Olusola Awujoola: The Black Jeweller 

A watch often surpasses the mere task of telling time, just like a mobile phone extends beyond the basics of calls. For phones, the complexities lie in the interplay of operating software and hardware, while timepieces can be a mosaic of complications like moon phase, equation of time, tourbillon, or minute repeater. What changes is the technical design, the combination of different complications to create luxury items of refined craftsmanship, something Malivelihood founder, Olusola Awujoola, who is fondly called The Black Jeweller of Africa, is quite adept at, writes Lanre Alfred

In a bygone era, jewellers employed synthetic rubies and sapphires instead of real gems and set huge semi-precious stones into rings and necklace centrepieces. Then faux motifs became a thing, comprising fabric-like gold designs in the form of jewellery, mobile phone cases, watch straps, bows, knots, ribbons and tassels. The semiprecious stones also attained prominence and became a way to ornament most luxury items. Enter Olusola Awujoola.

Awujoola’s birth, 39 years ago, signalled the coming of a grand jeweller, crisp in the dazzle of his luxury renaissance. The luxury designer and founder of the multi-million naira designer company, Malivelihood Luxury, has sculpted, embellished, bejewelled and ennobled the finest timepieces, mobile phones, jewellery and other valuables, with diamonds and other gemstones for celebrities at home and abroad.

Fondly addressed as “Malivelihood,” Awujoola is the brain behind most of the designer gold-coated items owned by several celebrities. His fundamental reinvention of designer watch ornamentation glowers like an expensive and timeless art, especially his panoptic elevation of the horological craft as a Nigerian art with global appeal. His works have firmly established him as one of the greatest jewellers cum luxury artists of our time.

There is no gainsaying that Awujoola stands among the most influential Nigerian entrepreneurs, doubling as a prominent figure in the luxury merchandise industry with an estimated net worth of $30 million. He gained widespread recognition as a jeweller, renowned for his expertise in redesigning watches, jewellery, and phones, embellishing them with exquisite diamonds and pearls.

A creative force and artistic visionary, he has been anchoring breakthroughs in local and international luxury spaces, something very clearly exhibited in the intricate dazzle of his futuristic designs.

One aspect of Malivelihood’s appeal is that his designs mesh well with the luxury items he is contracted to embellish. This luxury fashion enthusiast comprising both the old and youthful, fashion-savvy collectors, who gravitate toward luxury jewellery patronises him.

Whether the luxury items are modern or futuristic, whether they are old or retrospective, leaning backwards to bold gold jewellery from other eras, such as the chunky gold jewellery from the ’80s, particularly hoops and chains, Awujoola emblazons them so well and expertly with his genius.

Awujoola notes and respects with careful detail each client’s appreciation and taste for the boldness or less delicate nature of the finest luxury brands.  Through his craft, he displays his understanding that each period has its unique charm; and that the styles of retro work, for instance, differ from the widest range of modern fashion trends for any time of day.

According to Black Jeweller, as he is fondly called, when he was asked how he started the business,

“Malivelihood started as an entertainment company. Formerly, known as Livelihood Entertainment which was an international music booking agency. We booked shows for Bad Boy Records, Def Jam and some other record

labels. However after spending a couple of years in the music industry in the US, I stepped into the luxury business which has always been a talent of mine. And with prayers and dedication, it’s been moving so well.”

There is no contest that Awujoola’s Malivelihood designs are the preferred choice of luxury connoisseurs. He brilliantly etches his insignia into luxury item ornamentation, material selection and decorative techniques, as well as the fashion styles and artistic movements of each decade.

Having appended his craft into a series of brands over the years, like a veteran master of time, he has impressed and won the respect of many jewellery makers, mobile phone brands and haute-horlogerie houses’ whose founders and managers enthuse about his ability to enrich their signature brands without ruining their historical significance and reputation.

If you ask, Awujoola would tell you that his method of bejeweling the greatest items coincides with and embellishes the phases of their social and scientific evolution, which allowed the owners to manufacture increasingly reliable products that were also in tune with changes in customs, social needs and aesthetic canons.

In selecting which brands are worthy of his craft, he looks for models that changed the history of luxury branding, introducing technical or style innovations. Another important criterion is the history and storytelling linked to a specific luxury item, and its relevance in a given historical moment, for specific icons and connoisseurs.

Often, a watch goes a lot further than simply telling the time and a phone goes a lot further than simply making or answering calls. With phones, complications such as operating software and hardware matters; with timepieces, complications such as moon phase, equation of time, tourbillon, or minute repeater, which were developed in the past, are still among the most interesting key features of modern high-end horology. What changes is the technical design, the combination of different complications to create mobile and timepieces of refined craftsmanship, Awujoola would tell you.

Diamonds and precious stones are prominent aspects of his designs. These are expertly used to reflect his understanding that the luxury trend of the 1990s and 2000s is defined through the use of precious stones on the dials and bezels, in combination with traditional materials such as platinum or white gold, but also new ones such as titanium and aluminium.

It’s amazing to contemplate what he accomplished in just over a decade, including how relevant his art has become for celebrities, aristocrats and the rich upper class.

Awujoola has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Masters degree in Global Management and LLM Commercial Law. He also attended a Luxury Branding and Jewellery-making training/course in New York.

He is married to Deola Smart, a lawyer and businesswoman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tuvia Mobile. She is also into the hair business.