Ashley Morgan, Yael Create Jewelry Collection to Benefit Sierra Leone

Earrings from the new line

San Francisco-based fine jewelry designers Ashley Morgan and Yael Designs in the first collaboration are creating a jewelry collection to benefit Sierra Leone. The Leone Collection is expected to debut in the fall of this year.

Designed by Morgan and manufactured by Yael, the Leone Collection includes rings, earrings and necklaces featuring conflict-free custom cut black diamonds set in 18k recycled blackened gold and accented with white diamonds and Japanese seed pearls. Inspired by the royal image of Sierra Leone–or Lion Mountain–the collection refashions regal images of nature found on crowns and royal architecture throughout human history.

“We wanted to create a collection that brings regal beauty to the modern age and speaks to the universal values of our world’s many cultures,” Morgan said.

“As jewelry designers, we wanted to do our part to help rebuild Sierra Leone—a country that has been so negatively impacted by the diamond trade industry,” added Yehouda Saketkhou, Yael Designs CEO.

Two percent of the profits from the Leone Collection will be donated to Schools for Salone, a Seattle-based nonprofit that helps build schools, train teachers and give scholarships in Sierra Leone. The donation from the Leone Collection will be used to help build a primary school in Lungi Village in the southern part of Sierra Leone.

The price for Leone Collection starts at $1,200. The collection will be available online at http://www.ashleymorganyael.com and in select stores.