Category: precious gems

Tomasz Donocik

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Award-winning fine jewellery designer Tomasz Donocik creates unique pieces that blur the boundaries between art and jewellery. Born in Poland and raised in Austria, Tomasz now lives and works in London where he founded his eponymous brand in 2008. Tomasz graduated with a BA from Central Saint Martins in London, followed by an MA in Goldsmithing, Silversmithing and Jewellery Making from the Royal College of Art in London. Immersed in these culturally rich surroundings, Tomasz has developed a life-long passion for art, film and literature, which continuously inspire his award-winning designs.

Text above from Tomasz Donocik’s ‘About Me‘ section on his website

Lovely jeweler with even lovelier designs.
This post a long time coming; the lilypad ring is something of a marvel and something that keeps the eyes busy. Donocik does a great job playing with color and geometry of stone shapes.
Here are a few of his stunning pieces I particularly like. His styles range from sharp geometric to ethereal nature pieces.

Shaun Leane

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British designer hailed for his work while at Alexander McQueen has been on my list of folks to write about for a bit.
I’ve eyed his hook/ sabre lines for a while but never quite got to writing or getting remotely close to jumping the gun on purchasing a piece. I don’t think these statement earrings work well with my style!

Anyways, always happy to see his pieces evolve over time. His newest creations on stackable transformative interlocking pieces really caught my eye.


More pictures than words with this post.
I love a good stackable ring and even more when stackable rings aren’t symmetrical and can be flipped up and down to make a different look!
I especially love set rings that look good by themselves in addition to with their set pair. I pass by only a few engagement sets on social media that do this very well (without the engagement wedding band being the commonly seen eternity bands- quite boring in my opinion). If I ever get married, I’d wish for an eye catching set that is a feast for eyes separate and together.
Shaun Leane has one such example: Ariana set.

Ariana Wedding band
Ariana Engagement ring
Ariana set

Again as most of my posts go:
$$$ – expensive!
Mixed metals, mixed stones but also lots of love for these pieces!

Gem Dior / Netali Nissim ; Chiara Ferragni

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Long time no post; and short post today.
Wanted to share a delectable piece I’ve been eyeing recently sported by the stunning Chiara Ferragni.
Those who don’t know who she is, look her up. In short, Italian entrepreneur who married singer Fedez (Federico Leonardo Lucia) with currently with two gorgeous children. Her road to infamy originated from her fashion blog https://theblondesalad.com/, known for her edgy street wear and street styling. The rest is history! She now has her own brand and partnerships with a multitude of luxury brands etc.

But I digress; back to the topic at hand. So as an avid follower of Chiara (and the Ferragni’s in general- their kids are so cute!) and with an eye for shiny things (of which Chiara is never sparse with), I’ve noticed a bracelet she’s been wearing that seemed vaguely familiar.
A gold cuff with diamonds in rectangular parallel pattern. I couldn’t quite place it, but knew I’ve seen it before while window shopping luxury brand bracelets. I remember when seeing it, my first impression was “edgy, chic, not everyone can pull off”. On Chiara however, it looks wonderful as a companion to all the other bracelets she wears and yet also a statement.
So I decided to find out just where to get this bracelet in the off chance its slightly affordable- though who am I kidding, I don’t think I’d purchase it anyways.
I make my morning latte, open my laptop to Google and open up tabs for all the luxury brands that I know sell fine jewelry pieces.

Gem Dior Bracelet/ WG & Diamonds

When I do find it on the Dior site, I nearly spit out my coffee at the price.
It’s $30,600 USD. Yes. You read right, thirty thousand dollars (and change). Let that fact marinate for a moment. That’s the price of a car…
Anyways, thought I would share that tiny tidbit.
I love Chiara and her style but can only dream of owning, and wearing such a piece on a daily basis.

My next feat is to search up where she got another bracelet from. Its similar to Cartier‘s bejeweled diamond LOVE bracelet but its not… it has emerald eye motifs. Dazzling to say the least. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a custom piece.

Netali Nissim/ YG, Diamonds, Emeralds

Update: 30mins later. I found the eye/love bracelet!
Brand/Jeweler: Netali Nissim
Their USA online boutique doesn’t have that exact one for sale (or a pave version) so I mused at this being a custom piece. However some more digging pointed me to another site that did carry the exact piece.
This Italian website sells the exact one that Chiara sports, so it looks like this isn’t a custom piece. Still gorgeous at a mind boggling 15,000 EUROS (~ $18,300 USD)
I coughed at the price, but barely. Pave is expensive… that much I know and this brand is not well known luxury brand.
Netali Nissim: on the brand as a whole features colorful gemstones with eye motifs. Def cute!

Yvonne Leon

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lovoI’ve been on the prowl for some new earrings. Naturally, I do some online window shopping the the jewelry section on Net-a-porter. Found the cutest solid gold, multi color stone crab earring by french jeweler Yvonne Leon.
Little is known about Leon save for her quirky designs that breathe life into precious metals.
Her website displays a multitude of designs; from sea creatures like lobsters and manta-rays to more abstract geometric designs. She certainly creates something for any woman at every age.
I particularly love her creations focused on ears. Pictures to follow.


A bit on the pricy side. I do wish some of her pieces were smaller (the crocodile in particular looks like it would cause sagging earlobes if I wore them everyday!

Super cute! Hope to one day own a piece for myself.

