Jenana Huseynagic Batkitar: Strength and Vulnerability in Every ZEYZER Jewelry Piece
Do you believe that jewelry can change not only a woman’s appearance but also her worldview?
Absolutely. The right piece is armor and signature, story and voice. It helps a woman feel herself, reclaim inner strength. It’s not about external beauty; it’s about inner confidence. I see it every day — when a woman puts on a piece, her attitude toward herself changes. It’s magic I want to give.
When was the last time you gifted yourself a piece without occasion?
Last year, when I completed the first ZEYZER collection. I made a custom ring for myself — it was my way of saying: “You did it. You walked the path and stayed true to yourself.” For me, it was a moment of celebrating my own strength.
If you could leave one piece to your daughters — what would it be and why?
Without a doubt — the Fleur-de-Lis bracelet. It’s my beginning, my dream, and my strength embodied in one piece. I want my daughters to wear it and remember that each of them is a queen of her own life, carrying a legacy of strength and beauty.
Do you have a personal ritual before important moments?
Yes, I always pause, take a deep breath, and remind myself why I started this path. Then I put on ZEYZER jewelry — it’s like entering my personal space of strength and harmony. It helps me focus and feel my own support.
Absolutely. The right piece is armor and signature, story and voice. It helps a woman feel herself, reclaim inner strength. It’s not about external beauty; it’s about inner confidence. I see it every day — when a woman puts on a piece, her attitude toward herself changes. It’s magic I want to give.
When was the last time you gifted yourself a piece without occasion?
Last year, when I completed the first ZEYZER collection. I made a custom ring for myself — it was my way of saying: “You did it. You walked the path and stayed true to yourself.” For me, it was a moment of celebrating my own strength.
If you could leave one piece to your daughters — what would it be and why?
Without a doubt — the Fleur-de-Lis bracelet. It’s my beginning, my dream, and my strength embodied in one piece. I want my daughters to wear it and remember that each of them is a queen of her own life, carrying a legacy of strength and beauty.
Do you have a personal ritual before important moments?
Yes, I always pause, take a deep breath, and remind myself why I started this path. Then I put on ZEYZER jewelry — it’s like entering my personal space of strength and harmony. It helps me focus and feel my own support.
Yes, and I will never forget it. One woman shared that she wore ZEYZER jewelry during a period of deep personal transformation. She wore it daily as a reminder of her own worth. She said, “It’s more than jewelry. It’s a daily proof that I am worth gold.” These words live in me still. And it’s for moments like these that I create.
How do you manage to combine creativity with the demands of running a business? It’s not always easy — creativity and business often exist in different realms.
It has always been a challenge for me, but I learn every day. The most important thing is to stay connected to the reason why I started. Business shouldn’t drown out art; it should support and develop it. I protect my creative energy like the most precious gold, not allowing routines and bureaucracy to exhaust it. I create structures and processes that serve my art, not the other way around. When the business works for you, and not you for the business — that’s true balance.
You work between two major cities — Istanbul and Chicago. How does this reflect on you and your brand?
These two cities are like two worlds shaping my vision. Istanbul is history, soul, tradition, depth. It taught me to value roots and honor heritage. Chicago is modernity, ambition, and global scale. There, I feel movement, scale, and speed. The combination of these two cities in my life and in ZEYZER reflects the brand’s duality — eternity and modernity at once. It’s like yin and yang living in every piece.
How do you manage to combine creativity with the demands of running a business? It’s not always easy — creativity and business often exist in different realms.
It has always been a challenge for me, but I learn every day. The most important thing is to stay connected to the reason why I started. Business shouldn’t drown out art; it should support and develop it. I protect my creative energy like the most precious gold, not allowing routines and bureaucracy to exhaust it. I create structures and processes that serve my art, not the other way around. When the business works for you, and not you for the business — that’s true balance.
You work between two major cities — Istanbul and Chicago. How does this reflect on you and your brand?
These two cities are like two worlds shaping my vision. Istanbul is history, soul, tradition, depth. It taught me to value roots and honor heritage. Chicago is modernity, ambition, and global scale. There, I feel movement, scale, and speed. The combination of these two cities in my life and in ZEYZER reflects the brand’s duality — eternity and modernity at once. It’s like yin and yang living in every piece.
What is luxury for you? Is it a feeling, freedom, or a state of mind?
Luxury is a state of self-respect. It’s not about cost or brands. It’s about how something makes you feel. It’s harmony, freedom, and confidence in yourself. That’s what I put into ZEYZER — elegance with soul.
When you create jewelry for others, you discover something new about yourself. What have you discovered through ZEYZER?
I discovered that my strength lies in vulnerability. I learned to transform emotions into beauty. I realized that my voice matters, that my experiences can inspire others. ZEYZER helped me find not only a purpose but true strength.
Luxury is a state of self-respect. It’s not about cost or brands. It’s about how something makes you feel. It’s harmony, freedom, and confidence in yourself. That’s what I put into ZEYZER — elegance with soul.
When you create jewelry for others, you discover something new about yourself. What have you discovered through ZEYZER?
I discovered that my strength lies in vulnerability. I learned to transform emotions into beauty. I realized that my voice matters, that my experiences can inspire others. ZEYZER helped me find not only a purpose but true strength.
Have there been moments when you wanted to quit everything? What kept you going during those times?
There have been moments, more than once. When balancing family, my own expectations, and fatigue, sometimes it felt like too much. But I was held by the memory of the goal. This brand is the result of love, fire, and faith. I couldn’t betray that, I couldn’t give up my dream. In the darkest moments, I returned to those first feelings when I created the first Fleur-de-Lis bracelet — and it gave me strength to move on.
What is your boldest business dream today?
