Chillies, Lemons and Tomatoes: Alexandra Hakim’s Fruit Jewellery

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 23, 2026

On September 23, 2026

Fashion, Style Guides

Chillies, Lemons and Tomatoes: Alexandra Hakim’s Fruit Jewellery

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 23, 2026 On September 23, 2026

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Alexandra Hakim’s extensive travels feed the work directly: colourful produce in Mexico City markets, citrus groves around the Mediterranean, tomato stems from the stalls of Beirut. She casts the real thing into recycled brass and silver, which is why a Hakim chilli looks like a chilli rather than a charm shaped like one. It is the most cheerful corner of the collection.

Key facts

The idea	Real market produce cast directly into metal
Fruits in the line	Chilli, lemon, tomato, strawberry, raspberry, citrus
Pieces at Coveti	Eleven, across earrings, necklaces and a cuff
Price range	232 to 752 US dollars
Statement piece	Citrus Cuff, 752 US dollars
Entry piece	Golden Chili Earring, 232 US dollars

The chillies

The chilli is the most worn of the fruit pieces, probably because it is a shape that flatters as an earring: long, tapered, with a natural curve.

Golden Chili Earring, 232 US dollars, sold as a single.
Golden Mini Chili Hoops, 364 US dollars.
Golden Chunky Chili Hoops, 364 US dollars.
Golden Spiral Chili Earrings, 469 US dollars.
Golden Chili Necklace, 495 US dollars.

The chilli also carries a second meaning in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, where it is worn as a charm against the evil eye. Like the horseshoe, it arrives with a job already.

Citrus and tomato

The Citrus Cuff at 752 US dollars is the most substantial piece in the whole collection, and the one that shows the casting at its best. Citrus skin has a pitted texture that is very hard to fake and very easy to cast, so the surface is unmistakably the real fruit.

The Golden Lemon Earrings at 548 and the Golden Tomato Earrings at 521 work the same way. The tomato is the one with the most direct link to the brand’s own story, since tomato stems from Beirut market stalls are named among the materials she repurposes.

Berries and flowers

Golden Strawberry Drops Earrings, 429 US dollars.
Strawberry Flower Studs, 548 US dollars.
Silver Strawberry Necklace, 574 US dollars.
Mini Raspberry Hoops, 337 US dollars.
Golden Raspberry Necklace, 403 US dollars.

The raspberry is the technical highlight. A raspberry is a cluster of tiny spheres, which is exactly the sort of surface that turns to porridge in a bad cast. These hold.

How to wear fruit jewellery without it looking novelty

This is the real question, and the answer is scale plus restraint. A single cast chilli in gold on a bare ear reads as sculptural. A chilli, a lemon and a strawberry worn together reads as a fruit bowl.

Wear one. Keep the clothes plain and unpatterned, because the piece is already the pattern. And lean gold rather than enamel if you are nervous, since the monochrome metal abstracts the shape just enough that people see the form before they see the fruit.

Why produce, of all things

Because it is what was in front of her. The work has always started with what is local and overlooked: the match in the ashtray, the cane in the chair, the stem on a market stall.

Fruit also gives the collection its colour. Most of the label is gold, silver and texture. The fruit pieces are where the enamel and the coloured stones come in, and they are the ones that make the rest of the collection feel less serious.

Why produce casts so well

Fruit and vegetables have the two properties that make a cast piece look convincing: irregular surface and a recognisable silhouette.

A polished sphere in gold could be anything. A raspberry is a cluster of small drupelets with visible seams, and a citrus skin is pitted and uneven. Cast those accurately and the object identifies itself before you have explained it, which is why these pieces need no caption.

It is also technically demanding. Fine surface detail is exactly what a poor cast loses first, so the fruit pieces are a good place to judge the quality of the whole collection.

Picking a fruit

Chilli: the most wearable shape, long and tapered, and it carries a protective meaning in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Lemon and citrus: the best surface texture, and the most summer-leaning.
Strawberry and raspberry: the most detailed casts, and the smallest in scale.
Tomato: the most directly linked to the brand’s own story, since tomato stems from Beirut market stalls are named among her materials.

Gold versus enamel

Some fruit pieces come in plain gold and some carry colour. The choice changes how the piece reads more than you would expect.

Plain gold abstracts the shape. People see a form first and a fruit second, which keeps it firmly in the sculptural register. Add red enamel to a chilli and it becomes explicitly a chilli, which is more fun and more literal.

If you are unsure, start with gold. It is the more versatile of the two and it survives a formal setting where a red enamel chilli would not.

Frequently asked questions

What fruit jewellery does Alexandra Hakim make?

Chillies, lemons, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries and citrus, cast from the real produce into recycled brass and sterling silver, as earrings, necklaces and a cuff.

How much is the Citrus Cuff?

The Citrus Cuff is 752 US dollars at Coveti, which makes it the most expensive piece in the collection.

Why does Alexandra Hakim make chilli jewellery?

The chilli is drawn from the markets that feed her work, and it carries a second meaning across the Mediterranean and the Middle East as a charm against the evil eye.

How do you wear fruit jewellery without it looking like a novelty?

Wear one piece at a time against plain, unpatterned clothes, and choose the plain gold versions over enamel if you are unsure. Scale and restraint are what separate sculptural from novelty.

Is the fruit real inside the metal?

No. The real produce is used to make the cast, so the finished piece is solid metal carrying the exact texture of the original fruit.

Why does fruit cast so well in metal?

Because fruit has an irregular surface and a recognisable silhouette. Pitted citrus skin and the seamed clusters of a raspberry are exactly the details that identify the object instantly, and exactly what a poor cast loses first.

Should I choose plain gold and enamel fruit jewellery?

Plain gold abstracts the shape so the piece reads as sculpture, and it is more versatile. Enamel makes the fruit explicit, which is more playful but harder to wear formally.