More than just the precious baubles, Mercelles fine jewelries stand out for its lovely, delicate designs. With inspirations from nature’s elements, these jewelries become a masterpiece that last ‘til eternity.
Like most women, Mercedes Llamas has a fascination over fine jewelry. Her interest led her to establish Mercelles in 1980. According to Mercedes, Mercelles started out as a hobby. She finds fulfillment in creating and offering jewelries of fine flawless quality to the local market. Few years later, the company became successful and famous for its high-fashion jewelries, and had set the standards for stunning craftsmanship.
Mercedes was fortunate to have her family help out in the business. Her daughters, Yvette and Josephine, assist in managing the other two Mercelles shop located in Makati. Yvette heads a shop at the Rockwell Powerplant Mall in Makati while Josephine is the company’s in-house designer. The fine artistry of Mercelles jewelries was a product of Josephine’s boundless imagery.
Flowers, wildlife, and heavenly bodies were among the company’s muses for their jewelry collections. However, the nature’s elements draw strong inspiration to Josephine’s designs. Water, particularly, is her most favored element. An avid scuba diver, she is always at awe with the beauty she sees underwater. “My daughter is a diver and she loves what she sees underwater. So she has designed a lot like corals and pearls…and I think, nature is the best provider of ideas and inspiration,” Mercedes quipped.
Versatile jewelry-makers
Although Mercelles is famous for its haute couture designs for jewelry, the company still manufactures pieces that exude simplicity and class.
Mercelles has a wide range of fine jewelry that cater to the different tastes of its customers. Most of their clients are Filipinos who prefer the classic, timeless looks. Among the well-loved jewels are pearls, diamonds, and gold. On the other hand, the avant-garde designs appeal more to foreign customers. Precious colored stones such as rubies, sapphires, aquamarines and keshi black pearls serve as centerpieces for a flamboyant jewelry piece.
“Some of our designs are really avant-garde. But we also make classic designs because we noticed that Filipinos tend to go for the classic designs. It’s the foreigners who are more trendy and design-oriented. They are always looking for new designs, something that is different and unique. So we have both,” Mercedes shares.
Mercelles is also versatile when it comes to their gold. Aside from manufacturing 18 karat gold jewelries, the company also uses 14 karat gold and platinum depending on the preference of the customers. “Normally, we have mostly 18 karat gold jewelries. But if a customer insists on having 14 karat gold, then that’s the time we do it. Or sometimes, we have customers that prefer platinum,” she adds.
The trend: All that glitters and glows…
Mercelles’ trait for fine jewelry is sparkling elegance. This season, the company sets the trend on diamond, pearls, and gold jewelries. Dabbling with these fine gemstones, fantasies of a luxurious lifestyle become a reality.
Diamonds, they say, are forever. According to Mercedes, any shades of diamonds are sure to brighten every piece of jewelry. That is why Mercelles never gets to extinguish diamonds to every jewelry they make. It’s the sophistication of diamonds make it a recurring trend.
Other than diamonds, pearls are a timeless favorite. Chic, classy, timeless – pearls are a staple in Mercelles jewelries. The Llamases have always loved pearls. In fact, most of their jewelry collection features different shades, forms, and kinds of pearls. And despite its opaque covering, pearls have an innate glow that stands out even in a chockfull of precious and semi-precious stones.
Philippine fine jewelry in the international market
Exceptional creativity and excellent craftsmanship have always been Philippines’ selling point for fine jewelry. Mercelles, particularly, has been applauded for its intricate detailing of several precious colored stones, pearls, and gold into an exquisite and expensive jewelry.
In fact, Mercelles’ jewelry have been recognized by international award-giving bodies for its unique, elaborate pieces. In their Water Collection, the pearl-heavy neckpiece named “Waterfalls” won the best design for the necklace category at the 2003 Perles de Tahiti Asia in Hong Kong. Two years after, Mercelles won at the same event. This time, they nabbed the best design for accessories category for their creation, Apoy (fire). Apoy is an armband that succumbs to 18karat gold armlet with Tahitian keshi pearls, rubies, and sapphires. The winning pieces are creations of Josephine.
Yet despite all of its achievements, Mercelles faces tough competition and challenges themselves to create more unique pieces. Today, Asian countries such as Korea, Thailand, China and Hong Kong are starting to become competitive when it comes to jewelry designs. And as compared to the Philippines, they have an abundant supply of precious colored stones and are selling jewelries at a lower price to the market.
“Actually the challenge really is to compete with the international market because the goods that come from Korea, China, Thailand and Hong Kong are much cheaper,” Mercedes relates. But she remains positive. Realizing foreigners’ appreciation for the aesthetics and no matter how pricey the product is, Filipino jewelry manufacturers are sure to find a niche in a very competitive global market. At present, Mercelles has clients from Belgium and Italy.
Joining trade fairs have also helped Mercelles promote and sell their line of jewelries. Among the trade fairs that the company has participated was the Manila F.A.M.E. International, a Center for International Trade Expositions and Mission (CITEM) trade event that highlights modern designs on furniture, home decors, and fashion accessories. Through the Manila F.A.M.E., Mercelles was able to showcase to a diverse market design-driven, one-of-a-kind pieces.
Throughout these recognitions and accolades, Mercedes still wishes that the government would further promote Philippines’ potential in jewelry design and manufacturing. Given ample support, Mercedes foresees that the fine jewelry industry will stand out in the international market.
It’s about passion fulfilled…
So far, Mercedes is satisfied with the progress of her small business. Lasting more than two decades in the jewelry industry, it only proved that Mercelles was a product of passion fulfilled. It opened a lot of opportunities for Mercedes. Through Mercelles, she uncovered her intrinsic creativity and that there are other ways of imprinting an image.
Her vision was brought to life through these jewels. It was a dream realized and an enrichment of one’s individuality.
“It is more of fulfilling your creativity. So by that alone, you fulfill yourself. More than anything, I don’t think it’s really much on the financial. There isn’t much there. But there is a lot that provides the individual’s growth, your fulfillment,” she ends.
If you want to see more of Mercelles’ fine jewelry collection, log on to www.mercelles.com.
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