Being given a bit of advantageous jewellery sounds so beautiful, doesn’t it? Handed down an heirloom from an in depth relative, crafted from pure diamonds and valuable metals, a memento for fond reminiscences. You’ll cherish it perpetually.
…Or will you?
Just a few years in the past, I inherited a bit of my mom’s jewellery: the preliminary J (I’m named after her) set with small pure diamonds in a blocky gold body. It’s not my style. Not one bit. So I did what everybody does with a factor you don’t like, but can’t give away. I put it in a drawer.
Then I came upon, to my delight, that pure diamonds can—and actually, ought to—be redesigned and reset. Developing with artistic options to diamonds which can be sitting unworn in a drawer is a standard follow for a lot of designers who get pleasure from artistic collaboration with their shoppers.
I’ve liked Lauren Harwell Godfrey’s jewellery designs since I first noticed them at Hero Store in Marin County. Her geometric shapes and exquisite stones are elegant, and the religious and mystical points appeared like a very good match as I attempted to determine how one can combine my mother’s style and the heirloom with my life now. She spoke with me from her studio.
Janet Ozzard: I actually love your work, specifically your pendants. So, if I introduced you this J allure that I inherited however don’t significantly like and mentioned ‘please, carry your fashion and your ability to assist make this one thing I might be excited to put on,’ how would that course of go?
Lauren Harwell Godfrey: First, we’d have a dialog. I do know this piece isn’t your fashion however is there any that means to it? Does it remind you of her? Or is it simply one thing that was in her drawer that you just’ve inherited, and also you’re like, ‘Eh, no matter.’
JO: I hadn’t considered that! I’m named after my mother, and this allure jogs my memory of her life as an expert girl. She wore fits and good sneakers, and wore this allure on a chunky chain. Her style was by no means my style, and when she purchased this, I used to be like, ‘ugh.’ However once you ask if I’ve an attachment to it, I suppose I do!
LHG: After I work with my shoppers on issues like this, typically they’ve items they don’t love the look of, but it surely’s sentimental as a result of they’ll image their mother sporting it. They’ll wish to do much less to take the piece aside. One other particular person would possibly say ‘it was simply one thing that was in her drawer, however I feel she’d be excited if I repurposed it and turned it into one thing that I might put on extra. Let’s actually change it up.’
So right here, for instance, we might protect the J and do one thing utterly new round it. Then you’ve got this little piece that’s nonetheless intact. Or is it extra, ‘these diamonds have worth, this gold has worth, so let’s make one thing new utilizing these supplies.’ Then once you present your loved ones the piece, you’ll be able to say, ‘Hey bear in mind mother’s allure? Right here’s what I did with it, and now I’m going to put on it each day, and that’s the way it will remind me of her.’ So there are ranges of manipulation if you recognize what I imply.
The opposite factor I like to inform folks is, if we’re simply taking the uncooked supplies and doing one thing model new with them, sometimes we are going to recycle the gold and provide you with a credit score. We received’t ever assure that we will use the precise gold out of your piece once more. All of the gold we use is recycled, however you by no means know what would possibly occur when a selected factor is melted. It might get bubbly and peculiar, and typically we should remake items as a result of there are porosity points. For those who really feel ‘there’s some vitality from my household about this precise piece that I wish to maintain onto,’ we’d recommend taking it in another way, perhaps retaining the piece intact, utilizing your pure diamonds and dealing one thing new round it.
JO: What does it imply once you say, ‘working one thing new round it?’
LHG: I might ask my consumer, ‘Is there one thing you significantly prefer to put on? Are you going to put on a bracelet, a necklace or earrings? What do you assume you’ll get essentially the most use out of if we made one thing new for you?’
JO: I do love your necklaces. If I come to you and say, ‘I actually just like the blockiness of the J form. Can you retain a part of it intact?’ How would possibly you then take that and make it a Harwell Godfrey piece?
LHG: We might make a cool pendant. One thing so simple as giving the J extra of a 3 dimensionality; elevate it and have some intricate patterns on the perimeters. We might additionally put a kind of medallion across the J after which embellish round that along with your diamonds.
At this level, I might say that I’d love to do a couple of sketches for you. And I might come again to you and say, ‘Listed here are a few other ways we might take it.’ However off the highest of my head, these come to thoughts instantly.
If there’s one thing I’m already doing that you just like, we might make one thing to enhance that. You talked about you want my mini moon pendants, so should you have been to get a kind of, we might make a spherical pendant with the J and its diamonds, and that would stack proper inside that moon. That might be enjoyable.
The hexagons will be accomplished in several methods, and we will customise these. You would add some particular stones. If you wish to make it about your mother, you could possibly perform a little little bit of a birthstone play, or it might have a household message on the again or one thing about your mother’s birthday. I come from a graphic design background, and I do all of the engravings myself.
JO: Are you seeing extra folks coming to you with household items like this?
LHG: Sure, positively. Excessive-end advantageous jewellery is enjoying a distinct position in folks’s lives now. It was big day put on, however now it’s on a regular basis put on. Individuals are getting daring concerning the advantageous jewellery that they put on frequently; they’re layering and stacking and doing all these items. It doesn’t have to take a seat in a drawer and gather mud and be a once-a-year factor. It must be one thing that you just get pleasure from and get happiness and worth out of. The stones are form of the place it’s at, particularly pure diamonds. I prefer to upcycle stones. It’s good to provide them a brand new life.
My dialog with Lauren left me revitalized and impressed, form of just like the bounce in your step after you get a very nice haircut (Sure, I do know, creating a brand new piece of bijou and upcycling my pure diamonds is a bit more concerned than a haircut, however the shift in perspective was form of a thrill!). Who knew there was a lot potential in these diamonds? And that engaged on a redesign with the suitable associate could possibly be a lot enjoyable! The J is out of the drawer, and on its solution to being one thing I’ll love.
