Designer Laura Powers developed her understated fine jewelry collection, Bruce, while working at one of the most influential jewelry shops in New York City’s five boroughs: Brooklyn’s Catbird.
From 2014 through the end of 2020, Powers was a jewelry designer, senior jeweler, and the production lead for Catbird, giving her a front-row seat to the mechanics and nuances of retailing fine fashion jewelry to style-centric consumers. During her tenure there, Bruce became—and still remains—a best-selling brand for the store.
It’s tough to imagine a more valuable training ground for a young designer than a store with a global reputation for good taste and a history of setting trends and discovering emerging indie designers that go on to become huge. “I watched the many ways in which people try on and wear their jewelry and how they incorporate new pieces into their own personal collections,” Powers tells JCK. “I also helped customers buy their very first piece of fine jewelry, and witnessed the specific joy [they had] in that moment.”
As a result, “I try to produce pieces that will seamlessly integrate into—and elevate—a customer’s collection, but could also be a strong first fine jewelry purchase, something that can stand alone.”
Powers also knows the questions customers ask, the things that bug them, and what factors lead them to choose one ring over another. “Watching people shop and aiding them in choosing what to purchase is an invaluable experience to have as a designer,” she notes.
“The Catbird customer and the Bruce customer overlap naturally since much of my initial understanding of fine jewelry and company ethos came from Catbird. As a Catbird designer, I designed core pieces with those customers in mind, and as a Catbird jeweler I became highly proficient in crafting products for those customers.”
While at Catbird, the self-taught designer and jeweler says she also “learned and developed core values to reach the customers I wanted, such as each piece of jewelry is precious, no matter the price point, and there is deep inherent value in the product.” She also came to the realization that sustainability “must be a priority,” adding, “We can make beautiful, fine things without wreaking havoc on our planet or bringing harm to the people and communities we rely on to supply materials. Construction is very important—jewelry must be made to last.”
Finally, she says, “customers should not only be satisfied, but delighted. I believe deeply in those principles and have carried them into my operations at Bruce.”
Those learnings and leanings are evident in Bruce. Powers personally crafts each piece for the brand in her Brooklyn studio using recycled gold, reclaimed diamonds, and mine-to-market stones including sapphires and opals. Her pieces are luxe, but never flashy. Design and patina take precedence over sparkle, and there are many gem-free gold pieces that boast small and clever details, including artful cutouts and unexpected asymmetry.
Accessible pricing and gender and size inclusivity are also important to the designer. Styles range from $56 to $1,860 and are gender-neutral, while ring sizes range from 2 to 10 (with smaller and larger sizes available by request).
“Solidity, softness, movement, and interest” are ideals that act as her guiding stars for Bruce, Powers says. “I strive to create pieces that are classic and timeless but with a little something of intrigue, something distinct in fit, stone choice, or silhouette.”
Top: A lifestyle shot of Bruce earrings (photo by Jessie Manos; all photos courtesy of Bruce)
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