JCKstyle - June 29, 2007
Life has constants: champagne toasts, 80 percent–off sales at boardwalk jewelers, and women who love diamonds (seriously, who’ll debate the latter?). This is why the Diamond Information Center celebrated the sparkly fact in its annual jewelry event, this year dubbed “Diamonds of the Decades: Diamond Jewelry Inspired by Fashion and Design, From the 20th Century Through Today.”
Vignettes of estate and antique-inspired diamond jewelry and complementary artifacts of fashion—including compacts and photos—were on display this week at the Library Hotel’s Bookmarks Lounge. Vintage desks and dressing tables showcased the jewels, cementing period connections.
As for the jewelry, it was as memorable as the history that inspired it. For example, dainty Edwardian jewelry styles from the turn of the century were evident in pieces by Erica Courtney. The exuberance of the 1920s ushered in long chains and floral motifs, but the ensuing Depression inspired geometric shapes, as in art-deco-influenced designs from Neil Lane. During World War II, working women favored conservative motifs like leaves, and a decade later rebelled about that same sensibility via sets of statement-making pieces. Hippies defied conformity in the 1960s, and their jewelry featured fringe, while disco lovers liked their jewels big and yellow, exemplified in massive cuffs from Bochic. The 1980s centered on No. 1, inspiring initial jewelry and motifs with personal meanings, such as snakes. Finally, from the 1990s to today, diversity has been celebrated, with cultural influences evident in rose-cut-diamond rings from Munnu/The Gem Palace.
Weekly Gem
You know what your shoes are missing? Diamonds. So say the makers of Kickbars, diamond-studded and patented 14k gold bars that lace through your shoes. Opt for pavé or invisible settings, or colored stones. Brainchild Robert Martin Jr. tells the media his interest in the diamond laces concept developed when he “stealthily acquired jewelry from his mother’s hidden safe to adorn the laces of his very played-in shoes.” Now that his idea is a reality, let’s hope Mom got her stash back.
