The Strong & Precious Foundation has been supporting Ukrainian jewelers for three years, with a platform at the international level. The foundation organizes exhibitions, a charity auction in cooperation with Sotheby’s and launched educational initiatives to promote the development of Ukrainian jewelry art, including participation in the editions of GemGèneve. Thanks to the initiative of Olga Oleksenko, nine Ukrainian brands were involved: Oberig, Zhernov, Guzema, Inesa Kovalova, Bevza, Rockah, Logvin, Drutis and Julie Kleom. The exhibition attracted the attention of the auction house Sotheby’s, which marked the beginning of further cooperation. In November 2022, the Strong & Precious charity auction raised 53,424 Swiss francs. The funds were donated to the Superhumans Foundation, which saves the lives and health of Ukrainian defenders. In the same month, GemGeneve presented an exhibition dedicated to the dialogue between the art of jewelry of the past and the present, in particular with the works of the Ukrainian master Yosyp Marshak.
The second year of Strong & Precious’ activity was marked by the geographical expansion of the project. In 2023, the foundation organized exhibitions at GemGeneve (May, November), Jewels Basel (June) and NYCJW (November). A significant event was the launch of the How Precious UA collection, a series of jewelry created by five Ukrainian jewelers: Inesa Kovalova, Yuval, Drutis, Gunia and Nomis. The collection was presented in Geneva, Basel and New York, helping to attract the attention of an international audience to contemporary Ukrainian jewelry.
In 2024, the Strong & Precious collection was expanded to include works by four more designers: Karpova, Anton Boyko, Julia Komendat, GeoGems X Iryna Vasylenko. In addition to its traditional participation in GemGeneve, Strong & Precious organized an event in Washington, DC in April 2024 to remind the international community of the struggle and creative potential of Ukrainians. The foundation also launched an educational program that includes lectures by leading experts in the jewelry industry. As part of this initiative, the foundation provided funding for the development of jewelry production. The first beneficiary was the young Ukrainian brand Katrya, which was able to purchase a 3D printer for prototyping.
Participating in GemGeneve as part of Strong & Precious gave our brand a major boost. It helped us to become known, introduce our work to a wider audience, and establish new professional contacts, inspired by the work of our colleagues.
Dana Drutis
