None of us are likely to forget the lockdowns of 2020-21, or as they are known to some, the “Great Quar,” which kept us inside and reliant on our devices for everything.

For Gillian Carr, the experience of lockdown made her reflect on how close we are to our electronics – and how wasteful it is that they end up in a landfill.

“Our electronic devices were our only bridge to the external world,” she recently told the Financial Times. “They felt like an extension of our bodies.”

Seen from that perspective, there’s something beautiful about wearing fragments of old smartphones and electronic devices next to your skin – almost like a digital memento mori.

That’s the inspiration behind Oushaba, a new collection of luxury jewelry created by Carr featuring necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets in a range of precious metals.

Carr, who formerly worked for auction house Christie’s, has a keen eye for how to combine these electronic fragments with 18-karat gold and silver to create combinations that catch the eye and draw it back, again and again. Each piece is crafted by a team of artisans in Sicily, drawing on a long history of skilled jewelry-making which befits the exquisite materials they work with.

In that sense, Oushaba is very much of its moment – combining a subtle commentary on the digital culture of the 2020s with the time-honored craftsmanship and materials of Old World luxury.

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Researched and written by QVDN staff