Sybarite’s New Collection: A Masterful Interpretation of The Nutcracker’s Waltz of the Flowers

April 18, 2016

By Katerina Perez

3 min read

Annual jewellery and watch exhibition Baselworld always sees brands competing to catch the attention of the visitors by putting their best and most intriguing work in their window displays. However, no matter the effort, some jewellery companies always end up coming out on top. This year, design duo Sybarite unveiled their new work for the first time at Baselworld and succeeded in charming plenty of visitors. In what resembled a fabulous rotating performance piece, the mother and daughter pairing presented their star attractions, four rings from their new Waltz of the Flowers collection featuring pirouetting miniature ballerinas.

You probably remember Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet, The Nutcracker, and the wonderful Waltz of the Flowers scene, which served as the inspiration for these four magical pieces of jewellery. Margarita Prykhodko, founder and chief designer of Sybraite, told me what made her come up with the masterpiece collection.

 I dreamed of being a ballerina until I was five years old; after that I wanted to be an artist. When we are young and naïve we believe everything in the world revolves around us, then when that feeling vanishes we sometimes want to recapture it and return to that feeling of being a child – that’s what we tried to achieve with these designs.

Sybarite

Sybarite

The cocktail rings that make up the Waltz of the Flowers are like cups of water with ballerinas conducting a graceful dance on its surface, adorned in a ravishing ballet gown in the form of a blooming flower. Violet, poppy, lily and orchid blooms spread their petals over sapphire glass like water in a vase, and if you look closely, you can see that the underside of the skirt of each of these miniature dancers is hiding an adorable little ladybird. Some people believe that these little bugs bring you luck, so with each jewel Sybarite are wishing luck to whoever owns it. It is remarkable the extent to which Margarita, as Sybarite’s founder and chief innovator, has carefully mapped out every fine detail, even the things you don’t see. As she puts it, there are many beautiful pieces of jewellery out there, so she likes to add a personal touch to hers.

You don’t need to be an expert in the jewellery-making process to appreciate just how much hard work has gone into the creation of the Waltz of the Flowers collection. The sheer amount of work is almost too much to comprehend: 689 drafts were needed to come up with the final design. “It took us six months to make these four rings. The sketches originally featured leaves rather than vases, but that didn’t seem quite right. Instead of plain hoop earrings to complement the rings in the set, we went for earrings with birds, but this no longer worked with the leaf motif we had planned for the rings so we changed it to butterflies. This ended up becoming a separate collection in its own right and we settled on the vases. To complete the collection we came up with some simple hoop earrings with diamonds and emeralds, and finally the whole thing came together into one harmonious whole,” explains Margarita’s daughter, Alyona.

Sybarite

Sybarite

However, settling on a final design which would fit all of Sybarite’s ideas was far from the only problem they faced on the road to the finished collection. Nor was the mechanism which makes the top of the ring rotate – a typical feature of Sybarite’s designs – the hardest part of the jewellery to complete. No, that honour was reserved for the reflective sapphire glass floor giving the onlooker a mirror onto the underside of the ballet dress and the ladybirds concealed underneath. “Getting that glass was a real struggle because we couldn’t find anyone who could do it for us. In the end we had to get a chemist to create the reflective surface for us using a particular old-fashioned technique – the process took us an entire month,” Margarita explains.

It was the founder herself who made the design and modelled it in 3D, before casting the whole thing in wax. Margarita worked on every single detail, not allowing anyone to make any changes to the form or colour, save from occasional advice when she needed it from her daughter, Alyona. Together they came up with one final quirky feature which is hidden from general view: “In order to liven up the process of arranging the colours on the end of each petal decorating the body of each ballerina, we added individual letters which together read ‘happy, lucky, great’.

Sybarite

Sybarite

The creation process started resembling what can be described as putting together pieces of puzzle. Now with the hidden letters each of the ballerinas has a name.” Sybarite are actually developing a continuation of the line with other rings featuring different flowers – but more on that later!

