I DO not remember when I first became interested in jewellery because I have loved wearing it since I was very small and have been collecting it since the age of 14 or 15.

I wear it every day in every situation, including at work and at home, and I wear my own designs with every kind of clothing, from party dresses to jeans and white T-shirts.

I don’t wear jewellery for fashion’s sake, but because it gives me pleasure. I think many women wear it to make themselves attractive, but that’s not something I think about. I wear jewellery for myself, even when I’m working alone at home. It’s a part of me.

I particularly enjoy wearing pearls. The sound they make when you walk is like the sound of ocean waves. The sea is an element that is important in my life because it makes me feel peaceful.

My favourite stone is peridot. The rings I design are usually made of semiprecious stones rather than diamonds or sapphires.

Before I began designing jewellery, I shopped for it wherever I went. Now I only wear my own designs. It is very easy to make jewellery in Myanmar because it is easy to find well-crafted stones.

My designs are based on stones that I like. I don’t think of the design before I see the stones.

When I design for someone else, I observe her style and create something that suits it. So my jewellery designs are always based on either a particular person’s style or on a stone that I like.

– Su Myat Hla