Luxury jeweller Alexander Mavros might live in bustling, overcrowded London, but his heart belongs to Zimbabwe’s peaceful, sun-soaked savannahs. It was growing up there on the family game farm that Alexander first fell in love with elephants.
“We housed orphaned baby elephants on the farm, where they were rehabilitated before being released into the wild,” says Alexander, who runs the family-owned jewellery business Patrick Mavros with his three brothers. “Wildlife is at the heart of everything we do, but as a family elephants are our first love. As sixth generation Zimbabweans, they are in our blood.”
A passionate environmentalist, Alexander oversaw the creation of a bespoke Patrick Mavros jewellery range to support elephant and conservation charity Space for Giants. The beautiful handcrafted objets include solid silver adult and baby elephants, as well as pachyderm-inspired cufflinks and bracelets, which wowed guests – including HRH Prince William – at a recent dinner held at Kensington Palace to recognise the charity’s work.
“‘We’ve long admired Space for Giants and know they really make a difference on the ground to secure a future for elephants,” says Alexander. “We are keen to support them any way we can; we must all do our bit to help preserve Africa’s great wildlife. We are all custodians of the planet.”
Patrick Mavros is a luxury silversmith brand which originated in Africa, and has created timeless jewellery inspired by the animal kingdom for over 30 years.
Alexander says: “Elephants have historically been the most popular animal we make – you get ‘elephant people’ who don’t think about anything else. We make everything from coffee spoons to candelabra, and once made an entire herd for an African game reserve, with each figure based on a real elephant.”
Alexander’s father Patrick began his business by accident when, ill in bed, he was given a piece of bone and a hand chisel by his uncle. He carved it into a pair of rosebud earrings for his wife Catja who wore them to the hairdresser, who was so impressed she begged for Patrick to make a pair for her, too. Customers soon followed suit, and when Patrick moved his production to silver and a huge market opened up.
Now Patrick Mavros has shops in Mauritius, South Africa, London, Kenya and America, with pieces in the collections of royalty, such as the Sultan of Oman and the King of Spain – not to mention Hollywood stars, including Denzel Washington.
Their recently launched pangolin range raises awareness of the most trafficked mammal in the world, with 10% of sales donated to a charity protecting them. And next up is a very meaningful range for Alexander and his three brothers.
“Early next year we’re launching our elephant heart collection. It’s inspired by Zozo, an orphan elephant who we saw trapped in the mud on the farm when we were children. Thankfully we rescued him and set him free once he recovered to full health. Dad made a wonderful sculpture of Zozo, and that is the basis of our next collection.”