Karma El Khalil Has a Luminous New Fine Jewelry Collection

New York—Like a lot of designers, pandemic lockdown had a major impact on Karma El Khalil’s creative process.

The world’s collective pause led to contemplation of the bigger picture.

“My sleepless nights were met by a view of the moon traversing the muted New York skyline as the still hours passed by,” she said.

“At a time of great isolation, I found much comfort in the fact that this celestial body connects every being on our planet, and as such reminded me of something we too often tend to forget—our oneness.”

El Khalil began dreaming up her latest collection, “Conversations with the Moon,” but she didn’t begin work on it straightaway. 

Her atelier in her family's native Lebanon was closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and El Khalil took the opportunity to put her energy into various charitable initiatives.

After the massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, in August 2020 that killed more than 200 people and devastated the city, she organized a fundraiser alongside fellow artists and creatives with ties to the country. 

“The hiatus was important,” she said in reflection. “It was a time for being present with others in the face of adversity and also with oneself in the face of uncertainty.”

As restrictions waned in El Khalil’s New York City, she began forming “Conversations with the Moon” into a tangible reality.

She calls it the “culmination” of the unpredictable last two years, filled with “love and inspiration I gathered along the way.”

The collection is at turns ethereal, edgy, and celebratory. Geometric shapes and sharp angles are signature El Khalil, while chandelier earrings are an exuberant and festive addition to the designer’s key motifs.

If cocktail-ready jewels are representative of returning to one’s life, then simplistic pendants and rings showcasing rough gemstone specimens like dioptase, spinel, and opal are representative of turning inward and connecting with one’s universal essence, just as El Khalil did at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Conversations with the Moon” is a collection centered on exquisite gemstones, which El Khalil chose to mirror “the moon’s colors, textures, and luminosity.”

It stars apatite, which El Khalil described as the moon’s reflection on water in the night; morganite, a reference to the color of rare “pink moons;” chalcedony, similar to the dark side of the moon; matte gray jade, similar to the moon’s surface in shadow; tourmaline akin to “moonlight mirroring off New York’s glass buildings;” and topaz faceted to represent the moon when it is at its most brilliant and bright.

The “Topaz Crest Ring” was a particular design feat in the collection.

El Khalil designed the stone’s cut to optimize its light reflection, she explained. It is faceted to have two major planes, “mimicking a flat briolette.” The facets are long and diamond-shaped, and the stone is set in rose gold, without prongs.

“The idea was for the topaz, representative of the moonlight, to float above the diamonds in the way that the moonlight reflects off and illuminates the sea crest. The gold was meticulously and skillfully carved out by hand to create this effect.”

Pieces are set in repurposed 18-karat gold with diamond accents throughout. 

“Conversations with the Moon” is newly launched at Moda Operandi, Roseark, and June Simmons.

The collection retails for $1,200-$21,000.