My Way Home
27.11.2024
6 min read
Repat Story
Love for Armenia Born from Family: The Nush Enamel Jewelry Story
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Nune Malakyan is one of my heroes with a personal story to share. I often spotted her, her husband, Artem Tatevosyan, and their two kids during my strolls along Mesrop Mashtots Avenue. Yerevan is that kind of city - full of familiar strangers. I later had the chance to get to know Artem (see our interview), but it was Nune’s jewelry that first caught my eye. Among my favorite silver pieces is a hot enamel ring I wear almost every day.
Nune is an ophthalmologist by profession. After graduating from medical university in Yerevan, she moved to Moscow to continue her education. There, she completed her residency, earned a PhD, and worked at the M.M. Krasnov Research Institute of Eye Diseases.
While in Moscow, she got married, had two kids, and, in 2012, she and her family moved back to Yerevan.
Considering the Move Back
“We didn’t think about it for too long. In about two months, we made our decision. By then, my husband and I had achieved everything we set out to do in Russia. It’s important to understand the reason for leaving. If it’s out of desperation, that’s one thing. But when you leave with a clear purpose – for education or career growth, for example – it’s different. I had achieved my goals as a doctor, earned my degree, and Artem had built his business. We reached a point where we asked ourselves: Why stay here? We already had two kids, and our eldest was about to start school. We made this decision with their future in mind. If we stayed in Moscow, their entire life would be tied to it. We’d be making the decisions for them. Moving to Armenia meant they could later choose whether to live here or in Russia,” Nune explains.
She admits that the question of identity weighed heavily on her. “What would our kids feel growing up? They wouldn’t fully identify as Armenian or Russian. And that kind of rootlessness is a sad thing for anyone, especially your own child.”
Nune and Artem chose to give their children a chance to grow up connected to their Armenian roots and on their homeland’s soil.
A Book Gifted by Husband and a New Career
After returning to Yerevan, Nune worked briefly as a doctor while preparing for maternity leave – expecting their third child. She soon realized that working as a doctor in Yerevan was very different from Moscow. In Moscow, her work focused on medicine in a public clinic. In Yerevan, she had to juggle patient care with the financial interests of a private clinic, which made her consider a career shift.
During her maternity leave, she recalled a dream she had back in Moscow.
“It’s quite a romantic story. When we were living in Moscow, my husband gifted me a book about Armenian ornaments. It was a beautiful, old book. I dove into it, looking at these designs and thinking: Is this really ours? How did I not know this? How could we hide something so beautiful? The idea came instantly. I wanted to bring these ornaments back to life, for people to wear and appreciate. But I wanted to add color, as the designs in the book were black and white and looked lifeless. That’s when I thought about making jewelry. But I didn’t have the chance to pursue it. When we moved back to Yerevan and I was pregnant and decided to leave medicine, I remembered that book,” Nune recalls.
In 2013, Nush Enamel Jewelry began to take shape.

The first two years were more about learning and experimenting than actual work. “I remember sketching the ornaments on paper and walking to the gold market. I wandered through the corridors and ended up at the first stall I saw. There were older men and younger guys sitting there. I showed them my sketches and said I wanted to make jewelry and needed someone to teach me. Everyone pointed me to the oldest man. Uncle Lyova became my first mentor. He taught me the basics, starting with wax modeling. . Eventually, I realized that these designs could be done digitally, so I learned that too and found someone who could help with casting. The hardest part was working with hot enamel. Very few people in Armenia work with it; most use cold enamel,” Nune explains.
Experimenting with Hot Enamel
Cold enamel is a high-quality paint, while hot enamel involves a special glass powder that melts onto silver at temperatures up to 1000 degrees. It is a slow, meticulous process, but the result is lasting and stunning.
“This technique is more than 3,000 years old and was once practiced in our region. For example, hot enamel work survived in Georgia, but it faded here. I wanted to revive it in Armenia. Plus, I felt these ornaments deserved the best technique. Hot enamel is a novelty in silver jewelry here; you won’t find much of it on the market. I taught myself how to do it, with a little help from friends,” she says.
In the beginning, Nune did everything herself. Now she has a large team of specialists, but she’s still the only one working with enamel. “I spent a long time learning how to ‘speak’ with the kiln, and I haven’t figured out how to teach that to someone else yet,” she laughs.
The aim of Nush Enamel was to transform traditional Armenian ornaments and give them a second life as modern, vibrant jewelry. In a market filled with purely Armenian-style silver pieces, Nune wanted to create something more universal that could appeal to a broader audience, including women and girls from abroad.

Love for Homeland Starts with Family
As Nune’s jewelry business grew, she found herself growing, too.
“Moscow is a tough city; life there runs on autopilot. In Yerevan, I began to feel my life again. My new work has brought out a more feminine side of myself. It slowed me down. I don’t rush anymore. I walk to work, soak in inspiration, and pour all that energy into my jewelry. It’s changed me. I’ve become more complete – just like my jewelry has become more complete,” she reflects.
"It’s no coincidence that our homeland is Armenia, Nuné is sure. And if the opportunity to live here arises, it’s something you should absolutely seize."
“Armenia is the place that shaped me, shaped my values. Moscow polished me professionally, but none of that would have happened if Armenia hadn’t formed me first. My husband and I owe everything to Armenia. Two of our children were born here.”
“For me, love for your homeland starts with family. It’s a very feminine story.”
By Nare Bejanyan
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