Jura Jewelry
Jura in The Hague passage brings diamonds to life
An engineer from Russia became a jazz drummer and then a sophisticated diamond setter. Jura is now a global brand specialising in micro-pavé diamonds, and daughter Xenia opened a boutique in the Passage on behalf of Jura that showcases the craftsmanship.
DATE
26 January 2022
TEXT
Herman Jansen
IMAGE
Brian Mul (portrait) and PR
Jura Jewelry
Jura in The Hague passage brings diamonds to life
An engineer from Russia became a jazz drummer and then a sophisticated diamond setter. Jura is now a global brand specialising in micro-pavé diamonds, and daughter Xenia opened a boutique in the Passage on behalf of Jura that showcases the craftsmanship.
WIF Xenia (St Petersburg, 1982) had been a poet like Pushkin or a writer like Dostoevsky, she would let the pride and love she feels for her genius father Jurassic flow from her pen every day.
Xenia in front of the shop in the Passage.
Instead, she works for and with him. This year, she opened 'Jura, Fine Jewelry Boutique' in the Passage. Jura is a high-end diamond setter that crafts unique jewellery whose elegance is defined by simplicity and high-end craftsmanship. And then even a piece of jewellery with hundreds of diamonds is not blingbling or a showpiece, but art.
'It's a boutique concept, here you can see what we can do'
With passion, Xenia talks about her intimate space to the left of DOK Home of Cooking: "It is a boutique concept. Here I introduce people to Jura's unique creations and the possibilities. Most creations are for sale, but there are also pieces that are so special that their value cannot be expressed in money. On commission, we can make it as extravagant as the customers want."
Jura
Although Jura also works for world-famous jewellery houses and designers, Xenia believes that top quality can also be accessible to someone on a lower budget. "We also have wedding rings from around 1,500 euros and engagement rings from around 3,500 euros. It really doesn't always have to be all pavé set. One stone set with an eye for quality and detail is also special. Jeweller is the wrong word here: we are creators. Our expertise has grown through special cooperation with world-class specialists such as goldsmiths, engravers, gemstone cutters and watchmakers."
'For my father, beauty is in getting rid of all the unnecessary'
Her charmingly shy smile is a piece of jewellery in itself. Xenia: "A piece of jewellery is not there to show off, you buy it for yourself, in a form of art that emphasises your uniqueness. This is how the jewellery gets its value and that goes beyond the price. For my father, beauty is in removing all the unnecessary. He is always looking for the tension between functionality, aesthetics and what is technically possible."
'Top quality is also possible for an accessible budget'
"Fifteen years ago, he made earrings for me with 531 small diamonds in each, set four-sided and five-sided, held together by less than two grams of gold, which is almost technically impossible! To make the stones look their best, ninety per cent of the setting process consists of removing all the unnecessary metal. We do that for each individual stone. This is a very labour-intensive process. In our business, it's all about dedication and thoughtful precision."
World's flattest watch
Xenia's unique custom earrings are not for sale, just like the world's flattest watch, set with as many as 2212 tiny diamonds. Each little stone is individually set by hand (from the great master). The smallest stone is 0.4 mm. "We make quality par excellence, because this precision setting is only possible by working with top quality materials and perfectly proportioned cut diamonds in addition to extraordinary discipline. This is how diamonds come to life!"
Xenia's unique proprietary earrings are not for sale, as is the world's flattest watch, set with as many as 2212 tiny diamonds
The studio is in Utrecht, and father Jura himself works from St Petersburg again these days. Where once an ordinary career seemed to begin for him. Xenia: "Music has defined our lives. We are of Russian descent. My father first graduated as an engineer there and then went to the conservatory, where he also taught after graduation. But jazz was and is his great passion and you could not study that kind of music in Russia."
Jimi Hendrix
"I was almost nine when my father was invited to the conservatory in Arnhem to do his specialisation in jazz music. That's how we ended up in Holland. As a drummer, he was in the band of Curtis Knight, the mentor of Jimi Hendrix and Half Past Midnight, among others. Seventeen years ago, Jura had an accident and that was the end of his professional music career."
Xenia actually wanted to go in the direction of natural medicine, but first graduated as a structural engineer.
But fate soon had new plans for Jura. His daughter: "He saw friends in Antwerp setting diamonds and then his engineering spirit came to the surface: it could be done much more precisely and efficiently. Jura found a new challenge and developed tools that allowed you to set stones under a microscope in a much more refined way. Soon he was discovered by Glendo GRS, a leading US company that brings together the great masters around the world, and he was able to teach as a grand master at their training centre."
'His hands betray that in his head he is still playing jazz music...'
Jura has been called the Godfather of diamond setting, but whatever he does, his hands betray that in his head he is still playing jazz music... Xenia actually wanted to go in the direction of natural medicine, but first graduated as a structural engineer.
 | Read also: Perhaps The Hague's most beautiful beauty boutique 'Last year we were visited by a crew manager who sailed to Flushing in a luxury superyacht' |
And then things moved fast: "On Thursday I graduated, on Sunday I gave birth to my first child and on Monday I started working in my father's business." So who is surprised that she opened the boutique in the Passage just after child number four was born? And why exactly in the Passage? "It is one of the most beautiful shopping passages in Europe and is hugely similar to the Passage in my hometown.
Genius
"My father is a genius, driven by passion, and lives and works in his own world, so now back in St Petersburg. My mother is also a very talented woman and is the driving force behind my father. I am in contact with my father as many as 10 times a day. He is a sweet, selfless man. He has also trained my husband (diamond setter) and me and inspired and motivated a lot of people to be the best they can be. Designing is something my father and I do together.
