Tomasz Donocik

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.

Stephen Webster

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

Victoria Walker

Here’s a post on something a little less well known.
First let’s introduce you all to a type of jewelry called ‘kinetic jewelry‘. To my understanding, kinetic jewelry is mostly artisan and hand made. Kinetic jewelry utilizes the kinetic movement of the wearer to transform or add some spice to the jewelry piece in different ways.
One common example of kinetic jewelry are spinner rings. These are rings that have rotating gears in which the user is able to move 2 connected pieces together.

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I’ve been eying this jeweler for about a couple of years now and am super happy to introduce you all to her pieces!

Victoria Walker takes kinetic jewelry to a very refined and yet elegant level. Her pieces revolves around nature’s flowers and the little happinesses the result from blooming flowers. Each piece is thoughtfully hand crafted and uses a twisting movement of the base to unfurl metal petals. Made from a variety of metals, her collection has slowly been growing to incorporate increasing varieties of blooming flowers.


From sterling silver, rose gold, yellow gold, white gold and simple diamonds. Victoria Walker makes use of everything her admirers may wish for in her studio in Cornwall, UK.


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I absolutely adore her peony locket pendant necklace. The details in the petals are just gorgeous.
Can’t wait to see what next pieces she has in store for us!

Current Craving:
Chicken Tikka Masala

Spinelli Killcollin

SK LOGOA simple yet intriguing jeweler is Spinelli Killcollin. His works mesh the simplest of ideas with the finest of jewels. Quite literally rings on rings on rings!

This jeweler meshes different sized rings in interlocking patterns to create unique pieces. Simple edits of gemstones, diamonds, different interlocking ring sizes, metal color, metal grade, and quantity of ‘rings’ combine to generate endless possibilities while remaining similar in concept.


Pro: its all or nothing! If you wear these pieces on separate fingers, you probably won’t lose the ring or shall I say rings (?)
Con: these pieces probably won’t look flattering to those like myself who have small hands, short fingers, baby hands. It’ll just look lost!
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Absolutely love and would like to own a piece in the future!

Cost: $$$

Messika Paris

Messika LogoMessika Paris is a french jewelry brand founded about 12 years ago by Valeria Messika. Their signature design plays upon movable diamonds (Move). Other notable collections are their ‘skinny’ technology diamond pieces. These pieces are advertised to meld with all different body types.

Interested in the brand’s history? Attached here is a lovely article written by the New York Times : https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/fashion/jewelry-messika.html

Honest Confession: Messika has not been very high on my list.
When I first glimpsed at their trademark pieces a few years ago, I’ll admit I wasn’t very impressed. I tally-ed Messika in my list of jewelry brands to watch as it would be a hit or a miss. I will say that with time and the additions of new design pieces, Messika Paris is most definitely one to watch. Their modern take on jewelry fit the mark in luxury with the times. Attached below are are few pieces I especially love running my eyes over.
Furthermore, I can definitely see one of their bracelets sitting side by side the iconic Cartier Love bracelet in a lovely arm stack.

One small thing I will mention that continues to leave me perplexed is:
How on earth do you keep these jewelry pieces clean?
Closer inspection of the mechanics between movable pieces and main pieces include so many tiny little crevices... with which dead skin cells can linger and flourish… I mean… have you ever taken a multi stone pronged ring under a microscope and seen like grey/ brown stuff caked within the tiny little nooks and crannies ???

That aside, actually really obsessed with the new collaboration My Soul collection with Gigi Hadid.

Currently Listening to: 
Zombie 
By: The Cranberries

Diaboli Kill

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.

Lelet NY

lelet_logo.jpegA little something straying from the norm today. I stumbled upon this gem of a brand ogling a piece worn by Emma Watson. Bringing forth Lelet NY; a luxury accessories brand focusing on baubles for the hair. Barrettes, scrunchies, hairclips, tiaras galore. If  related to hair/ head pieces they probably have created something for it. Luxury hair accessory brand,

Lelet NY is headed by Sara Bieler Sasson. Her creativity stems from her architectural background; her many pieces reflect the elegance of lines and balance of geometry in reference to the flowing nature of hair.


Pieces range in price depending on style and size. Sasson uses Swarovski crystals in conjunction with mixed metals to create pieces that accentuate everyday looks or bridal parties.

