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Diamonds Do Good Launches Bracelet with Flaviana Matata to Benefit Girls in Africa
The bracelet was created by El Salvadorian designer Gloria Batlle of Onirikka Fine Jewelry.
Diamonds Do Good, the non-profit grant-giving organization, launched its new signature bracelet in partnership with model and entrepreneur Flaviana Matata. Proceeds from the bracelet will support education and entrepreneurship training for young girls in the diamond mining country of Tanzania, where Flaviana was born and raised. Only Natural Diamonds was exclusively behind the scenes at the campaign photoshoot for the new bracelet with Flaviana, fellow model Nicola Breytenbach, and famed photographer Anthony Friend.
Flaviana said the partnership with Diamonds Do Good was a “no-brainer.” Flaviana has long been working with Diamonds Do Good as a goodwill ambassador. DDG has continually supported her charitable organization, The Flaviana Matata Foundation, which helps “empower girls through education.” When she became a model, she decided to use her platform for good, focusing on girls because “when it comes to underserved communities, families prioritize the education of boys, and girls are left behind. I just wanted to create opportunities for them. My community gave me so much, and I just wanted to give back,” says Flaviana. The Flaviana Matata Foundation seeks to create circular success stories in the lives they touch. Flaviana explains, “the girls the foundation puts through college, after graduating, will come back to their community and help other girls get the same opportunity.”
Speaking with photographer Anthony Friend at the photo shoot, he explains his use of clay to “paint” the bodies of both models, producing the gorgeous images that make up the campaign. Anthony said, “As an African photographer, I use clay to symbolize my roots. In this shoot, working with two African models on a project benefiting education in Africa, clay is a beautiful tool to tie it all together.”
The bracelet was created by El Salvadorian designer Gloria Batlle of Onirikka Fine Jewelry. It was chosen from a unique initiative where designers from around the world were invited to submit designs for a new bracelet that would define the organization. The bracelet’s genderless appeal and affirming message of ‘Growth, Unity, and Equality made it a perfect choice. The bracelet features matte onyx beads accented with four black diamonds equally placed as a symbol of unity and equality; on the pulse point, a green tsavorite gem represents life and rebirth, and a champagne color diamond represents the light within us. “For me, everything is unified. The more love we give, the more good we do, the more light we project,” says Gloria.
The bracelet retails for $129.00, and twenty dollars from every purchase goes directly to the Flaviana Matata Foundation to support education and entrepreneurship training for young girls to become self-sufficient leaders in their community. The diamond bracelet is a simple way to give directly back to the community and have a nice piece of jewelry that shows your support.
The first retailers carrying the bracelet include Greenwich St. Jewelers, Hamilton Jewelers, and Jared. Diamonds Do Good’s website has a store locator for all participating retailers. “All retailers are encouraged to join this consumer confidence-building initiative which connects consumers with a tangible way to give back and show that Diamonds Truly Do Good,” says Nancy Orem Lyman, Executive Director of Diamonds Do Good. The Diamonds Do Good Bracelet will be available online and in stores across the country starting at the end of October.
