After collaborating for the third time with one of Manila’s leading homegrown jewelry brands, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez settles on a theme that reminds her of her happy childhood and symbolizes the beauty and strength of her fellow Leyteños.
By Alex Y. Vergara
For her third collaboration with jewelry company Jul B. Dizon, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez has drawn inspiration from a ubiquitous flower of her childhood. But it’s none of the usual favorites most children are drawn to like the rose, sunflower, or even sampaguita. Instead, Lucy made the kalachuchi the central theme of her collection consisting of rings, earrings, pendants and cuffs made of 18-karat yellow, rose and white gold, and embellished with aquamarine, mother of pearl and diamonds.
“I remember spending summer vacations in my lola’s house in Cebu,” says the Ormoc, Leyte native during the recent launch of her jewelry collection at The Peninsula Manila’s Spices. “Along the driveway, they have this big kalachuchi tree. We kids would tuck its flowers behind our ears or string them together to form leis.”
In a nutshell, the fragrant off white blooms remind her of “a happy childhood.” But it doesn’t end there. When her husband, actor Richard Gomez, became mayor of Ormoc in 2016, Lucy found out that the kalachuchi is also the city’s official flower. Thus, not only does it remind her of her childhood, the kalachuchi also resonates with the couple now that they’re both elected officials and public servants.
In many ways, the flower also symbolizes Lucy’s native Leyte and its people. Being, in her words “geographically prone,” the entire island (including Southern Leyte) has had its fair share of typhoons and various natural and manmade calamities over the decades. Kaluchuchi, in case you didn’t know, is one sturdy flower, she adds, that doesn’t start to burn until flames reach a temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
“I also wanted to work around the kalachuchi since it’s one of the blooms modern florists recommend for people who have gone through a lot of challenges,” Lucy adds, referring to her provincemates. “It’s so durable and resilient that children in the provinces also fashion them into takyan (sipa).”
Compared to her first two collaborations—the first didn’t have a theme at all, while the second revolved around her mother and grandmother’s cameo pieces, this latest team-up with Candy Dizon took Lucy just one day to finish. (Yes, she draws her ideas on paper, according to Richard).
“When I agreed to do another collection, Candy asked me over the phone what my theme was,” says Lucy. “I immediately said it’s kalachuchi. And the only other stone I want in the collection is aquamarine.”
Diamonds and mother of pearl (mostly in the form of petals) were also eventually added to certain pieces, but the neutral-colored collection’s aquamarine components understandably stands out because of its vibrant blue green hue.
While it took her just a day to do the bulk of the designs, it took Jul B. Dizon’s plateros (jewelry makers) several months to execute them. She even brought with her actual blooms during the initial stage of the production “because I want the wearer to look like she’s really wearing kalachuchi.”
“Yes, certain pieces are a bit huge, but they’re light and unlike the real flower, they don’t die,” says Lucy. “Some people have been asking me who would wear them. I told them any strong and beautiful woman would.”
Even before the collection was unveiled, Lucy has been getting plenty of messages from people who had already learned of her latest collection and its theme. Many of them shared with her that the kalachuchi was also central to their own childhood. That’s probably why the pieces—a little over a hundred, actually—resonate and have easily become acceptable to a good number of people, especially the ladies.
