Clients’ Repurposed Diamonds
Remember! I’m in a group show Mother’s Day Weekend,
Friday, May 9, 10AM-8PM & Saturday, May 10, 10AM-5PM
@ Studioplex, 659 Auburn Ave. Suite #101, Atlanta 30312.
Pleiades Necklace
Diamonds, 14KT White Gold Black Rhodium Plated with Oxidized Sterling Chain
As I was leaving Hawaii, Melany handed me a pile of old diamond jewelry, and with a wry smile said, “Take this, design me something casual, beat-up looking so no one will know it is valuable. I hate jewelry!” It was true. I had never seen her wear any adornment during my entire three week visit. I pleaded for some inclination or direction and she finally admitted that she felt a close connection to The Pleiades constellation (The Seven Sisters), because she had lost her own sister several years earlier.
Back in Atlanta, I removed diamonds, melted gold for credit and traced the star alignment from photos on the Internet. Each polygon shape houses a bead-set diamond, connected with flexible white gold for strength. The intentionally crude design creates a dynamic contrast to the inherent value of the diamonds, suitable for the most casual wear, yet truly a show stopper.
Melany now emphatically states, “I wear it all the time and adore this piece of art!”
P.S. Other constellations could be formed with small gems of any color.
Kim handed me a well-worn wedding set belonging to her grandmother, her eyes brimming with tears as she explained a desire to feel a connection to her grandmother and her mother, now both deceased.
As the Executive Director of the Zuckerman Family Foundation (founders and owners of Canyon Ranch) and a wife and mother of three young children, she is constantly on the go in the casual city of Tucson.
I suggested a necklace incorporating a traditional, thin 14K White Gold bezel with a new twist…Black Rhodium 14K link chain to give sharp contrast to the brilliant sparkle of the clear Diamond. The necklace is elegant, affordable yet durable enough to feel the love everyday.
Sarah, a brilliant psychotherapist with a knack for contemporary style, came to me as a new client, uncertain about what type of jewelry she wanted to repurpose? She had inherited several large solitaire Diamonds from both sides of her family, along with small Diamond melee. We made a necklace for her similar to the one above that never leaves her neck, and created stacking diamond rings to be worn on either side of her old wedding band (not pictured here.) The inspiration for clean, simple lines was clear to me because Sarah wanted to be able to wear her mother’s engagement Diamond reset onto the actual Platinum wedding band that her mother always wore (top ring).
Leftover platinum & gold settings were utilized for credit towards fresh, parallel stacking bands in a rhythm of textured 18K yellow gold, a brand new 14K Black Rhodium micro-paved Cognac Diamond band, and her own White Diamond melee, micro-paved into a 14K white gold eternity band. Happily her hands now dance with love of family and a spectacular play of light.Please let me know how I can help your old gems come back to life! Call or email me at (678) 662-6156 or lp@elainadesigns.com for an appointment.
Thank you–
Lainey
