Jewelry designers, like designers of any ilk, choose a
medium of expression and from time to time, gravitate toward certain motifs as
inspiration strikes. There’s more than a touch of genius in the work of a
designer whose perspective is sufficiently unique to be recognizable year after
year, even as his or her designs evolve. Not everyone may be in sync with the
designer’s particular design aesthetic, but for those who embrace it, it’s like
tapping into an endless stream of fresh delights so long as that designer is
designing.

I am always intrigued when a designer known for a particular
style branches out into new territory, especially when that territory reflects
a style personality quite different from the core focus of the designer’s work.
Many designers are able to develop variations appropriate for a range of styles
and moods. One example of a designer’s work suiting more than one style
personality is seen in a pair of current ads for David Yurman.

In the first ad, the model wears a bracelet consisting of
rounded squares linked in triple rows accompanied by a ring featuring a faceted
gemstone of similar shape. The jewelry is the perfect accompaniment to the
model’s dress, with its square neckline and the parallel straight lines in both
the straps and the bodice of the dress. The entire ensemble suits her, with the
strong straight lines in her face, particularly her eyebrows and jawline and
her long hair.

In the second ad, the same model is shown in a much softer
mood, with a bracelet of metal swirls conveying movement and sensuousness. The
focus on the straight lines of her face are replaced with attention to the
softness of her features – the curves in her mouth and nose, the softness of
her arm, and even the peak of the eyebrows. We notice the slight cleft in her
chin and the soft highlights in her hair more so than in the first photo.

As demonstrated by these photos, jewelry chosen mindfully
can enhance one’s apparel, direct the viewer’s focus, highlight one’s
personality style and do much to convey a mood. Jewelry is indeed powerful
stuff! What messages are being conveyed by the jewelry you are wearing today?

JCK