ITÄ x Reinhold – Anhelo Earrings

We named this creation *Anhelo* for our island, a land of opportunities, eagerness and determination. The assignment, which came to us through our beloved Reinhold family along with the Puerto Rico Fashion History Council, was to be inspired by Puerto Rico as “The Pearl of the Caribbean”, and that was precisely the vision we took as inspiration: to create screens that encapsulated that appreciation for our identity.

From the beginning, we knew it would be a project of deep introspection. We wanted the pieces to be wearable but also convey sentiment through symbolism. The result was a pair of small screens made of 14-karat gold, from which dangle 8.5 mm freshwater pearls – a direct and poetic reference to our Caribbean nickname.

We wanted to pay homage to the *mundillo*, one of the most emblematic expressions of Puerto Rican national dress. We chose to incorporate a hand engraving of our national flower, the flor de maga. Why an engraving to recognize the *mundillo*? For me, the *mundillo* is like a textile engraving, a woven filigree. As our medium is metal, we decided to engrave the maga flower with meticulous attention to detail directly on the gold.

Finally, the edges of the screens are adorned with a pointillism pattern that refers to our Taino heritage. Many Taino and Arawak artifacts feature these small dots, and they are a recurring element in our brand’s visual language.

*Anhelo* is not just a design; it is a symbolic offering, a tribute to our history, culture and the beauty that flourishes in the everyday life of Puerto Rico.

Inés Capó, designer and founder of ITÄ (Puerto Rican fine jewelry brand founded in 2019).