First, Game of Thrones hooked fans of the books into falling in love with the HBO television series. Now, it’s House of the Dragon, a prequel that continues fans’ love affair with all things House Targaryen and, of course, dragons.
From upscale costume manufacturers to Etsy experts to fine jewelry designers, the jewelry industry is getting in on the promotion around the new series, which debuted Aug. 21 on HBO to great acclaim.
There’s good reason for the hype: People of all ages love the new series. In the week of its premiere, nearly 25 million people viewed the episode—the biggest premiere for any HBO, media accounts say. The second episode, which aired Aug. 28, had 10.2 million views on its first night, according to Nielsen. Based on these numbers and the fandom, HBO has already renewed the series for a second season.
For Elemental Designs founder Susie Holmes, her Dragonslayer ring is her “pride and joy,” and something she hopes dragon fans will cherish for its craftsmanship. She’s using #dragonjewelry and other hashtags on her scale-inspired ring to catch the eye of House of the Dragon fans.
“I designed a scale pattern in Illustrator and, through much trial and error, got it dialed in on my laser to cut the design out of whiskey barrel ring blanks. I also create the whiskey barrel blanks straight from the staves themselves,” Holmes says. “Customers have many options to design their own version of the ring, from the band itself to the opal colors to the glow color.”
CosmicDeva, also known as jewelry designer Claudia Tuliszewski, creates dragon themes as part of her overall work, which focuses on handcrafted, boho-chic, kiln-fired metal jewelry in sterling silver, copper, and bronze.
Her dragon necklace highlights how this creation is a guardian that can serve as a protector of the person wearing it. The necklace is hand sculpted and features a natural pigeon-blood red ruby.
At Lang Antique & Estate Jewelry, a San Francisco–based retailer and e-commerce website, dragons certainly are the stars these days, says Lang’s marketing director Nicole Corsini.
Corsini says Lang Antiques has a large collection of vintage jewelry, so its staff always has fun when there are major cultural touchstones such as House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones, which remains HBO’s biggest series to date—take that, Carrie Bradshaw and Tony Soprano.
“We love styling our vintage jewelry using inspiration from current events and have lots of fun with it on our Instagram account,” says Corsini, including examples such as its “Get the Look” sequences after the Met Gala or the Oscars, green diamond features after J. Lo’s engagement, or anything having to do with the Netflix megahit Bridgerton.
Beasts like those found in House of the Dragon are fun for anyone to work with, but the jewelry industry particularly enjoys this form, Corsini says.
“Dragons and other mythological creatures are a perennial source of inspiration for jewelers. Sometimes they are direct interpretations, like the diamond brooch, dragon medallion pendant, or nouveau lorgnette,” Corsini says.
Other times they provide inspiration for details such as scale textures or claw settings, like a mid-century bracelet and the stickpin.
“And, sometimes, we are lucky enough to be able to replicate an exact look from the show, like the fringe necklace on Alicent Hightower from episode two,” Corsini says.
Whether you believe in dragons isn’t the point, Corsini says. Having fun with jewelry is always the best part of working with such incredible creations.
“I think people are drawn to dragons in jewelry for their symbolism—representing themes like power, protection, freedom of flight—and because their lifelike features and fabulous textures [scales, fire, teeth] can be wonderfully replicated by metalsmiths and jewelers,” Corsini says.
Top: Jewelry designer Claudia Tuliszewski is inspired by ancient symbols, old cultures, ancient ritual symbols, as well as medieval and tribal jewelry, especially dragons like the ones that feature prominently in the new HBO series House of the Dragon.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
