Tag: gold

Loquet

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Stumbled upon this very cute brand called LOQUET.

Very Short post on a very cute concept of integrating teeny tiny personalized pieces of precious gems and metals to represent oneself. Its all about the personalization in this day and age. LOQUET puts a play on traditional lockets that depict something special and dear to oneself. Love the idea, but personally would not buy for myself. (I would be too self conscious of accidentally being a spazz and knocking the glass locket on some thing or other and breaking the delicate pieces to splay all the tiny expensive LOQUET insides to the wide wide world.)

lockets-nyc

Great gift idea for those who love collecting tiny puzzle pieces!

Kim Mee Hye

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Long time no post! I figured I’d write a post while I’m good and tipsy on a few glasses of Sauvignon Blanc after a long work week. My boss has been out of the office and certain things have come to light, so I have been working hard… or hardly working? You get the gist; that is all I’ll delve into.

Logo
Now onto the topic at hand. Introducing Kim Mee Hye: Korean jeweler based in Antwerp, Belgium.
“By integrating extraordinary sophisticated and invisible mechanisms into her pieces, Kim Mee Hye creates jewellery that includes more than one single message.  The variable geometry shapes can either be worn casually or in more sophisticated ways. Kim Mee Hye create pieces with hidden messages, implying they can be shown or simply not.”
Very beautifully stated (taken from the profile section of her website). I just love jewelers who create works of art in precious metals/gems to convey different meanings!


bijoux-537x350What caught my eye for the most part was Kim Mee Hye’s handcuff series! The handcuff
engagement ring and bracelet are ironic and very much speaks to those who embrace the comedic and often joked about locked- downness (pretty sure that’s not a real word) to marriage and their significant other! Definitely tongue in cheek!

The new trends focus on rotating and customization of jewelry. I actually really love this idea and the mechanisms jewelers are coming up with in executing various different types of look using hinge plus locking methods in single pieced jewelry. Kim Mee Hye isn’t the first I’ve seen using the hinge method and I’m not sure who came up with it first- recent jewelry from Vita Fede also features hinged rings studded with crystals for various different looks and feels. My only teeny tiny problem with this is cleanliness! You can never stop the dirt and grime from acquiring in hinges. Kim Mee Hye’s jewelry are produced in various different materials; rose gold, white gold, diamonds, black diamond etc. Needless to say: this jewelry is for individuals with a fine source of income. Her pieces are available online in select suppliers. As her pieces seem to be made of solid gold, prices range in the 4digits! 

Signing off: Tipsy with no regrets. (I’m so sorry liver!!)

 

 

S. Kind & Co.

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S Kind and CoLovely constellation 14 diamond stone ring the current apple of my eye. Made with love in NYC from recycled metals and ethically sourced stones via S.Kind & Co.

I only wish it wasn’t so darned expensive! (+$1000) or they had a similar constellation band with less stones… for the economist. Also love their simple wheat engraved band ring- very delicate with a subtle design flare.

canadian-diamond-14-stone-wedding-band_large.jpgI’ve been eyeing contemporary and non traditional wedding/ engagement rings as the topic of work lunch these days have been the search for the perfect ring. Though I’m not quite yet ready to get hitched, window shopping doesn’t hurt. (I’m also one of those people who would buy themselves pretty rings to cycle though- for personal guilty pleasures hehe). Mind you, I also do not believe in giant 1 carat, 2 carat diamond rings etc because honestly, that’s a down payment for a house or a really nice vacation getaway.

Anyways, if you like rose cut stones and cannot afford large diamond rocks, S. Kind & Co offers moissanite rose cut stones with small pave diamonds in the band. Moissanite stones are popular replacement stones for diamonds. I believe almost all rings made are from recycled precious metals (yellow gold/ white gold etc). Did I mention, they like ring butts? Yes. Ring butts. Very cool. Very cool indeed.

Fun tidbit- Skind & Co is a resurrection of an old family jeweler (~144 years!) The more you know!

Mood: bleh. Work tomorrow ugh…

LUMO Jewelry

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LOGO.pngCurrently still obsessing over thread bare stackables! (mostly rings)
LUMO Jewelry is California based and features similar if not the same theme as Jennie Kwon Designs. (Pricewise again is around the same- pricey).
Noticeable difference in design keep LUMO and Jennie Kwon separate and yet similar in the thread bare minimalist hand, arm, and neck jewelry.
I especially love LUMO’s ‘cuff’ rings- offered in a varity of colored stones and designs.

