Selim Mouzannar’s Magical Transformation of a 1950s Emerald Necklace

By Amy Elliott | March 06, 2025

How it started: a magnificent emerald and diamond necklace by the French jeweler Sterlé, who began producing designs for Chaumet, Boucheron, and other maisons in the 1930s, and later created number of important pieces under his own name.

Originally a gift from King Farouk of Egypt to a prominent Lebanon family in the early 1950s, the necklace was later acquired by the Beirut-based designer Selim Mouzannar. That was about 10 years ago, and Mouzannar soon realized that the necklace’s size—and extravagance—made it challenging for him to find a buyer: “It was difficult to find a contemporary woman who could pull it off,” he says.

Selim Mouzannar Sterle emerald necklace — *Designer Selim Mouzannar saw the potential of this vintage Sterlé necklace’s emeralds to be repurposed in new jewels.*

How it’s going: Mouzannar says he didn’t initially plan to redesign the necklace, but in an extremely luxe act of upcycling, he recently dismantled it and removed three of the emeralds for use in two new pieces. He was inspired by the volume of the emeralds: At 21.31 cts., the largest landed in a (enormous) cocktail ring and the two others, about 9 cts. each, were used in a pair of earrings.

Plus, as most jewelers will understand, it seemed a shame to let those five extraordinary no-resin, minor-oil Colombian emeralds sit there languishing in a beautiful but ultimately unwearable piece.

Selim Mouzannar emerald- — *Big gem energy: Mouzannar used an emerald of over 21 cts. from the vintage necklace in designing the ring.*

Selim Mouzannar emerald earrings — Both the earrings and the ring are set in 18k rose gold detailed with black enamel and lavished with diamond accents. “The black enamel creates a beautiful contrast that makes the emeralds stand out even more,” says Mouzannar.

To be sure, it wasn’t a hasty plug-and-play undertaking. Mouzannar and his production team worked painstakingly to craft new homes for the emeralds that honored the integrity of their former lives.

“Anthony, the bench jeweler, and Hagop, the master setter, helped bring these pieces to life,” says Mouzannar. “The ring took about 160 hours to complete, and the earrings took around 150 hours.”

He notes that both jewels are already spoken for (sad face). But he plans to use the two remaining emeralds from the Sterlé necklace in a forthcoming one-of-a-kind piece.

The debut of these extraordinary emerald jewels coincides with next Friday’s 2025 Gem Awards—Mouzannar is a nominee in the category of jewelry design, alongside fellow talented artisans Sophie Bille Brahe and Foundrae’s Beth Hutchens.

Selim Mouzannar portrait — *French-Lebanese designer Selim Mouzannar is nominated for a 2025 Gem Award.*

Will anyone we know be wearing one or both of Mouzannar’s emerald masterpieces?

“We’re keeping that a surprise, and we’ll have other stunning pieces making their debut at the event,” says the designer. As for what he himself will wear, that’s also a surprise. But look out for some vintage pieces and jewelry from the Beirut Rosace collection.

And now for a disclaimer: This year, previous Gem Award nominees were invited to participate in the judging process, and I readily agreed. The voting period closed Feb. 21, so don’t come for me. Just congratulate Mouzannar if he should win (I will find out during the show like everyone else). And then maybe put in your name to try to claim his next Sterlé emerald creation as your own.

Top: Around 18 cts. of emeralds were “upcycled” for the earrings Selim Mouzannar designed.

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