Penelope Cruz continues the push for conscious luxury with a new collection for Atelier Swarovski
Can luxury and sustainability go hand in hand? Penelope Cruz believes they can. And she has been walking the talk with her jewellery collaborations with Atelier Swarovski since 2018. Her latest designs for the brand, the Botanical Jewels collection, will benefit The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organisation that supports global projects that preserve the planet’s biodiversity.
“My Botanical Jewels collection,” the Academy Award winning actress shares, “sparkles with crystals, cubic zirconia and the power of positive impact. I hope it brings people joy to know that their jewellery is helping to preserve our wonderful and unique world.”
Her partnership with Atelier Swarovski isn’t just simply one of celebrity endorsement. The environmental activist shares the values driving the Swarovski brand, which recognises the limits and fragility of the world’s natural resources, and seeks to minimise damage to the environment in all aspects of the business, from the sourcing of raw materials to the day-to-day operations.
“I really care about having a positive impact on the planet— in what I do, what I wear, and what my family and I consume. It’s important to consider the implications on our environment in everything we do,” she says, “which is why I love working with Atelier Swarovski, who shares my ethic.”
For her first Swarovski collaboration, she designed a high jewellery collection, Luna. The stunners channelled old Hollywood glamour and were crafted with responsibly sourced materials such as fair-trade gold; all feature the brand’s lab-made gemstones, produced using innovative processes designed to minimise environmental damage.
While Cruz has always been passionate about environmental issues, she didn’t realise that it was possible to create gemstones in a lab until she met Nadja Swarovski, the founder of Atelier Swarovski, who inspired her with her passion. “She spoke in depth about the brand’s commitment to conscious luxury, and about creating beautiful products crafted with care and responsibility. As soon as I became aware of lab-grown diamonds, I was excited to start using them in my designs.”
Cruz adds that she was “very lucky that Nadja and the team gave me so much creative freedom. I wanted to fashion timeless pieces that I would always wear, and I’m proud that we’ve used created gemstones to craft classically styled pieces that exude the red carpet aesthetic, which I really love. The most sentimental piece is a ring inspired by the one given to me by my grandmother, which I’ve since lost. It has three created rubies surrounded by Swarovski’s created diamonds, and is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” Showing her versatility as a jewellery designer, her second collection, Moonsun, saw pieces that can be worn in more casual settings. “After designing fine jewellery fit for the red carpet, it was really fun to design a fashion jewellery collection,” she shares, adding that she loves the statement necklace for dressing up a t-shirt and jeans combo, not to mention the more delicate designs that can be layered and combined for extra sparkle.
With her collections showcasing a range of styles, one can’t help but wonder what her personal jewellery preference is. “It depends,” she says. “I dress up for premieres or events and that’s when I wear bigger pieces. It’s fun for any woman to be dressed up like that once in a while.”
When asked if she has any rules when it comes to jewellery, the Spanish beauty says resolutely that “there are none”. “Jewellery is a very personal thing,” she adds, so go forth and chart your own style path—while minding your carbon footprint, preferably.
BY NAVIN PILLAY. PHOTOGRAPHY: MERT & MARCUS; COURTESY OF ATELIER SWAROVSKI
