Jelena Dokic x Kailis Jewellery
We were delighted to recently welcome brand ambassador Jelena Dokic into our flagship boutique in Raine Square.
The retired tennis player and champion of women around the world sat down with us to discuss her resilience and positivity, her love of pearls and her partnership with Kailis.
She opened up about how it feels to be an inspiration to so many women around the world in this day and age.
Kailis Jewellery: Jelena, you are an inspiration to so many. How does it feel to be a role model for women?
Jelena Dokic: I really embrace it. With great honour and privilege comes responsibility and pressure, in the best of ways. I feel very grateful this is what I get to do. There is sometimes a lot that we can go through in life, adversity, hardship and challenges. I am the happiest person in the world because I know how much it means to have that and at least have that one person believe in you or tell you something positive and hopeful, especially when you’re going through something. It can change your whole world.
KJ: Have you always loved pearls?
JD: I have. Actually, my first big jewellery purchase was pearls. They were pearl earrings with a little diamond, and I also got the matching pearl necklace with a little diamond. I wore it while I was playing and that was my big purchase. I will never forget it. That was in New York.
KJ: It is an emotional purchase and you really feel the power in that moment. The beauty of selecting a pearl and what that means.
JD: Pearls remind me of Audrey Hepburn. I love that look, there’s something just so understated. It speaks to elegance and glamour and gracefulness.
KJ: Pearls are very personal, they are close to your heart. You tried on a strand earlier, so you know you can feel when you put it on, the weight and the coolness of it, but then suddenly it connects with your body and you can’t feel that anymore. It is magical.
JD: Absolutely. I think a pearl is special to get for a present – for yourself or even for someone else. It is something that stays with you and that you can even pass on. So I find that very special.
KJ: Gorgeous. As you know, each pearl is completely unique, just like their wearer, and often people are drawn to a particular style or pearl. It might be that they choose the same design as someone else, but only one unique pearl speaks to them. What led you to your choice today?
JD: As we know the Angelic Earrings Rose were the first Kailis piece I wore. It’s just so, so special every single time I’ve put on these Kailis earrings and pearls. I feel like everything else falls behind. I’m not sure that a lot of people know that Australian South Sea pearls are actually untouched. Nothing is done to them when they come out of that shell. That’s what you get. Every single one is maybe a little bit of a different shape. It’s something special that connects you to nature as well. It takes two years for a pearl of develop. And that’s amazing. And you get something out of that kind of natural environment that hasn’t been touched and is just the sea and nature. I love it.
KJ: Our founder, Dr Patricia Kailis, once said that pearls are made by living organisms. They have a unique beauty, glow and feel. They represent love, virtue and beauty. They impart a special feeling – it’s called the Power of the Pearls.
JD: I like that you can wear them for a very special event or a black tie event and I can actually wear that same earrings or ring for something that’s a little bit less formal. Even as an everyday thing.
KJ: Absolutely. You look around any restaurant or any cafe and you see the most incredible pearls and jewellery, and Australians love their pearls. Once you get to know about pearls and you look around you think, Oh my goodness everybody’s wearing pearls and we just cherish them so much.
JD: I think pearls fit my personality as well, because there is something soft about them and I like to think of myself as someone who has been through hardship and adversity, and does have resilience and does have courage as well. I look at myself as being a fighter, and not giving up on life and whether it was on the tennis court or whatever I do. But, at the same time, I think on the inside I’m quite a softie. My core values are to be a good person and have a good heart. I really work on that and want to be that every singly day. I always say, go into it with a good heart and then you know you’ve done the right thing regardless, and then treat the next person with kindness.
KJ: So beautiful. Dare I ask this question because I really think that you are going to struggle. What is your favourite Kailis piece?
JD: The Keystone Earrings, yes. I mean, I love everything, and whenever I see something I go, I love that. But, I have to go with the Keystone Earrings. I wore them this morning and they are magnificent. They have got everything. The pearls, but they also have the diamonds and they have that softness, because they are such an extravagant piece. They are so beautiful and have lovely articulation.
KJ: Yes, they move with you. Are in tune with you.
JD: Yes, exactly, I love that. But I love even the simplest of earrings because I wear them for every day and I know I can still wear them to a dressier event, but I can also go to something in the daytime. I can just go from day to night. But, the Keystone Earrings? Watch out for those. I’m taking those. [laughs]
KJ: We showed you a strand earlier on and we feel like it’s a carrier of memories, a carrier of each special moment that it’s worn in. It takes all of that love and heart with you, and you carry that with you for the rest of your days. That’s all part of owning and cherishing and wearing a piece. We say it’s the last thing on in the morning and the first thing off in the evening to take care of it, but make sure to wear your pearls. They don’t deserve to be in the dark. They need to be out and worn and for everyone to love and appreciate them as you do.
JD: We started working together just over 12 months ago and I actually do like to wear jewellery and we do it a lot with events and TV commitments and different shoots and the like. But I have to say I have never worn jewellery, and especially earrings, as much as I have in the last 12 months and that is because of Kailis. I sometimes run my daily errands and I just go, ‘I’m going to put them on’, and I don’t have makeup on, I don’t have my hair done, I might have a dress on and heels or even casual shoes. But I would want to put on the earrings. It makes you feel good. It makes you feel you.
JD: I have become attached to every single piece I have worn. There is something special about it. So now I feel like it’s a part of me. It’s a part of what I do. It leaves a lasting impression. It is the beauty of the pearl.
KJ: It is the beauty of the pearl for sure. Well, that’s it. Thank you so much. You are so generous with your time.
