First Look: TARA Fine Jewelry’s Cool Convertibles

“More bang for your buck.” It’s a coarse phrase but one that resonates with customers, even those shopping at the highest level. Because a single jewel that can transform itself into, say, a pendant that doubles as a brooch or a necklace that splits into bracelets offers the wearer more than one way to display her David Webb or Oscar Heyman investment. And variety, as they say, is the spice of life.

This is probably why Gumuchian’s Carousel necklace, which can be worn eight different ways, is a runaway success. Or why my colleague Brittany Siminitz was smitten with Nina Nguyen’s patent-pending reveal at JCK Las Vegas, and why every designer you can think of is offering stud earring/extender sets that let you create your own mismatched look.

It’s not that convertible jewelry is a new phenomenon, it’s that it’s super-duper desirable right now. And smart designers like Annette Lasala Spillane are jumping on the megatrend.

As the creative director for newish San Francisco–based fine jewelry brand TARA (aka The Artisan Row Accessories), Spillane has built her collection on a modular concept—delicate rings, earrings, and pendants that can stand on their own, or assembled, detached, and interchanged to create new looks.

Last week marked the launch of a new collection called Solstice, a series of multiuse necklaces, rings and earrings in 14k gold, diamonds, abalone, and mother-of-pearl. “I started designing this collection during the last solar eclipse, which served as an ideal launchpad for Solstice,” said Spillane in a statement. “I liked the idea of designing for a summer sensibility.”

Three pieces are shown below along with an explanation of the versatility that each one offers.