These jewels might have worked wonders on Rizal's women

MANILA, Philippines - In celebration of Jose Rizal’s 150th birthday, two of his talented great grandnieces — Barbara Gonzalez and Mia Faustmann — have created a line of Rizal-inspired jewelry for their Yzabelle collection at Kultura Filipino.

Barbara, a Philippine STAR columnist who was for many years an advertising executive, and Mia, who is the founder of the Michelis jewelry line, thought of coming up with the collection as “it was Rizal’s 150th birthday and we thought we could do something special for him. This was also our way of letting more people know more about him.”

Yzabelle’s line of Rizal-inspired jewelry was launched in April beginning with the Only Love Will Work Wonders collection, which consists of sterling silver earrings, necklaces, lockets and pendants, bracelets, and rings — molded into modern, edgy designs with inscriptions of the quotation.

The collection also features symbols of Rizal’s life and times: his plume, a vintage key with his initials, a Noli Me Tangere book, and the caduceus, which represents his medical practice.

Mia first came across the quote in Pablo S. Trillana III’s Rizal and Heroic Traditions: A Sense of National Destiny. She was moved by Simoun’s dialogue in El Filibusterismo: “Hate only creates monsters, crime, criminals. Only love will work wonders, only virtue can redeem. If the country is to be set free someday, it will not be through vice and crime, it will not be through corruption. It will only be through love.”

“We could learn a lot from that quote,” muses Mia. “Who would expect such a quote from Rizal? I thought that quote made him human.”

Barbara adds, “It’s a very romantic quote, although its context is more for nationalism and for our country. It’s very charming and we believe in it — if you love your country, you can work wonders.”

Yzabelle will also come up with a series of jewelry inspired by the women of Rizal. The Leonor Rivera line launched last May had rosebuds and mother-of-pearl teardrops for the woman who is considered his great love as “she always cried for him as her mother disapproved of the relationship.”

Barbara Gonzalez and Mia Faustmann, descendants of our National Hero, are creators of the Rizal collection for Yzabelle jewelry as a tribute to his 150th birthday. The jewels are available exclusively at Kultura Filipino stores at SM.

The collection inspired by O Sei San, the daughter of a samurai whom Rizal fell in love with during his stay in Japan, was launched this month. The collection features cherry blossom designs, which represent her demure personality and Japanese heritage.

Shoppers can look forward to more such jewelry during the next few months. These include pieces inspired by his European loves Gertrude Beckett, Suzanne Jacoby, Nellie Boustead, and Josephine Bracken; as well as Rizal’s mother Doña Teodora Alonzo and sisters including Maria, who is Barbara and Mia’s great grandmother.

“It will give us something to remember him by,” says Barbara of the collection, which makes charming gifts for loved ones as well as oneself.

The Jose Rizal collection by Yzabelle is available exclusively at Kultura Filipino stores at SM Makati, SM Megamall, the SM Mall of Asia, SM City North EDSA, and SM City Cebu.