Atria_Cuff_ring_crop_large.jpgThere is something about cuff rings that really catch my eye. I guess its a design that when stacked with a solitaire or statement ring, adds some sort of brilliance. I especially love LUMO’s atria cuff ring as the three cut diamonds just intrigue me! Not to mention the fact that this design sort of reminds me of Tiffany & Co.’s victoria line of star arranged diamonds. Absolutely love. LUMO Jewelry also stocks necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Thin cuff and thin chained bracelets are currently in (with the whole Alex & Ani craze still pretty popular with college students). Personally, my thin wrists would only allow for very few stackables (fingers included). Perhaps the reason why my eyes currently gleam over thin threadbares? But I digress. LUMO Jewelry has a thumbs up from me. A bit on the pricey side, but handmade designs warrant more TLC! A few snapshots below of some of my likes taken from google and LUMOs website.

Sidebar: LUMO jewelry makes their jewelery with either conflict free diamonds or Herkimer diamonds. Herkimer diamonds aren’t actual real diamonds- but double terminated (pointed) quartz known for their clarity and shine. Herkimer diamonds are legitimate herkimer diamonds if mined from upstate New York (Herkimer County). As wikipedia states, though double pointed Quartz can now be found in other areas, ‘Herkimer Diamonds’ only hail from Herkimer county!

The more you know. 

 

Catbird

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Been a long while since a post (busy with real life things now that I am no long fun employed woohoo for income!). But happy mid April everyone!

Catbird Logo

Current post on local jewelry haven for minimalist/ simple handmade jewelry from Catbird NY located in one of the trendier neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
This quaint little shop features dainty jewelry made in sterling silver, white gold, rose gold, and yellow gold. I’ve been on and off on their website eyeing their particular house made Famous Letter Ring as it has a cuteness factor of 7 coupled with 10 for customization! (and don’t I just love customizable jewelry). Anatomy of a Stack
Anyways, Catbird is one of those stores that sells their own small selection of designs aswell as being a major stockist for local (NYC) jewelers who share their style/ concept. It was from Catbird where I learned of jewelers like Satomi Kawakita etc.
StackPricing wise, they are a little on the pricey side (simply for thin gold bands) but I wouldn’t mind purchasing from them as craftsmanship and customer service are A+. In addition- threadbare stacking rings are very in right now. Catbird also has their idea of the best ‘stack’. Currently they have a poppin online store that sells more than just jewelry – custom Catbird stationary, soaps, prints etc. In addition, earlier last year they opened up their own Catbird annex for the sole purpose of wedding, engagement rings. (I do adore their Odette the Swan). For me, I’m a sucker for rings so that is what I usually gravitate towards, but they do have a small selection of minimal earrings as wells as delicate chained bracelets and necklaces worth a gander.

Feeling: Tired as f***

Meadowlark Jewellery

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Meadow lark.jpgI have a thing for rings. No, seriously I do. 
Meadowlark Jewellery, a New Zealand jewelry brand founded by the lovely couple Claire Hammon and Greg Fromont displays absolutely gorgeous statement pieces. Made popular mostly by young famous singer Lorde, but business is poppin.

One of my favorites from their various collections is their starburst ring. Alone, it stands proud and beatiful like a modified glorified chevron ring. Stacked, brings a whole new meaning to solitaire stone rings! Check out the images below- absolutely bring the burst of starlight to your fingers. LOVE.

Most pieces feature lets say non Christian ideals. In my honest opinion I see alot of skulls, pentagons, hexagons, car paws, bones, teeth, lightening thunder symbols and motifs– very… Paganistic? I don’t mean to bring religion into this but they have a ‘Ritual’collection and the newer ‘Zenith‘ collection that sports designs reminiscent of the Pokemon Unown. Talk about crop circles, aliens, other beings sending other messages. I have no beef against this. Simply divine. Oh and hey, hexagons are the new IN shape for solitaire rings now a days.

There’s something about customizable pieces that just attract me to jewellery brand/ company. Meadowlark Jewellery is no exception- so many customizable options including 9k white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, red gold, sterling silver, garnets, rodolite garnets, white diamonds, black diamonds, citrine, onyx, thai garnets, smoky quartz, rose quartz etc.

