Our Materials, and
The Standard Behind Them
"Quality and attention to detail mean everything to us."
A Labor of Love:
Made by Hand
Every square inch of our gold carries more than 1,000 hammer strikes. The hammer is also what gives pure gold its strength, as the ancient goldsmiths understood. What it leaves behind is a texture no two pieces share, closer to a fingerprint than a finish, and it has been Gurhan Orhan's vision since the first piece.
Our Istanbul
Workshop
Our workshop is in Istanbul, one of the most historic cities in the world and long known for its master craftsmen. Every artisan is personally trained by Gurhan Orhan. The team has been together since the beginning with almost no turnover, because everyone here works to the same standard. The artisans call him abi, a term of deep respect meaning older brother. Together with our team in the United States, they are family, bound by the same values of excellence and care.
Our Gold:
Sustainable & Ethical
We work in 24K and 22K, because when you want gold, you should get gold. Most fine jewelry is alloyed down until the metal is closer to its alloys than to gold itself. 18K, for example, is three-quarters gold and one-quarter silver and copper. Ours is high-karat throughout, and the difference is visible in the color and felt in the weight.
We care about where it comes from. We have worked for years with a refinery dedicated entirely to recycled gold, so every piece we make is ethically sourced.
Our Silver:
A Brighter Glow,
Same Artistry
The Couture Silver collection is handcrafted sterling silver, finished with rhodium plating, a precious metal from the platinum family that holds a bright white tone for years. Every piece carries the same craftsmanship as the gold, including our signature hand-hammered texture. The result is silver with real depth, cool in tone and unmistakably ours.
Diamonds and Gemstones
Every diamond we use is ethically sourced, and always has been. We follow the Kimberley Process Certification, so conflict diamonds never enter our work. Many of the cuts we favor, rose cut, mine cut, briolettes, slices and beads, are not graded the way engagement-ring diamonds are. We choose them for beauty and individuality rather than for a grade.
We celebrate the extraordinary array of natural stones our earth offers. Gurhan Orhan hand-selects every gemstone himself, for its own personality rather than for standardized measures of perfection. Loving the stone is what matters most. Seeing its future in a piece of jewelry? That's Gurhan's visionary talent.
The Details That Matter
Every piece of GURHAN jewelry is engraved with its own serial number, which makes it unmistakably yours. Register it with us and it stays associated with you for good. We have returned lost jewelry to its owners because of it.
The details are there throughout: a small logo hang tag set with a diamond, an extra link for adjustable length, a diamond placed discreetly on the side of a ring.
Our clasps, bales, earring clips and posts are made in a stronger alloy, and sometimes platinum, for durability, then always plated in 24K so the color matches the piece exactly.