IGR Lab: What is a Jewellery Valuation and Why Do You Need One?

continue reading

Couture Show 2025: The Top 10 Debutants Heading to Las Vegas 

The much anticipated Couture Show will return to Wynn Las Vegas from June 4-8, 2025, shining a spotlight on established design talent, new creatives, and international brands that are vying for attention on the global stage. Just like in previous years, I am focusing my attention on the debutants

by Katerina Perez

Designing the Future: Revealing the Winners of the Katerina Perez x Osmium Institute Design Contest

What a ride it has been, witnessing such pure creative energy and original thinking, especially with a material as rare and futuristic as osmium

by Katerina Perez

New Icons: The Latest Collections by Italian Micromosaic Master SICIS 

I was presented with two striking new collections – Icon and Colibrì – that offer different interpretations of the SICIS aesthetic. Below, I want to give you a closer look at these capsule suites and tell you more about the inspirations behind them

by Katerina Perez

Fabulous Fabrications: TAOS Presents a Trio of Watches Inspired by Couture Fashion

Occasionally, beautiful timepieces demonstrating exceptional Métiers d’Art will land on our virtual desks and result in a round-robin series of emails. In the hours after we received insights into the emerging Swiss brand TAOS, almost the entire team had seen the fabric-inspired dials of its latest creations, and we all agreed that an article was […]

by Sarah Jordan

A Century of Sparkle: Celebrating 100 Years of Art Deco at GemGenève

From May 8-11, 2025, visitors to GemGenève can immerse themselves in a showcase of antique and modern jewellery while also experiencing the innovative spirit of the 1920s and 1930s through a photographic lens. Here, I'd like to tell you more about this creative collaboration and introduce you to the brands taking part…

by Katerina Perez

Tailored Perfection: The Best Jewellery Looks of the Met Gala 2025

Not since 2003 has a Met Gala theme focused exclusively on menswear, so we had high hopes for this year’s attendees demonstrating the best of tailored suiting adorned with high jewels. Let’s take a closer look at some of the best ensembles of the evening…

by Sarah Jordan

Legacy of Love: The Dreamlike Jewels of Emirati Designer Mariyeh Ghelichkhani

Jewellery is a transmitter of memories and emotions through time, which is something that Dubai-based designer Mariyeh Ghelichkhani knows all too well. During our meeting in Dubai, we spoke about the importance of family, the sweetness of finding joy through creativity, and the ability to translate dreamy visions and deep feelings into wearable pieces…

by Katerina Perez

Celebrating Colour: 20 Uplifting Jewellery Creations by Lisa Nik

Whether you're craving a juicy mandarin garnet or an eye-catching bi-colour tourmaline, here are 20 joyful pieces that exemplify the Lisa Nik approach, as well as the inspiration behind them…

by Sarah Jordan

Watches and Wonders 2025: The Coolest Watch Novelties

With pastel pops, Pop Art influences, and playful twists on time itself, Watches and Wonders 2025 delivered a vibrant feast of creativity. Discover the fun new watches setting trends in Geneva this spring

by Rachael Taylor

White Hot: Achromatic Jewellery is Having a Moment

Let’s explore the revival of all white jewellery and discover why this look is universally complementary – and a great investment.  

by Rachael Taylor

Reinventing Royalty: The European-Inspired Luxury Behind Isabel Gemology 

I started 2025 with a series of articles titled ‘Jeweller of the Month’ to highlight the true talent among niche designers in the jewellery industry. For May, it is Isabel Delgado, the founder of Isabel Gemology, who I would like to shine the spotlight on.

by Katerina Perez

Watches and Wonders 2025: Eight of the Most Artful Dials 

From lovers kissing on a bridge to precious animals painted in enamel or gems, this year’s watch launches included timepieces with extraordinary dials that blur the line between watchmaking and wearable art.

by Rachael Taylor

Latest Stories

Add articles and images to your favourites. Just

Reinventing Royalty:The European-Inspired Luxury Behind Isabel Gemology

I started 2025 with a series of articles titled ‘Jeweller of the Month’ to highlight the true talent among niche designers in the jewellery industry. For May, it is Isabel Delgado, the founder of Isabel Gemology, who I would like to shine the spotlight on.

by Katerina Perez

Jewels Katerina Perez Loves

Continue Reading

Writing Adventures:Co-Authoring the Book

Paraiba: The Legacy of a Color

by Katerina Perez

Jewellery Insights straight to your inbox

Style Guide

By using this website, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.