People & Lifestyle
Changing Art and precision in the Ghanaian Jewellery Industry: A by E’s Revolutionary Premium Custom Jewellery
A by E Jewellery stands out as a Ghanaian-owned and wholly made in Ghana premium custom jewellery brand, which specialises in merging the use of specially curated handmade methods, digital technology and machine cut precision to design high-end jewellery of any form.
Remotely established in 2018 with satellite locations extending through in Los Angeles, London and New York and now fully operational in Accra, Ghana, the creative mind behind A by E, Erick, sought to put to use his critical passion for digital art into the creation of highly detailed digital jewellery pieces that fit the lifestyle of the contemporary individual. A by E’s custom jewellery pieces range from the regular- earrings, necklaces, bespoke diamond pendants, gold grillz (dental fronts) brooches, bracelets and engagement rings.
With this mindset, A by E carefully designs their highly sought after handmade bespoke mouth Jewellery, which is popularly referred to as “grillz” as well as extremely high detailed pendants with mindblowing accuracy.
With a creative eye for distinctively created pieces, A by E Jewellery executes all of its premium pieces in-house from the design process to the final ready-to-wear pieces. There is no middleman. This is an essential aspect of A by E’s supply chain as outsourcing at some points of the supply chain usually compromises the quality of the finished jewellery piece. Thus, A by E’s jewellery always meets and exceeds the expectation of its cherished clients and always has them satisfied.
A by E’s founder, Erick Akonor, a British born Ghanaian, takes us into his background as a creative artist. Inspiringly, he is a self-taught digital jewellery artist and a Master bench jeweller as his taste for art and luxury combined with his hobby to put concepts together through design, pushed him to learn more about jewellery making. He then extended his prowess in the jewellery scene for handmade mouth Jewellery, popularly known as Grillz. This was fulfilled when he decided to go into the heart of Brooklyn, which is a notable area for the inception of grillz. He recounts his struggle with finding information to guide him in the art of grill making. His extreme craftsmanship for both handmade and CAD designs and craftsmanship has led him to be one of the most sought after jewellers in the country. Prior to his expansion into the Ghanaian space in 2020, Erick worked in the renewable energy industry and later diverted into franchise acquisition and management, where he served as the major distributor of Drake’s well-known whisky brand, Virginia Black. This business line bottled down with the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic and this resulted in the setting up of A by E Jewellery at its present work studio at Adjiringanor, Ghana. More so, the rise in the pandemic and its various restrictions made people reevaluate their financial activities and how they can make the most out of their investments. Most people resorted to other means of investment such as precious metals usually in the form of jewellery, which served as a better alternative as a store of value with it having an appreciation in value with time. This resulted in an appreciation of the price of jewellery due to the rise in it’s demand and made it the perfect season to ramp up activities at A by E Jewellery.
Apart from the mainstream custom jewellery pieces made at A by E Jewellery, other services offered include casting and 3D modelling, wholesale and retailing of jewellery pieces for other jewellery shops, laser engraving, polishing, casting and diamond setting. Impressively, Erick’s drive to enhance the jewellery industry in Ghana has led him to lend his stage to young and upcoming jewellers in the industry and to teach them the craft of digital jewellery making. Erick also engages in online casting and polishing lessons for interested persons ready to enhance their crafts.
“I like to see myself as a creative artist not just limiting myself to jewellery”- Erick.
Currently, A by E Jewellery is stationed in Ghana, with its workspace at Adjiringanor although it still processes jewellery for worldwide delivery. Custom Pieces start with a client’s budget of $500 and can go as high as the client wishes to spend. It is worth mentioning that so much detail goes into the making of a jewellery piece as much as 200 man hours can go into the making of a single jewellery piece depending on the model. A by E Jewellery is currently engaged in the making of a $72,000 fashion piece which is set to be completed in 2022 and is presently coming up with collaborations with renowned and recognised brands. Notable clients of A by E Jewellery include Freedom Jacob Ceaser, Free the Youth Ghana, Stonebwoy, Small god, Ghana’s PMMC and Eric Goka.
Erick Akonor makes us understand that there are no entry qualifications for artistry and is open to evolving ways of improving upon his brand to provide his clients with only the best and premium jewellery pieces.
For more info, visit A by E Jewellery’s social media pages:
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