At 24, Sofia Yulo has taken her family’s four-generation jewelry business and reset it for her generation, creating collections that blend inherited craftsmanship with contemporary storytelling.
There’s a jeweler’s term for taking an old piece and giving it new life: resetting. The stone remains the same, but it’s transformed to serve contemporary tastes. It’s a process that requires a balance of reverence for what came before and a vision for what could be.
At 24, emerging jewelry designer Sofia Yulo resets more than stones. As the founder of Sofia Yulo Fine Jewelry, or SYFJ, she’s resetting four generations of family legacy in the jewelry business, keeping the essential elements that have enabled them to endure while creating something entirely her own.
We met up for coffee a few days before her cover shoot. Even in the simplicity of a white shirt and black shorts, there’s a cool sophistication to how she wears and layers her jewelry. She stacks rings across her fingers, with a chain-ring bracelet that adds an edge. But I’m particularly drawn to the necklace she is wearing, geometric yet organic.
When I ask about it, her face brightens up. Sofia explains that it is a piece she inherited from her Lola, but adds that the heirloom inspired one of her own SYFJ designs. As the interview unfolds, I ask her about other pieces she has inherited, pieces that have shaped her aesthetic sensibilities, as well as pieces from her own brand. I suggest that she bring some to the shoot, curious to see that visual dialogue of past and present speaking to each other in her work.
Collection Notes: “The Origin”
Three pieces. That’s how Sofia chose to introduce herself to the world as a designer. She launched SYFJ with three pieces that captured elements close to her heart: personal meaning, family heritage, and faith. “The Origin Collection” found its center through shared birthstones of herself, her mother, and her niece, with the pieces named after them. The opal’s natural play of color, from blues, greens, and golds, became the perfect metaphor.
“I just really wanted it to feel like me, something that I’m comfortable putting out there,” Sofia reflects about her debut collection. “And I knew I wanted to incorporate faith in my designs.” She pauses for an honest and candid reflection on jewelry. “It can be a lot of high-ticket items. I wanted to highlight the purpose of it all. It can be quite sentimental.”
The Clara Earrings were delicate and feminine. The Maria Pendant merged faith with family through its cross design adorned with opals. But it was the Tri-Medal Necklace, three medals that seemed to dance together, and inspired by an heirloom piece, that became their best seller.
Four Generations Of Trust
While SYFJ was launched in November 2024, the story goes back generations, before the Second World War. Sofia’s great-grandmother started dealing in jewelry in Iloilo, sourcing pieces from suppliers, reselling them, and building a modest business. Then the war came.
“She buried those items [jewelry],” Sofia recounts the story that has been passed down through generations. “It’s kind of crazy. I mean, things were crazy during the war, and after.”
What happened next became the foundation of everything that followed. “I don’t think her supplier expected her to return those items, but she did,” Sofia continues. “Out of integrity. And ever since then, they have built a strong relationship.”
The business was passed down to Sofia’s grandmother, Lola Cecilia, who found herself needing to support two sons as a young widow. By then, the family was in Bacolod when the sugar crisis hit the region. In those difficult circumstances, Lola Cecilia took a cue from her mother and recognized how possessions such as jewelry were financial lifelines during economic hardship. She gathered the jewelry of friends and neighbors, brought them to Manila to find buyers, and returned to Bacolod to return what was due.
“She was very resourceful,” Sofia adds, pride in her voice.
This resourcefulness and integrity passed through to Sofia’s mother, who joined the family business. Each generation adapted to its circumstances while maintaining that core principle that sustained them: relationships built on honesty and trust.
Collection Notes: “The Grandmothers”
While Lola Cecilia represented the business side of Sofia’s jewelry inheritance, on her other side, Lola Amparo introduced a different perspective, that of the passionate collector. “It’s actually funny,” Sofia starts, “So my grandmother, who’s in jewelry (Lola Cecilia), she didn’t really like to wear it. It’s my other grandmother [Lola Amparo] who was a collector. She loved it!”
Shortly after Sofia released her first collection, Lola Amparo passed away. That inheritance of sensibilities from both sides of her family, merged in her, sparked Sofia’s second collection, a tribute to both women who had shaped her understanding of what jewelry means. Two pieces emerged.
For the Cecilia Earrings, Sofia chose to play with her Lola’s favorite earring style: rositas. The traditional design of small, floral appearances became contemporary ear crawlers, maintaining that feminine essence with a modern edge.
Meanwhile, the Amparo Necklace drew directly from the piece Sofia inherited and wore to our coffee meeting. It’s a gold collar with geometric elements hanging that still reads modern. Sofia played with the architectural boldness to create something that honored her Lola’s aesthetic.
“I relate to her a lot. She [Lola Amparo] was very out there [with her jewelry]. It’s a lot of fun, funky pieces,” Sofia admits. “I think that’s where I get it from.”
Read the full story in our October 2025 e-magazine by subscribing to Lifestyle Asia’s digital access and purchasing your copy at Readly.
Cover photo: Dress, LESPOIR STUDIO from FIELD THEORY; Shoes, ALEXIE NETHERCOTT; Jewelry, SOFIA YULO FINE JEWELRY, and her own collection
Photography by Gab Villareal Assisted by John Mark Avincula
Creative Direction Paolo Torio
Stylist Quayn Pedroso
Makeup Apple Faraon Hairstylist Sherwin Amodio
Associate Producer Mae Talaid
Shot on location Kasa Palma, Makati