As Yoda would say, ‘Expensive, these are. Afford, you probably cannot. But treat yo self, you one day may.’ Over the top expenses for simple sterling silver (talk about equivalence of $100+ USD with no stone!)

Current Song:
No
By: Meghan Trainor

Chaumet ‘Bee My Love’

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Lusting after Parisian luxury jewelry brand Chaumet’s ‘Bee My Love’ stackable luxury ring line. A bit old (I believe released in 2013) Hexagonal bee hive pattern band rings available in rose, yellow, and white gold! Plain, alternate diamond stud or eternity band style. Mix and match, they intertwine and interlock with each other.

Bee My Love
Absolutely stunning. Sadly, one of those cannot afford items. Selfridges.com sells them for about 560 British Pound which is equivalent to about $780 USD for any of the plain gold ones which is super pricey for just gold. So window shop and gaze longingly over the pictures I shall.

Sidebar- I am guilty of discovering or rediscovering Chaumet while oogling over famous chinese socialite Angelababy‘s wedding photos. That rock is ginormous! (how does one’s finger not fall right off??!?) And while I do like Chaumet’s pretty tiara inspired rings, my currently obsession is stackable rings. Go figure.

Currently Listening to:
I took a pill in Ibiza (SeeB Remix)
By: Mike Posner

Novum Collection

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Here’s another one of my interesting finds. Categorized in the super duper expensive side is The Novum Collection created  by American designer Logan Novum.
Very cool and very chic his designs revolve around conceptualizing the music world. I’m not quite sure when this company popped up, but based upon the teeny tiny collection, I’ll say not too long ago. The online store only has stocked about three different items (available in different metals: sterling silver, 18kgold, and black ruthenium).

Now lets talk pricing. It is fucking ridiculously expensive. Sterling silver jack bracelet starts you at ~$345USD. To be honest, its cute and they market it great on the website with a gorgeous model and I absolutely love the idea but the price makes me very apprehensive as their brand is new. I mean, if you wore these on the street hardly anyone would notice and say ‘oh its that necklace from The Novum Collection‘. On the other hand, famous persons in the music industry such as Chris Brown and Sonny Moore (AKA Skrillex) have been photographed with some of Novum’s pieces. Anyways, I would love to see this brand grow and expand in their collection. In my opinion the average everyday Jane/ Joe could not possibly afford such tiny luxuries, but it is nice to look at.

Oh- please do checkout their Craftmanship tab on their website. It very beautifully demonstrates quality jewelry creation processes through pictures and explanations. The perfect and best tribute as a run through from idea->sketch->3d rendition and print -> casting mold -> melting metals-> rough product-> polishing + finishing touches-> final product. Link is included HERE.

Kataoka Jewelry

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katoakaOn the note of uncommon luxury jewelers and their designs is that of Japanese jeweler Yoshinobu Kataoka of Kataoka Jewelry.
From what I’ve seen its very common for Japanese jewelers to convey the dainty feeling of all their designs. Kataoka is not exception to this ‘rule’. I think it has something to do with the modest Japanese culture- nothing too flashy or too over the top.

What especially caught my attention with Kataoka’s designs is that he literally drills holes in diamonds for his necklaces. Similar to Martin Margiela’s split sapphire ring, this jeweler is unafraid to ‘cut corners’ (in this case holes) to create new and refreshing looks.18k diamond necklace
I mean, diamonds to a lot of people are sacred things and the larger the better right? There’s always talk of quality and imperfections of diamonds lowering the price of shiny rocks but kataoka throws that idea away. He treats diamonds as you do with less pricey precious stones (rose quartz etc) the idea that you can manipulate a piece of rock to create wearable aesthetically pleasing pieces, albeit dainty expensive ones.

Needless to say, I love the idea of drilling holes into diamonds. It kind of reminds me of a passive aggressive front on blood diamonds and the diamond industry in general. Americans and I believe millennials are instilled with this idea that diamonds are forever. In addition that for a man to love a woman is to commit by spending one third of his annual income by buying her a diamond ring women are taught to aspire to the idea of marriage and the idea that getting ‘the ring’ is a common goal. That is not to say that is the case for all women, I am merely providing my musings.
But I digress. Most jewelers in this day and age I feel must confine by societal standards to make a living. That’s just how it is.


Current Song:
Hands to myself 
By: Selena Gomez