New York City–based jewelry designer Maria Canale has announced that she will donate 10 percent of proceeds from two new high-end collections, Wave and Drop, to Water.org—an organization that brings safe water and sanitation to global communities through access to small, affordable loans.
The Marie Canale Jewelry initiative, called “Every Drop Counts,” will launch tomorrow in honor of World Water Day, an annual U.N. observance day that emphasizes the importance of fresh water globally.
Canale grew up spending summers at the ocean and from an early age “has been inspired by the transformative power of clear blue, clean water,” according to a company statement.
The designer said in the same statement, “These collections are representative of who I am and how I live my life.”
A 10 percent proceed donation might feel small, but the collection’s pieces are pricey—spanning $2,640 for a Drop sapphire pendant in 18k white gold to $50,000 for a magnificent sapphire Wave bracelet.
The designer created a special diamond-studded statement piece for the Water.org initiative: 18k white gold earrings featuring two rare, pear-shape diamonds in the “colors of water and sun”—a blue-green and a fancy intense yellow (see below), selling for $550,000.
The special earrings will be shown at events at several retail locations, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Washington D.C.’s Tiny Jewel Box, and Hyde Park Jewelers in Denver and Newport Beach, Calif.
“Pure, clean water is the most basic of elements of life and needs to be available to every human on the planet,” Canale said. “I commend Water.org [and] I’m honored to be supporting their important work this year.”
Top: Wave Disc earrings in 18k white gold and sapphires, $6,720 (all images courtesy of Marie Canale Jewelry)
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