Stephen Webster

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StephenWebsterLogoA current artistic jeweler favorite is Stephen Webster. Words can only do so much to describe the splendor and amazement his pieces invoke in me. World renowned British jewelry designer Stephen Webster spins masterful pieces from a multitude of sources and materials. Each piece tells a story like no other and is unique alone as statement pieces worthy of conversation at any event. I personally would love to own a piece!
Each piece is a show stopper.

Feast your eyes on a few of my personal favorites:

Hammerhead shark bangles in solid gold +/- colorful gems would look great coupled with the simpler Cartier Love bangle.

Jeweled long finger lobster rings or his cuckoo bee or two piece jitterbug rings would be perfect for cocktail parties.

Elegant thorn drop earrings & many more look amazing for red carpet events.

Price: $$$$+++ (way way out of my budget)
Would love if he created a separate mini sterling silver collection for those of us who aren’t gazillionaires!

Currently Listening to:
Johnny Run Away
By: Tones & I

Kat Kim

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Threaders.
Pearls.
Put them together and you get the most gorgeous pearl ear threaders to adorn your lobes.
Kat Kim crafts something a little extra with her eye catching threaders that are both bold and demure.
kat kim logo
Piercings have been making a comeback as recent trends show. Quite a few brands are picking up on the trend and creating their own body jewelry/ piercing lines (much needed and undersaturated to be quite honest). It is often extremely hard to find quality piercing jewelry (non stainless steel/ plastic). As someone who is allergic basically all the alloy metals with the exception of gold/ platinum, I find it refreshing to increasingly be able to find quality piercing jewelry from upcoming brands that display some artistic flare.


Kat Kim does three things for me.

  1. Picks up and adds to the current modern pearl jewelry trend
  2. Provides piercing jewelry pieces for those of us who are bored of the normal diamond studs
  3. Meshes diamonds and metal lines in a beautiful minimalistic way

    Pictures for proof:

    ear pinear pin collectionthread pin earring

Need I say more?
Price Range: $$$
Bespoke: Yes
Custom Metals/ Stones: Yes

Note:
First post of 2019! I’ve made it one of my New years resolution to post more. I’ve got quite a bit of brands/ things I would like to share.
I will change it up a bit; I’ve noticed how I basically rave about all the jewelers/ brands in posts which can get boring and repetitive.
NEW CONTENT SOON!

PollyWales

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Poly WalesPolly Wales!
Keeping this post short and sweet ~ mostly self explanatory.
Mosaic of precious stones set in random display in solid gold.
Love the simple, elegant, and spontaneity in this haphazard design.
Price Scale: $$$$

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Candace Covelli

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Candace Covelli LogoCandace Covelli ~ company that designs luxury pill inspired jewelry.
A short but sweet little post. Because who doesn’t like pills?

14kt gold (all types) paved with the possibility of any and all types of precious jewels imaginable. Pricing is fitting for those with a Pharmacist salary 😉

Niche designs. Perfect for gifting (especially for those in the pharmaceutical industries).
Looking forward to more designs to come! (other pill types perhaps?)

 

Diaboli Kill

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Diaboli Kill logiNew year, new post right? Right?

Anyways, I have been waiting to post about this particular brand as I only really like one piece and have been patiently waiting for the designer to produce more designs. Needless to say, patience paid off.
Introducing Diaboli Kill, a New York brand founded by New York born  Egyptian- Dominican Angie Marei.

Diaboli Kill’s website boasts of designs as a ‘tie between sinister and sexy’, and this could not be closer to the truth.
I first fell in love the Damian Horn collection and lusted after their Damian Brevis Horn Ring in gold vermeil. Alas, my tiny hands would  not do this baby justice as statement jewelry is designed for larger longer fingered statement hands… (that I do not possess~ tiny short baby hands is what I have).

Newer lines like the Isadora have also caught my eye; colorful stones cohesively aggregated together with precious gold metals to adorn the ears are my new eye-candy.

Luxurious jewelry for the rich and famous. Like most my posts, way too expensive for a mere working girl like me to afford. Best to stare with awe and wonder in my eyes from afar… like way way far. Their Garnet Isadora ear cuff in 18k will set you back $6.6k. The infamous Damien Onyx Horn Ring in various vermeil/ silver / gold ranges from $395- $7,500 USD.

Pricey.

Daniela Villegas

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Daniela Villegas LogoDeep diving into one of a kind beauties in the world of fine jewelry. One artist of quite notable mention is Daniela Villegas.

This Los Angeles based designer uses only the best materials to create one of a kind works of art. Each piece stems from a love and appreciation of nature.

 


Alpaca Ring.jpegI’m not usually a fan of symbolic and close renditions of animals, but the sheer craftsmanship and attention to detail Villegas puts into her work is nothing but breathtaking.

However, don’t be too tempted to pour your soul out to own one of these beauties. Each piece is literally one of a kind with a sky high price tag.
(This gorgeous Alpaca ring on the left retails for about $25,000+ USD!)  This particular piece on the comes from her Peru collection inspired by the colors and culture of historical Machu Picchu. Handcrafted in 18k rose gold with a string of roughly 5 carats worth of multicolored sapphires, this ring sure is a sparkly stunner.
Incredible prices for incredible pieces. I think I’ll just look from a far… by that I mean really really far… definitely jewelry made for the luxurious.

Currently: work, work, working hard ~ but not on jewelry things….
Music: Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith