You Need To Know About These 5 Pakistani Jewelry Designers

Over the past few years, a number of jewelry brands have begun to take center stage in Pakistan’s burgeoning jewelry industry. In a market where buyers once flocked to bigger, more established outlets for wedding jewelry, customers are now developing a palette for contemporary, everyday jewelry that are made in silver, feature a modern design aesthetic and are, comparatively, cheaper on the pocket.

“Jewelry stands as a mirror to a society and its people,” states Amina Rizwan, a jewelry designer and the head of the gems and jewelry department at the Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design. “Pakistan’s jewelry is imbued with incredible histories and diversity in craftsmanship and jewelry techniques. We have the fifth largest gemstones reserve in the world, which includes pink topaz, emerald and ruby. While there are major challenges that need to be addressed, I believe our gems and jewelry sector could play a big role in contributing to the national economy and transform it into a major export-centered industry, at par with Thailand and India.”

While the independent jewelry design scene is still getting started, with plenty of innovation at play, it’s truly an exciting time for known and unknown jewelry designers on home turf.

This week, Forbes Life highlights five Pakistani jewelry designers and what makes their pieces so special…

Amna Shariff

Since the launch of her brand in 2001, Amna Shariff has established herself as a veteran silver jewelry designer on home turf. However, the early years weren’t easy, especially given the fact that she was working in a market that didn’t quite understand the beauty – and value – of handmade silver jewelry. This is because Pakistani buyers were more driven towards acquiring heavy wedding jewelry and weren’t quite exposed to anything else.

Consistently churning out delicate, pure silver pieces from her workshop in Lahore, over two decades later, Shariff’s coveted pieces are stocked at some of the most well-known shops and boutiques across Pakistan’s major cities. In addition, she has extensively exhibited her collections at events such as the International Folk Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico (where she’ll be participating again this year), including art galleries and stores in London, San Francisco, Chicago, Nairobi, Istanbul, and more.

“My training has been in silver-making rather than design, so to date my design process derives from the techniques and skills of jewelry-making. I’m so proud of reviving several jewelry techniques, for instance filigree work. Now my filigree pieces are comparable to filigree from anywhere else in the world,” the designer states.

“This year brings the completion of 25 years of my craft, and I seem to be on a roll designing jewelry pieces! In the last couple of months we’ve made samples of about 30-40 new designs, excluding the collections we’ve been introducing since the start of the year.”

Masooma Syed

A multidisciplinary artist and art academic, Masooma Syed’s jewelry can best be described as unconventional pieces that are no less than wearable art. Spanning over three decades, Syed’s work features discarded, everyday materials that are then woven into striking pieces. From empty perfume bottles, feathers, thread, semi-precious stones, fabrics and pure silver, the designer’s work is thoroughly intuitive, where Syed reaches deep into her subconscious, pulling out whimsical ideas and concepts that are then crystallized into ornaments.

For Syed, the materials she works with are imprinted with emotions and memories that point at impermanence and the fragile beauty of life. Little wonder then, her work leaves an impression, long after you’ve seen it an exhibition, or better yet, adorned it on a special evening.

Having taught at several art institutions in the region, from Pakistan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Syed’s works have also been showcased widely on home turf and at platforms such as the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale in Japan, Art Dubai, the Fridericianum museum in Germany, the Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery in England, and many more.

By working with different, contradictory materials and using them to create single pieces, the artist states that the aspect of upcycling old perfume and cosmetic bottles, including their packaging, is something very exciting for her.

“I love upcycling the materials I use and then transforming them into theatrical pieces,” she states. “As an artist, the element of play and curiosity is very important for me. I need to be in that state to work, otherwise I find it very hard to be creative.”

Zohra Rahman

A graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, where she studied jewelry design, Zohra Rahman launched her namesake label in 2014. Currently operating out of Lahore (her hometown and where her studio is also based) and New York, Rahman’s work is both provocative and future-forward. In her pieces, one discovers strong contemporary influences, and yet, gentle undertones of heritage that roots back to her homeland.

Catering to the luxury market, Rahman’s highly prized pieces are developed at her atelier, which employs four artisans, that the designer trained as apprentices almost a decade ago.

“I pass on what I learned during my degree, along with what I’ve developed through years of practice. Because of that, I design using techniques I can explain, tools we have access to, and materials we can control,” she states. “That has shaped how I work. Our studio is small by choice, I’m more focused on increasing skill and deepening understanding than expanding in size.”

Having played a pioneering role in creating an awareness and appreciation for contemporary jewelry in Pakistan, the designer states that there has been a move in consumer buying habits from traditional to more modern pieces.

“There’s a shift away from just recreating traditional or international styles, and more interest in pieces that reflect our current times and identity. There’s a lot more homegrown innovation, and you can see designers drawing from their own surroundings and culture more,” Rahman says.

Studio IZR

Big, bold and deeply traditional, Dr. Iram Zia Raja’s jewelry – under her label, Studio IZR – was born out of a strong desire to buy (and wear) jewelry that she was unable to source from local shops at the time.

With her signature style of large semi-precious stones set in silver, held together by thick cords (made from colorful thread), Raja’s work features statement pieces that can either be worn as single pieces to set off an outfit, or, if one is daring enough, adorn Studio IZR’s heavy choker necklaces, bracelets and earrings all at once, Iris Apfel style.

“I never liked anything available at jewelry shops, so I said to myself, why not create what I want to adorn myself with? Since then, there was no looking back. My training in textile design was a crucial tool and an asset, since it brought in an innovative perspective in terms of color, motif, pattern and scale which I felt had been lacking in the field,” Raja states, who currently works as the Dean and professor of design at one of Pakistan’s most well-known art institutions, the National College of Arts (NCA), in Lahore.

“In Lahore, my city’s landmarks are my guides in this journey of design. The Wazir Khan Mosque, through its tiled decoration, has taught me invaluable lessons in hue saturation, while the frescoes at the Mariam Zamani Mosque have been my mentors in understanding color balance. The mazaars around Lahore have also given me a sense of sacred space,” she explains. “I’m in constant debt to, and in awe of, these historical markers that never cease to give each of us constant inspiration.”

Bibi

Having launched her jewelry brand, Bibi, in December 2024, Nur Zehra Qadri, was drawn to the arts from a young age. Growing up in her family’s pre-partition home in Lahore – where she’s still based – Qadri set-up Bibi as an ode to her late mother, who was a jewelry aficionado and a lover of all things antique.

Stating that she never imagined she’d be designing jewelry one day, Qadri reveals that when her mother passed away, “everything changed.”

“At her funeral, one of her friends returned two diamond rings that my mother had once given her to wear on a difficult day. She told me my mother had said, ‘Put on some lipstick and jewelry – it’ll lift your spirits.’ That small gesture stayed with me. I began wearing those rings every day, and somehow, I felt my mother’s energy with me, comforting, grounding, and gently guiding me through my grief. Soon, it became a ritual: I started wearing a piece of her jewelry every day. And just like she had said, it helped.”

Inspired by her mother’s aesthetic, Bibi has gained local attention in a very short span of time. It’s a promising brand which crafts intricate pieces that carry an old world, deeply feminine charm.

“The pieces I design at Bibi are mostly inspired by my mother’s unique and expansive collection of antique jewelry, which includes everything from Victorian-Indian to 18th-century Ceylonese and Peranakan pieces. All of my designs are handcrafted in pure silver, with minimal to no use of machinery. They’re brought to life by a small team of artisans, many of whom had worked with my mother over the years in an informal but deeply connected way,” Qadri says.

“My mother had this rare ability to turn pebbles into diamonds, simply through the power of creative visualisation. She wanted everything around her to look and feel beautiful, and that’s what I remain intent upon. This is only the beginning for me in terms of translating her spirit into form.”