From the Editor, May 2018: On the Transformative Power of Jewelry



JCK magazine editor in chief Victoria GomelskyTake it from Iris Apfel.

“Jewelry is the most transformative thing you can have in your wardrobe,” the nonagenarian fashion maven famously told Racked in a 2014 interview. “If you have simple clothes, you can change the whole look of your outfit with just one piece.”

Apfel’s conviction that jewelry has the power to communicate the essence of a person’s style has made her something of a prophet in our industry, where her pearls of jewelry wisdom are oft repeated (for a refresher, don’t miss her spring 2018 book, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon). But it’s her unabashed embrace of eccentric, oversize accessories that has made her a style icon for the ages.

Meet Apfel’s kindred spirits in “Style Guide,” senior editor Emili Vesilind’s engaging series of profiles of four remarkable and remarkably accessorized celebrities—Beyoncé, Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine, ­Sarah Jessica Parker, and Tracee Ellis Ross—who prove that crafting a personal jewelry style that others admire and seek to emulate boils down to one thing: authenticity. In other words, own your personal vision—whether it’s big and loud, or quiet and dainty—and stay true to it.

That even applies to the fictional fashionistas who grace our first illustrated feature, “The Art of Fashion,” an utterly original and gorgeously rendered painter’s ode to jewelry as fashion, expertly produced by jewelry editor Rima Suqi and illustrated by the immensely talented Bruno Grizzo.

Less fanciful but just as compelling is “Take the Fall,” our annual feature on fall fashion trends and the jewels that complement them by contributor Venessa Lau, whose timely insights into catwalk culture are rife with wit and prescience.

Couple Lau’s piece with “The Fab Five” by Kristin Young, a cheat sheet to the quintet of trends that buyers heading to JCK Las Vegas have singled out as 2018 must-haves, and you’ll be up to speed on what to look for when you hit the Mandalay Bay Convention Center at the end of this month for LUXURY and the JCK show, the two must-­attend events on the market week calendar.

Next, we segue into business territory with a trio of pieces intended to give you best-in-class information on everything from the tax overhaul (see “Making Cents of Taxes” by contributor Whitney Sielaff), to return policies (see “The Returning Point” by Danny Smith), to the outlook for malls (see Karen Dybis’ profile of metro ­Detroit’s Somerset Collection, part one of a new series we’ve dubbed “Malls of America,” which analyzes the country’s most successful shopping centers).

Last but certainly not least, we present the winners of JCK’s 2018 Jewelers’ Choice Awards in all their gem-set glory. Congratulations to Los Angeles’ Shy Creation for nabbing the grand prize—again. Between last year’s winning starburst ring and this year’s ascending star earrings, we’re over the moon about how the company’s pieces look on our covers.

(P.S. This issue sees the debut of a new Shop Talk column, Causes to Celebrate, where we’ll highlight the jewelry industry’s best charitable efforts. Don’t hesitate to email me suggestions for future issues!)

Bracelet in 18k yellow gold with 0.91 ct. t.w. diamonds; $9,460; Jye’s International;
866-633-8880; jyescorp.com

(Photograph by Nicholas A. Prakas; hair and makeup: Claudia Andreatta/Halley Resources)

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