Face S necklace

The Face series belongs to the Rising Up! collection, and the name says it all: getting back up. It was born of a difficult personal moment, of the need for certain things to be reborn and to face them head-on. Get up and face it, because that is the only way forward. Hence Face: to face things. Behind it all is "Be Still" by The Killers, which Maite was listening to at the time.

The simple necklace carries on the sense of play that runs through the whole series, but in a subtler key. The little shells are simple, small and delicate, and together they look like tiny bubbles. For Maite, the bubble is a metaphor for the bubbles in your stomach that rise up to your throat, seen from their playful side: the side of being alive.

This is the small version, the S. It is short on purpose, thirty centimetres, so that the piece sits high and can be seen. In a series that speaks of facing things, hiding the piece beneath a neckline would have made little sense.

Enamelling a curved surface brings an added challenge: the drop tends to slide down and pool on the inside. Here the aim was quite the opposite, for the piece to be enamelled evenly across every level, so that you read its volume rather than the weight of the colour.

Each one is cold-enamelled by hand, one at a time, which is why the series comes scattered with colours rather than in a single shade.

It is made on Calle Alameda, in the Barrio de las Letras, in a workshop you are welcome to visit. If you come by, you will probably see the next one taking shape.

Being short, it works with an open collar, with a shirt and over a fine jumper. Wear it on its own or with a longer necklace beneath. You can even pair it with other simple chains in different lengths. The three colours are designed to mix with the rest of Face: ring, earrings, bracelet and brooch.

The hypoallergenic coating protects the piece from contact with skin and perfume. Keep it dry and stored separately, and avoid putting on fragrance while wearing it. With normal wear and this care, the gold plating lasts for years.