![](http://kheprijewels.com/cdn/shop/files/Ralph70_58eaa5b7-d0f5-4937-a9e9-bcd1d74b3d07.jpg?v=1711854042&width=3840)
Meet The Designer
Reema Chopra's Story
My journey with Khepri began with a woman at a crossroads. A friend of mine was going through a divorce and asked me to buy her engagement ring. Her husband purchased the diamond from a renowned establishment and the stone was incredible, but — as it usually is with luxury jewelry — the ring had been sold with an exuberant markup. I didn’t feel comfortable offering her a fraction of what it would have been sold for in a store, so I asked that she trust me to repurpose the ring. I wanted to design a piece releasing her from any negative connections to the past. It would become a symbol of renewal, a harbinger of new purpose for her. So I got to work repurposing her new piece. It came with a large diamond, which I turned into the centerpiece of a necklace. There were two side stones that became the back of the necklace. Then I added two more large diamonds — a Marquise and a pear — to either side of the large stone. Two pavé diamond shields joined the necklace, which symbolized solidarity, boldness, and most importantly, my personal motto: No retreat, no surrender.
The final, finishing touch: a star stamped on the necklace’s closure. For millennia, people have relied on the cosmos to tell the time of day, the season, to navigate over land and sea. To this day, I finish every piece with a small star to remind us that nature always moves forward — and so should we.
I make sure that all of my pieces are effortlessly timeless, destined to look just as elegant 100 years from now as they do today. Modern, but with a classic sensibility, just like the clients who come to my New York studio. These women are unpretentiously luxurious, seeking out originality and the uncompromising boldness of my designs.
I hand-select every stone that ends up in my collection. Since antiquity, people have believed that gemstones carry an energy that lives within the person who wears the no stone. There are whispers of this ancient tradition in my work. Using my degree from the renowned Gemological Institute of America, I personally oversee every detail of each stone, from its color and size to the cut and finish. This means only a handful of pieces end up in every collection. My work comes in small-batches and limited releases, every piece a modern heirloom.
Along with diamonds, my signature stone is the emerald. It’s a gem with an alluring past and equally thrilling future; it possesses both a natural beauty and a spiritual energy. I honor the heritage of the emerald, but find myself called to its more modern incarnations: the stones that come in a vibrant green hue truly speak to me
My obsession with emeralds first sparked while I was on a solo work trip to Jaipur, during afternoon tea in the ornate gardens of the Rambagh Palace. I sat on the grounds, which date back to 1835, watching the resident peacocks pass by while listening to live folk music that transported me back to a simpler time. A bright sparkle caught my eye, and I turned to see emerald stones sprawled across a gem dealer’s table. As dusk arrived, I couldn’t help myself: I struck up a conversation with the gem dealer. In the end, I bought all of his stones, and I continue to work with these precious treasures to this day.
![](http://kheprijewels.com/cdn/shop/files/Marcus54_4.jpg?v=1711853410&width=3840)
A sacred stone passed down from antiquity
![](http://kheprijewels.com/cdn/shop/files/Marcus67_c49a2fa9-6b5b-47d7-bd53-ef879f4f66c4.jpg?v=1711517643&width=3840)
New Life Created From Ancient Wisdom
It seemed cosmic when I learned that emeralds, like Khepri, also have roots in Egyptian mythology. Egyptians believed the jewel possessed healing powers and was capable of removing dark energy, making the wearer contagiously magnetic. Cleopatra’s obsession with the vibrant gem is the stuff of legends; her infatuation with the stone drove her to claim a mine near the Red Sea as her own. This became known as “Cleopatra’s mines,” and were the only source of emeralds for centuries. They have now been long exhausted, but Cleopatra’s uncompromising spirit lives on through Khepri.
I’ve long been obsessed with the Scarab beetle, the first insect known to navigate by star light. As the Milky Way twinkles overhead, these beetles chart their course in safe, straight lines, using constellations as their guide. How fitting that Khepri was the Scarab-faced God who ancient Egyptians revered as a token of renewal and creation. My jewelry reflects this sacred symbolism. The name Khepri means “to finally come into existence,” and I believe that no Khepri piece is truly finished until it reaches the hands of its owner..