Cords Jewellery Links Us To Cairo

Very rarely do we come across jewellery that strikes a chord among us. Sure, working at Scene means we get to see a lot of trends come and go, but not often do we find a brand or a project that really grabs our attention.

When we found Cords on Instagram, we were slightly hooked on their simplistic and clean designs. The brand was showcasing pendants and bangles that seemed pretty, glinting in silver and in gold – the accessories looked like they would complement the richest tan.

The brain behind Cords is Hassan Hegazy, who decided to bring to life his business just this past March. Noticing the large amount of people who were immigrating and leaving the country, he thought of creating jewellery that would somehow always link Egyptians to their hometown and each other –hence, Cords, which is a double meaning for the chords that links us together but also geographical coordinates, was born."Hegazy wanted to do something symbolic for people who were leaving, like a piece that can be worn any time and wherever you go. Everybody has dates that matter to them,’’ says Nour Mohamed, his partner.

The common numbers engraved on a majority of their pieces are geographical coordinates of Cairo. However, Cord also offers customisation for those who want to engrave their own significant dates. "We want this to be symbolic of our brand. It’s not mainstream – when someone wears it, we want it to be clear that it came from Cords and not just from anywhere,’’ explains Mohamed.

Right now, their pieces focus on pendants and bangles, but they’re planning on launching a ring collection shortly. Their creations, which Hegazy designs himself, are made out of copper but plated with silver and gold, although they might launch an un-plated collection in the future. 
What’s particularly impressive about CORD is the fact the fact that Hassan, who is 21 years old and still studying Advertisement at university, is running it with his twin brother Hussein. While Hassan takes care of making the jewellery and designing, Hussein is in charge of all the accounting and financial aspects.

"Hassan draws designs and puts the pieces together; for example, for the bangles, he gets the bars and carves the coordinates himself, although he started off completely on his own at first’’ says Mohamed. She also explains that Hassan is a huge fan of jewellery himself and had spent a long time making bead bracelets.

Another great thing about Cords is the fact that their works are truly unisex. The pendants carry geometric shapes like rectangles and triangles, making them perfectly suitable for either sex. "A lot of guys in Cairo are obsessed with jewellery but there aren’t enough designs for pendants for them,’’ Mohamed explains, asserting that pendants are gaining popularity.

She also shares the fact that Cords is not only keen on providing suitable jewellery but that, actually, 10 per cent of their sales always go to charity, namely Dar El Orman. Now we know exactly what we're getting our boyfriends for their birthdays.

You can find Cords' creations on their website and on Instagram.

All images were provided by CORDS.