I prefer to design on paper and he then works it out in 3D. That way, the design is technically correct and so it gets ready for our precision construction. My father and I are a close team, two opposites balanced together. Running a boutique is more up my street. Here I can delightfully receive and guide people with their wishes. A piece of jewellery only comes to life for me when I see how people enjoy it." Jura, on the other hand, prefers to deal with the technical impossibilities.
text Herman Jansen image Brian Mul (portrait) and PR
WIF Xenia (St Petersburg, 1982) had been a poet like Pushkin or a writer like Dostoevsky, she would let the pride and love she feels for her genius father Jurassic flow from her pen every day.
Xenia in front of the shop in the Passage.
Instead, she works for and with him. This year, she opened 'Jura, Fine Jewelry Boutique' in the Passage. Jura is a high-end diamond setter that crafts unique jewellery whose elegance is defined by simplicity and high-end craftsmanship. And then even a piece of jewellery with hundreds of diamonds is not blingbling or a showpiece, but art.
'It's a boutique concept, here you can see what we can do'
With passion, Xenia talks about her intimate space to the left of DOK Home of Cooking: "It is a boutique concept. Here I introduce people to Jura's unique creations and the possibilities. Most creations are for sale, but there are also pieces that are so special that their value cannot be expressed in money. On commission, we can make it as extravagant as the customers want."
Jura
Although Jura also works for world-famous jewellery houses and designers, Xenia believes that top quality can also be accessible to someone on a lower budget. "We also have wedding rings from around 1,500 euros and engagement rings from around 3,500 euros. It really doesn't always have to be all pavé set. One stone set with an eye for quality and detail is also special. Jeweller is the wrong word here: we are creators. Our expertise has grown through special cooperation with world-class specialists such as goldsmiths, engravers, gemstone cutters and watchmakers."
'For my father, beauty is in getting rid of all the unnecessary'
Her charmingly shy smile is a piece of jewellery in itself. Xenia: "A piece of jewellery is not there to show off, you buy it for yourself, in a form of art that emphasises your uniqueness. This is how the jewellery gets its value and that goes beyond the price. For my father, beauty is in removing all the unnecessary. He is always looking for the tension between functionality, aesthetics and what is technically possible."
'Top quality is also possible for an accessible budget'
"Fifteen years ago, he made earrings for me with 531 small diamonds in each, set four-sided and five-sided, held together by less than two grams of gold, which is almost technically impossible! To make the stones look their best, ninety per cent of the setting process consists of removing all the unnecessary metal. We do that for each individual stone. This is a very labour-intensive process. In our business, it's all about dedication and thoughtful precision."
World's flattest watch
Xenia's unique custom earrings are not for sale, just like the world's flattest watch, set with as many as 2212 tiny diamonds. Each little stone is individually set by hand (from the great master). The smallest stone is 0.4 mm. "We make quality par excellence, because this precision setting is only possible by working with top quality materials and perfectly proportioned cut diamonds in addition to extraordinary discipline. This is how diamonds come to life!"
Xenia's unique proprietary earrings are not for sale, as is the world's flattest watch, set with as many as 2212 tiny diamonds
The studio is in Utrecht, and father Jura himself works from St Petersburg again these days. Where once an ordinary career seemed to begin for him. Xenia: "Music has defined our lives. We are of Russian descent. My father first graduated as an engineer there and then went to the conservatory, where he also taught after graduation. But jazz was and is his great passion and you could not study that kind of music in Russia."
Jimi Hendrix
"I was almost nine when my father was invited to the conservatory in Arnhem to do his specialisation in jazz music. That's how we ended up in Holland. As a drummer, he was in the band of Curtis Knight, the mentor of Jimi Hendrix and Half Past Midnight, among others. Seventeen years ago, Jura had an accident and that was the end of his professional music career."
Xenia actually wanted to go in the direction of natural medicine, but first graduated as a structural engineer.
But fate soon had new plans for Jura. His daughter: "He saw friends in Antwerp setting diamonds and then his engineering spirit came to the surface: it could be done much more precisely and efficiently. Jura found a new challenge and developed tools that allowed you to set stones under a microscope in a much more refined way. Soon he was discovered by Glendo GRS, a leading US company that brings together the great masters around the world, and he was able to teach as a grand master at their training centre."
'His hands betray that in his head he is still playing jazz music...'
Jura has been called the Godfather of diamond setting, but whatever he does, his hands betray that in his head he is still playing jazz music... Xenia actually wanted to go in the direction of natural medicine, but first graduated as a structural engineer.
| Read also: Perhaps The Hague's most beautiful beauty boutique 'Last year we were visited by a crew manager who sailed to Flushing in a luxury superyacht' |
And then things moved fast: "On Thursday I graduated, on Sunday I gave birth to my first child and on Monday I started working in my father's business." So who is surprised that she opened the boutique in the Passage just after child number four was born? And why exactly in the Passage? "It is one of the most beautiful shopping passages in Europe and is hugely similar to the Passage in my hometown.
Genius
"My father is a genius, driven by passion, and lives and works in his own world, so now back in St Petersburg. My mother is also a very talented woman and is the driving force behind my father. I am in contact with my father as many as 10 times a day. He is a sweet, selfless man. He has also trained my husband (diamond setter) and me and inspired and motivated a lot of people to be the best they can be. Designing is something my father and I do together.
I prefer to design on paper and he then works it out in 3D. That way, the design is technically correct and so it gets ready for our precision construction. My father and I are a close team, two opposites balanced together. Running a boutique is more up my street. Here I can delightfully receive and guide people with their wishes. A piece of jewellery only comes to life for me when I see how people enjoy it." Jura, on the other hand, prefers to deal with the technical impossibilities.