SISIA few of her star studded/ inspired pieces remind me of a recent trip to Vienna this year. In Vienna’s Sisi Museum which showcases the life of Austria’s beloved Empress Elisabeth ‘SiSi’ Amalie Eugenie, the museum described in great detail the beauty of this young reclusive empress. Among her many qualities (porcelain skin, red lips, athletic physique etc), her hair was emphasized to have been worthy of noting. The empress had long, cascading, thick, luxurious black hair that was worn well past her knees.
I distinctly remember seeing portraits of the empress and placards next to a display case with ‘Sisi’s Stars‘. These stars were crafted for Sisi by Kochert, the imperial court jeweler. Each star was 10 pointed diamond gilded with a single large pearl in the center. Sisi started quite the trend back in the day, enough so that it still lingers today!


I most definitely see the resemblance to historical royal jewels. None the less, Lelet NY takes the cake for tasteful, elegant, and well crafted hair accessories.

 

Tasaki Intl.

Tasaki Logo

Back tracking to a few of my recent favorites. Always a love for Japanese brands, this is no exception. I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite sometime but wanted to gather a bit more research on company background.
Introducing Tasaki Intl. a subsidiary of the infamous DeBeers company head quartered in Japan. Tasaki Intl. is a luxury Japanese brand with new and innovative designs adhering to old school materials such as the classic pearl.

With pearls making a bold resurgence; design head Thakoon Panichgul creates fresh new ideas to showcase the elegance of pearls. And quite frankly, I’m a fan.

Small background on Thakoon Panichgul: he is Thailand born, Omaha Nebraska raised, and currently NYC based designer. Truly brilliant designer who brings new ideas to his creations. I have nothing but respect for him. Panichgul’s work like many but few have graces the presence of many a famous celebrity (including the Obamas!).

As always I digress.

With a flare for elegance, modernity, the Tasaki branded jewelry never feels clunky or too much. Feast for the eyes to follow. Each line of jewelry is distinct in design (and designer) as each line is created in collaboration with different jewelry designers such as Melanie Georgacopoulous, Mare-Helene de Taillac etc. Collaborations with these designers generate new styles while keeping the beauty and elegance of the materials quality still at 100%.

SIDE BAR // I’ve recently found myself gravitating to pearls. A personal favorite brand, Vita Fede has been showcasing pearls in a classic yet modern and elegant way. In general I’ve found more and more jewelry companies designing pieces in pearl or with pearl accents. I’ve also seen younger girls accessorize with pearly pieces (real or otherwise). To be honest, I’ve always believed pearls would be for… lets say… mature women (ok fine, old people). But seeing trends and I, myself owning a pair of black pearls; they’re not that bad at all; I do not think pearls age me as much as I feared they would. But then again… does that make me more mature/ old now?

everette nyc

I absolutely love dainty shiny things. Diamonds on thin bands display a certain subtle sparkle that simply light up my day. Everette nyc does just this with their delicate yet well crafted jewelry. From what I hear, if statement pieces aren’t in, its most definitely the tiny fortunes.
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Everette nyc jewelry can be described as sort of hipster Brooklyn jewelry. Subtle, with a bright flash of diamond to depict a sort of hidden richness; not overly fancy just a tiny sparkle from a diamond here or there. Simply beautiful. To  be quite honest, Everette reminds me of the brooklyn based Catbird.

Earlier in the year (more like late 2016) what initially caught my eye about Everett was their collaboration earring piece with ABLE cosmetics. able-x-everett-14kr-webDiamond stud earrings with whimsical cat eye/eyebrow earring jackets look absolutely adorable! Available in white, yellow, and rose gold a single earring (right or left) costs about $275.

10% of all proceeds are also stated on their website to be donated to The Seeing Eye, an organization with a mission to raise and train cute adorable puppies as seeing eye dogs. 

everett_large-starlight-studsIn addition, looks like Everette is hosting a sample sale with  markdowns on select pieces making pricing a tad more agreeable (peep the large starlight gold/diamond earrings at $300USD from $430USD; while not an absolute steal worth a gander). Sample sales are usually followed by new designs, those of which I look forward to seeing!

 

 

 

 

Kim Mee Hye

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.

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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!!)