Ethiopian immigrants make jewlery
Ethiopian immigrants make jewleryYver PR Photo

Last week JOVELLA, Israel’s 9th international jewelry and diamond exhibition, took place. Arutz Sheva was there.

For the first time, JOVELLA featured an exhibition of jewelry designed and manufactured by Ethiopian immigrant students of the ABSchool within the Yvel Design Center in Jerusalem.

The Genesis (Majmaria in Amharic) collection encompasses pendants, earrings, bracelets and rings made of brass and plated with 24K gold. Each of the designs incorporates a special message in Amharic, sometimes hidden on the inside or the back of the piece.

The Yvel Design Studio was founded in 1986 by Isaac and Orna Levy, and continues a century-old family tradition of creating exquisite, top-of-the-line jewelry. Yvel's founder, Isaac Levy, was born in Argentina in 1958 and immigrated to Israel with his parents in 1963. Aware of the difficulties associated with moving to a different country, coupled with his own childhood memories as a new immigrant, Levy vowed that should he ever have the chance to make a difference in the way that that immigrants to Israel are embraced, he would happily do so.

Orna Levy told Arutz Sheva that being part of the creative process gives her students a wonderful feeling, not only because they receive a diploma which certifies them as goldsmiths, but also because the work makes the students feel proud.

“The style comes from them,” she said, referring to the students choosing to represent Ethiopia in their work. “They decided that this is the line that they would like to present.”