The Miladay Collection at the Negros Museum

THE famous Dayrit siblings came to Bacolod in full force last January 5. Well…almost. Present were Yvonne Dayrit-Romualdez, Michelle Dayrit-Soliven, Christine Dayrit, and Mark Dayrit.

But not having Jackie Dayrit-Boncan at the one-day exhibition and sale didn’t diminish the brilliance of the large collection of breathtakingly beautiful diamond jewelry at the Phinma Gallery of The Negros Museum.

The graceful set-up was arranged by Miladay Jewel’s uber-talented Creative Consultant Mike Mina who does every creative work in the company, except design jewelry.

Display cases were brought in to show off the arresting pieces meant to capture the hearts of Negrense women.

The Turkish Collection was in predominantly 14-carat yellow gold and included large, clear quartz stones that served as a canvas for delicate gold filigree encasing their tables (the flat tops of the stones).

The Luna Dea Collection was made up of South Sea pearls in milky white, black and champagne. Colored sapphire pieces became part of the Enchante Collection for these were truly enchanting and eye-catching and guaranteed to melt the heart of a lady.

For women with an eye for the dramatic, there’s the Black and White Collection that mixed black and white diamonds. One particular set I beheld had a broad piece of onyx as a backdrop for icy white diamonds. Very mesmerizing.

The Diamonds are Forever Collection has a full-range collection of diamond jewelry from the smallest (0.01) to 3 carats which calls to mind the Dayrit siblings’ mother, the late Mila Salgado-Dayrit who said that it was a dream of hers to have Filipinos own a piece of jewelry by Miladay no matter how small.

Belle d’Automne is perfect for a girl who has a preference for diamonds in colors other than white. The designs played with naturally-colored diamonds in earth tones – browns, yellows, cognac. I was inspecting the cognac set when gamine-faced Michelle Dayrit-Soliven suddenly appeared beside me and showed off a huge stone on her finger.

“This is cognac!” she exclaimed with an excited smile on her face like a little girl showing me her doll.

For someone who grew up surrounded with jewelry, another ring is probably just another ring. But I could see genuine affection for the wares that made her family’s company one of the most trusted brands in the country as listed by Reader’s Digest in 2006 and 2007.

Surrounding Michelle’s neck was a cool choker of white and cognac diamonds that dipped in the center into a chandelier of light yellows and crystal-clear whites. Such splendor that I was not used to caused me to exclaim, “Mere mortals can only look, but goddesses wear them.”

There’s something about diamonds that bring out the best features in a woman. However, the stones should be of fine quality and mounted on an elegant setting because badly cut or designed diamond jewelry can diminish rather than enhance an otherwise pretty face.

Just like the fine pieces of jewelry that Miladay Jewels is famous for, brand ambassador Karylle personifies elegance and intelligence. Mike Mina said that the young singer-actress was chosen to represent the 46-year-old company because of her values. The Dayrit siblings were taught the value of honesty, integrity and reliability by their parents Mila and Vincent Dayrit.

Award-winning jewelry by Miladay Jewels have always been a favorite of Negrenses with money to burn. Each piece is crafted expertly by seasoned jewelry makers so that the woman wearing it can wear it with pride. So that the generations to come can wear it forever.