated and reiterated, the collection comprised of eternal shapes with constant resonance. Snake bracelets, heart motifs, chain necklaces, ribbon chokers – defining shapes and forms of fine jewelry, they are also signs and signifiers of affection and love. Gold is the focus - truly eternal, an ancient material timeless and constantly cherished, it is used in its true form and color, an honesty of metal that reflects the transparency of Prada’s supply chains. Prada’s own archetype, the triangle, is traced in every piece - an affinity found between Prada’s triangle and diamonds’ facets. The triangle appears as a clasp closure, earrings and pendants, while its angles shape chain links and hearts, the head of a snaked bracelet. Proportions are reconsidered - pendants are blown up, chain-links exaggerated to create impact. These jewelry pieces express strength, presence, passion.

As with all Prada creates, ETERNAL GOLD is a bold reconsideration of the very concept of fine jewelry, an expansion of what its universe can represent. Combining technology with a fundamental humanity, aligning the notion of eternal pieces with a core commitment to sustainable and responsible practice, ETERNAL GOLD is a challenge to traditions, a break with conventions.

THE CAMPAIGN

Timeless, precious, rare. To mark the début of ETERNAL GOLD, the first fine jewelry line created by Prada - and the first collection of 100% certified recycled gold by a global luxury brand - a campaign celebrates exceptional personalities, whose creativities truly stand outside time. A cast of exceptional personalities, championed for their talent and achievements, are celebrated as individuals. They are unique, like each piece of fine jewelry - and their contribution to culture is lasting. They include the award-winning American poet and activist Amanda Gorman; the American actor, model, and singer-songwriter Maya Hawke; and Dutch-Korean-Canadian musician Somi Jeon.

The nature of Prada ETERNAL GOLD - crafted from truly sustainable recycled gold and ethical, traceable diamonds, with radical transparency offered throughout each piece’s creation - find echo in every image. Photographed by David Sims, classic portraits are juxtaposed with reflections rendered in gold - gilded youths, as if transmogrifying sitters into jewels in and of themselves. The reiteration of imagery underscores the cyclical nature of ETERNAL GOLD while, toying with the timeless appeal of jewelry - another notion of the eternal. Collapsing our notions of time, these images are immutable, immortalised, iconic - in the truest sense of the word.

There is a constant exchange between time past and to come - a reflection of the notion of heirloom, of fine jewelry passed between generations as tokens of endless love and affection. While evocative of classic jewelry pieces, ETERNAL GOLD radicalises their proportions, silhouettes and details to give them a truly modern impact - mirrored in this imagery, colliding notions both antique and avant-garde.

CREDITS:

Talents: Amanda Gorman, Maya Hawke, Somi Jeon
Photography: David Sims
Creative direction: Ferdinando Verderi

Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. She is a committed advocate for the environment, racial equality, and gender justice. Amanda’s activism and poetry have been featured on the Today Show, PBS Kids, and CBS This Morning, and in the New York Times, Vogue, and Essence. After graduating cum laude from Harvard University, she now lives in her hometown of Los Angeles. In 2017, Amanda was appointed the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate by Urban Word – a program that supports Youth Poets Laureate in more than 60 cities, regions and states nationally. Gorman’s performance of her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2021 Presidential inauguration received critical acclaim and international attention. Amanda appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in February 2021 and was the first poet to grace the cover of Vogue in May 2021. She was Porter Magazine’s July 2021 cover star and received The Artist Impact Award at the 2021 Backstage at the Geffen Awards. Amanda was one of 5 Variety Power of Women honorees and cover star, one of three cover stars for Glamour’s Women of the Year, and one of four cover stars for Harper’s Bazaar’s Icons issue 2022. The special edition of her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb,” was published in March 2021. Her debut picture book, Change Sings, released in September 2021 and her poetry collection Call Us What We Carry in December 2021, all debuting at #1 on New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists.

Maya Hawke is an actress and musician. Named one of Variety’s Ten Actors to Watch in 2019, Maya Hawke made her acting debut in the miniseries adaptation of the classic novel “Little Women” for PBS and has continued to shine on both the big and small screens. Hawke joined the critically acclaimed Netflix drama “Stranger Things” in its third season. Dubbed by Entertainment Weekly as the “breakout star,” Hawke became a fan favorite for her performance as Robin Buckley, the first LGBTQ+ character on the show, and received an HCA Award Nomination for her performance. Hawke will star opposite Camila Mendes in Jennifer Kaytin Robin’s feature “Do Revenge” for Netflix, as well as “Revolver” opposite Ethan Hawke with director Andrew Stanton and Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein Drama “Maestro” for Netflix. Past credits include “Human Capital” opposite Liev Schreiber and Marisa Tomei, Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Amanda Kramer’s independent film “Ladyworld,” as well as opposite Andrew Garfield in Gia Coppola’s feature film “Mainstream.” Following a successful release of two independent singles in August 2019, Hawke released her debut album “Blush” in August 2020 with Mom+Pop. Hawke recently debuted her newest single, “Therèse”, ahead of her album “Moss,” which was released on September 23, 2022.

Somi Jeon is a Canadian-Dutch-Korean Singer and Songwriter. Somi shot to domestic stardom as the first-place winner of the competition series Produce 101 and a member of the series’ project girl group, I.O.I. After winning multiple best new group awards as part of I.O.I. Somi then ventured out as a solo artist. Under THEBLACKLABEL, she debuted as a soloist on June 13, 2019 with her single album “Birthday”, and released her debut studio album XOXO on October 29, 2021 in partnership with Interscope Records. She has graced numerous magazine covers and was selected by Vogue as one of “12 Style Stars Set to Make 2022 Exciting”. Her songs have garnered hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and have landed her on Billboard’s Global 200 and World Digital Song charts.