I want ZEYZER to be in iconic luxury stores worldwide — from New York to Tokyo. But for me, it’s not just about expanding sales, but about women who wear my jewelry seeing part of themselves in it. That each piece becomes a symbol of their story, strength, and femininity. It won’t just be a brand — it will be a community of women united by strength and beauty.
Where do you see ZEYZER in five years?
I see a brand that has become a global leader in luxury jewelry with strong emotional roots. Flagship stores in Istanbul and New York, heirloom collections passed from mother to daughter. ZEYZER will be a brand that not only sells jewelry but gives legacy and meaning that lives through generations.
There have been moments, more than once. When balancing family, my own expectations, and fatigue, sometimes it felt like too much. But I was held by the memory of the goal. This brand is the result of love, fire, and faith. I couldn’t betray that, I couldn’t give up my dream. In the darkest moments, I returned to those first feelings when I created the first Fleur-de-Lis bracelet — and it gave me strength to move on.
What is your boldest business dream today?
I want ZEYZER to be in iconic luxury stores worldwide — from New York to Tokyo. But for me, it’s not just about expanding sales, but about women who wear my jewelry seeing part of themselves in it. That each piece becomes a symbol of their story, strength, and femininity. It won’t just be a brand — it will be a community of women united by strength and beauty.
Where do you see ZEYZER in five years?
I see a brand that has become a global leader in luxury jewelry with strong emotional roots. Flagship stores in Istanbul and New York, heirloom collections passed from mother to daughter. ZEYZER will be a brand that not only sells jewelry but gives legacy and meaning that lives through generations.
If you were to create a piece for an icon — Beyoncé, Audrey Hepburn, or your mother — who would you choose?
Without hesitation, I’d choose my mother. Although I admire Audrey’s refinement and Beyoncé’s strength, my mother is the highest form of timeless femininity for me. Her elegance, silent sacrifice, her resilience without loud words — that shaped my inner ideal. She is the reason I believe in feminine strength, tenderness, and dignity.
What emotions does a woman feel when wearing ZEYZER jewelry? What experience do you put into it?
She feels seen — not just externally but deeper. She feels her story is noticed and valued. My jewelry is about presence. They seem to say: “I am here, I am real, I matter.” For a woman, it’s not just a piece of jewelry — it’s part of her personality, her body, her voice. It’s something that doesn’t need explaining because it’s felt by the heart.
Has a client’s feedback particularly touched you?
Without hesitation, I’d choose my mother. Although I admire Audrey’s refinement and Beyoncé’s strength, my mother is the highest form of timeless femininity for me. Her elegance, silent sacrifice, her resilience without loud words — that shaped my inner ideal. She is the reason I believe in feminine strength, tenderness, and dignity.
What emotions does a woman feel when wearing ZEYZER jewelry? What experience do you put into it?
She feels seen — not just externally but deeper. She feels her story is noticed and valued. My jewelry is about presence. They seem to say: “I am here, I am real, I matter.” For a woman, it’s not just a piece of jewelry — it’s part of her personality, her body, her voice. It’s something that doesn’t need explaining because it’s felt by the heart.
Has a client’s feedback particularly touched you?
Describe your ideal creative day. What does the process look like?
It’s a day when I plan nothing, but everything happens organically. When I don’t control the process but follow it. I come to the workshop, listen to music, touch materials, look at sketches — and suddenly something happens. I don’t create — I discover. These days are the most valuable. I don’t feel like an “artist,” I feel like a conduit of something already existing in metal, stone, form — just waiting to be freed.
It’s a day when I plan nothing, but everything happens organically. When I don’t control the process but follow it. I come to the workshop, listen to music, touch materials, look at sketches — and suddenly something happens. I don’t create — I discover. These days are the most valuable. I don’t feel like an “artist,” I feel like a conduit of something already existing in metal, stone, form — just waiting to be freed.
Do you see yourself more as a designer or as a visionary who “feels” the piece before it is created?
I am both. When I work on a collection for ZEYZER, I know exactly the woman I imagine — her spirit, style, and inner world. She is a global woman who carries strength with dignity. But when I create custom pieces, I fully tune into the client. I catch her mood, her story, her essence. It’s always intuitive. The piece already seems to exist — I just help it be born.
What shapes your signature style? Is it boldness, femininity, or something deeper?
My style reflects the quiet kingdom every woman carries inside. It’s not about fashion or the exterior — it’s about inner knowledge. I see a woman as a queen in a broad sense — not as an outward image but as an inner state. My designs aim to bring that strength out, to give it form, voice, and gold.
I am both. When I work on a collection for ZEYZER, I know exactly the woman I imagine — her spirit, style, and inner world. She is a global woman who carries strength with dignity. But when I create custom pieces, I fully tune into the client. I catch her mood, her story, her essence. It’s always intuitive. The piece already seems to exist — I just help it be born.
What shapes your signature style? Is it boldness, femininity, or something deeper?
My style reflects the quiet kingdom every woman carries inside. It’s not about fashion or the exterior — it’s about inner knowledge. I see a woman as a queen in a broad sense — not as an outward image but as an inner state. My designs aim to bring that strength out, to give it form, voice, and gold.
Click "Block Editor" to enter the edit mode. Use layers, shapes and custoHer name sounds soft but confident. Her jewelry is elegant yet with an edge. Jenana Huseynagic Batkitar — designer and founder of the jewelry brand ZEYZER — transforms gold and stones into emotions, experience, and strength. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a master’s degree in economics, she swapped the precision of numbers for the language of sparkle. In this heartfelt interview, Jenana talks about the moment when jewelry became her calling, how the brand was born, the power of intuition, femininity, and the invisible inner voice that guides her through creativity and business.
mize adaptability. Everything is in your hands.
mize adaptability. Everything is in your hands.
