No visit to JCK Las Vegas would be complete without sorting through the special jewels on display by Lauren K. I love trying on the New York–based jeweler’s colorful assortment of jewelry, from her glimmering opals to turquoise and tourmaline, and absolutely everything in between.
I won’t be attending the JCK Show this year (I have a baby girl due around the same time), so I’ll have to settle for the virtual tour. It’s not quite the same, not being able to touch and wear and attempt to model, but that doesn’t make me feel any less in awe of the styles the designer is bringing to the show this year.
Sure, my Instagram will be bereft of the brand’s beautiful splashes of color, but I made up for it with a virtual visit with Lauren Kessler, the designer whose eye for gems keeps her eponymous brand looking bright.
“We are most looking forward to the excitement of a trade show,” says Kessler of what the Lauren K team is anticipating after over two years away. “The never knowing who you’re going to meet—we love the spontaneous walk-by retailers who are curious and come introduce themselves. We look forward to that each time and have met the greatest people this way!”
“Because our jewelry is one of a kind, it allows us to curate a unique and individually tailored story for each retailer based on their client and aesthetic. For us, seeing it come together is a collaborative effort, a process that we very much enjoy. That each store has a distinctive collection means that, for the customer, it’s a special experience each time they see it in a store. It never looks the same, though the aesthetic is identifiable and similar.”
That’s also a great way to describe Lauren K’s line. While each piece differs from the next—whether it’s because of variations in stone, or the organic way the designer outlines her designs in metal—they all still somehow have that tell: You know what brand they come from, even with their subtle differences.
That doesn’t mean Lauren K hasn’t made any changes over the last couple of years, and you might find that some of the brand’s styles are a slight departure from the usual. “The pandemic and the work-from-home mandate made us shift a bit to a more casual, less diamond-y, simpler aesthetic,” says Kessler. “We had a lot of requests and demand for pieces that were stone-focused and less diamond-intensive. It was nice for us to have those pieces to layer in with the bling! We have always been color stone–focused, so it was just a small pivot for us!”
Don’t miss Lauren K exhibiting at Luxury (#LUX601) at the JCK Show this month.
Top: Heart and Bea pendants in 18k yellow gold, prices from $1,850; Lauren K
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