A WORLD OF ABUNDANCE
BODËGA exists in a world where abundance takes many forms.
Here, people of colour do not need to conform to a prescribed image of success to command respect. We see affluent people from all journeys and their families move freely between worlds - inheriting wealth, creating it and living comfortably within its continuity.
A xibelani, seshweshwe or kurta is worn with the same ease as a tailored suit. A boardroom, a gallery and a family table hold equal familiarity. This is a world where one might fly from Paris to KwaZulu for a Maskandi concert; linger over papa ea mabele and pinot grigio beneath a Moroccan sunset, or find oneself commissioning the grand portraiture of Kehinde Wiley as “something nice to liven the house”.
BODËGA is concerned with this kind of abundance. One of inheritance, culture, taste and everyday life.
THE CREATIVE PRACTICE
There are many families who inhabit this reality. It is simply BODËGA’s calling to capture and preserve the stories, objects and symbols that give a family its character, while inspiring others to consider what might be worthy of preserving within their own.
Our approach to jewellery has been shaped by its history as both craft and cultural record. Renaissance jewellery and portraiture preserved the identity, status and lineage of families such as the Medici.
We look to the imaginative craftsmanship of René Lalique, Peter Carl Fabergé and Alma Pihl; Jeremy Scott’s light-hearted manner of exploring a serious subject; and the cultural fluency of Pharrell Williams.
The collaboration between Williams and Jacob Arabo is particularly instructive. Their partnership produced jewellery that was inseparable from the culture that created it. Pharrell’s 2005 N.E.R.D. Character Pendant Chain, crafted by Jacob & Co. in three-tone gold and coloured diamonds, was commissioned as an expression of his musical world. In 2022, it sold at auction for $2.184 million. Its material composition could be valued in carats and precious metal, its cultural significance could not. The sale price became evidence of something larger: that an object can become a cultural artefact when it carries the memory of a person, a movement or a particular moment in time.
Pharrell’s relationship with Louis Vuitton further demonstrated how personal cultural expression could become part of a Maison’s evolving heritage — a conversation continued through the creative visions of Marc Jacobs in 2008. Virgil Abloh went on to do so with Louis Vuitton and notably, Jacob & Co.
THE HOUSE OF WAYA
Following years of research, experimentation and refining, BODËGA began quietly in 2023. We remained intentionally understated while refining our practice and establishing the standards by which our work would be made.
Today, each piece is designed and crafted in South Africa by qualified South African and European artisans. We work across a considered range of techniques and offer the purest precious metals for commissions, with each piece given the time and attention required of something intended to endure.
The experience is equally considered. Impressions are taken by an Authorised Dental Practitioner at our designated location, provided to the patron at no additional charge. Our collections are deliberately limited, while commissions remain private to the patron, with the option to extend a piece to a select circle of friends or family.
BODËGA continues add meaning to this amazing world: through what some think of as scarcity, but we think of as the sanctity of meaningful objects; what some may novelty, but we call a body of work with provenance, intention and permanence.
Stories made wearable, crafted for today and worthy of generations to come.