ABSOLUTE GEMS: Gemfields will unveil three short films directed by Leonora Lonsdale, starring the actresses Sophie Cookson and Aditi Rao Hydari and the model Grace Guozhi, WWD has learned.
“Ruby Inspired Stories,” is a series of shorts featuring Cookson, Hydari and Guozhi with various storylines revolving around Gemfields Mozambican rubies and their representations of passion, protection and prosperity. They will be shown online on the brand’s web site, its YouTube channel and social media platforms.
“I have never done anything like this before so it was exciting to be asked,” Cookson told WWD. “They are such a wonderful company whose ethics I really believe in and it was just a complete honor. It was also great working with Leo [Lonsdale] and it was nice working with a female director as I’ve never done that before. I also feel like the film is incredibly sensitive yet sensual. I think the thing with Gemfields is that the gem is a talisman and they speak about love, passion and protection so in our film seeing a young women at the heart of this story who is actively making strong decisions. There is still space for love and passion and desire and making a choice. I think that is what Gemfields does they are conscientious company that makes smart choices. Movies like this are incredibly empowering.”
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The actress recently starred in “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” alongside Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Chris Hemsworth. She is filming “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” which features Julianne Moore, Channing Tatum and Halle Berry.
Filmed in east and northwest London, the three films show the women adorned in — what else? Gemfields rubies. In “Passion,” Cookson is wearing Fabergé rings and a Gyan bracelet. Meanwhile in “Prosperity,” Hydari is pictured in Aya and Gyan pieces. In “Protection,” Guozhi dons a Gyan necklace.
“The selection of the ladies ties in exactly with who Gemfields is,” chief executive officer Ian Harebottle told WWD. “To me, this is very important. I have always believed that perfect imperfection is perfect individuality. So what you look for in somebody who, number one, is beautiful and wonderful and lovely but not trying to be a prima donna, not trying to be perfect. It is somebody who is very comfortable in their own skin. You know you get those people and you see them and they are comfortable, is a sensuality, there is something lovely about that. And our gems are like that, everyone is comfortable in their own skin but everyone is different so that is key.”
Harebottle notes that the company is in “constant growth and with future plans to focus on color gemstones. “I think with Gemfields our vision is the ‘re’ generation, the revitalization of the color gemstones sector,” Harebottle added. “We have to constantly be looking for new mines. In Zambia, we have a Kagem mine and Mozambique the worlds single largest ruby mine. So we have these great corner stones and on top of that we are working in Ethiopia, Colombia, Sri Lanka. In fact from the mining point of view, we are the only mining company that upward of 15 percent of our revenue is growth. All of the other mining companies are shrink, shrink, shrink. Of that growth, half of that is growing supply so looking for new projects and the other half is growing demand so it is a supply and demand thing.”