Bond Street’s best-kept jewellery secret: VANLELES

Find out where those in-the-know go when it comes to hunting down jewels with a difference.
Shop VANLELES jewels: ow.ly/ZcUsw
Enter the world of VANLELES, a new arrival on Bond Street, and meet Vania Leles, the woman behind the brand, who brings us her very personal approach to jewellery that never forgets the African origins of her family.
Born in Guinea-Bissau and brought up in Portugal, the former model left her New York catwalk career to train to be a gemmologist and diamond-grader. Vania then gained 10 years’ experience at some of the most prestigious jewellery houses on Bond Street before opening her own first-floor salon.
Vania meets each of her clients and makes buying jewellery a very personal experience. Sometimes the client will see the rough stone and follow the process right through to the finished piece. Vania understands that her level of clients probably have jewels from the big names on Bond Street and are looking for jewels that are different and with a story to tell.
Ethics and sustainability are key to Vania. “I am one of the few black African women to own a luxury jewellery business of this calibre,” she says. “I hope to be an inspiration to other African women. As I am from Africa, it is natural for me to care about where my products come from and to make sure, as much as I can, that I try to use ethically sourced and sustainable materials.”
“I always believed that jewellery shouldn’t start at the shop floor, but where it all begins - at the mines, and the communities around the mines,” adds Vania. “That’s important to me, and more and more of my clients want that beautiful story linked to their pieces of jewellery. It is a moral duty that I have as I am one of them.”
Vania offers five different collections, many of which are inspired by her life, travels and memories of Africa. Vania also offers a bespoke jewellery service that can feature gems of the highest value or a customised engagement ring.
Vania’s collections include Legends of Africa, with its distinctive drop earrings shaped like the continent and a rich cornucopia of coloured gemstones. Interpreted in pretty pastels, the Enchanted Garden collection features flowers and trees of urban gardens that Vania visited in New York, London and Tokyo. Butterflies are a constant theme in Vania’s life and she has collected them since childhood, and this love is reflected in the Dancing Butterfly jewels. The Timeless Wonders collection is all about marvellous stones that are the centrepiece of these one-off jewels. And Lyla’s Bow raises money for a brain cancer charity in memory of a friend’s daughter who died of this rare disease.
Vania brings together her African heritage, a commitment to sustainability, beautiful gems, and great craftsmanship so very naturally that I think we are looking at the future of luxury jewellery for those who want jewels with a soul and a story to share.

[@oyinade84]

So VERY PROUD of her;it's a wonderful feeling to see a woman of color being Independent and ethical in her business choice dealing with precious metals and stones. From one African woman to another; I salute your honorable sense of duty, Van Lele.

[@ferranc9644]

finally someone that cares about the origin of the stones too. thank you

[@nirak6122]

It's wonderful to see that you work with ethically sourced materials, the only way forward for the jewellery industry I believe. Beautiful work, such gorgeous gems!

[@redbutterfly88]

Wow i love her passion for jewelry and people who dig underneath.. I hope that she will serve as an example to all giants out there who exploit miners and nature for their own sake.

[@oscarp4328]

Oh my god I love her and her jewels! Such grace.

[@suadmohamed2098]

So beautiful ❤️

[@TsetsiStoyanova]

I would buy that bow!

[@melissagranados403]

Me encanta la historia de esta muchacha, bella joyería con mucho estilo ❤

[@lovethestage]

amazing amazing amazing!!

[@edilenebatiston781]

São peças lindas e magníficas

[@ruapraia]

Beautiful jewellery bold and proud like it's maker. Thanks Maria from the jewllery editor.

[@hopeneverdies1]

An Amazing story!

[@sombatcambodia7557]

Wow Very Nice

[@xiomaramatarritavasquez5020]

Este canal es muy profesional. Muy bueno todos los videos

[@TheJewelleryEditor]

Xiomara Matarrita Vasquez Muchísimas gracias Xiomara! Maria

[@Swanofdreamers]

Beautiful story and jewelry.

[@beatrizboccheciampe4941]

BEAUTIFUL....!!!!

[@anaximandraisula3182]

totale élégance! !! merci maria pour ce beau reportage

[@watchdealer11]

Excellent.

[@namibsecurity6755]

Wooow

[@sheilabonato1699]

AÍ MEU DEUS ME LEVA ATÉ ESTE LUGAR JESUS SAI MEU DEUS CADA JÓIAS LINDAS ISTO PARECE UM SONHO OI MEU DEUSSS

[@veroniqueaudoin8380]

j'adore.

[@chungpingtang5830]

😱👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@dulcesouza5837]

✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️😇

[@aung3627]

လှပသောဒဇိုင်သစ်များထုပ်လုပ်ပြသသောသင်၏လက်ဝတ်ရတနာများ၏လှပစွာတွေမြင်ရသည်သင်၏ဗီဒီယိုမျဝေပေးလိုက်သည်