Rosanna Aranaz has made it her life’s work to champion Filipino craftsmanship. She’s doing it with Aranaz bags with sister Amina and mother Becky in 2000 and the aptly named Retail Lab as a launchpad and one-stop-shop for local, homegrown fashion and lifestyle brands; with Sunspell, it was a passion project first, born out of seeking fun and shine during the hot summer of the pandemic years.
“I love the beach and I love wearing accessories so when I discovered that this type of jewelry exists when I was traveling abroad, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have to take them off when I swim, take a bath, or work out,” says Aranaz.
The demi-fine jewelry movement that began in the late 2010s in the Philippines is going strong, but the prevailing trend has always been to look “real,” all created with the elegant, classic design sensibilities of their fine counterparts. When Sunspell was founded in a saturated market in 2021, Aranaz had her work cut out for her. Quality local craftsmanship is a given, so design-wise, she took design liberties to create bold, joyful pieces. Even her best-selling classics, like the classic hoop made oblique and oval, have a little something extra about them.
For summer, Sunspell creates a swell with their 40-piece Heatwave Collection of necklaces, earrings and cuffs in gold and silver inspired by spiking temperatures during the day and the gentle waves come sunset.
Sunspell had their sporty “golden girls” play pickleball in the pieces during the launch, the ultimate use and test of the Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Method, an 18K gold coating process in each piece’s stainless steel composition. Using this method makes the jewelry more durable and more resistant to oxidation and rust. After an intense afternoon of breaking out a sweat, the color did not fade and their skin didn’t turn green.
Sunspell’s Rosanna Aranaz on their pieces: “I didn’t have to take them off when I swim, take a bath, or work out.”
Aranaz’s favorite? “The wave cuff,” she quickly points out. “I’m not a bracelet person so I wanted a nice single cuff that’s a statement piece already.”
They also offer jewelry customization and personalized with their choice of danglers, ranging from initials to fun, playful shapes. The brand occasionally releases other goods too, such as mini totes, macramé bags, terry towel bucket hats, and crocheted hats.
* * *
Prices start at P395. The Heatwave Collection is available online at www.studiosunspell.com and in-store at the Sunspell kiosk in Estancia Mall (across from National Bookstore) and in Aranaz boutiques in Alabang Town Center, Power Plant Mall, and Greenbelt.