In time for Mother’s Day, I stumbled upon the Kalachuchi Collection designed by Lucy Torres-Gomez for Jul B. Dizon.
The jewelry pieces feature the kalachuchi, the official flower of Ormoc City, Leyte: Lucy’s hometown. In Ormoc, the kalachuchi is synonymous with warmth, hospitality, and welcoming.
You can tell what kind of mother Lucy is from the collection. The handcrafted words feature the kalachuchi in mother of pearl, 18k yellow, rose and white gold, and adorned with diamonds and aquamarines, March’s birthstone.
“The kalachuchi is something I’ve always been fascinated with. Big kalachuchi trees with lush blooms were all over my Lola Carmen’s house in Cebu, where we would spend our summer vacations,” Lucy recalls. “We would tuck it behind one ear during playtime, or string and wear them as leis. Incidentally, when Richard became Mayor of Ormoc, we discovered that the Kalachuchi was its official flower and that it symbolizes not just beauty but also resilience, for it takes a lot for the flower to even catch fire and start burning.”
Lucy’s daughter, Juliana further offered me a glimpse of Lucy’s mind. She says the one advice she’ll keep from her mom is this: Trust God’s plan, everything will always fall into place.
Juliana says that she admires her mom’s strength and patience. “I am also in awe of how she can be so beautiful on the outside as well on the inside.” It relates to how Lucy is also much like a kalachuchi flower: a bloom which can withstand extreme heat yet still beautiful and fragrant.
No wonder Juliana says to Lucy on her mother’s day message. “You are everything I want to be when I grow up. I love you with all my heart.”
