The divine jewelry of Pamela Bähre Ebensperger at Firma

MANILA, Philippines - Pamela Ebensperger’s journey as a jeweler began in 2005. By that time, she had already lived in so many countries, from Chile and the USA to Greece, Turkey, Germany and England in Europe and China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia in Asia. 

Aside from these countries, which she called home at one time or another, she had also traveled to many more by virtue of her job as a model.  It reached a point where she had to pause and take stock:  “I knew my job at the time wouldn’t last forever so I began soul searching,” recalls Pamela.  “To me, it is imperative to do something I love. I live under my own pyramid or trinity: truth, excellence and integrity. It is quite hard to excel in something we don’t love so I needed to find a new ‘lover’ in my life.” 

Now living in the Philippines, the jewelry designer talks fondly about her childhood:  “During my first years in this world I was surrounded by beauty. My mother and father were “beauty” lovers and everything in themselves, their properties and their whole life was beautiful. Later on, I began modeling, so the exposure to beauty grew stronger and bigger. In 2000 I began traveling as an international model. My life was literally in a suitcase, living in different countries around the world for months at a time.”

The traveling took its toll as she yearned to do something more fulfilling in her life: “Something that will bring to the fore who I truly am, that will reflect my connection with the divine consciousness and that will bring inspiration, blessings, beauty and empowerment to everything and everyone around me.”

This connection with the divine is something that she feels is beyond comprehension and beyond explanation: “In searching for the ‘divine truth,’ I realized that everything on the face of the earth and beyond is a reflection of our creator. I had a special feeling towards metals and gemstones. Besides being symbols of love, beauty and power, they enclose spiritual properties. By then, it seemed obvious to me that jewelry will be one of my new loves.”

In 2005 the designer started to learn silver and gold smithing and has not stopped since “because, like every craft, the art of jewelry is something that is an ongoing process of learning and experimenting. Every day, there is a new technology, a new idea to explore and even new discoveries. It is a career that allows me to grow every day for it is something you can be learning an entire life.”

In 2011 Pamela went to Hong Kong to study Gemology in GIA. She was fascinated by this new world. “Gemstones in their majority are crystals that are beautiful, durable and rare compared with other crystalline forms. There is a minority that are not crystalline and belong to the “organic” world such as pearls, ivory, corals and fossils, among others.”  She also immersed herself in the curricula that included knowledge of mining, identification, grading, chemistry, synthetics, imitations and use of equipment.  After completing the Gemology course she started a series of specializations such as pearl grading, fancy colored diamonds, jewelry retailing and history of jewelry.  “I have learned different jewelry-making techniques around the world. And I am still learning,” says the designer. 

Her travels have also enriched the designs of her jewelry. “Absorbing different cultures brings to my soul inspirations from epochs in time, costumes and life styles. But the biggest inspiration of all is God. Every piece is unique. I base them on spiritual concepts as well as the unique blueprint of the soul of my clients.”

For her jewelry, Pamela works only with noble metals — silver, gold and the platinum family — because they resist corrosion and therefore do not tarnish.  For gemstones, she uses many kinds, “precious” and “semi-precious” in their natural form and with less treatment as much as possible.  She explains that “some gemstones like turquoise, for example, really need to be coated because other wise their durability is compromised. But when choosing gemstones that are treated I try to find the ones less treated in the measure.”

But whichever metal or gemstone is chosen, every piece that Pamela creates has to tell a story. “I make every piece with all my love and respect.”

Pamela Bähre Ebensperger designed a special holiday collection for Firma to add to the store’s select roster of designer jewelry and accessories.  For details, drop by Firma at G/F Greenbelt 3,  Ayala Center, Makati City. Call 757-4009 0915-785.9544, e-mail firma2@vasia.com.