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Carolyn Roumeguere photo

A detail of an emerald choker with diamond and coral drop, $3,938 U.S. approx.

Carolyn Roumeguere

Jewelry designer who grew up with the Maasai is inspired by their style

You just never know where the next hot jewelry tip is going to come from.

Last night at a Dom Perignon champagne-tasting at the Four Seasons hotel in Toronto, I was chatting with an elegant interior designer clad in a black lace dress and diamond hoop earrings. When she heard that I edit a website for jewelry lovers, she snapped to attention. “You must write about this wonderful designer I found on a trip to Africa. She is French but she lives with the Maasai!”

It turns out that Carolyn Roumeguere is the daughter of a social anthropologist who studied the African Maasai and even ended up marrying one. So Roumeguere grew up stringing beads with other members of the tribe best-known for their highly decorative collars and earrings.

In her ‘20s Roumeguere traveled the world as a model, all the while making necklaces for friends. When she returned to Kenya to write an autobiography, she built herself a little hut and supported herself by selling jewelry made with traditional Maasai techniques.

Now Roumeguere’s designs are sold around the world, including Urban Zen in New York, and on CoutureLab.com. Princess Caroline, Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet are fans. Donna Karan tapped Roumeguere as a muse for her spring 2004 line. And London’s Alice Temperley accessorized her spring 2007 boho gowns with Roumeguere’s hand-made gold and sterling silver Bedouin discs embellished with precious stones.

Other styles in Roumeguere’s repertoire include a striking choker using natural precious emeralds or sapphires. The emerald version has a coral pendant with three raw diamonds, while the sapphire style has a diamond and pearl drop. An antique gold East African colonial coin and an 18 karat gold Hand of Fatima help protect the wearer against the 'evil eye'.

Roumeguere still makes her home in Kenya, and a portion of proceeds from her sales go to her organization supporting the Maasai community. But Roumeguere shrugs off her own generosity. She once told Style.com,  “I couldn’t take so much from them and not give something back.”