Jewelry House Vram Debuts Moment V

L.A.–based jewelry designer Vram Minassian measures time differently than most. Four years after his eponymous brand’s last release, Minassian returns with Moment V, arriving on the 10th anniversary of Continuum, the collection he describes as an “ongoing meditation on time, space, and existence.” First launched in partnership with Barneys New York in 2016, Continuum exists as episodic “Moments,” each one a distinct conceptual lens. All pieces are designed and crafted at VRAM Studio in the Beverly Grove neighborhood.

Moment V draws on the science of agronomy and the natural world as a lens for exploring civilization’s deepest turning points. Here, Minassian reflects on the process, the symbols, and the patience required to say something new.

Continuum is described as an “ongoing meditation on time, space and existence.” How did you arrive at agronomy, the specialization of crop production and soil management, as the lens for Moment V, and what does it mean to you as an abstract rather than a literal reference?

Each Moment within Continuum examines a chapter in the evolution of existence. After exploring cosmic origins, microscopic life, prehistoric forms, and primitive human expression through tools & dwelling, it felt inevitable to arrive at the moment when humanity began cultivating the land. Agronomy represents one of civilization’s great turning points, not simply because it provided food, but because it altered our relationship with nature, time, community and the future.

The collection uses the language of balance, resilience and continuity. What does that actually look like in the design process?

I don’t begin with sketches of flowers, seeds, or hives. I begin by searching for relationships between forms. How one volume supports another. How tension can create harmony. How asymmetry can still feel perfectly balanced. Many pieces appear organic, but every curve is highly considered. Layers overlap the way growth accumulates over time rather than being assembled all at once. I spend an enormous amount of time refining proportions until the piece feels inevitable.

Seeds and beehives have sustained civilization for centuries. What drew you to these two specific symbols?

They are remarkable because they represent entirely different expressions of the same truth. A seed contains infinite potential within an almost impossibly small form. A beehive demonstrates what countless individual acts can create collectively through rhythm, order, and cooperation. Neither symbol is decorative for me. They embody ideas that have existed long before us and will continue long after us. Both are systems of continuity, carrying life forward through cycles rather than moments. Those ideas naturally belong within Continuum.

You work in 18k yellow gold, with some pieces incorporating diamonds, gemstones, or conch shells. How do you decide when a piece needs that addition versus when the gold alone is enough?

Gold has always been my primary medium because it possesses warmth, permanence, and an extraordinary ability to capture light through form alone. Often, that’s all a sculpture requires. When I introduce gemstones or conch shells, they are never embellishments. They become another material within the composition, carrying their own voice and altering the emotional register of the piece. The pure metal form of my work is more stripped to its essence. Sometimes a gemstone introduces light or depth that the sculpture asks for. The decision is always made in service of the sculpture, never decoration.

This is your first new collection in four years. What were those years like, and what finally told you it was time to debut a new collection?

Those years were less about producing objects and more about questioning them. I allowed myself the time to think, observe, edit and challenge assumptions rather than rushing toward another release. I believe meaningful work requires periods of incubation. There came a moment when the language felt complete enough to continue the conversation that Continuum began. That was the right time to share it.

Peter Lane’s Sea Strands ceramics serve as both environment and conversation partner for Moment V. How did the collaboration come about?

I’ve long admired Peter’s ability to create forms that feel simultaneously geological, biological, and timeless. His work exists somewhere between artifact and landscape, which resonates deeply with my own interests. When I encountered Sea Strands, it didn’t feel like a backdrop for the jewelry. It felt like another voice within the same conversation. His ceramics and my sculptures both investigate growth, accumulation, and the passage of time through abstraction. Bringing them together felt less like a collaboration and more like discovering that two parallel explorations had finally met!

Bergdorf Goodman’s 57th Street windows are one of the most legendary display spaces in fashion. What does it mean to show there, and how do you think about jewelry in a window versus jewelry on a body?

Bergdorf Goodman has a remarkable ability to transform retail into cultural storytelling. To have Moment V presented there is deeply meaningful because the windows invite people to pause and engage with ideas before they engage with products. Jewelry on the body becomes intimate. It moves, catches light, and develops a relationship with the wearer. In a window, it exists more like sculpture. The challenge is to communicate both experiences simultaneously, that the pieces possess an independent artistic presence while waiting to become part of someone’s life.