Coming to Las Vegas: Katy Briscoe to Exhibit during Jewelry Week

You may have seen her work in a Saks Fifth Avenue store near you,
but you’ve definitely never seen Katy Briscoe jewelry in a trade show. That’s
because this 31-year industry veteran and designer behind the same-name
firm has only sold her rich-looking 18k gold jewels to the high-end department
store. This year, in a sharp departure from her own history, Katy Briscoe will
exhibit during Jewelry Week.

“It just felt like it was time,” she explained to JCK this week in a phone interview.
“There are lots of wonderful cities in the U.S. where Saks isn’t located, and
I’ve had calls for years from retailers saying ‘I wish I could carry your
jewelry’!”

If this was your wish granted, consider it granted. Here’s a
bit more to know about Briscoe before shopping her booth at the show.

Signature Style &
Inspiration

Byzantine Glam pieces in yellow gold that are heavy and
elegant, with classically inspired, raised patterns—“done in the wax,” she
explains—like columns and spirals. “It’s ‘Big Girl’ jewelry,” says Briscoe.

About the Designer

Briscoe worked behind the counter for a number of different
jewelry stores—and at David Webb seeing how “beautiful bracelets were made,”
she says—before opening up her own design business in 1994. Briscoe’s bracelets
are her “favorite part” of her line, though more casual in design than Webb’s thanks
to materials choices like petrified wood, horn, and lots of cabochon cuts. Oodles
of one-offs, such as hand-carved jet earrings and lapis rings, offer numerous
opportunities for exclusive styles, as well as serving as comfortable statement
pieces across a variety of wardrobes. A Texas native, her bold cuts of
gemstones and weighty gold designs are as impressive in size as the state from
which she hails.

Starting retail price
point

Just under $5,000, though most sales occur in the
$5,000–$30,000 range

Country of production

U.S.A. in Houston, Texas, though some stones are cut
overseas

Accounts

Saks Fifth Avenue exclusively since 1999, in about 18 markets
at one time (now in 10), including Naples, Fla.; Atlanta; Tulsa, OK; and more

Jewelry Trade Show
exhibits

Couture 2011 will be the first

Katy Briscoe